Thank you to the publisher for an eARC on netgalley to read and review.

CWs: fire, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, death, death of a parent

This was not it for me. I wanted to like this book so much, but it just didn’t work for me at all. I didn’t like the characters, I rolled my eyes at every plot twist, I found it predictable and also very confusing, and I just was not happy while reading this. The only reason I finished it was because it read pretty quickly.
Natalie annoyed the heck out of me. She started off with some major not-like-other-girls vibes and she was a doormat. She let her boyfriend walk all over her and disrespect her, and she didn’t do anything about it. She got a little better as the story went on, but she still annoyed me. She was hot-and-cold with everything and didn’t feel consistent in her emotions or thoughts.
Henry was an ass for most of the book and he was also condescending at times. He seemed like he was explaining things at times but would then just dance around it even in his own mind in his POV chapters. I didn’t buy any kind of relationship between him and Natalie. They had some kind of connection, but the immediacy of the word love being thrown around was jarring.
I felt like the plot started out one way, and then it quickly deviated to something filled with outrageous twists and ridiculous events. The lack of information learned by any of the characters was frustrating, and what they did learn seemed too easy.
This one was a miss overall for me. I think it had a lot of potential, and other readers could love it.

This was such a good story, I haven't read anything like it so it was a nice surprise.

Natalie has spend all her life following her dad's plan but she cannot do it anymore, specially after discovering some serious secrets! In the other hand we have Henry, scholarship student who behaves kind of weird, but he has a secret. he is a "precog" someone who has dreams about the future! And he cannot stop dreaming about Natalie and that is driving him crazy.

This thriller mystery mixed with X-Men is really up my alley, totally enjoy it.

I ended up dnf’ing this book around the 25% mark because I just couldn’t get into it. I felt like nothing was really happening and as much as I tried, I just didn’t care about the plot or characters. Maybe it would be interesting to pick up later but I don’t think I will. I won’t be recommending this book.

I really liked the vibe of this book it did give me hints of other similar books but it came to its own around halfway in and i really enjoyed it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this title.

2.75 (rounded to 3)

At first it took me a while to get into this, however somewhere around the 60% mark it really started to pick up. Initially I did feel slightly confused and a bit like I was swimming in deep water, but as we learnt more I started to catch on. I was worried that I wasn’t connecting with the characters but by the end I feel like I’ve opened up to them a lot more. I may not particularly love them yet but I think the potential is there.

The last chunk really started to hook me and actually has me excited to see what happens in the next book. I feel the ending has definitely set up the sequel well and has managed to really hype it up. However unfortunately some of the beginning to middle of this book felt a bit average. But, and this is a big but, I think there is way more potential for the second instalment and I’m very excited.

I wanted to like this book and I really tried to fully be present while reading it but it wasn't my jam. It was a slow read and a bit messy.

The description of the book was so promising to me, but after the first few chapters, my opinion changed. I disliked both of the main leads. Natalie and Henry felt so one dimensional to me. Maybe it was just the automatic one look oh my goodness I feel such a bond to you I wish you were mine relationship they had that stilted my view of their characters. It just wasn't for me. Especially the fact that early on we learn that Henry goes stalker on Natalie. Continuing on into the story there are even more red flags about Henry's character pertaining to their relationship.

The world did not feel fleshed out enough for me to get into it fully. The magic system seemed neat but I wanted more.

All in all it was a cool concept, but just wasn't for me.

Let me start by saying the premise of this book was really intriguing and I was really looking forward to reading it. The book is about two people, Natalie and Henry, who go to an elite boarding school on a private island with minimal outside communication. Henry has a secret though where he is a precog, someone who has visions of the future. The whole book is wrapped around one vision he has of Natalie getting murdered. He decides to save her despite there being consequences.

Now like I said the premise of this book really intrigued me and the I think the writing style is pretty good for multiple perspectives. But these two positive factors alone did not do it for me. I could not even finish this book unfortunately. I got about 50% done with the book and really only waited cause I was hoping and praying it would get better. The story fell a little flat to me but honestly my major problem with the book were the two characters. I tried my hardest to like them but in the end I really did not care what would happen to them. They felt very one dimensional and just plain annoying to read about. I know they are suppose to be at an elite school full of rich people and teenagers but honestly they were just so unlikable to me. I felt they complained a lot and were kind of self centered. I also feel like the whole obsessive love at first sight was a bit much.

Even though this was not my cup of tea, I'm sure other will still enjoy it if this is your type of thing. I know it still has some good reviews on here. I always think if you are interested to give it a try. But I just don't see me ever getting into this one.

Mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but despite it ending on a massive cliffhanger (or seven), I’m not desperately googling to find out what happens next. The precogs idea was interesting, and I find the premise great, but it was a bit too convoluted, a bit too many bad teenage tropes (jealous and controlling men a-plenty). It really ramped up toward the end hitting you with fast and thick revelations and even more questions, but some of the writing left me cold. Based on the synopsis I thought it would be a smash hit, but I don’t think it delivered and ultimately I wanted to like it more than I did.

Honestly I am still unsure about how I feel about this but here are my thoughts:

We are at a boarding school on an island. New student 'scholarship kid' Henry is a precog and gets tangled up with popular girl Natalie after things start getting weird at the school. Henry has a vision of Natalie getting murdered and decides to save her - changing his vision and facing the consequences. It was very fast paces and easy to read. I was able to connect to the characters at some level and understand what was going on.

However, I think I needed more depth and history into the school and why it was there, into what precogs are and with Natalie's whole situation. I also found it a bit harder to understand Natalie's decisions and thoughts at times because of the whole flipping of sides thing. Unsure if it is just part of her character arc but I was not into it. I think out of all the characters hers needed to be fleshed out a bit more - particularly her instant draw to Henry (but maybe that comes in the next book?). Personally, I would have preferred the pace be a little bit slower to get more details and nuance.

I did read it all in one night and am looking forward to seeing what goes on in the next book.

*arc provided by Victory Editing NetGalley co-op. These thoughts and opinions are my own. My review will be posted simultaneously on goodreads as this is posted and on public release day on my Bookstagram.

Wow okay. So this book took me on a RIDE. Natalie is a preppy school girl at Lockwood, this elite academy. She is trying to be the perfect girlfriend to Jack, who is totally cheating on her, until she meets Henry. Henry is a precog who has visions of Natalie’s death. He meets Wes, another precog, and becomes determined to save her. However, this has some not so great side effects for him.

I hated the character Jack which I’m sure was the objective. He seemed like such a pretentious douche. Henry seemed like a good dude and I can’t wait to potentially learn more about him in book 2 because I totally want to know what he’s doing and what he’s up to. I totally did not see that spin on Natalie. I figured she would just be the girl who got stuck in the middle of all of this. And Wes. I do not like Wes. He acts like such a player and he is awful to lying to her to try to keep her affection. Overall, it was a good and intriguing book and I would recommend it. More like a fantasy mystery than anything.

Thank you to Net Galley and Mogul script publishing for allowing me an early copy of this book.

This book takes a minute to get going, but if you give it a chance, you won't regret it.
The angst of teenagers is alive and well in this book, a constant inner monologue to life that the reader is privy to, Once the direction of the story takes off, you are left on a twisting and turning of adventure where you don't know who to trust, who to like, or who you should be rooting for. Nothing is as it seems, and mysteries continue to pile up, even as some are figured out.
A complete suspense ride and mysterious journey - will keep you turning pages and ready to read the next book as soon as you finish the first!

Henry & Natalie are pupils at an exclusive campus where the elite get to complete their final year of high school. It costs $100K for the year at this finishing school set on a remote, isolated island, but Henry is there on scholarship. Having been raised by a guardian following the deaths of his parents, Henry just wants to get through the year & leave, but he has the ability to see the future. He is a precog & he starts to see visions of classmate, Natalie Covington, being abducted & killed. Precogs are not supposed to interfere with what they see, but Henry meets up with another precog student (what are the chances!), Wes, who convinces him to warn Natalie.

Natalie Covington, girlfriend of class president (cute but boring & who has a thing for another girl) Jack. Natalie has felt adrift since the death of her mother in a car accident. Her relationship with Jack has practically been mandated by their rich fathers but after she tries to help Henry when he has a panic attack during a vision, Natalie finds herself becoming attracted to him. There then follows the usual on/off of love/hate relationship, following each other around, & falling out instead of talking to one another, culminating in Henry being kidnapped from campus, & Natalie now being with Wes instead. Huh?!

This was a strange book. It seems to fall in a no-mans-land between YA & NA - there's swearing (bad language) & a couple of sexually charged scenes, but also a heavy dose of insta-love (one of my pet hates) & the whole plot line just doesn't feel developed enough. Towards the end, the revelations come thick & fast & it all gets a bit "Oprah Winfrey" ("You get a power, & you get a power. Everyone gets a power".) It has potential but the jury is still out as to whether I would read a sequel.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Mogul Scarf Productions, Inc, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I enjoyed the plot and the dual narrative as well as the interesting magical system. I think YA readers will really enjoy it. The pace was a little slow in places but I enjoyed the precognition concept and the character development. This book is the first in a trilogy but I wasn't engaged enough to want to continue on.

