The Covered Deep

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The Covered Deep
Brandy Vallance
Worthy Publishing

Bianca Marshal is holding out for the perfect husband. Finding a man that meets the requirements of her must-have list in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains has proven impossible. Bianca s mama insists that there s no such thing as a perfect true love, and that Bianca s ideal man is pure fiction. On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Bianca discovers a devastating statistic: her chance of marrying is now only eighteen percent. Unwilling to accept spinsterhood, Bianca enters an essay contest that propels her into a whirlwind search for her soulmate. Via the opulence of London and the mysteries of the Holy Land, Bianca's true love will be revealed, but not without a heavy price.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of The Covered Deep: there was something about it that seemed almost too modern, too far-fetched…and yet historical all the same. The atmosphere of the story, for lack of a better word, just didn’t seem to flow right for me. But after the first three chapters I decided to completely ignore it and throw myself into the plot for better or for worse.

I still had mixed feelings about it; one minute I’d think, “hey, I really like this book” and the next “okay, not a fan.” Part of me thinks that perhaps it was because I wavered between liking and disliking so many of the characters. Bianca drove me crazy so many times- especially in her relationship with her love interest, Paul. What he had done was horrible, but it was before he became a Christian, so I just couldn’t understand why she had such a hard time forgiving him. And every time he decided to tell her something about his past, they’d go through the same routine: she’d tell him that it didn’t matter what he’d done, she’d forgive him anyway…and then he’d tell her and she’d freak out and say the nastiest things! I suppose the author was portraying how people really act, warts and all, but still…I found it really hard to like Bianca in those moments.

I really, really wanted to like Paul. Oh, how I did! I mean, his obsession with history and artifacts? That’s right up my alley. But something kept me from really falling in love with his character- actually, out of everyone, I probably was intrigued with the character of Sir Adrian the most. *SPOILER ALERT* Poor scheming, manipulative Sir Adrian…yeah. I’m just weird, I guess. I was somewhat disappointed with the direction his story took, and I wish it had been a little better concluded *END OF SPOILER*

In conclusion? This is one of those books where I come into the story knowing nothing about the author or story, except for a short, somewhat vague synopsis. I was unsure whether I was going to like it, and in all honesty, I’m still a little unsure what exactly I think of it now that I have read it. It was an original plot but at times only passably executed, and small sparkles of witty, clever dialogue made me hunger for a more polished, snappy work that the novel came close to at times but never quite accomplished. I feel this new author has promise, but The Covered Deep didn’t quite hit the mark with me. (Due to some mature themes, I’d recommend this for 15 or 16+)

Rating: 7


I received this book for free from netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

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