How would you feel if when you were born your date of death was also known?
This is what happens in the 24th century and is the way of life until one teenager outlives her expiration date. Evergreen is desperate to find out how someone can outlive what they believed to be true.
I struggled a bit with the scientific wording but overall a good read.

I love the concept of humanity advancing to the point of being able to predict when people will die. There was a lot of characters and a lot of perspectives which took some getting used to but all were well written. I loved the conversation about what to so with Lucy after she failed to die at her foretold time and even how is she suppose to do with herself and contribute to society. I'm always down for some shady scientist pulling strings in the background.

This book featured a lot of scientific talk, but it was written in a way where you could properly follow what was happening. It also features descriptions of self-harm, so I’ll leave this trigger warning.

I highly enjoyed reading it. I might be biased because I love me some dystopian, conspiracy type of books and this was exactly what Hourglass was. This is the type of book I envision being adapted to the big screens and if that were to happen, I’d totally watch it.

The book follows people in a dystopian future where you’re told how much time you will have to live, right after you are born, which will separate people into three Lifetime Potential groups: low, mid, or high. People’s Lifetime Potential, or LP, will give them their role in society and everyone’s happy to follow the rules until Lucy Hanson doesn’t meet her predicted lifespan.

I was pleasantly surprised with the characters. I thought they were fun and interesting in their own way. I always enjoy reading about characters that are connected throughout the story somehow.

This isn’t the best book I’ve ever read but it’s a solid start to the series, since the next installment is coming in 2022 – and after those last chapters and I will be definitely reading it.

“What would you do if you knew exactly when you would die?

Like everyone else in the 24th century United States, ambitious young scientist Evergreen Mason knows the precise minute she will die. When she hears that a sixteen-year-old girl has surpassed her predicted lifespan, she is compelled to solve the existential riddle of what allowed her to be the only known survivor of her biological clock.

But Evergreen’s unrelenting search for answers is not without peril. The shocking truth could bring society to its knees, and those in power will stop at nothing to keep it secret.

Can Evergreen expose the government’s ghastly plot, or will the next clock that stops be her own?” (https://elizabethmeanswriter.com/)

A mass death pandemic had reduced the world’s population and enabling climate to recover and aided medical advances, such as ridding the world of disease and enabling calculation of Lifetime Potential (LP). As a result, this smaller future society is law abiding, heavily regulated and risk averse. There is universal contraception and limited reproductive rights. A sixteen-year-old girl’s survival beyond her time provokes a time of social questioning of the LP system.

Everything in this future society is determined by how long someone was anticipated to live. Means explores the social politics of knowing when your death is, and the nuances of living for a prescribed length of time. Discrimination is based on LP i.e. lifespan, and you are forced to live a life dictated by your lifespan.

Means handles new technology deftly and realizes this future society well. She explores the dilemmas of predictable death and observes the reduction of life to functionality. She also acknowledges the limits of technology. This aspect of the book is certainly thought provoking.

Evergreen and the characters are well-rounded and the challenges they face keep the pace of the book bounding along. The plot thickens with layers of complexity added at every turn. Corporate malfeasance and political chicanery add to a well-rounded and, is sadly familiar.

All is explained in the end, but it feels a little rushed with a number of loose ends. All is not lost though, as there is a sequel planned for 2022.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

[This is from my Goodreads review]

This book is set a couple hundred years in the future. In this timeframe, people know the exact date and time they will die when they are born. Diseases have been eradicated. People are categorized by how long they will live and their education and upbringing varies depending on their lifespan. There are also strong penalties against surviving family members for those who choose suicide. Things go off the rails when a girl doesn’t die when she is supposed to and a reporter and a scientist uncover some disturbing secrets and history behind the Lifetime Potential program, code name Project Hourglass.

I won’t post any spoilers, but I will add some of my thoughts…..

[1] This book definitely has an Orwell/1984 undertone to it.
[2] I personally found the idea of people describing things as “global”, “atomic”, and “bionic” a bit silly and immature.
[3] In some cases, situations happened that didn’t really seem to make much sense to the story or could have used more explanation. I felt at times things were set into motion that left me hanging.
[4] I won’t reveal the ending but it came out of nowhere and flipped the story upside down. It literally screamed Orwell/1984. I understand why it happened the way it did and wish it happened differently. For me, the end pretty much ruined the book for me.

I still gave this book 5 stars because I like the way it was written, the story was well detailed, and I may not have liked the ending but I understand it. I’ve read many books that I’ve hated the endings of and still loved them. I read this book in one day because I was that into it.

NOTE - I RECEIVED A FIRST EDITION COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR FREE ON NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. THIS IN NO WAY INFLUENCED MY REVIEW.

