Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

Raiders of the Lost Heart is an entertaining and fun adventure romance. It follows rival archeologists, Corrie and Ford, as they attempt to find the long-lost remains of an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. Corrie and Ford find they still have chemistry as they battle artifact smugglers, the Mexican authorities, and the lies they are telling each other.

This one was very fun and different from the typical romcom. I loved the adventure aspect and the Mummy vibes. The archeology aspect was very interesting and it had the enemies to lovers banter that I require. I can’t wait to see what Segura writes next.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love sleep. I do not sacrifice it lightly, but I literally stayed up until 3am despite having COVID and the impending doom of my children waking up at 6:30 because I needed them to hate f*ck.

I think it's important to remember that this is a romance book 1st and foremost. It happens to take place on an archaeological dig site, but it is not a thriller or an action book. The banter and tension was PERFECT. I was kind of hoping for some epic booby trapped maze or puzzle that they would have to get through to find hidden treasure, but that wasn't the vibe. Ultimately, it was a hella fun, angsty, perfectly executed rivals to lovers romance.

Thank you @berkleyromance for the gifted ARC. My thoughts and opinions on my own

This one was aiming at "fun" but didn't quite get there for us. We wanted it to be either MORE bananas in the Indiana Jones/The Mummy style: curses, artifacts that melt your eyes, scarabs that come alive... or more realistic. As it is, the book focuses a lot on academic rivalry that ends up focusing on the reality that Ford has benefited from a lot of privilege as a white man that he hasn't acknowledged or pushed back on, and that Corrie, as a latina and a woman, has been struggling with for her entire career. Obviously this is an important theme, but we're not sure a book of OTT opposites attract (she's the Lara Croft/Indiana Jones "by the seat of her pants" archaeologist while he's a "by the books" kind of guy) is the right place to delve into it.

We want to highlight our favorite parts: really liked that the archaeological dig took place in Mexico! The sex is STEAMY and not just because they're in the jungle. There's an "only one tent" sitch that worked really, really well for us.

On paper, this should have been made for us. In reality, we were left disappointed.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura was a fun, entertaining read. I really enjoyed the Latine representation and that the main character was Mexican. The world definitely needs more romance books with diverse representation. Overall, I enjoyed the story and thought it was well done. It was a little over the top but still very much enjoyable. I will say that I really didn’t like the male love interest so it took away from the romance/chemistry a little. The plot line where he takes away TWO different opportunities from her for his own advantage made it hard to redeem him.

I’m glad to have been given the opportunity to read Raiders of the Lost Heart and I think a lot of people will really enjoy it.

3.5ish stars—maybe 3.75?
The premise and plot of this book are so fun and so strong. The pacing was fast and engaging. However, I wanted more from the writing and characters.
There were several points at which I almost DNFed this book in the first 30%—and I probably would have if not for the fact that it was an ARC and I’ve met the author and she was so nice that I desperately wanted to like this book. Ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t DNF. I had a good time with the latter half of that book, but man was that first 30% rough. The writing was not up to par. It was shallow, and the diologue was especially rough, very unnatural. My main issue, however, was how much I could not stand to be in Ford’s mind. I liked Corrie, but Ford was annoying as hell to read about. He was <i>so whiny</i> and melodramatic, I genuinely could not stand it. He did mellow out as the book went on—or maybe I just got used to him-but I still never really got to the point of actually enjoying his POV.
The book was also extremely instalove-y. Technically, it was more insta-lust, but that’s not a trope that works for me either, especially when there wasn’t much chemistry between the characters early on. They did have a spark later in the book, but that first 1/4 of the book was unconvincing and just cringey.
That said, it was a genuinely fun book. The setting was beautiful and well described, the plot was, as I said, so fun and very unique. The premise and plot really are the main selling points of this book, and they were both well executed. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the archaelogical dig and reading about Corrie and Ford’s explorations.
As the story wears on, we also get more character depth and development, and by the 50-60% mark, my original complaints had faded. The writing still wasn’t to the level I personally wanted it to be, but I was enjoying myself, and I no longer wanted to throw the book against a wall every time the chapters switched to Ford’s POV. The plot twists were predictable, but they were still engaging to read, and I think that’s the most important part.
While this wasn’t my favorite, I did overall enjoy it more than not. I think Jo Segura has a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see what she will do next.

