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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Note: My review is based off a review copy, not the final version.
This was a very hard review to write. As much as I wanted to, I didn't love Arbitrate as much as I loved daynight.
The last 50 or so pages of daynight was a huge info dump of the Ten's plans for Kira, Ethan, Blake, and all of their children. You also got a glimpse of how much Thera influences American politics. Arbitrate begins a year after daynight ends but except for a short recap of previous events, the reader is thrown right in. I went back and re-read the end of daynight so I could remember everything.
One of the things that I loved about daynight was the multiple perspectives and narrators Arbitrate does this again (which I again liked since the characters were rarely together) but Thomason added flashbacks to the year between books. Arbitrate covers over a year on two planets from three characters' point of view. Making the time line wibbly-wobbly was an added confusion to everything you're trying to keep straight as you read.
My favorite part of Arbitrate was Kira's development. Since her arrival to Thera she's grown and matured and she doesn't seem so impulsive. I also love that she sees a therapist. It's a minor addition but there's no way someone goes through half of what Kira lived through without some emotional issues. Kira really becomes an adult in arbitrate.
I wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending, but Arbitrate closes with a lot of open questions and I can't wait until book 3 to get the answers.
This was a very hard review to write. As much as I wanted to, I didn't love Arbitrate as much as I loved daynight.
The last 50 or so pages of daynight was a huge info dump of the Ten's plans for Kira, Ethan, Blake, and all of their children. You also got a glimpse of how much Thera influences American politics. Arbitrate begins a year after daynight ends but except for a short recap of previous events, the reader is thrown right in. I went back and re-read the end of daynight so I could remember everything.
One of the things that I loved about daynight was the multiple perspectives and narrators Arbitrate does this again (which I again liked since the characters were rarely together) but Thomason added flashbacks to the year between books. Arbitrate covers over a year on two planets from three characters' point of view. Making the time line wibbly-wobbly was an added confusion to everything you're trying to keep straight as you read.
My favorite part of Arbitrate was Kira's development. Since her arrival to Thera she's grown and matured and she doesn't seem so impulsive. I also love that she sees a therapist. It's a minor addition but there's no way someone goes through half of what Kira lived through without some emotional issues. Kira really becomes an adult in arbitrate.
I wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending, but Arbitrate closes with a lot of open questions and I can't wait until book 3 to get the answers.
Having read and enjoyed both of Ms thomason's earlier stories in this series: daynight and Clean Slate Complex, when I was asked to be in this blog tour I jumped at the chance to be involved as I couldn't wait to read arbitrate and find out what happened next to the characters from both of the above mentioned stories. And in fact, just knowing that arbitrate was going to bring together characters from both stories made me even more excited to read it.
I was not to be disappointed. If anything I think arbitrate might be better than daynight. There is so much going on in this story and Ms Thomason's expertly weaves all the different threads so that they entwine just where they need to in order to keep you in the story and moving forward to a conclusion which leaves you breathless and wanting more.
I loved that we got to see the story from the perspective of the three main daynight characters Kira, Blake and Ethan. This added more dimension to the story and gave us much more insight into these characters as a whole. It was interesting that from the beginning of this story to the end, I found my opinion and perspective on all three characters ( as well as some other characters) changed immensely and this was a good thing. These characters came across as a lot more human in this story as they fall victim to both circumstance as well as their own flaws and make their journey through the story.
As mentioned before, there was a lot going on in this story. We jumped from past to present, and one point of view to another as well as the sheer number of story lines that were running throughout this book. There is so much information that we get given through out this novel that in any less capable hands, it would have been easy to get lost. However Ms Thomason handles this comfortably, presenting the information we need when we need it so that instead of getting lost, we get immersed inside the world that Ms Thomason has built and caught in the current which speeds up and builds momentum all the way to the end.
While this is predominantly a sequel to daynight, I found having read Clean Slate Complex definitely helped as it rounded out the characters of Alexa and Joshua a lot more which affected the way I viewed certain events in the book.
I am so glad I got to read this story as I think this series is quite different to a lot of other stories out there at the moment. I also took a couple of hours to think about the book before starting to write this review and I have found that even though this particular instalment is over, my brain is still their in the world eagerly wait ting to see what comes next for these characters, a sure sign that I loved this book and cannot wait to read Generate!
