Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Release date: October 4, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 342
Format: Advance Reader's Copy
Source: Page & Palette Bookstore (they give them away)
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
Ebook available from: Barnes & Noble | Amazon


From Goodreads:

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Carrier of the Mark is a book I've been looking forward to for a long time. With the captivating and beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis, how I could I not be excited? And while I quite enjoyed the book, there were a couple of things that fell a little short as well. Most definitely worth a read, though.

The highlight of the book was most definitely the lore behind the powers. I was fascinated by the talk of the royal bloods and Carriers, and how far back and steeped in Celtic and Irish legend their powers were.  I am certainly hoping to learn even more in the next two books.

There was also a lovely and engaging cast of characters. Sometimes I got a little confused about some of the lesser characters, especially students, but the important ones stood out enough that I knew who they were. Megan and Adam were good main characters, with neither of them getting annoying or whiny but at the same time realistic. I especially loved Rian, Adam's brother, for his intensity, humor, and broodiness, which was a good contrast to the rest of DeRis family (except Adam at certain times...)

I did feel like the book was slowly building up to something cataclysmic, and the ending kind of happened suddenly and without much fanfare. Before I knew it, the book was over, and I didn't feel like the big threat had been all that great. I know it is leading up to more in the following books, but it just felt like a bit of a disappointment.

My only other problem was in the romance between Megan and Adam. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romance, and don't mind an instant connection. I just felt like the moment after they kissed their relationship became super close, like they'd been dating for a long time. They were too dependent on one another way too quickly, and it felt false. But by the end of the book I felt like enough time had passed and they had gone through enough together to merit their relationship, and it won't bother me in the future.

So, should you risk a paper cut? Carrier of the Mark is a very good debut from Leigh Fallon that sets up a very promising and fascinating trilogy. The new and interesting take on the elements and Celtic lore is worth the read alone.