REVIEW: CARRIER OF THE MARK

Carrier of the Mark
Author: Leigh Fallon
Series: Yes, #1
UK Publisher: HarperCollins
UK Release date: October 2011
Genre: Paranormal YA
Kindly given by the publisher for an honest review

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. (Goodreads)

Review: As soon as I started reading Carrier of the Mark, I felt like I was reading Twilight again. The similarities felt quite striking, from Megan moving to a new town with her father, the mysterious DeRis family that no-one ever mixes with, and the gorgeously handsome Adam that blatantly ignores Megan before admitting he can’t stay away from her. It’s not that I mind the similarities too much, but it made the story feel familiar without inspiring a feeling of excitement in me that something unique and different was going on. However the setting for the story was Ireland, and I haven't read any books that are set there so I was pleased to read about somewhere new and different.

The 'science' behind the carrier genes and royal blood was rather confusing but interesting. I'm not sure I understand why Megan is so special in terms of being a girl with the mark but I did like the elemental aspect, where Megan, Adam, Aine and Rian are gifted with the power to manipulate earth, air, fire or water. Aine’s ability to make plants instantly grow and to communicate with animals was really cool. If I could get my garden to grow beautifully whilst chatting with a raven, I would be very happy indeed.

I really wanted to enjoy Carrier of the Mark but being presented with another male love interest like Adam, who was obviously very handsome and swoon worthy but with little substance to him was a tad frustrating. I could describe very little about Adam except for the fact that he’s gorgeous, he likes Megan and seems nice enough. For me, this just wasn’t enough to feel like I knew him and really could get behind him as a character. The good bit though was that with Megan being up the fourth element, they were not only uncertain whether elemental powers were causing their attraction but they were also forbidden by the Order from being together. This added more depth to their relationship, testing their feelings for each other and causing some emotional tension and turmoil.

Fast paced but familiar, Carrier of the Mark has left a lot open for the next books to continue, and there is bags of potential for the story and characters to develop further. We can only hope that Leigh Fallon rises to the challenge!

Rating: 3.5*