Where can I start?! What an amazing book, such a great read, and without giving any spoilers, the ending really packs a punch.
I like how the characters had their ups and downs, moments when you found them annoying, redeeming features etc, it really kept me invested in their stories. In regards to this, the chapters flick between characters, more so in the beginning, and until you get a feel of each character, this can be a little distracting, and so it probably took me a little longer to really start getting into the book. However as the 3 main characters start meeting up and crossing paths, the chapters become a lot more fluid which allows the amazing storyline, with twists and turns, to flow.

All I can say is read this book. It kept me hooked the whole time, and I loved the interesting plot of the lifetime potential!

From the moment you are born, the day you will die is known. Every decision made about your life is a reaction to your expected life. While this doesn’t always seem fair, most people have become accustomed to life like this.
Evergreen is the daughter of a renowned scientist, and she is thrilled to get a job working for the same group her father works for. Keen to progress, she is excited to develop her understanding of the vaccination program and is hopeful she can find some way to make her mark.
When sixteen year old Lucy Hanson does not die on the day predicted, nobody knows why. Evergreen thinks that learning more about Lucy could provide her breakthrough. What she couldn’t foresee is that someone in government knew about this, Lucy is not the first and someone has a reason to keep this news hidden.
An intriguing idea, and the big cover-up hinted at a potentially explosive read. The timing of this marred slightly, and it took a long time to get any answers. The ending opened up possibilities but cut off just as I was finding myself interested.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication.

The premise of this book had me itching to read it. I mean what would you do if you knew the exact day and time of your death? What if we lived in a society that gave you privileges based on your life potential? What if we could plan and attend our own wake/funeral? All of these aspects of the book had me sucked in! Lucy's story had me at the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

This book took me for a futuristic ride! Elizabeth Means did a great job of describing a world centuries in the future while keeping it relatable. Sometimes a little too relatable given the current real pandemic and the use of historical pandemics as a plot device in the novel. I found the characters to be compelling, though Evergreen felt a little bland at times. Lucy was the standout to me. And as much as I was hoping that we were racing toward a totally global ending, I was actually satisfied that things didn’t get wrapped up in a neat little bow. Thanks to #NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review! #HourglassElizabethMeans

This dystopian book focuses on life as we know it 200 years in the future. Disease and cancers have essentially been wiped out, but every person is born with an identified LP (Lifetime Potential) meaning they know the exact time and date of death for each person. Because of this, people are grouped into low-LP, mid-LP, and high-LP tracts. Those living with a low-LP will pass as children or young adults and are not given the stresses (or opportunities) like those with higher LPs. Our story jumps around, following a scientist, a teenager whose time is supposed to be up (but who lives past her specific LP time and date) and a reporter who follows her story. It got to be a bit much and dragged on quite a bit before an unsatisfying ending.

Thank you Monkey Tree Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced ebook for an honest review!

Hourglass was a quick, good, thought-provoking, unique story! This was one twisted sci-fi book!
The characters were well developed,
Well written, complex storyline with various moving parts. The descriptions of setting were greatly written and the inner feelings and motivations of our main characters were explored in a way that felt authentic and believable.
I enjoyed the the storyline it will stop and make you think!

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

Wow! Just wow! I honestly wasn't expecting that ending, it blew my mind!
Ok, so initially the plot made me think of "In time" movie, starring Justin Timberlake, that I loved so much, so I got curious and asked for this ARC. 
Ending the book just 5 minutes ago I can say that the level of conspiracy in here measures up to "DaVinci Code".
If you're searching for a futuristic SciFi with a heavy dose of conspiracy, grab this book immediately!

5 stars

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

Knowing the time and date of your death is the background for this dystopian story. A promising start with interesting characters. But the story and characters went a direction I wasn't prepared for and didn't care for. Wish I had known before. Thanks #netgalley and #MonkeyTreePublishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review . All opinions are mine.

2 stars, A good start but it came without a needed trigger warning

HOURGLASS by Elizabeth Means

The book started out as an interesting dystopian story, about knowing exactly the date and time that you will die. It had a lot of promise, but part-way through, it veered off into LGBT territory and I didn't sign up for that. There were no trigger warnings in the synopsis of the book, I have zero desire to read anything about that subject, but there it was.

Maybe if it didn't have that subject matter, I might have considered a higher rating.

Unfortunately, I received a complimentary copy of #hourglass from #netgalley #monkeytreepublishing @monkeytreepublishing I was under no obligation to post a review.

The premise of this book drew me in instantly. I’m not usually a fan of science things at all but this had thriller vibes as well so it drew me in. Would recommend!