Recently, I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Carrier of the Mark from Leigh Fallon. Now, I'm delighted to say that I’m in love with the book.

Written by Leigh Fallon, The Carrier of the Mark has a light-hearted writing style that will keep the reader engrossed in the story even as she begins to weave darker elements into the story. You can see her humor mix in with Megan's thoughts as she adjusts to Irish lingo and Irish life in general.

The story follows Megan after she moves to Kinsale, Ireland for her father's new job at a marina. Leigh introduces the characters in a wonderful manner from Megan showing her father how to work the 'wonders of technology' to bumping into Caitlin and catching the deliciously hot Adam staring at her on the first day of school. (Okay, Adam staring comes second, but I'm listing it last to place more emphasis on hot Adam.)

From the first chapters, I fell in love with Kinsale. Leigh does a fabulous job of describing the place while building the tension surrounding Megan's instant chemistry with Adam and the development of the mystery surrounding the DeRís family. Her attraction to Adam is all too understandable because of his looks, but Leigh has another explanation for it, one that I'm going to have to leave out so as not to spoil the surprise.

Adam may appear aloof and unapproachable at first, but the reader will find in him a passionate, charming young man with a level head that will cease to listen to reason should harm threaten to come to those he loves. His sister Áine has a wonderful sense of humor. I'm certain that I had a silly smile on my face during her appearances. And as for the rest of the family, I'm going to leave it with there's a lot more beneath the surface than one would initially think, and I grew to love each member of the family.

Leigh has created another kind of paranormal. It's one that we may have seen in another form, to be fair, but she has made it her own by incorporating a mythology and ancient orders into it. Her use of imagery isn't especially ornate or embellished, but her words are mesmerizing and filled with a simple beauty that captivated me from the beginning, the attraction only continuing to grow as I delved deeper into the magical world of this book.

While her powers excite Megan at first, presenting her the opportunity of growing closer to Adam, they threaten to tear her away from him at the same time. Love is never easy, especially when your partner comes from the same breed as you in The Carrier of the Mark. The battle for love and the protection of order in the world will be a long and heartbreaking journey for Megan, and I will be cheering for Megan and Adam all the way.

For those of you interested, The Carrier of the Mark will be published by Harper Collins this coming October 2011. Thanks, Leigh, for the wonderful read. The Carrier of the Mark touched both my book-loving and my human heart. I will definitely be on the lookout for Dawn of the Knights, the next installment in the trilogy. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to grab an ARC of that story as well!