#Review - Into the Hourglass by Emily R. King #YALit #Fantasy

Series: The Evermore Chronicles (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 286 pages
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

In the second book in The Evermore Chronicles by Emily R. King, Everley Donovan plunges into the roiling waves of a strange new world to hunt a wicked prince who cheated time.

Everley Donovan’s mission: retrieve the hallowed sword of Avelyn stolen by the wicked Prince Killian, who slayed her family and left her for dead. Should she fail, the seven worlds will come to an end, as could time itself. And no one treasures time more than Everley, whose lifesaving clock heart cannot beat forever. She has set sail with a rogue crew for the otherworlds, where the key to dethroning the prince lies deep within the Land Under the Wave.

But passage through these unknown seas—where horrors lurk and pirates rove—proves a treacherous gamble. The Land Under the Wave was not made for humans, particularly one with a fragile clock heart. Here, Everley’s tragic past resurfaces unsolved questions. Here, too, the prince has hidden secrets more precious than pearls, secrets that could fracture the future forevermore. Everley must take back her sword and break free from this watery world before her time runs out…or so will everyone else’s.

 

 

Into the Hourglass, by author Emily R. King, is the second installment in the authors The Evermore Chronicles. The story begins about 2 months after the ending of Before the Broken Star. Everley Donovan continues her revenge tour de force against Prince Killian. Killian was swallowed by the beast known as the Terrible Dorcha as well as the ancient sword of Avelyn which is supposed to be Everley's to protect. Without it, she has been told that the 7 other-worlds and the fate of the world hang in the balance.

She had hoped to convince her alleged allies that going to the Land Under the Water in order to track down Killian and the sword is a good thing, and not some horrible idea that will end up with everyone dead or lost. Yeah, about that! Everley, Jamison (who is the only other person who knows about her clock heart), Radella (pixie), Claret, Harlow, & Laverick find themselves in the Land under the Wave where Giants, Merrow, and Elves rule the world. Everley, however, seems to be having some issues with her heart in that it's not working as it should. Could her life literally be ticking away?

To make matters worse, the sword seems to have been taken to the mythical underwater city called Everblue and it will take some really interesting maneuvering to get there and beat Killian. Everything Everley has done up till now, has been thwarted by Killian. The same man who also killed her family and left her with a clock for a heart thanks to her Uncle and Father Time. I won't go into much detail, but while in the alternative otherworld, Everley's family's past comes to light which gives things a much more interesting perspective about who Everley is, as well as why she was chosen for the clock heart in the first place.

The author seems to be exploring new worlds in each of the books, so the third installment should be really interesting. Everley does pick up one ally in this story, Osric, an elf who has had an interesting past with Killian, and now feels as though he has the ability to help Everley in her goals. After everything that Everley goes through in this story, it might be the ending itself that really breaks my heart. No, not because she and Jamison end up on the wrong side. There is a surprising twist however. But, because she finds herself once again having to fight for her life after certain people discover her clock heart.

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