I loved this Romancing the Stone/Indiana Jones adventure of a love story. The jungle setting was the perfect backdrop for the steamy scenes between Ford and Corrie that turned their search for a lost ancestor into a found romance. I enjoyed the action and suspense of a possible thief in their midst and the descriptions of the protocol involved in an archeological dig. This is the unique read I was looking for and I happily lost myself in the Mexican jungle for a bit. I listened to the audiobook and Frankie Corzo did an excellent job with the narration.

I loved the concept of this and the thrill of it. I just didn’t really grow to love Ford. This is a rare case where I almost wish that it had just been single POV. Ford’s inner monologue just felt so “woe is me” when this white man took away opportunities for a Latinx woman. I just couldn’t get behind him being like “it wasn’t my fault” and I just didn’t buy it. Corrie deserved so much better honestly

Are you a fan of archeology and characters like Indiana Jones or Laura Croft? Well then dig in for a fun rom com in the form of an action adventure as this is surely the entertaining treat that you have been looking for. I love how strong, intelligent and brave Corrie, the female lead is, while also being a total bombshell. I also felt the book realistically portrayed how an intelligent woman who is also attractive has to fight even harder to be taken seriously. Ford, the male lead, of course has everything easy since he is both intelligent and attractive, but he has some serious groveling to do to make up for his past actions. Unfortunately for Corrie, or maybe fortunately....you'll have to read and decide for yourself, they have to team up to complete the work on Ford's latest dig site. The banter is witty and entertaining, the spicey tension level is off the charts hot and the mystery wrapped in adventure is beyond fun and entertaining. I could totally see this becoming a series where we follow Corrie and Ford on adventures in the future!

This was such a cute rivals-to-lovers! It didn’t go at all the way I expected it to, which was a nice surprise. It was cute, touched on real, relatable emotions, and overall was just a really fun read.

What a fun book with a clever title!

What I liked:
*the steamy scenes
*unique characters (archeologists)
*Enemies to lovers

Recommended people who enjoy:
*Steamy romcoms
*Indiana Jones
*Romancing the Store
*any adventure/romance movie

✨ Review ✨ Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura

Want to warm up in the middle of the cold winter ahead -- check this book out!

✅ Nerdy archaeologists
✅ Steamy jungle + a one tent moment
✅ Adventures in the field

This book delivered a whole bunch of fun as Corrie ends up on a dig with her grad school nemesis Ford Matthews (yes, named after Harrison Ford), searching for the ruins of her ancestor, an Aztec Warrior. Set in the remote jungle outside Oaxaca, Ford and Corrie both need to swallow their pride to work toward their goals.

I was a little worried about how the book would handle ethical issues around archaelogy, especially with a white man and archaeology for profit, and ultimately, I think the book grappled with these issues well enough for a light romance. I also appreciated the ways that the book considered issues in academia around gender and race and power. With all that said, it definitely took a bit of suspending disbelief around archaeological processes (as the author notes at the end -- to avoid the tedium of the process) and in academia itself, but overall, I found this to be a fun, nerdy romance/adventure.

I've been OBSESSED with this incredible cover since I first saw it, and I'm delighted that Berkley shared a copy of it with me (thanks Berkley!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 stars)
Genre: F/M contemporary romance
Setting: Mexican jungle archaeology dig
Reminds me of: Ali Hazelwood's books
Pub Date: December 5, 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ archaeology & nerdy adventures
⭕️ grad school rivalries
⭕️ enemies(ish) to lovers with all the accompanying sassiness

Fun, quick read. Less adventurous than I expected but entertaining nonetheless. The plot lulled a few times and while I agree with the concerns re: ethics of archeology but, frankly, it's a romance and I don't think it's necessarily fair to expect a lighthearted romp to adequately deal with such a nuanced subject. Solid debut novel and one I will likely recommend.

Opposites attract when two rival archaeologists find love in the jungle in Jo Segura’s debut, Raiders of the Lost Heart. Dr. Corrie Mejía is the leading expert on—and supposed descendant of—the Aztec warrior Chimalli, so naturally she would be the person picked to lead an expedition to find his final resting place along with the famed ceremonial knife from his legend, right? Unfortunately for Corrie, the answer to that question is “no”.

When she gets tapped to join the dig, she jumps at the chance, even knowing little to no details. Upon stepping out of the airport in Mexico, though, she discovers the major catch to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: she’ll be working alongside longtime rival Dr. Ford Matthews, and Ford is in charge of the expedition. That’s right: Ford is her boss.

