4.5

I looooved that the MCs in this one weren't in their 20s. And that the FMC puts her career first. As someone who recently turned 30 this one resonated a lot more with me. I also enjoyed the adventure aspect- it did have a <i>Tomb Raider</i> and <i>Indiana Jones</i> vibe and kept me on my toes.

Ooooh this stole my heart! Corrie is such a bad ass and I wanna be her when I grow up. As someone whose dream job as a little kid was an archaeologist, I lived vicariously through Corrie and her crew’s adventures. The romance between her and Ford was an added bonus! It read like a movie on the page. Id love to see an adaptation of this!

I loved this book! A steamy enemies to lovers romance mixed with a dash of mystery and adventure? How could I get any better? I loved Corrie as the strong female lead and how she didn’t back down to Ford. Such a fun, light, read! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I was looking forward to this book so much and unfortunately it did fall a little bit short for me. The things I loved were the fun setting of the archeology dig, the adventures of the mc, the steamy scenes, and the grumpy sunshine. The things I didn't like were the cancer of a parent, the love interest stealing multiple opportunities from the main character, the sexism towards the main character, the love interest having a ten year relationship with a woman just because she kissed him, the love interest having no choice but to go against his own ethics and morals for money and then not even needing the money, the lack of actual adventures on page, There were a lot of choices made that really brought down what sounded like a fun premise. I do very much want more books with this type of set up, just ones that hopefully deliver a little more on the plot and a couple that I can actually root for.

3.5 stars

Raiders of the Lost Heart is a fun romance with interesting characters and a unique setting. It's a nice debut novel.

I loved that Corrie was a strong female character who was smart and bold. It was nice seeing her not only talk about her love of archeology, but in action/on the job at the worksite. Ford was also a likeable character who has complicated feelings about family, relationships, and even himself. He grows a lot as the story progresses, but isn't as bad of a guy as we initially think.

The writing was engaging and easy to read. Where I struggled was with the pacing of the story. Parts in the middle felt slow and dragged things down a bit. I did still really enjoy the story overall, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Jo Segura writes next.

Rivals-to-lovers romance with adventure and mystery. Love that both MCs are archeologists. They are at least mid-30s, but exact age unclear, so I didn't use the romance-seasoned-MCs tag.

Loved this action adventure meets romance! Reminded me a lot of Romancing the Stone, one of my favorite classic movies.

I was excited when I heard Raiders of the Lost Heart would be an adventure romance inspired by movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Romancing the Stone, and The Mummy, because I grew up loving those movies! I did like the adventure parts of the story, but it took a serious backseat to the romance.

I did root for Corrie and Ford to sort their past out and get their HEA, but I felt their romance was based more on their physical attributes more than anything else. It seemed even in the serious scenes like when Corrie thought Ford was off to steal the artifacts from under her and she went to confront him, she’s still ruminating on his sexy body and their encounters more than focused on him potentially betraying her. Kind of undermined her purported determination to once and for all find evidence of Chimalli, a legendary Aztec warrior. Also, the mention of bringing a vibrator to the middle of the jungle, on this dig, just sounded unrealistic and ridiculous. I enjoy a spicy scene here and there but when it overwhelms the plot I just start checking out and skimming those scenes.

Still, I did like archeological parts and the ending, as it finally focused in on their hunt for the legendary Chimalli and got exciting as they battled nefarious individuals over their discoveries.

I feel like this book was a solid debut, but for me personally, there were things I liked and things I didn't like.

The things that I enjoyed were the Indiana Jones vibes, the steamy scenes between our two leads and the actual exploring and searching ruins. While I know the archaeology part of the book probably isn't realistic, it felt real enough for me to get into it.

The thing I unfortunately didn't enjoy was the ending itself. The almost fade-to-black ending and then the resulting epilogue were a disappointment for me and felt more like a setup for the next book than actually fleshing out the ending. I also didn't like some of the wording, like how they used corrito borrito to explain that her laugh sounded like a donkey, as well as they constantly used full names, instead of just their first name. I get that you're a doctor, you don't have to remind me every five pages.

This one was so much fun!! I loved how adventurous it was and how much chemistry these MCs had. Personally, this book was all about the archaeology for me - the romance seemed like it was almost a subplot because I was so invested and interested in their search for Chimalli!

I am asexual so I know I’m not the best person to judge sex scenes, but I thought the ones in this story were really well done. They were bit spicy for my taste, but I did love how sex and body positive Corrie was, and how she didn’t shy away from her sexuality.

Overall I think this was a really high stakes and fun read! The adventure aspects were well balanced with the romance, and I would 100% read more books like this!

It was a fun adventure story. It did remind me of archeologist movies. The romance did fall a bit flat for me at the end, but overall a fun read.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for my copy of Raiders of the Lost Heart! All thoughts are my own.