4 romance and allusion stars

It's a spicy romance/adventure story set in the Mexican jungle, and I loved that we have a Latina main character, Corrie, and she’s a great archaeologist! How often does that happen?

Her competition is gorgeous Ford Matthews, named after a famous Hollywood actor who portrayed a handsome archaeologist who we all know and love. This one has so many allusions like that, but they worked for me!

Corrie is the world expert on Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire who is thought to be one of her ancestors. She wrote her dissertation on him and had been hoping to find his last hideaway for years.

She’s stunned when she’s invited to join an expedition that has already been searching for three months. Why wasn’t she invited initially? And will Corrie and Ford continue to compete or work together to find the remains? What about that simmering tension between them?

What will they do to ferret out the thief who is taking their artifacts? And will Ford ever fess up about his motives and why Corrie wasn’t invited at first? Will the discovery bolster their careers or ruin them?

This one almost reads like a sequel as we hear everything about Corrie’s previous archaeological adventures and how she’s compared to Lara Croft. I would read that one, too! I liked this fun read and would definitely read more from this author.

“A vibrator. She’s actually brought a vibrator on an archaeological dig.”

Corrie Mejia has spent a lifetime trying to prove herself as more than just a pretty face. After years of enduring people judging her by her looks, Corrie hoped she would finally gain credibility after earning her doctorate in archaeology. But even with impressive credentials under her belt, she is still encountering her fair share of people caring more about what’s under her clothes instead.

So when an expedition into the Mexican jungle comes her way, she can’t help but to be excited. Not only does this trip offer the promise of the elusive respect she’s craved, it also gives her a chance to unearth the long lost remains of her potential ancestors.

But when she gets on site, she’s taken aback by her first discovery- that the lead of the expedition is none other than Dr. Ford Matthews. Digging into the past reveals a long buried competition between the two explorers, and it seems Ford, who is wrestling with his own set of struggles, feels the same way. As the duo attempts to break bread while also breaking ground, a thief threatens to steal more than just the credit. Can these archaeologists excavate not only professional revelations, but also unexpected unveilings as they pertain to the heart?

Raiders of the Lost Heart is an adventure romance for readers who can recall the days of such classics as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Romancing the Stone. Finding a profession that hasn’t been beaten to death in the romance genre is not easy, but Segura managed to do just that. However, when it came to the romance itself, I found the strategically placed, sexual innuendo a little too obvious in a book that’s all about keeping things hidden. I also felt that the dig itself took a backseat to the cheesy sexual attraction instead of the other way around.

While Raiders of the Lost Heart doesn’t exactly dig deep, if circling the ruins of a relationship while navigating actual ruins is your thing, you might want to explore this action packed romance.

Appreciated the fresh storyline and setting but the plotting and dialogue fell a little flat for me. This would be a great read for someone newer to contemporary romance. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy.

Format - EARC (NetGalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- enemies to lovers, miscommunication, forced proximity, only one tent, he falls first

Representation-

CW- violence and on page stabbing

I feel so lucky to get to ARC for this book, not just because its a Berkley book and they never pick me but because I got to meet this awesome new author at Steamy Lit Con and she was as nice and sweet as could be! Now that I have read this book I can say with honest authority that you need to be on the look out for Jo Segura cause she’s gonna be your new auto buy authors!

If you like Indiana Jones, Laura croft, the Lost City or even Ross from “Friends” then you are gonna love this book! I don’t even particularly like those things (except “The Lost City” that movie is hilarious) and I freaking loved this book!

Two rival Archaeologist’s end up on the same dig, one because it’s her life’s goal to find this particular old thing and the other cause he needs to money. There’s a lot of history between these two and most if it is fraught with misunderstandings and some bad desirous on both their parts and usually I would be all over the miscommunication nonsense of it all but Jo does a really good job making it all pretty understandable.

Corrie is my favorite kind of heroine, she’s kicking ass in a field that is male dominated, is basically and a real life action hero and has special Archaeologist superpowers that make it all possible. Now Ford my be named after Indiana Jones himself but he’s had a lot of luck on his side to get to where he’s at and while plenty smart in his own respect he’s not quite the vine swinging type.

I loved the dynamic between these two there’s so much animosity flaming those electric chemistry sparking between them and it’s awesome and hilarious to read! The spice is hot and plentiful with these two. And we get some interesting locals 😉

I loved this book the history and adventure of it all really is a great escape and Jo did a great job making is all feel like a action movie right up to the end!

