Cover Reveal!

Wayyyy back when I first started this blog, I posted a review for a debut author’s novel titled Carrier of the Mark.  That author, Leigh Fallon, has just released the cover for her follow up which is titled Shadow of the Mark.

If you want to check out my review, click HERE.

Release Date: July 9, 2013

Life for Megan Rosenberg just got a lot more complicated.

While she evoked the air element, and her feelings for Adam intensified, a web of lies, deceit, and betrayal was spun around her. With the Order tightening its hold, and the reinstatement of the Mark Knights, Megan has more questions than answers as the Marked Ones grow in strength.

New people arouse suspicion, the DeRises start behaving strangely, and Megan begins to unravel a destiny shrouded in mystery. It’s a destiny the Order has struggled to hide, and a destiny someone from the past… far in the past, has already laid claim to.

Alliances will be made, and friends will be lost, as the Order’s dark secrets are revealed by the very thing they sought to destroy.

Are you excited to read this? I know I am!

Feature and Follow Friday!

Every week Parajunkee and Alison Can Read host a meme to help bring together book bloggers, and feature a different blogger!  Each featured blogger submits a question for all of the participating blogs to answer, and this week’s question is:

Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review?

Answer:  YES!  Before Leigh Fallon’s novel, Carrier of the Mark, came out, negative reviews had been popping up on Goodreads.  Reviewers were comparing the story to Twilight and what not, claiming that Fallon’s novel wasn’t original and was poorly written.  Eventually, I ended up recieving an ARC from Fallon after I had already purchased a copy of the book.  Anyway, instead of reading the novel through the lens of comparison, I reviewed the novel and praised its attributes because I enjoyed it!  (Review HERE).

What book did you buy because of a bad review?

WAIT! While you are here… enter my 100 Follower Giveaway!



Book Review: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction.

Let me preface this by stating that I have read some of the other reviews posted about Carrier of the Mark, and I am disappointed by the constant comparison of Fallon’s novel to that of Meyer’s Twilight Saga. I do understand that there are similar constructs at play–for instance, the idea of a girl and boy drawn inexplicably to one another. However, Fallon’s novel proves in many ways to be stronger and is more original than “Twilight.”

Number One: The Heroine. Megan is used to being a loner since her father continues to move around due to restlessness. This is a clear indication that she has learned to fend for herself in school, friendships, etc. I love her snarky personality, and the fact that she struggles with math. She is not an All-American girl, she has her flaws and embraces her new destiny with hesitant confidence. I believe that the amount of power she exhibits at the end of the novel directly parallels her strength of self.

Number Two: The DeRis Family. Adam and his family are hardly a normal bunch, obviously maintaining the same loner status that Megan has throughout her frequent moves. The power of the elements is such an amazing idea, it makes me wish I had thought of it myself.

Number Three: The Concept. I love that Megan has a clear destiny with the DeRis family, and not a wimpy reason like Bella Swan. Megan completes the prophecy for the elements restoring the natural balance to the Earth. Not only does Fallon create a clear PURPOSE for her heroine’s journey, but she also employs current events with the idea of global warming and the many natural disasters plaguing the world. In addition to this, the life within her story world is air-tight. I could not find any inconsistences within the prophesies or history of the elemental hosts.

Overall, I recommend this book to YA Literature nuts–like myself–and to anyone looking for something supernatural that is unique and completely new.

My Review: 4 Bards.