This is an incredible debut novel! This was the Indiana Jones/romance novel mashup we all needed. I felt like I got to live out my archaeologist childhood dreams through this book without actually having to go be dirty and sweaty in a jungle somewhere. I was kept on my toes much more than I expected with the plot and the twists and turns at the end and the wrap-up were very satisfying. Although I could see the tropes coming a few times, I was absolutely so excited and having the best time anyway. Only one tent due to rafting mishap? Yes, please! Gotta make out against this tree as a decoy? Yes, please! Basically, this book was so much fun, I did not want it to end, and once I finished reading I wished I could go back to the world Segura created many times. All marks of a great book! Loved!

Who could resist that super cute cover and the tale of adventure romance? Not me. I enjoyed this quick, lighthearted read with its two sexy MCs and the promise of hidden treasure. Sometimes you just want to have fun with a book. This one delivered. 3.5⭐️

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley, Shelf Awareness and NetGalley for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This filled my little archaeological heart right up! I have loved the mummy forever, Brandon Fraser was my first crush and this book felt exactly like that.

This is a fun, solid-boned little romp that skimps not a wit of its action for its romance and vice-versa. Raiders of the Lost Heart combines a little dash of Indiana Jones with a big dash of Romancing the Stone and comes up with a brew that’s fast-paced, sexy, funny, and easy to get into. It’s a fun way to warm up those cold winter nights.

Dr. Socorro - Corrie - Mejía is about to finally realize her lifelong dream of leading an archaeological dig in Mexico. She’s hoping to unearth some major new findings regarding her ancestor, Chimalli, purported to be a fearsome Aztec warrior, on whose life and times she is an expert. Chimalli is known for having stolen the tecpatl sacrificial knife of Moctezuma II during the fall of the Aztec empire. But Corrie needs Chimalli’s bones, and getting funding to find them has been a trial. Getting the backing at last is wonderful – until she lands in Mexico and learns that the funding is conditional on her not leading the dig after all.

Dr. Ford (!) Matthews has been Corrie’s rival since graduate school, and the fact that he’s the guy who’s leading this expedition rankles, to say the least. But the dig financers want him in charge, and since his personal life has taken a dive and he’s now single, there’s no reason for him not to go for it.

Corrie and Ford have years of conflicts to work out – but first they’re going to have to battle the elements, a saboteur trying to close down the dig, and a government that’s less than happy about their search into the jungles. With chaos everywhere and a skeleton to be found, can romance bloom – or even survive – when they’re through?

This is a fun, lighthearted romp of a romance between two imperfect people who have to learn how to love each other to achieve their goals. Corrie is a great, ambitious heroine; Ford is cocky, but not appallingly so. The romance is delightful and builds slowly in a way that keeps the reader turning the pages. In the end, it’s a winning combo that leaves everyone wanting more.

The book also happens to be filled to the gills with action, which meshes quite well with its steamy romantic action. If you’re a fan of The Mummy at all, you’re going to love every bit of it.

Raiders of the Lost Heart is absolutely poised to sweep its way into my Best of 2023 list at the last minute. Take this on your Holiday vacation and let it sweep you away, too.

Preorder alert!! Look at me reading and reviewing a book well in advance! I have heard a ton of buzz about Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura, so I needed to bump this one to the top of my TBR. and I am so glad I did. This book was a ton of fun to read and had a unique plot. I am loving the trend of romantic adventure books. There's something about the blend of a well-crafted romance and a little suspenseful adventure that just works so well for me. This is an older classic, but if you enjoyed Romancing the Stone, you will love this book.

Rival archaeologists must team up on a secret Aztec expedition, or it could leave their careers—and hearts—in ruins.

Archaeologist Dr. Socorro “Corrie” Mejía has a bone to pick. Literally.

It’s been Corrie’s life 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. But when she is invited to join an all-expenses-paid dig to do just that, Corrie is sure it’s too good to be true...and she’s right.