But tempers and temperatures aren’t the only things getting hot in this jungle. There was this missed moment in their past, you see, and despite Corrie’s disdain for Ford and his privilege and machinations, she can’t quite deny the sparks between them.

There’s innuendo, outright discussion, and banter. There are sexy times both inside and outside the tent. Corrie has been cast as a sex symbol in the world of archaeology, but instead of shying away from that characterization, she has chosen to own her sexuality. We love to see a strong female lead.

This book was utterly consumable—I read it in less than two days—but at the same time, it didn’t quite strike the perfect balance for me.

On the one hand, it’s a hot adventure romp. On the other, it covers heavier topics: the patriarchy, privilege, inequality, assumptions based on race and gender, academic politics, complicated grief, taking care of aging parents, artifact smuggling and the ongoing discussion of who has a right to artifacts and where they belong. And, by all means, all of those things can be included in the same book; the execution just wasn’t seamless to me here.

That said, I am glad that I picked this one up, and I look forward to reading what Segura writes next.

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley and NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All review opinions are my own.

This is a well written, fun romance with a fascinating setting. I’ve never read a romance set on an archeological dig before!
Dr. Corrie Mejia is an archaeologist who’s done extensive research on the life of Chimalli, an ancient Aztec warrior to whom she might be related, she’s the expert.
Dr. Ford Matthews is the archeologist who managed to get funding to search for Chimalli, but he’s not having any success. He needs to call in Corrie for her help, as much as that galls him for several reasons.

Ford and Corrie have always been attracted to each other and have a little bit of romantic history but out in the Mexican jungle they take their relationship to new levels. Unfortunately, Ford’s expedition financier isn’t who he seems to be and threatens both the dig and Ford and Corrie’s relationship. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I listened to this spicy enemies to lovers rom com with a Latinx main character.

The book is told in two points of view: Dr. Corrie Mejía and Dr. Ford Matthews. These two were rival classmates in their PhD program and it has carried over in their professional career as archeologists.

But Ford needs Corrie find the remains of an Aztec warrior and Corrie can’t give up a chance of being part of a find of this magnitude.

I enjoyed the banter between these two characters. Also, being a HUGE fan of movies like “Romancing the Stone” and “National Treasure” I couldn’t help but love the plot of this book.

I’m hoping that Bad A$$ Mejía and Weaksauce Matthews appears in other adventures!!

🩷 Raiders of the Lost Heart 🩷

Oh my goodness, I am unwell after reading this book! The banter! The dirty jokes! The spice! The adventure! So. Much. Fun.

Corrie is star archeologist adventure woman who dreams of uncovering the final resting place of Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. She is mysteriously swept away to join the dig of her career, only to find she’s been invited by her arch nemesis, Ford. Despite their competitive history, the tension between them overheats the sweltering Mexican jungle. As they put their past aside to work together on their common goal, their chemistry becomes unavoidable and they unearth a partnership of equals.

Y’all this one was just it. So fun, so hilarious, with great mystery and adventure. Don’t sleep on it - you’re going to love it.

Check it out if you’re looking for:
🩷 Adventure romance
🩷 Enemies/rivals to lovers
🩷 Forced proximity
🩷 Dirty jokes

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for this ARC! Raiders of the Lost Heart is on shelves December 5, 2023. My opinions are my own.

Dr. Ford convinces Dr. Corrie to join his team deep in the jungles of Mexico searching for the lost site of Chimalli. Corrie agrees, but brings past feelings along with her archaeological skills. As the dig comes to an end, the truth comes out and Ford must deal with the consequences of his choices. The dig, illegal, the weapon, still sharp, and the romance, spicy. A page turner, Segura created a beautiful story within the pages of this book and allowed readers to join her on a fantastic adventure!

I always loved Indiana Jones so of course I was excited about the idea of a rom-com based on two archeologists who couldn’t stand each other or their mutual attraction. Overall I think the story moved too slowly for me. In the beginning and then wa y too fast in the end. Rom-coms always have that moment where one party’s mistake catches up and the relationship seems doomed and I thought this couple got through that way too easily and it didn’t really seem realistic or work for me. I liked the side characters although I found both of the main characters to be a bit annoying. Ford and Corrie have history - for a moment while they were in school together they almost kissed but soon after Ford took everything from Corrie. It’s been years now and she is a professor finding the career to not be what she expected when she gets a mysterious offer to join a dig site for a historical figure she has spent her whole career researching. When she arrives she finds the lead archeologist is non-other than her nemesis Ford. Of course attraction and drama and steaminess follows. This book wasn’t bad and it was a fun adventure.