I give this 4 stars
Sapphired Dragon xx
I was not to be disappointed. If anything I think arbitrate might be better than daynight. There is so much going on in this story and Ms Thomason's expertly weaves all the different threads so that they entwine just where they need to in order to keep you in the story and moving forward to a conclusion which leaves you breathless and wanting more.
I loved that we got to see the story from the perspective of the three main daynight characters Kira, Blake and Ethan. This added more dimension to the story and gave us much more insight into these characters as a whole. It was interesting that from the beginning of this story to the end, I found my opinion and perspective on all three characters ( as well as some other characters) changed immensely and this was a good thing. These characters came across as a lot more human in this story as they fall victim to both circumstance as well as their own flaws and make their journey through the story.
As mentioned before, there was a lot going on in this story. We jumped from past to present, and one point of view to another as well as the sheer number of story lines that were running throughout this book. There is so much information that we get given through out this novel that in any less capable hands, it would have been easy to get lost. However Ms Thomason handles this comfortably, presenting the information we need when we need it so that instead of getting lost, we get immersed inside the world that Ms Thomason has built and caught in the current which speeds up and builds momentum all the way to the end.
While this is predominantly a sequel to daynight, I found having read Clean Slate Complex definitely helped as it rounded out the characters of Alexa and Joshua a lot more which affected the way I viewed certain events in the book.
I am so glad I got to read this story as I think this series is quite different to a lot of other stories out there at the moment. I also took a couple of hours to think about the book before starting to write this review and I have found that even though this particular instalment is over, my brain is still their in the world eagerly wait ting to see what comes next for these characters, a sure sign that I loved this book and cannot wait to read Generate!
I give this 4 stars
Sapphired Dragon xx
I just finished my ARC copy of Arbitrate. Fans of Daynight will not be disappointed! Arbitrate is full of surprises, and hard to put down. The story line deepens in Arbitrate and I fell more in love with some of the characters and out of love with others.
Note: the author provided me with an ARC (advance review copy) in exchange for an honest review.
Note: the author provided me with an ARC (advance review copy) in exchange for an honest review.
arbitrate by [a:Megan Thomason|6578897|Megan Thomason|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353133187p2/6578897.jpg] is book two of the daynight series and one year has passed since the massive cliffhanger ending of book one. The SCI has overstepped their bounds and the Arbiters step-in to remind them of their original charter. The Exilers, under Blake, are preparing to bring down the SCI and established a new government. Kira's babies are in danger because of their heritage, and not just the ones that were implanted by force but the ones her friends carried as well.
I absolutely loved this installment!!!! There is tremendous character growth for the three main characters and lots of plot lines that literally come crashing together. Kira is broken at the beginning of this book. She's a new mother who gave birth under traumatic conditions (to say the least), her Cleave has been absent a whole year, and she's terrified about what will happen to what little family she has left.
After witnessing a man gut Kira to deliver his baby and kidnap him, Blake is on the hunt. He feels guilt for choosing exile over Kira, for not saving her (as he believes she's dead), and is determined to rescue his son even if he doesn't plan to be a father.
Ethan after hearing about Kira's death from Blake, spirals quickly out of control. Over the year apart he's been training with his real father as an Arbiter, but he's missed Kira. He's beyond angry with her when after three months he learns she's alive (no spoilers this all occurs in chapter one) and he's hurt. He goes from being Prince Charming in book one to this hideously unrecognizable jealous Cleave.
The action in this book is nonstop, along with the suspense. Told from the perspectives of Kira, Blake, and Ethan you get a full picture of what is going on, along with what's happened to each character over the last year through flashbacks. I have to admit that I read this book in one sitting, staying up til 4 in the morning to finish it. I just could not sit it down! And then the explosive ending where the different plots come together left me reeling. And I'll admit to a little crying as well.
If you enjoy dystopians with a lot of action and surprise twists, I highly recommend you check out this series. It is well worth the read (and the loss of sleep)!
I absolutely loved this installment!!!! There is tremendous character growth for the three main characters and lots of plot lines that literally come crashing together. Kira is broken at the beginning of this book. She's a new mother who gave birth under traumatic conditions (to say the least), her Cleave has been absent a whole year, and she's terrified about what will happen to what little family she has left.