Thank you Jo Segura, Berkeley and Netgalley for the advanced copy all opinions are my own!

I tried something new and didn’t love this and that’s okay. I know many people will but this was def not my favorite.

DNF at chapter 10. The male main character is too pretentious and rude. I can’t stand reading about him as for the female main character she’s immature and plain

If you love romance filled with mystery and adventure, read Raiders of the Lost Heart. In addition to a terrific plot, Jo Segura writes characters with sizzling chemistry and top notch banter.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Rival archaeologists Corrie and Ford have competed and bickered since grad school. Except for that one night in the library that they don’t talk about. When Ford is picked for a coveted fellowship after Corrie catches him kissing the professor’s daughter, she’s devastated. Now, years later, she’s invited to join a dig searching for Aztec warrior Chimalli. Chimalli research is Corrie’s life’s work, but when she arrives at the site, Ford is leading the dig. Can they get past their animosity and underlying attraction to find Chimalli’s remains and also outwit an on-site theft trying to upend their research?

This romance is filled with fantastic bickering and banter. It’s immediately clear that Corrie is infuriated by Ford, while he’s gone for her and always has been. Corrie is strong, smart and sassy, and both her and Ford’s professional competence is on display throughout the story.
It’s a treat to read about characters in their 30s who are established in their careers, and are really good at what they do.

Oh, and did I mention that when they initially meet up again, there is only one tent? The sparks fly whenever Corrie and Ford are on page together, and it just reinforces the premise that they can’t stay away from each other.

I had a great time reading Raiders of the Lost Heart. This steamy romantic adventure is tons of fun. I adore the smart characters and their dedication to archeology, and each other. If you are a fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone, you’ll love this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was so much fun! As a fan of Romancing the Stone, this one definitely scratched the adventure romance itch. The tension and banter was top notch, and I loved the unique backdrop of the dig for this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I stayed up way too late finishing this one!

Read if you like:
😡 Enemies to Lovers
🥵 Spice
💋 mutual pining
🦴 Archeology
🛏️ One Bed Trope
🤠 Indiana Jones and Laura Croft

This book was pretty dang fun! I really enjoyed the tropes in the book with the MC’s having known each other and having been interested in each other then turning to enemies and then being brought together years later.

I really liked the forced proximity and one bed tropes with how they were done and found this one to be a fun and spicy read I think a lot of people will enjoy!

Overall, if you like some adventure with your romance and the tropes above, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Thank you Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rival archaeologists have to work together on a secret Aztec expedition all the while dealing with their own complicated history. Archaeologists Dr. Socorror "Corrie" Mejía is a modern day Lara Croft, she's sexy, she's bad ass, and it's been her life's goal to lead an expedition deep into the Mexican jungle in search of the long-lost remains of her ancestor, Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. When she gets invited to an all-expense-paid dig to do that she can't say no... until she gets there and realizes that her boss for the lead is none other than Dr. Ford Matthews, her hot nemesis who she not only wants to sleep with but hates. Ford and Corrie have a complicated history, from the fact that he took her fellowship to the fact that they nearly slept together. Ford needs Corrie for this dig because he's gotten nowhere with it and the investors need to find the artifact, he desperately needs the money from the dig to help pay for his mother's treatment and he knows only Corrie would be able to lead him to the artifacts. Ford and Corrie are constantly arguing yet their romantic feelings are still there, yet Corrie doesn't know all of Ford's secrets... and if she found out what he's been hiding, he might lose her all over again. With money-hungry artifact smugglers, the Mexican authorities, and all of Ford's lies... these two are in for a really complicated journey. This sounded like something I would absolutely adore, academic rivals with sexual tension, archaeologists/ dig adventure, and second chances??? Yet it fell flat for me, I really did not like Corrie or Ford, and honestly nothing about Ford really made me like him by the end. Knowing Ford, he'd be the kind of guy that I'd hold a grudge with after everything he did. Corrie constantly being descried as sexy and not having much of a personality out of that was just sad. I really didn't see the chemistry or romance between Ford and Corrie, and the actual dig adventure wasn't really that fun at all. This one was a big let down for me because I was expecting a fun rivals adventures rom com and what I got just did not live up to that at all. This one just really felt meh for me and despite that, if you like work rivals with a touch of second chance romance, give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I read this book mainly because Segura lives in the area and is having her book launch here on release day, but also because Ali Hazelwood said it was a fun read and overall I think she was right. There's plenty of action, some laughs, some decent steam, and it's something that, book-wise, is fairly fresh. Right off I have to say I appreciated the dual POV, although that's always something that's pretty much always going to appeal to me so take that with a grain of salt. I think the overall idea for the book was also fresh, it's something I don't think I've seen before, and although it's somewhat reminiscent of a handful of movies (Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Lara Croft being the main ones) it does stand on its own two feet well enough that it's not just a rehash of those. The romance was also fairly decent. The steam was nice, and I loved seeing the relationship between our two main characters evolve, my only issue with it is that in the end the f*ck up by one character seems to be forgiven fairly quickly in the end when I'm not sure it should have been. Although I suppose I can kind of see the reason behind it. I honestly thing the biggest issues I had with this book was the ending. It was so packed full of a bunch of things one after the other, and some of them seemed rather far fetched. Sure, the whole book as a whole one could argue is rather far fetched, but the ending really seemed to pile it on. There's also a massive time jump between the last real chapter and the epilogue chapter and I feel like a few things are just glossed over because maybe the author didn't want to have to deal with fixing them with anything more than a hand-wavy "and this happened and then this did". I found myself a little frustrated that our FMC kept having to be saved by our MMC when she was described as this super badass character that did all these wild things and came out unscathed before, but somehow now she was rather helpless? And there were also a few aspects of the characters that seemed to be brought up over and over again to the point of being somewhat irritating (mainly our FMC being very booby and curvy, and her weird laugh that was given its own name), but seeing as it's the author's debut novel I'll let it slide. Overall though, it was a fun debut novel that brings something a little different to the romance genre, and I'll be happy to hand-sell this book to romance fans looking for something with some adventure. I'll also be curious to see what Segura comes up with for her next book, and if she decides to go ahead with a sequel, seeing as there's certainly a thread left open, I wouldn't mind seeing where she takes these characters next.

