Review: Carrier of the Mark

by Leigh Fallon
publisher: HarperTeen
date of publication: October 4, 2011
format: paperback
pages: 342
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

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.

What I Thought

Carrier of the Mark was a surprise for me in many ways.  At first, I found it to be formulaic in its story line and was concerned as to whether or not I was going to enjoy it.  Its setting (Ireland) proved to be a more pleasant surprise that I greatly enjoyed.  However, as I got further and further into this story, I began to realize that even though its plot progression is all too familiar, it was still an enjoyable read that captured my interest and kept it.  Fallon's style of prose is nothing to sneeze at and her characters are (for the most part) personable and interesting.  It definitely surpassed my expectations and kept me happily absorbed in the story.

The idea behind Carrier of the Mark is an interesting one.  I was very happy to see references to one of Ireland's goddesses and knew at that point that I was in the hands of an author with interests similar to my own.  The background of the magic-users in this book is also something that I found to be intriguing.  I was a little confused at times by the discussions of genetics in relation to the passing down of the gifts, but it is definitely an interesting concept that I hope to understand more of as the series continues.  As for those that have inherited these gifts, I can only say that I was a little more let down.  Both the number of siblings involved and their interaction with the protagonist, Megan, was especially familiar to me, but not in a pleasing way.  Don't get me wrong, these characters are a nice mix of personable and abrasive, but the dynamic felt a little old.  Fortunately, the characteristics of their talents and the element of danger that surrounded them was more than enough to redeem them for me.  I just hope that things continue to improve into the next book.

If you enjoy books with magic at their centers and are looking for a quick, fun read, I would recommend Carrier of the Mark.  It is an enchanting story and has enough romance to make a paranormal romance fan happy.  I can see a lot of potential for this series and will definitely stick with it.  Though the exactly date of the next installment (Dawn of the Knights) hasn't been released yet, I will be looking forward to reading the follow-up to this magical tale.