After witnessing a man gut Kira to deliver his baby and kidnap him, Blake is on the hunt. He feels guilt for choosing exile over Kira, for not saving her (as he believes she's dead), and is determined to rescue his son even if he doesn't plan to be a father.
Ethan after hearing about Kira's death from Blake, spirals quickly out of control. Over the year apart he's been training with his real father as an Arbiter, but he's missed Kira. He's beyond angry with her when after three months he learns she's alive (no spoilers this all occurs in chapter one) and he's hurt. He goes from being Prince Charming in book one to this hideously unrecognizable jealous Cleave.
The action in this book is nonstop, along with the suspense. Told from the perspectives of Kira, Blake, and Ethan you get a full picture of what is going on, along with what's happened to each character over the last year through flashbacks. I have to admit that I read this book in one sitting, staying up til 4 in the morning to finish it. I just could not sit it down! And then the explosive ending where the different plots come together left me reeling. And I'll admit to a little crying as well.
If you enjoy dystopians with a lot of action and surprise twists, I highly recommend you check out this series. It is well worth the read (and the loss of sleep)!
Though I enjoyed both Daynight and Clean Slate Complex, I unfortunately had a really hard time with Arbitrate. I really wanted to like it, but it wasn’t what I had hoped for in the delivery.
My biggest problem was that the book bounced around way too much for my taste. First, it was written from three different point-of-views: Ethan’s, Blake’s and Kira’s. On top of that, though, it also jumped back and forth between the present and a few months previous. Neither of these things are bad on their own, but together, it was confusing. I’d often forget who was narrating, and then a flashback would happen and I was lost. The flashbacks were always marked with how many months, but it was done SO often that I started getting everything jumbled up inside my head.
None of the characters were particularly likeable, save for Kira and Jax. Kira started to wear on my nerves after a while, though, with the way she talked about the babies. I’m a mom so I understand, believe me…kids are a lot of work and she had 3! But she was concerned about them one moment, and the next would run off and leave them behind to do something else. If she had just focused on one thing it would have been fine – she’d be out doing her thing and all of a sudden be worried about the babies. Jax seemed like the only decent, stable character in the whole book.
Be warned, there were love triangles upon love triangles here. Kira had babies with Ethan, Blake and Jax. Ethan thought Kira was dead, so started dating Alexa, who likes Joshua and Adam too. Blake was with Bailey (he doesn’t really like her, but she’s the crazy ex-girlfriend), but started going out with another girl, and Bailey is going out with Adam. Joshua likes Alexa back, so has a beef with Ethan. Ethan and Jax are jealous of eachother. Bailey is jealous of Kira and Blake’s new love interest and goes nuts. Seriously? One love triangle is enough, but there are like 10 different ones going on at any given time in this book.
So then there was the confusion about all the different groups in the book. There were SO many. The Ten, Arbiters, Genitors, Exilers, Second Chancers, Daynighters…after a while it was just a bit much. So, Second Chancers are the ones that died on Earth and went to Thera, the Daynighters are those with enough DNT in their system to move back and forth between worlds, while Exilers are Second Chancers that got kicked out of their respective cities and live in the harsh conditions outside. The Ten are the council, Arbiters are above them (and move Second Chancers to Thera, can teleport, and stay neutral until necessary), and Genitors are basically gods. Confused? Me too, and it wasn’t spelled out for me, I had to try to sort through all the terms to figure it out.
It seemed that the author bit off more than she could chew with this story. If some of the plot points were left out, maybe explored in other books, it would have been so much better. Sadly, it was too much all the time and it made my head spin. Assassinations, threats, conspiracies, bloodlines…after a while it was just overkill and I couldn’t enjoy it anymore.
So, while this book just wasn’t for me, other reviews are positive and enjoyed all the twists and turns that this book had to offer. If you’ve read the first book in the series, give it a try – perhaps you’ll like it better than I did. You’ll need to read Clean Slate Complex, the novella that comes between Daynight and Arbitrate, though…I wasn’t sure at the time I read it, but I know now that you’ll understand a little more if you read it.
My biggest problem was that the book bounced around way too much for my taste. First, it was written from three different point-of-views: Ethan’s, Blake’s and Kira’s. On top of that, though, it also jumped back and forth between the present and a few months previous. Neither of these things are bad on their own, but together, it was confusing. I’d often forget who was narrating, and then a flashback would happen and I was lost. The flashbacks were always marked with how many months, but it was done SO often that I started getting everything jumbled up inside my head.
