As a fan of Indiana Jones I was excited for this one but it fell short.

Thank you for the opportunity to review

really enjoyed this book. I found it to be funny at times, the romance was nice and I loved the setting. Further - as someone who dreamed of being an archeologist as a child this was really fun!

I read it within three days. Real page turner! Loved it so much! I got angry at the main characters a few times, but I understand their willings

Someone wrote in their review "if you like the mummy you might like this" and I think that is the best endorsement someone could give to a book.

Though the romance isn't the best I have read, the setting is fun and the characters have just enough chemistry to keep the adjective of 'romance novel'. I was waaaaaay more interested in the action, which was a little disappointing since there are potentially two love interests - bad boy, Patrice and his opposite Dr. Latimer. Given the narrative it seems like she is more a means to an end than an actual potential date.

Still it was fun and the antiques and espionage kept me going until I reached the end. As one of my fellow reviewers said "if you like the mummy, you might like this" and I did...just not as much as I had hoped I would.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

If you loved The Mummy? You might just love this book. With a strong start, Ancient History is a sweet and fun-packed romance novel where the romance is unfortunately, the least exciting part of the story. The story hits the middle of the book and begins to wane, the relationship at the forefront feeling a little thin in places, making the steam seem less authentic. But still a fun romp through Ancient Egyptian artifacts, Paris, and Oxford.

This has been on my NetGalley shelf for over a year, and I still haven’t picked it up. I've tried, but it just isn't for me (right now). I hope other people enjoy it more than I did.

I thought the plotline was cute but unfortunately I really struggled to get through this one, I think it could have used tighter editing and a little more work on fleshing out concepts, characters, and motivations. But the bones of a compelling story were there -- I'd try another from this author in the future!

Romance, mystery and a bit of spice, this is a fun read and a lovely piece of escapism, an enjoyable afternoon’s reading.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

While the premise of this book hooked me and I expected a total five star reminiscent of something from Indiana Jones or National Treasure, the characters didn't really do it for me. The premise was fun in concept, but in execution, it fell a little flat. It was still a fun read, but I found myself putting it down a lot, which is unlike me as a reader.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, and thought maybe some help with the pacing would make it more real. I wanted to connect with the characters, but insta love, unless it is fated mates, is not my jam and turns me off to a book.

This is such a fun read for anyone looking for a good adventure romance. The pace was quick and kept my interest, and makes for a great beach read as Penhaligon describes far off places and fascinating history that will grip any archaeology buff.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat on me.

The premise of this book had me really excited to pick this one up! This book promised romance, Egypt mythology and adventure. But, it just didn’t deliver.

As someone who loves Egyptian mythology and has an interest in archeology, the references made throughout the book just didn’t fit and showed a misunderstanding or lack or knowledge in the field of work. So this aspect was overall disappointing.

The romance was definitely steamy and if you like a book with sex scenes then you might enjoy this? I didn’t find much of an emotional connection or much intimacy between the characters during this scene. Just pure lust and desire.

Ancient History was definitely a disappointing read for me but I would highly recommend this to those out there that like a steamy romance novel!

This book was a fun read! I like the the mystery, history, and the main character. However, I did not like the romance aspect. The men were not suitable for the heroine, and I believe she deserved better. Thus, the ending ruined it for me. Still, I recommend this for fans of Gwendolyn Womack, Anne Fortier, and Elizabeth Peters.

The historical aspects of this book were great, the mystery itself was great.

Watch out for a bit of stereotypical characterisation though which spoiled it a bit.

What can I say. I liked this book. Must read. Do it. If you do anything else. Read this book today. Great read and enjoyable.

My MA degree is in Cultural Heritage and many of our classes studied the repatriation of objects to their origin country. Therefore, I wanted to like this book but found the romance scenes completely ruined the story due to the male characters being so pervy.

This is one of those books that really makes me wish publishers would be more honest about what a book truly is.

Everything this book hints at before you actually read it (the cover, the publishers summary, etc.) suggests this will be a fun, light read, women’s fiction with some humor, a simple mystery, a sweet love story.

In truth? This is a schlocky, badly written romance novel.

The archaeology? Only there as a prompt for a love triangle that is the book’s only real theme. The protagonist-we’re meant to believe- is a “very smart girl,” with her multiple academic achievements and such. But her behavior suggests an unworldly (ironic considering her family’s travel history) naïf at best and a girl who seems far too dim to pursue graduate level education at worst.

And then there’s the ickiest romance plot line of them all: Older, experienced french man sexually grooms inexperienced 24-year-old who is mourning two recently deceased parents. I….this is just…stomach churning. I cannot believe there’s an audience for this type of “older man patronizingly sexually trains a young woman” plot. What decade is this? Who wants this in 2021?

Perhaps Romance readers? Those who like the Fabio cover, bodice-ripper kind? I wouldn’t know. I’m not one of them, and wouldn’t have touched this with a ten foot pole had I known it was this sort of sludge and not a fun piece of women’s fiction, as all previewable content would lead one to believe.

Romance novels are fine as long as they’re classed as such. Between the gross romantic theme in this one (grooming, always a zero out of ten for me) and the badly written plot and dialogue, it was painful to finish this one.

The first thing that I absolutely loved was the detail in the description of the places Athena went to in Oxford and Paris for example, it was really vivid and you could start to picture what was being described. I naturally loved that there was even a little archaeology in it, which is not a common topic in fiction books. It was a very easy read.

This book started off well enough and was interesting. With romance, tragedy, and a little bit of steam, Ancient History was a nice read. There were some plot holes left at the end. I really wanted to like Athena more than I did and the men were a little creepy.

Over-all, a solid 3/5. The story was good and I would recommend it to someone who likes romance and a little bit of mystery/thriller.

**I received an eArc from NetGalley for an honest review.