Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1)

Carrier of The Mark could have been so much better if there was:
-NO INSTA-LOVE. It's always kind of difficult to tell how much time is moving by in a book, but I'm pretty confident that the main characters, Megan and Adam, weren't together for more than a month, and by the end they were already saying those three overused words.
-A BETTER DESCRIPTION OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING. The plot line is spur complicated once the two lovebirds are looking away from each other for longer than a second. I'm STILL confused as to what I just read and why exactly there is a forbidden love component at all.
-BETTER CHARACTERIZATION. All of the characters either are so wrapped up in their love interest to be of any use to the plot, have no real personality, or really have no use to the plot at all.

And why does this sound like a repeat of Twilight?

Glad it's over.

I think I've read this book before, though it was under a different name and instead of people who possessed the powers of the four elements, they were vegetarian vampires...

The first half of this book is pretty much exactly the same as Twilight. Megan has just moved to a new town, and is left speechless after first laying eyes on Adam DeRis. He, continuing in the Twilight theme, is arrogant and standoffish, sticking to his siblings while at school, and of course, is devastatingly handsome. The only difference is that he also seems flustered by Megan's presence, running into a door frame on his way out of class after catching her eye. His family has a notorious history within town, and the weird things that seem to happen when they're around do nothing to dispel the rumours.

After being in town a couple week, Megan has a boating accident and Adam is able to jump in and save her life, much like when Edward saved Bella from being crushed by a car. As in Twilight where Edward accompanies Bella to the hospital, and waits to speak with her once she is released, Adam is waiting for Megan when she emerges from her room.

Later, on her way to a Halloween party, Megan is harassed by two drunk guys from her school. Before anything can really happen, a gust of wind picks up the two boys and throws them away from Megan. All of a sudden, Adam is there asking if she is ok. Sounds an awful lot like when Bella was saved by Edward from a group of men with sinister intentions. When they do make it to the party, Adam tells Megan that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since the moment he first laid eyes on her. He tells her that he was warned to stay away from her, but that he isn't strong enough (an exact quote from Edward, if memory serves) and that he feels like their destinies are inexplicably linked.

And the last thing I will point out is that like in Twilight, where Alice warms to Bella while Rosalie gives her the cold shoulder, in Carrier of the Mark, Adam's twin Aine warms to Megan while his older brother Rian is quite upset with her presence.

The explanation of the Order and the history of the Mark, while interesting in concept, was laid out in one info-dumped chapter. I had to re-read it a few times, and I still don't think I fully understand the mythology. Maybe if it had been shown instead of told to me I would have made more sense of it. This left absolutely no no room for suspense, as the most important details were given in one long-winded speech from Fionn. Any remaining details that surfaced seemed to be a weak attempt at causing conflict, so we wouldn't get bored.

One of these conflicts was the Order's complete rejection of Megan and Adam's relationship, as it had "apocalyptic" consequences. Unfortunately, I could care less about whether or not Adam and Megan are able to be together, as there was absolutely NO development of their love story. Their elements spoke to each other, and therefore they were destined. Shortly before the Order's condemnation of their relationship, Megan mentions that they had only been dating for two weeks and that she barely knew Adam. But then when faced with the possibility of separation from him, she exclaims:

There has to be a way I can keep the element and you too. How can I separate the two things that make me feel whole?
And a couple pages later...

Everything else paled in significance. I could not live without him. As much as it upset me to hurt the others, it was nothing compared to the stabbing pain I felt when I thought of being parted from him.

Ugh. You know someone for two weeks and all of a sudden you can't live without them? Give me a break.

I don't even understand how this got published. I haven't read Twilight in years and I still managed to pick up on way too many similarities for it to be mere coincidence.

On a side note, how many times does it have to be mentioned that she was putting on her red converses?

I have been itching to read Carrier of the Mark from newcomer Leigh Fallon for months now. I finally broke down and bought it the other day. Please don’t tell anyone I’m buying books again, my restriction has not officially been lifted. I stumbled across Miss Leigh via Twitter and then heard all the hub-bub with her break through Inkpop. The publisher had the first several chapters posted online as a free read, but that was not enough. I had to see more.

Megan and her dad move Ireland where he got a job of a lifetime sort of offer. After Megan’s mom died they moved often when her dad started to get the itch. Now Megan finds herself in yet another new school, new town, and new friends to be made. She catches on quickly, but also finds the local boys to be rather captivating. Well, one in particular really; the mysterious Adam.

The small town of Kinsale is full of crazy stories about Adam and his family, but Megan has a hard time putting them aside as just stories. Too many strange things happen when she is around Adam and his sister, Áine. The animals react to Áine and water has a mind of its own around Adam. Before long Megan is drawn into the mysterious Adam and learns the truth about his family’s mystery. Not only that, but she is an important part of it! Megan not only holds the Mark and is the forth element to join the DeRís family, but she is also a Carrier.

Miss Leigh shows us a world of elemental magic ingrained in a Royal bloodline dating centuries. Those of the bloodline evoke their element early in life, but there are the chosen few who are led to their destiny. When the four elements are brought together, which has not happened in eons, the group becomes very powerful. Too powerful some would say.

