I was excited because it sounded like Something New in the world of post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Like maybe it would have some fantasy overtones or a little horror - the Fade certainly sounded incredibly creepy and I was dying to find out more about them. And I was also really intrigued by Marina and her memory loss - I really like plots that utilize memory loss well, and I was hoping this would be one of them.
My biggest problem with the book, honestly, is that I saw pretty much every major plot point coming. I wasn't surprised to find out what the Fade are, nor was I surprised when Marina finds out who she really is. So the Big Reveals were sort of ruined for me.
I did, for the most part, like Marina as a character, but I felt like her memory loss wasn't dealt with in the way I was expecting - though I can't put my finger on what exactly was "off" about it. I also felt like she went from being a promisingly strong character, to just getting dragged from one plot-point to the next with no real driving force of her own.
Tobin and Marina's relationship, while it did have its "awww" moments, was pretty run-of-the-mill for a YA book - it's not something I haven't seen before. And while I did appreciate it not being insta-love, there was some weirdness in the beginning... When the book starts, Tobin and Marina are enemies (or close to it? idk). But their enmity was strangely emphasized, and the time we're given to accept that they Do No Like Each Other was so brief that it didn't have much weight. In hind-sight, I feel like that whole "enemies" thing is sort of out of place, considering how quickly things change immediately after we're told that the two are Not Friends.
However, I did really like the world where this was set, and the whole concept of the Arclight and the colony's protection being light itself. Also, even though I did figure out who/what the Fade were pretty quickly, they still fascinated me, and I really enjoyed the 2nd half of the book for that reason (where we get to learn a lot about their culture and lives). Just... nothing else about the book really grabbed me, unfortunately.
In conclusion...
Arclight was an entertaining read, but the characters were really nothing new, and many Big Reveals were too easy to predict. However, I did enjoy the worldbuilding, and the Fade; and the pacing was fast enough that I was never bored. I'm not sure I'm dying to read the sequel, but I'll definitely consider picking it up once it comes out. Overall, I'd say pick this one up if the synopsis sounds appealing, and you don't mind a little predictability and fairly run-of-the-mill characters.
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{ This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved... }