Thank you for the arc, unfortunately I did not finish it, I just wasn't the right audience for this book.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

Apologies but I requested this almost 5 years ago and no longer relate to the genre, so I cannot read and review this. Thank you for understanding.

I read this book back in 2017. However, I still remember that I enjoyed it, though it felt more like a long beginning to a continuing story than the first book in a trilogy. I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4 due to that, but also because I finished reading it within 2 days (otherwise it would have only gotten 2 stars). Though it has nothing to do with my rating, I prefer this cover art to the other covers I've seen on Goodreads. Though this is the first book in a trilogy, I don't think I'll be reading the other books.

I really enjoyed this book, but too many things were left unexplained, perhaps waiting for the sequel. I also felt that too much time was spent on the main characters at school. A certain amount is necessary to understand the characters and their motivations, but the book would be stronger with this section pared back. Not that it wasn't interesting, but once we reach the part where the characters are interacting with the mysterious box, the story really takes off. Despite these minor criticisms, the story was really interesting, and as I neared the end of the book, I was racing through the pages to see what would happen next.

The premise of this book was really intriguing but in the end I felt like the author didn't really use the full potential of it. The ability to decide who lives and who does not could've made a good moral debate, but it was merely brushed upon. I also thought that the overall concept wasn't explained well, in fact we barely learned anything about it - why did they get the boxes, how does it work and why it all happens. I know that it's the first book in the series but I like it when the author answer at least some questions by the end of the book, while in this case we were left even more puzzled.

On a plus side, I liked the atmosphere. It was quite creepy at times and went well with the story. The characters were okay but could have been more developed. Overall, it was a uick read and I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'm going to pick up the next book.