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The Hourglass  By  cover art

The Hourglass

By: Tracy Rees
Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens,Imogen Church
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Publisher's summary

2014. Nora has always taken success for granted, until suddenly her life begins to fall apart. Troubled by anxiety and nightmares, she finds herself drawn to the sweeping beaches of Tenby, a place she's only been once before. Together with a local girl, she rents a beautiful townhouse and slowly begins to settle in to her new life. But Tenby hides a secret, and Nora will soon discover that this little town by the sea has the power to heal even the most painful memories.

1950. Chloe visits Tenby every summer. She stays with relatives, and spends the long, idyllic days on the beach. Every year is the same, until she meets a glamorous older boy and is instantly smitten. But on the night of their first date, Chloe comes to a realisation, the aftermath of which could haunt her forever.

The Hourglass is a moving novel about finding love even after it seems too late and the healing power of a magical place by the sea.

©2017 Tracy Rees (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Tracy Rees writes from the heart." (Kathryn Hughes, author of The Letter)

What listeners say about The Hourglass

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Buy it!!!!

Such depth of character and a meaningful story that unfolded perfectly. Bah to everyone who didn’t like the ending, it was exactly as it should be, it ended as it began and that’s all you need to know in order to realize that everything works out. I’ll give it a month and probably listen again.

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17 people found this helpful

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Great story, well delivered

The story line and narration were both superb. This delivery had some of the most consistent and accurate accents. Even male dialogue was well delivered. The scenery was beautiful and the characters were richly woven into a charming storyline.

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14 people found this helpful

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A new author to love

As a fan of Kate Morton I was pleased to find Tracy Rees.
The characters where well formed the story while not a cliffhanger kept me entertained throughout.
The narration was spot on as I am a big fan of Imogene church second only to Caroline Lee.
I plan to read Florence Grace in the near future.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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A romantic Welsh tale

I was really enjoying this story....but the author started to drag out the secrets and misunderstandings in an attempt to heighten the drama; instead of drama, it became mawkish and melodramatic and oh-so predictable. It didn't help that one of the narrators was irritating 😠. So, mixed review.

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8 people found this helpful

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Another Good One By Tracy Rees

I did not enjoy this book by Rees as much as her other two....mainly because of the narration. The voice for Chloe and the other teens in Wales went from cloying to shrill and
the Welsh accents were a little hard to understand. The narration for "Nora " was fine.
I liked the story a lot and the character development was good.
However I must say I am a little tired of the style of writing that jumps back and forth between
generational characters. I wish authors would go back to a straight forward style and just tell the story the way Ann Tyler, Rosamunde Pilcher or Nevil Shute does.

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6 people found this helpful

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I Love Tracy Rees

But I couldn’t finish this book. The past/present trope was tiresome & the inevitable denouement too predictable.
I enjoy Imogen Church’s narration. Charlotte Strevens was just OK. Her natural voice is somewhat deep & the high squeaky portrayal of some characters was extremely irritating.

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4 people found this helpful

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Loved this book

Loved the narrators they really make listening enjoyable. Great author she really develops good stories

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3 people found this helpful

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Worth keeping at it

The book is long and slow for quite a bit of it. But it's a really good story and gets very interesting so I recommend pushing through.

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3 people found this helpful

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Great read, like every other Tracey Rees book .

Great read, like every other Tracey Rees book. Love them all! Great narration, as always.

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2 people found this helpful

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Lovely Book

I enjoyed this book and the narration. Oddly, I was unaware that there were two narrators, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment. Being an American I had to check out the reviews to figure out Llew was spelled as it was and I learned something new, but I will never be able to pronounce the word.

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2 people found this helpful