3.5 stars - There's a lot in here that worked for me in terms of tropes (actual hate to love due to a history of professional rivalry) and set up. Lara Croft and Indiana Jones go on an adventure & fall in love? Sold! I did think this was kind of uneven in its execution, which kept me from fully getting into the flow, and I think some of the underlying issues (e.g. the ethics of archaeology by Americans in Mexico, the dynamics of the hero's privilege relative to the heroine by virtue of gender & ethnicity) were kind of brought up but not fully resolved.
Still I love an adventure romance and I want more books like this out there

I picked this one up because of the archaeology angle, but there was very little mentioned about the actual dig (which is a seriously unsexy thing, I once had brown tears from dirt in my tear ducts). The book was fine. The story seemed a bit rushed in some parts and there is no way they wouldn't be heard in the tent. Also, any archaeologist knows who to steer clear of in the field...so it just didn't ring at all true.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

Real talk I was nervous going into this book because I'm not a huge action packed girly. Raiders of the Lost Heart was perfectly balanced between archaeology and romance. I was definitely wrong in thinking this was going to be for me. I loved it.

I love enemies/rivals to lover and the chemistry between these two is amazing. It's clear very early on that even though Corrie "hates" Ford that the line between love/hate is very thin. The banter between the two is so funny and I loved that Corrie is a woman in STEM and is not ashamed to talk about dildos/sex or anything else. She radiates confidence even when she thinks she's not.

This cover just screams ADVENTURE, but yet I struggled to find it in the actual plot. The pacing felt slow and most of the issues between the main characters are due to lack of communication. I also struggled to connect with the characters because I didn't realize that this book was told in third person. I recognize this is Jo Segura's first book so I will still give another one of their books a try in the future.

Has there ever been a more perfect romance for me???? I don't think so! An archaeology romance? Sign me up!

In college, I decided to minor in anthropology, at first, as a means of deepening my language and linguistics studies. Then, I fell in love with every archaeology class I took. And I didn't get to take nearly enough of them. I never got to go on a dig, but it's like a secret dream of mine.

Okay, back to the book - who doesn't want to end up on a dig with the hottie that you wanted to hook up with 8 years ago, but then he ends up with someone else, but you get there and realize you might still have something for him?!?! Well, that's what's in store for Corrie and Ford. This book is steamy, sweet, emotional, and has a little intrigue and drama in there. I thoroughly enjoyed it.


Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC copy, all thoughts are my own.

“If it’s too good to be true, there’s a catch.”

After a couple of hundred books read this year I can say without a doubt I’ve found one of my top two reads with Jo Segura’s debut novel. A bit campy, alot sexy, with more than one unexpected twist thrown in....think what if Indiana Jones and Laura Croft had a Latino bouncing baby girl that grew up totally...you get the idea! The only thing that could make this better would be if we could get the further adventures of Corrie and Ford.

Set in the Mexican jungle on a secret archeological dig, this adventure romance features Dr. Corrie Mejía, a brilliant and spunky archeologist who is thrilled to finally be on a dig searching for the lost remains of her Aztec warrior ancestor Chimalli--but she's less than pleased to find out the lead archeologist is none other than Dr. Ford Matthews, a former grad school rival she can't stand. Ford (named after Harrison Ford of Indiana Jones fame) has his own motivations for being on the dig, and before long, things start to heat up between the two.

Adventure romance isn't what I usually gravitate towards, but this was a fun read that really leaned into the Indiana Jones/Laura Croft references and didn't take itself too seriously. That being said, since Corrie is a woman of Mexican heritage and Ford is a white man who doesn't always recognize his privilege, the book does bring up relevant and realistic themes of power and respect, which added a bit of depth to the story. I felt like the pacing was a bit off--the first half was fine, but things really sped up towards the end and the conclusion felt rushed. There was also a gratuitous amount of sex, especially for being set in the middle of the jungle, with the heat and humidity and limited shower access. I feel like those scenes could have been cut down a bit and a little more focus added on Corrie and Ford's emotional connection, which felt a little underdeveloped to me. Some of the writing and dialogue felt a bit corny at times as well.

Overall, though, it was a fun romp and the epilogue sets this up to be a series, so I'll be interested to see what's next from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.