Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Firstly I would like to congratulate Leigh on her debut novel. I was pointed in the direction of Leigh by a very close friend of mine and was pretty lucky to win a copy of an ARC, but sadly my wait for the installment will be a couple of months longer.

The story follows Megan on her move to Kinsale, Ireland for her father's new job at the mariana. Leigh has an interesting way in introducing the characters, from shy Caitlin to high maintenance Jennifer and one of the most alluring introductions was that of Adam. He had my heart racing along with Meagan's :)

I couldn't put CARRIER OF THE MARK down and over the last week it has helped me escape a very hard time in my life and the humor that Leigh expresses through Megan had my laughing to myself that the rest of the family walked into my room to make sure that everything was alright.

The weirdest thing for me is that I'm from South Africa so some of the Irish twang was pretty self explanatory but others I looked at the page and was like what is going here? Megan being from the States had the same reaction and it was interesting to see her adapt to a new country where they have their own way of speaking and it never seemed to amaze her the speed with which her friends spoke.

From the beginning of the CARRIER OF THE MARK, Leigh describes Kinsale with such love and devotion that I couldn't help falling in love with this beautiful town in Ireland. Megan is also drawn to the beauty and it becomes evident when she describes her new home and the view she has from her bedroom.
Just a side thought, I plan on going to Kinsale and experience its beauty for myself :)
Megan does not only fall in love with this stunning little town but with a certain boy as well as 90% of the female population at their school. The DeRis family has a mystery about them that Megan is trying to figure about and later in the book she meets a crossroads about her relationship with Adam but that is one of the climax moments that Leigh builds up to and that is one surprise I will not share because it leaves a million questions running through your head.

Upon first appearance of Adam, I got the feeling that he was an introvert but as they say looks can be very deceiving. He is such a compassionate person and it pulled on my heart strings to see his devotion to Megan and to risk his future for the sake of her and his family. Aine is a unique character and she does the weirdest things that left my laughing so hard that I had tears running down my face. The DeRis family has a very special place in my heart because what a man will only do for the woman that he loves.

Leigh has an air about her writing and I love how the adjectives are immensely descriptive that it helps your imagination to paint such a colourful picture that should in the future CARRIER OF THE MARK be made into a movie I'm not sure if it will be as colourful as the movie I had running through my head. As I said earlier the book is a page a turner and the moment you reach the final words in the book it just doesn't seem possible that such an amazing book is finished.

I'm looking forward to DAWN OF THE KNIGHTS the next installment in the trilogy. I'm marking the days off on my calender :)

Congrats again Leigh and may your debut book have all the success in the world :)

Happy Reading :)

Gillian
xxx