The synopsis sounded like a lot of fun, yet here I am wondering if 3 stars is too high.

I liked Corrie and Ford. They're both smart, driven, and focused. Together they have a long, tangled history and a ton of potential. There are a good amount of characters here, but we don't get to know too much about any of them, excluding mutual BFF, Ethan.

Plot wise, it was okay. At times it felt disjointed, but I did appreciate that the history and archeological aspects weren't info-dumpy. I didn't see the chemistry between Corrie and Ford, so the romance aspect was a bit lacking; however, the last few chapters really got the tension and momentum going with an ending that was quite satisfying.

Overall, I wanted to love this more than I did, but this could absolutely be a case of me having a book hangover. I will be on the lookout for other works from the author.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

I was immediately sold at archaeologist romance. Add on a love interest *literally* named after Harrison Ford? All of the Indiana Jones references? Discussions of sexism in academia? Y-E-S.

All of the Aztec history was so immersive as we explored the Mexican jungles on the dig. The plot had twists and turns, so much adventure, and STEAM! Between traversing the jungle and each other's bodies, Corrie and Ford certainly go on a journey during this book. I really enjoyed the friends to rivals to lovers plot - their chemistry was just everything. (And the ending??? Pleeeeease say we get book 2, Berkley!)

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

What a fabulous romantic adventure!

Raiders of the Lost Heart is a quest to find long lost treasures, and lost love. Carrie and Ford have a second chance with matters of the heart on a archeological dig site in a remote area of Mexico. Ford is leading a team, when his former love, joins the site. Ford's motivation is hidden from the group as he's copping with his mothers illness and expenses. Carrie is one hell of a badass archeologist with a misunderstood reputation in the field.

I'm here for the following:
Exotic locale
Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers
Witty banter
Chemistry

This was such a fun read with its setting, wonderful characters and romance.

<INSERT INDIANA JONES MUSIC>

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary copy.

I have to admit that I, personally, don't enjoy the "keeping secrets for your own good" trope. It's not my jam, and this book relies heavily on it. If you don't mind that particular convention or if you particularly enjoy it, you will have a much better reading experience than I did. I did enjoy the Latina lead, which I feel like I don't see often enough. I don't enjoy that 2/3 of her personality was about her sexiness. We were reminded about how hot she is and how she's embraced that and is super totally okay with it so much that I'm not sure the author or character actually believed it. Lots of big swings for suspension of disbelief, and I was more taken with the side character romance than the main. All that to say, not bad, but not for me.