The Druid Order may not be trustworthy, the Fifth Prophecy looms over Megan’s head, members of the elusive hitmen squad called the Knox are closing in, and Megan is being pressured to evoke her element Air before the solstice. Unfortunately if she evokes she can very well lose Adam. And that is downright unacceptable! Adam frantically tries to find and answer in the Druid Scribes while Megan fights to control her element as it burns to break free.

Carrier of the Mark was a wonderful read and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for Megan and Adam! The book was fast paced and I really did not get bored at all. There was a sort of rush feeling to some of it and I would have liked more detail in the story at times, but that’s me. Sometimes it just felt like Miss Leigh was trying to get so much into the story but not exceed a certain length.

The characters were wonderfully done and enjoyable. Megan is a sweetheart and Adam is total hotness incarnate. The connection between Megan and Adam seemed to get a little too intense too quickly though, but that could be because of the elemental mojo they have going on. I am certainly interested to see where it goes in future books...there will be future books right? Please?

Carrier of the Mark was not too much on the romance, which is nice sometimes. The romance was more sweet feeling to me than sexy hotness. Sometimes a girl wants a good cuddle… Don't get me wrong, I would totally love to be the recipient of some of those Adam kisses and caresses, but it was not overly done and very tasteful for a younger audience.

First Impressions: I was initially interested in this book from the first time I seen the awesome cover art on Goodreads. Yep, I’m a total sucker for great covers and this one drew me right in. I also thought it was fascinating that the author and this book were “found” by an editor on inkpop.com. What an amazing way to be discovered! That had to be a dream come true!

First 50 Pages: It is always interesting when the setting of a book takes place in somewhere other than the United States. It is really unique that this particular story takes place in Ireland and it made it that much more interesting to read. The first 50 pages made me want to hop on a plane and fly to Ireland. The author does a fabulous job at setting up her scenes and making the reader feel like they are inside of her story. She obviously did her research with this book. I did have a semi-difficult time with all of the Irish names and lingo since I’m not familiar with it. It wasn’t that big of a deal that it bothered me though.

Characters and Plot Points: I was completely in love with the book until I reached the point in the story where the main character, Megan, learns about her special abilities. When the DeRis’ family is trying to explain everything to Megan, specifically about themselves and the Royal Blood line and how Megan was tied to that, I had to re-read that bit multiple times before I fully understood it. Even then, I still felt it was too complicated and could have been done better. I’m still not sure that I fully understand it one hundred percent.

The romance between Megan and Adam is pretty fast and slightly idealistic, a bit too much for my liking, even though there is a possible reason as to why they were instantly drawn to one another. Although, I have to admit I was rooting for them to get together from the very beginning.

Final Thoughts: This book is the first one in the Carrier series and I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen next. It does have its flaws but nothing major that would make me not want to read the next addition. For anyone who enjoys unique setting coupled with the paranormal, I would recommend giving this book a try!

I didn't get a chance to read Carrier back when it was still on Inkpop, so I can't tell you how different it is from what it used to be. I can tell you that Meghan was a great character - a little unbelievable at times, but realistic when it counted. It was easy to read her narration. The one thing I didn't like is that in the beginning, she gave up too easily after she saw Adam and his sister do some strange things. Sure, she still wondered about them, but she didn't really do much to try to figure it out, she didn't speculate about what it could have been.


I'm not sure how I felt about Adam. There were times when I absolutely loved him, and then there were times when he just felt . . . blah to me. Easily forgettable.

Adam's family was awesome, though. I loved how they each had their own history that we got to learn about. I feel like we might have met them a little too early, though.

And this is where I have something to seriously complain about - the speed of Adam and Meghan's relationship. They've barely said ten words to each other and then suddenly they're claiming they can't stop thinking about each other and kissing. I was like . . . come on. Meghan knows absolutely nothing about Adam, other than his name and who his family is and where he works. That's pretty much it. I don't care if he's pretty. You don't just suddenly start making out with each other. And then the next day she's going to his house. I don't know about you, but that screams. "CREEPY" to me.

I don't understand why everyone has to be "meant" for each other, "drawn" to each other by forces unseen. WHAT'S WRONG WITH PLAIN OLD FALLING IN LOVE, HUH?

There were some other parts in the beginning that seemed a bit rushed, too. You'd be reading a chapter, and then suddenly the next chapter is talking about how it's a month later, and I'm wondering what the hell happened.


It got better once you got farther along, though I wish there had been some more descriptions of things. I want to know what things look like, what the people look like. There was so much dialogue and the descriptions of what was happening through Meghan's eyes that i have no idea what anything looked like.


Overall: I probably made it sound way worse than it is. The plot of this book was awesome and original, and there were times when Adam was downright adorable that I loved him as much as Meghan. Adam's family and their interactions with Meghan had me laughing sometimes, angry others. Carrier of the Mark brought out some emotions from me, and I'll definitely be waiting for the next book. But there's still that problem - the romance just wasn't believable, and that was such a huge aspect of this book. 3 stars.