Review: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Title: Carrier of the Mark

Author: Leigh Fallon

Genre: Fiction/ Romance

Publication: October 2011 by HarperTeen

Rating: 3.5/5

First of all, lets just get this clear from the get-go, Carrier of the Mark has a lot of similarities to… takers anyone?

Yepp, you guessed it- Twilight.

From the beginning, I started notices little similarities between the books and they appear all throughout the novel. Although I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT STAND WHEN AUTHORS DO THIS, I’m not going to dwell too much on that fact. Mainly because I really liked the plot, and I love Ireland.

Megan, the main character, has moved around all of her life. Her mother died in a tragic accident, and her life has been on the go ever since. Her dad, Caleb, lands a job in Ireland, and they’re off again.

At Megan’s new school, she meets people right off the bat who she becomes friends with. Caitlin soon becomes her new best friend, and I have a like/dislike relationship with the girl. She seemed sweet and innocent even, but I just didn’t really click with the character.  

Now insert Adam DeRis. Adam is probably like every other YA male lead. Gorgeous: bad boy style. The only difference being that in this novel, he is an outcast. Like the rest of his family. Like in Twilight. Okay nevermind. I honestly just really love his name.  Like I really want to name my kid that one day. DeRis. I don’t really even know how to pronounce it. Hmm.

Anyways, Adam and Megan play touch and go in their relationship for the first few chapters, and then it is all, oh I can’t stop thinking about you, oh you amaze me, oh I love you, oh I love you too. I thought their romance spiraled together just a little bit too fast. The only redeeming factor in this aspect was some of the paranormal details; I’m not going to spoil anything, but they have an uncontrollable attraction.  Groovy, huh.

Swirling around the little town in Ireland are rumors of Adam’s family. They are said to be witches, and the townsfolk certainly come up with interesting stories to try and demonstrate that. Through unanticipated circumstances, Megan learns the truth about Adam’s family and finds out that she might have more in common with them than she originally thought.  

Of course there is a little fight scene at the end, and someone has to end up in the hospital; it ended generally the way I was expecting. The ‘we haven’t figured out the bigger picture yet, but for now we’re going pretend everything is alright’ kind of thing.

The paranormal plot that the author spins was really interesting. It has certainly been used before, but so has everything basically. The author does a great job of keeping the story going. Even though the novel holds so many similarities to Twilight, it is still an interesting read that holds your attention through the whole novel.

In conclusion, Carrier of the Mark is a good book. Sure, it has its drawbacks, but for the most, I believe the pros outweigh the cons. Even though I definitely rolled my eyes at some parts, it kept my attention the whole way through. If I’m browsing through the bookstore and see the sequel out, I’ll probably check it out and see what else happens between the magical and mysterious couple.