This book was a super easy read, YA paranormal romance about teens living on an island off of Washington. There are powers, politics, drama… The story itself was riveting and kept me along, I just really wasn’t invested in any of the characters. Considering this is a debut novel, Cassera did a great job and I look forward to seeing where her career takes her.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This ARC was given to me through NetGalley for review!

Control follows Natalie Covington and Henry Thorne- both are students at Lockwood. As you might expect, this book is YA and definitely deals with some high school drama. I'm uncertain what kind of fantasy I might classify this as, but I do know there are fantastical elements in the book. Largely, this is found in a kind of people called "precogs." (Discovering what that term means is part of the reading adventure, so I won't expand upon that.)

There are a few mysterious elements of the book. First, there's the school. It sits by itself on an island, where the students aren't allowed phones or really any access to the mainland. There are cameras in this school, though it is said they're no longer in use. Every student that attends is rich. Well, except for Henry as he is referred to as a scholarship kid. As we're talking about a rich boarding school, you can imagine the rules are rather relaxed. They readily have access to alcohol and once a week there's some sort of formal dance event.

Natalie and Henry are also mysterious. Natalie has eyes that seem to shift with her mood. Her father has basically forced her to date this guy named Jack. Jack neither wants them to break up, nor wants to remain faithful. Somehow, nobody really likes ticking off Natalie either. Every social moment involving Natalie in this school seemed arranged for Natalie's benefit. It's hard to explain, but it definitely kept me intrigued. It felt very Truman Show.

And Henry? Oh, well, Henry's storyline is rather special. He's a precog, which means he has visions. (This much we know from the get-go.) And who does he have visions about? Natalie. Only he didn't realize who she was until he was sent to Lockwood. Unfortunately for him, his visions are about her murder. Precogs aren't allowed to intervene with their subjects' fates. But now he's met her... What's Henry to do?

Lockwood is the main setting for only the first third of the book. After that, we learn more about what seems to be happening in the mainland. We get some questions answered, and many more created. Mostly, this is due to a third character named Wes (another precog). We won't talk about him as he's like a walking spoiler alert.

The entire book left me wanting to know more. After the normal chapters, there are a few "bonus" chapters that work as a bit of an epilogue. They are definitely worth the read, as they have made me very intrigued for the second book (which comes out in November). I want to know more about the world created by Melissa Cassera. Who are these people and what do they want?

Control has some very clear pros: intrigue and world building. I want to know more about the precogs and I want to know more about Lockwood. In fact, I want to know more about Wes, Henry, Natalie, her father... Really, everyone and everything.

Cons? Honestly, it's my usual with YA books - pacing and emotion management. (It also features a love triangle.)

For the most part, the pacing is spot on. I just felt Henry's situation off the island was rushed. His experiences felt like they existed simply for an opportunity to info dump. While I appreciated the info dump, I wish there was just a bit more depth to his experiences. As far as the emotion management, it is possible that one could explain it all away under the blanket of "precog abilities." I don't know. It could be from the YA/teenage drama aspect too. Or... It could be all a game (read: bonus chapter number two).

I gave the book 4 Stars as I feel invested in this world and in these characters. It's very hard for me to feel this way with YA books, so congratulations to Melissa Cassera for that one! I cannot wait until the sequel comes out!

If I didn't have to sleep, I would have finished this book in one sitting. I was constantly on my toes waiting to see what was going to happen next. I really want to pick up the physical copies of this series as they come out because this feels like a book/series that deserves to live up to its full potential as "page turning."
The character/world building was detailed, without being boring, and without feeling like it was tossed in there haphazardly.
I'm already patiently waiting to read the 2nd book in November.

Control is the first book in a new young adult fantasy trilogy. It’s a little slow in the beginning but mid way through it’s none stop action. There’s definitely a cliffhanger which sets up book 2 “unravel “ perfectly. This will be a great read for fans of fantasy stories. Can’t wait for Natalie and Henry to reunite long live Hatalie!!!

I loved the plot and dual character narration. The story immediately drew me in and did not let go. Fast paced! I loved this book and can’t wait for the sequel to come out in November! I really enjoyed the two main characters Henry and Natalie and their relationship throughout, as well as the twist at the end. I loved everything about this storyline and plot, this is exactly what I look for in a book and am so glad I read this! The “die for you / do anything for you “ kind of love trope gets me every time. Melissa Cassera has written a knockout of a book! Can’t wait for the follow up! Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy!

Promising premise! Love the precog concept, the plot and twists! Natalie is a good lead. Although I was a little frustrated at her at the beginning, but she grew on me. Henry must be protected at all cost. Wes was a little evil but also intriguing. Curious what will happen in the next book!