The second novel in the Evermore Chronicles, Into the Hourglass, keeps up the pacing and the momentum, delivering a non-stop adventure that pushes Everly to her limits.

Story Development

This novel has been sitting in my digital library for over two years. After such a length of time, I admit I was a bit worried about whether or not I would remember the first novel’s events. Then, of course, I read this novel’s blurb, which reminded me of bits and pieces. However, what was remarkable was King’s writing and how she could recap everything that happened in the previous novel expertly.

The way that King begins the story takes place almost immediately after the first novel’s events. Everly and her friends are on a ship they are looking for Dorka this way whale that can transport them to the world beneath the waves. So it is a scene reminiscent of Disney’s Pinocchio where they get swallowed by the whale, and I didn’t hate that I did like that little touch of nostalgia for me. I don’t know if that was the author’s intent to mirror that thing, but it worked very well for the storytelling.

But here, King recapped the events from the first novel by inserting the emotional ramifications of everything that happened into the character dynamics, the dialogue, and the internal narrative. By doing that, King ensures that the story keeps up that fast momentum.

It was excellent to see King bring back events from the first novel as memories throughout the narrative. There are mentions here and there versus being unloaded on the reader all at once. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate when authors decide to recap in one giant paragraph because it dampens the story’s pacing. Here King avoids that; instead, they focus more on the effects, the emotional effects, and the way character dynamics have shifted. King does everything to ensure that the momentum of the storytelling does not falter. King’s storytelling works so well because it does not stop; it moves like “bam bam bam bam,” capturing the adventure within the story, capturing the rising tension and stakes while pushing Everly to her limits, forcing her to discover so much about herself.

Characterization

As for the characterization, I think Into the Hourglass focuses a lot on the characters as it develops the action and adventure. Everly has gone through so much. When she was a child, her family was murdered. She was stabbed through the heart, left for dead, and the only way to save her was for her uncle to team up with Father Time to build her a clockwork heart. So growing up in a society that shuns and distrusts magic, Everly had to keep to herself. Her uncle raised her that way so that she would be protected. However, that means she doesn’t allow people in, making her life a lonely one.

So throughout this adventure, Everly is learning how to trust. It is not until the end that she sees that the people she has been on this grand adventure with are her friends and worthy of her trust. Everly faces many twists and turns, forcing her to learn more of her history and the history of her parents, uncle, and even Prince Killian.

There is also a nice juxtaposition between Everly and Killian. Seeing a man such as Killian, immortal, all flesh and blood be a proper bastard reflect the irony of Everly’s clockwork heart. Everly feels and loves more than he ever could; she cares deeply for her friends and even her enemies, which is more than can be said for Killian. It is quite the journey; seeing her grow and develop her love and trust in others allows her to accept herself for what she is. She learns to let people in, which makes her character development worthwhile.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Into the Hourglass is an enjoyable sequel. It does raise the stakes. It increases the tension and keeps the reader glued by keeping that speedy momentum. Coupled with the fact that there is such an inner journey for our main protagonist and seeing her grow and develop into this really fierce and formidable girl that she wasn’t in the first novel lends to a very captivating story.