As the world-renowned expert on Chimalli, by rights Corrie should be leading the expedition, not sharing the glory with her disgustingly handsome nemesis. But Dr. Ford Matthews has been finding new ways to best her since they were in grad school. Ford certainly isn’t thrilled either—with his life in shambles, the last thing he needs is a reminder of their rocky past.

But as the dig begins, it becomes clear they’ll need to work together when they realize a thief is lurking around their campsite, forcing the pair to keep their discoveries—and lingering attraction—under wraps. With money-hungry artifact smugglers, the Mexican authorities, and the lies between them closing in, there’s only one way this all ends—explosively.

I love the cover and was so excited to delve into this Jewel of the Nile style romance, but right from the start it had a hard time holding my attention. I didn't care very much for the heroine or the romantic male lead. I didn't believe that their chemistry was real, especially since his was so hard so fast, and she had a very good reason for not liking this person. He was seriously not a friendly person and a cheat!
All the adventure (which started a bit later than it could have) was not enough to save this unbelievable romance. The dialogue was also very clunky and could use some work .

This book was off to a fast start and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. It slowed in the middle, which made it a little difficult for me to finish.

We need more romance books featuring archaeologists! Anthropology is my undergrad major and I almost became an archaeologist so this book caught my interest. I really enjoyed the story and the dig and the way it all played out. This book is spicy though! A lot more than Emily Henry books! I felt like their relationship was just physical at first but then they became more vulnerable toward the end. I liked this one a lot!

This was such a fun read! As a fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, I knew that this story was going to be perfect for me. It was a great enemies/rivals to lovers story. I loved the adventure of the Aztec expedition and the tension between Ford and Corrie was top notch. It's left me wanting more adventure romance in the future!

I had fun reading this rivals to lovers adventure romance! Ford and Corrie were great characters, and I enjoyed the archaeological aspects. The spice, high stakes, and a mystery at the dig site’s campgrounds all kept the pages turning. The action-adventure parts toward the end had me especially riveted.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely loved the whole premise of archeologists at a dig in Mexico working on something spectacular. It's not everyday you find characters in nerdy professions so it was very much refreshing. But it can be both positive and negative that nerdy adventure stuff stops at that and becomes a forced proximity trope due to the surroundings. Ford falls hard for Corrie but she doesn't realize it for a long time. Bringing them together in a tent at a digging site had to bring on some major steamy moments. I liked how Corrie wears and accepts her sexuality. There was also more drama to the plot which made it a lot more than a simple romcom with robbery and plotting. I enjoyed their witty and humorous banter. For a change, it was Corrie who took the lead in all their expeditions and Ford was not the adventurous hero like the stereotype.

Based on the cover and description, I was dying to get my hands on this book! I thought it would be nerdy, and action-packed, and so much fun!
However, I wouldn't say it delivered any of those things.
The nerd-factor was completely eclipsed by the FMC's rampant and blatant sexuality. It felt like we were told her obsession was Chimalli, who this dig was tasked with finding, but she spent more time thinking and talking about sex than reacting to being on the dig she's dreamed of her entire life.
The action-adventure didn't really happen. There was a brief scene with a poisonous snake, but it very quickly turned into lust.
I also discovered that I must not be a fan of enemies to lovers. Most of this book is spent with constant animosity between the FMC and MMC and before I even got to 75% finished, I was exhausted from all the bickering and introduction of small conflict after small conflict. It got to be too much.
Overall, at the 75% mark, I want to finish because there's so little left, but I really don't feel excited to dive back into it. More balance between the action, archeology, and spice would have made this a much better read for me personally.
If your first goal in reading a romance is spice and the world building is secondary, this would probably be a higher rated read for you.

This premise was everything I wanted in a romance, but it fell short of my hopes. The tension and connection between the characters felt a little too cheap to me. Of course, it's a fun tropey rom-com, but the focus on her sexual promiscuity and his abstinence was a little too cringe even for me. The Indiana Jones connection was very cute and fun but I found that the archeological background of the dig wasn't explained eep enough for me to connect with the history they were searching for. All in all, a fun fast read just not my favorite.

