Brad About Books: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Read on May 2 to 3, 2013

CARRIER OF THE MARK
Published: October 4, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 342 pages
Source: Purchased
Series: Carrier, #1

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 fun and captivating read with a supernatural twist and a mind-blowing ending. While the whole novel didn't always have me captured, I can't deny that I really liked this book!

I'll go ahead and address my issues with Carrier of the Mark - there's some. First: why did everyone fall head over heels in love with Megan? Sure, whenever you have a foreign student move into your school, you're fascinated by them and want to know them - I get that (I've done it before). But my problem is is that everybody loved Megan right from the bat and she became instantly popular. That... no. I just couldn't believe that; and Megan wasn't that much of a fascinating character, to be honest. While her storyline was interesting, there were some dull and slow-moving moments with her. And the mysterious Adam who hated Megan right from the get-go? How about no. It just seemed too bland - boy hates girl, boy and girl fall for each other, boy and girl can't be together due to "laws", boy and girl do anyway. Just... no. Maybe since we've gotten past the whole "I hate you get away from me" part in Carrier of the Mark, maybe we won't have that problem in Shadow of the Mark. One can dream.

And I'm a bit confused with this book: what exactly is the Order? Megan has some weird powers? What about Adam? At least in this book, the girl has more supernatural powers than the boy; which is a nice change. The entire concept feels somewhat done before, but towards the end of the book, I could see some uniqueness shining out from the pages - you don't even understand how thrilled I was about that. Which makes me excited to read Shadow of the Mark. Now that we've gotten over the typical teenage-forbidden-love junk, maybe we can move onto more action scenes and learning more secrets about the Order. I definitely hope so!

So what did I like about Carrier of the Mark? Quite a few things! The main one is just how much fun it is. This is a light paranormal/supernatural read that can suck you in so easily. I had no trouble falling into this book, just because it's so light and fun to read! That ending definitely made up for the forbidden-love drama and whatnot - fast-paced, intriguing, and un-put-down-able, Carrier of the Mark is a promising start to a shocking and wonderful series. 

Overall, I did have troubles with Carrier of the Mark, but not too many to make me not want to pick up the sequel. Need a fun supernatural read for summer? This is the book for you!

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