The Forgotten Locket

By Lisa Mangum

When Abby stepped through the hourglass door, leaving her beloved Dante blind and bleeding on the other side, it was in full faith that she could find a way to repair the damage to the river of time and restore him- as well as her family. It was a desperate chance that seemed worth taking.
But Zo had other plans.
Now Abby is trapped in a full-fledged battle for her own mind and life and heart. Even worse, Zo’s evil intent reaches beyond simple revenge against her and Dante. The whole world is in danger of collapsing unless Abby can summon her courage and undertake a journey that will lead her beyond the origins of the hourglass door.

So here's the conclusion of The Hourglass Door series. This series kept me interested enough to finish, and I did end up liking this book more than I thought I would. It's not really down my lane though, as the book is mostly a love story. If you are looking for a romantic book that doesn't go into bedroom scenes, this is a great choice. As soon as I forcefully put the skeptical realist into the closet, and just let myself go with it, I decided the book was good. Abby and Dante are oh so in love 'forever and always' and have to face insurmountable odds to fix the time stream. There are lots of twists and we find out a few answers to questions left dangling in the first two books. The series is interesting and the time travel is pretty cool. I wish there would've been more Italian language and poetry actually show up instead of her just talking about it. I think if I had to rate the series I'd give it a 2.9 out of 5. (It's an almost 3).

The Golden Spiral (#2 in Hourglass Door series)

By Lisa Mangum

The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Although giving him up was the hardest test she ever faced, Abby knows that Dante is the only one who can stop the others from destroying time itself. But almost immediately, things start to change, and Abby’s worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically. With each change that ripples into her present, Abby’s life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and ever her family are threatened to the breaking point. Zo’s power is greater than Abby ever imagined. Will her love for Dante be enough to turn the tide?


This book is a page turner. It’s fun to read, and the story is intriguing. Trying to wrap your head around the time stream is a little dizzying, but Mangum does a pretty good job in simplifying it for the average Joe. Dante seemed a little more human to me in this one. And, I don’t know if it’s just that I’m getting used to the love story or not, but I was able to handle the many little romantic scenes between Abby and Dante with a little less snide thoughts. A little. There are still some instances when Dante will say things like, “Abby! My Angel! You’re here!” and I can’t help but think of a soap opera. Really? I’ve yet to meet a real live man who talks like that, and if I ever do, I will eat my words and voice a profound apology to Lisa Mangum for my incredulity. Aside from all that thought, this was fun and I look forward to the conclusion next year in the final book- The Forgotten Locket.

The Hourglass Door

By Lisa Mangum

Abby's senior year of high school is textbook perfect: She has a handsome and attentive boyfriend, good friends, good grades, and plans to attend college next year. But when she meets Dante Alexander, a foreign-exchange student from Italy, her life suddenly takes a different turn. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Time behaves differently when they are together - traveling too fast or too slow or sometimes seeming to stop altogether. As the mystery unfolds Abby discovers a dangerous secret about Dante and his companions from Italy, a secret that could unravel the very fabric of time. Abby must make a choice and more than one life is at stake and her choice could change everything. Her present. His Past. Can love bring them together in time?

This book is the first in a trilogy. Abby is the heroine of the story, with her love interest as all-too-perfect Italian time-traveler Dante di Alexandro Casella. The story is certainly captivating. Who doesn’t like a little bit of time travel to spice up their life? Throw a handsome Italian poet and lots of ladies are reveling in this series. I myself, like the true romantic skeptic, was amused at the drama of relationships in this book. Rolling my eyes seemed to become second nature while I read. I guess that’s the style now since Twilight made its way into the limelight. The story, however is more than just the love interest between Abby and Dante. It’s about an unconventional time machine made my da Vinci himself; made to throw the most despicable criminals into a prison they can’t escape and where they won’t have to worry about them: the future. Cool huh? For that reason, and that alone, I think this book is worth a peak. If you enjoy high school dating drama and the sudden across-the-room meeting of a handsome stranger, you’ll doubly like this book. And I’m not too petty to admit, there were a few things that left me smiling and tingly. A very few. :)