Love this concept and premise! Would love to see more adventure romance. Was a fun romp and I love the trope of academic rivals.

Love it!!!



Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Archaeologist Dr. Corrie Mejia’s life goal has been 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. The opportunity to do just that is too good to be true, Corrie is sure, and she’s right. Leading the expedition is Dr. Ford Matthews, who’s been finding ways to best her since they were in grad school. As the dig progresses it becomes clear they’ll need to work together to best a thief, made difficult by lingering attractions.
From the first page, Corrie is a whip of a woman, confident and determined. The banter between Corrie and Ford sustains and carries the novel, without being particularly unique or inspired. As someone that was initially drawn to the book based on the promise of an archaeological adventure, I was disappointed by the lack of either. Though the expedition is the setting for the novel, very little of it seems focused on the dig and (fictional) history, relying heavily on the intimate interactions between the characters instead to move the plot along. The revelation toward the end and the subsequent action is what inspired me to finish reading and I thought the ending was a good way to wrap up the story. Overall, it was a light, fun read, but unremarkable.

The idea and the concept of this book sounded amazing, however the actual execution and story was not what as solid as it should have been. This is my first book by this author, and there was potential there, but it relied too heavily on the cuteness, sexuality, and the movies that it pulled from rather than the writing. The characters were fine, but not easy to connect too. Plus, it's difficult to read a book when the characters are too perfect in ways, not fleshed out well. They are too good at something, or misunderstood but brilliant in other ways. It just made for a flat book. I enjoyed the story but not enough to want to tell others to read it. Honestly, I liked the author's notes at the end of the book rather than the story. I enjoyed how she got the idea for the story, I really did. Would try this author again, but this book wasn't a favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. A silly and predictable adventure romance but a super fun summer read. Will read more if this turns into a series.

This is a perfect read for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry! Dr. Corrie Mejía is offered the funding for the dig of her lifetime— at the cost of working under the insufferable Ford Matthew.

Again, this is a fun, light read. I love the archaeological aspects of this, which makes it a very unique experience.

4.5 technically but I ATEEE this up

Corrie has a problem we all have - she's too hot to be taken seriously in her job as an archaeologist - no? Just me?

She gets asked to go on this dig that involves the subject of her thesis (she is now a professor but has done plenty of extensive research and digs in her career) and she's like yeah!! And she finds out it's being led by like some mysterious person and she's still like yeah!!!

Turns out the mysterious person is her academic rival, Ford, and she almost turns around and leaves right then and there.

But they work together on the dig. Corrie's only real problem is her hotness LMAO like she's very steady in her sexuality, she's pretty stable with her family, has no man because she has a roster of fuck buddies instead, like she's winning in life. She's extremely invested in the dig for this old warrior guy's knife and stuff because her grandpa told her growing up that they were his descendants. She wrote hundreds of pages on it for her thesis and it's actually such good research that Ford has his students read it (he's also a professor) and he's also basing his dig work on it. But turns out he kinda interpreted it not the best and has been digging for months in the wrong spot LOLZZZ (my coworker who is knowledgeable about such things as she's gone on digs told me that there IS no wrong spot, there's just spots to find different things than your goal, but for the sake of the story and the plot and looking for the knife, it was the wrong spot!!)

So he realizes, probably realized before the book even started, that Corrie was actually the person that was supposed to lead the dig. Actually, he "realizes", because he knows for a fact he snatched the gig from out under her. This becomes a big point of tension for him. He did it for the promised money, as his mom is sick with cancer and he's trying to pay for her treatment, but still, he harbors a lot of guilt and once he and Corrie start to get closer he knows that that information is something that can drive her away.

SEX... HOT plot JUICY archeology INTERESTING tension THEREEEE like it just had everything I wanted and kept me tuned tf in. It also set up for a sequel and I would be so happy!! The side characters are on their silly girl shit fr and I would love to read more from them let alone the main folks