None of the characters were particularly likeable, save for Kira and Jax. Kira started to wear on my nerves after a while, though, with the way she talked about the babies. I’m a mom so I understand, believe me…kids are a lot of work and she had 3! But she was concerned about them one moment, and the next would run off and leave them behind to do something else. If she had just focused on one thing it would have been fine – she’d be out doing her thing and all of a sudden be worried about the babies. Jax seemed like the only decent, stable character in the whole book.
Be warned, there were love triangles upon love triangles here. Kira had babies with Ethan, Blake and Jax. Ethan thought Kira was dead, so started dating Alexa, who likes Joshua and Adam too. Blake was with Bailey (he doesn’t really like her, but she’s the crazy ex-girlfriend), but started going out with another girl, and Bailey is going out with Adam. Joshua likes Alexa back, so has a beef with Ethan. Ethan and Jax are jealous of eachother. Bailey is jealous of Kira and Blake’s new love interest and goes nuts. Seriously? One love triangle is enough, but there are like 10 different ones going on at any given time in this book.
So then there was the confusion about all the different groups in the book. There were SO many. The Ten, Arbiters, Genitors, Exilers, Second Chancers, Daynighters…after a while it was just a bit much. So, Second Chancers are the ones that died on Earth and went to Thera, the Daynighters are those with enough DNT in their system to move back and forth between worlds, while Exilers are Second Chancers that got kicked out of their respective cities and live in the harsh conditions outside. The Ten are the council, Arbiters are above them (and move Second Chancers to Thera, can teleport, and stay neutral until necessary), and Genitors are basically gods. Confused? Me too, and it wasn’t spelled out for me, I had to try to sort through all the terms to figure it out.
It seemed that the author bit off more than she could chew with this story. If some of the plot points were left out, maybe explored in other books, it would have been so much better. Sadly, it was too much all the time and it made my head spin. Assassinations, threats, conspiracies, bloodlines…after a while it was just overkill and I couldn’t enjoy it anymore.
So, while this book just wasn’t for me, other reviews are positive and enjoyed all the twists and turns that this book had to offer. If you’ve read the first book in the series, give it a try – perhaps you’ll like it better than I did. You’ll need to read Clean Slate Complex, the novella that comes between Daynight and Arbitrate, though…I wasn’t sure at the time I read it, but I know now that you’ll understand a little more if you read it.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Just finished Arbitrate and I really don't think 'absolutely loved it' does it justice.
Like daynight it's told from three characters points of view but it is also told from past and present points of view which helps us fill in the gaps and helps develop the characters. I enjoyed the odd few chapters where you saw the same event from two characters points of view, it was interesting to see the same thing from two perspectives. It isn't confusing to switch perspectives and past and present as it's clearly labelled.
The characters were well developed in daynight but they get even better in Arbitrate and a smaller character from daynight becomes almost a main character in Arbitrate and their character develops really well. (I won't say who as I don't want to spoil it.)
I really didn't want to put the book down and Megan Thomason kept me guessing right until the end, it wasn't predictable at all.
The ending throws up a lot of questions so I can't wait for book three, Generate, which comes out some time next year.
If you've read daynight this really ought to make it's way to the top of your 'to read' list pretty quickly. If you enjoy Young Adult / Romance / Sci-fi books I can't recommend the daynight series enough.
Just finished Arbitrate and I really don't think 'absolutely loved it' does it justice.
Like daynight it's told from three characters points of view but it is also told from past and present points of view which helps us fill in the gaps and helps develop the characters. I enjoyed the odd few chapters where you saw the same event from two characters points of view, it was interesting to see the same thing from two perspectives. It isn't confusing to switch perspectives and past and present as it's clearly labelled.
The characters were well developed in daynight but they get even better in Arbitrate and a smaller character from daynight becomes almost a main character in Arbitrate and their character develops really well. (I won't say who as I don't want to spoil it.)
I really didn't want to put the book down and Megan Thomason kept me guessing right until the end, it wasn't predictable at all.
The ending throws up a lot of questions so I can't wait for book three, Generate, which comes out some time next year.
If you've read daynight this really ought to make it's way to the top of your 'to read' list pretty quickly. If you enjoy Young Adult / Romance / Sci-fi books I can't recommend the daynight series enough.