Review: Meridian by Josin L. McQuein

Goodreads Summary:

Marina thought that she had solved all of the Arclight’s mysteries. She had found her own history—that she was one of the Fade, that she never should have been human. She knows that the Fade who surround the Arclight don’t want to be the humans' enemies at all. She knows that the leader of those inside the Arc, Honoria Whit, never told the whole truth. But there is so much more that Marina is just discovering. There are more survivors out there. Only Marina—and her friends, all of whom have connections to the Fade they'd never known about—can lead her people to them. But there are also darker dangers, things that even the Fade fear. And Marina slowly realizes she may never have been “cured,” after all. The sequel to Arclight, Meridian is an intense, action-packed page-turner about the lines we draw between right and wrong, light and dark . . . and the way nothing is ever that black and white.

Publication Date: April 22, 2014

I like the Arclight series, but I felt like Meridian dragged. Although I found it interesting to learn about how the Fade came into existence, I wanted more about the present conflict. However, I liked how Meridian set up the conflict for the next book.

The series definitely reminds me of The Host, which is one of my favorite books. Marina has a Fade conscience living inside of her named Cherish. Cherish is in love with a Fade named Rue while Marina has developed feelings for a human boy named Tobin. I actually wish more of the book focused on the complicated romance. Although it’s touched upon, there was very little development with the relationships.

There was a lot of action in the book, which made the novel hold my attention. The beginning was a little slow as the reader gets reacquainted with the Fade and a new type of threat. The Arclight survivors set out on a mission and the book really picked up. The writing was very descriptive and it gave me the ability to easily imagine what the Fade and Wild Fade looked like.

Meridian is a likable character and with Cherish inside of her, I could empathize with how she was being pulled in two different directions. I’m not sure how her dual personality issue will be resolved, but I’m curious to see if everyone is able to get a happy ending. I’m hoping for a way that Cherish ends up with Rue and Meridian stays with Tobin. Tobin is my favorite character. He’s such a real teen boy and I liked that the author didn’t make him out to be a boring Gary Stu and instead kept him flawed.

Overall, I do really like the series and will continue on. I was hoping for more resolution and romantic development, but Meridian did make me eager for the next book.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!