I have a confession: my go to movie is “National Treasure”. Whenever my husband and I can’t decide what to put on or if we’re sick and need a comfort movie to watch together, we always choose National Treasure. When we were both sick a few years ago, we went from the National Treasure to Indiana Jones, which I had never seen before. So when I learned about this book, I felt like this would be a setting I would enjoy based on those movies!

I read this book on audio and it was definitely a fun read! I didn’t totally love it but I did enjoy the experience.

Synopsis:

“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.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

Action Movie Elements—The ending was especially thrilling to read! I thought the author did a great job making the reader feel like they were a part of the action and could clearly picture what was happening.

Fun Setting—An archaeological dig! How fun!

Unique Premise—I have never read a romance set in this type of environment and it provided a lot of fun tension.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

3rd Person POV—I just prefer !st POV in Romance! Personal preference.

Pacing—Pacing was a little off. The tension faded quickly and then I was dreading when a 3rd act break up would occur.

Lack of Chemistry—I didn’t feel it with the main characters and definitely was more invested in the archaeological aspects!

Character Authenticity: 3.5/5 Spice Rating: 2/5 Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Content Warnings:

cancer, sexism, grief

I had such a great time with this one! I've been an Indiana Jones fan since my very first viewing and this gave me all of the best Indy vibes with a steamy romance to go along with it!

I loved this enemies to lovers romance between two archaeologists. The setting of the book was amazing, this archaeological dig site in the middle of the jungle. The tension and banter between our main characters is wonderful. The book had amazing side characters and also a few not so great ones. There are also some elements of mystery which I really loved. I was hard to put this book down.

⭐️: Really liked it
🌶: 3/5
An action-adventure romcom where two rival archeologists meet up on a dig for ancient Aztec artifacts in the jungles of Mexico. With some Lara Croft and Indiana Jones vibes, this romance definitely only needed one tent. 😉

If you're looking for a steamy romance set in the jungle with more history between the main characters than an archeological site, try picking this one up! I had fun reading it- This was not a slow burn! The cover is super cute, but this book was spicy!

I do wish there had been more to the professional/archeology side of things, but that part of the book kind of took a back seat to the drama among the characters. If there had been a curse or two, that would have been neat as well. Still had a good time, though!

Tropes you can look forward to include:
•Second chance romance
•Rivals to lovers
•Sexy waterfall things
•Only one tent
•Lost City vibes

Thanks @berkleyromance for the gifted copy!

I have been a sucker for anything archeological since elementary school when I got to participate in a fake dig behind my school. Even though I knew it wasn’t in the cards I always loved the idea of being an archeologist and getting to discover ancient secrets that have been buried for hundreds of years, I even minored in Anthropology because that was as close to it as I could get at my school. This early discovery plus movies like Jurassic Park and The Mummy just cemented my life long love of these types of stories so as soon as I saw the premise for this book I knew I wanted to read it! If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, The Mummy or even the new movie with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum then I would highly recommend giving this one a try. This one came out on 12/5!!!! Thank you @berkleyromance for my gifted copy!

In the beginning, I wasn't sure how to feel, but the more I read the more I fell in love with the story.

We follow Dr. Socorro, Corrie for short, Mejia as she gets a deal for her dream dig; however, she sadly finds out that the lead archaeologist is none other than her nemesis, Dr. Ford Matthews. While working on the dig, they notice a thief lurking around their campsite. Putting their differences aside, Corrie and Ford decide that this dig is more important so they work together to find the remains of Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec Empire, and also discover who the thief is.

The dialog at the beginning threw me off but after a while, I was finally able to get used to it. I loved the plot and where the author went with this story. I will say that the chapters did feel a little long. As for the characters, I loved them!

Both characters were so cute together. The tension was HIGH and I WAS LIVING FOR IT. Also, the banter between these two was everything. I loved how much Corrie would tease Ford. Corrie was such a badass and I loved her for that. Corrie's connection with everyone really showed how amazing she is. Her dynamic with not only Ford but also Ethan and Sunny. I just really loved all of these characters, even Agnes lol.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for sending me a finished copy!

2.5 Stars

"What would happen if Lara Croft and Indiana Jones were academic rivals?"
I was immediately sold on this idea! I've always loved adventure films and I've found a new love for contemporary romance, so the opportunity to enjoy both in one book was tempting.
There were so many things about this book that I normally love:
💪 Badass FMC
⚔️ Enemies/Rivals to Lovers
💕 Forced Proximity
⛰️ High stakes adventure (but not so high as to be anxiety inducing)

So, one would think that I would LOVE this book, heck I thought I would too. But something about it just fell flat. I didn't mind Corrie's character, I felt she was a good adaption of a RomCom version of Lara Croft.
But Ford... Oh Ford. I did not like him, and I think it's important for readers to like the MMC in a romance book. I'm all here for unlikeable, morally grey, selfish MMCs if it's done right, but the way Ford was portrayed just felt too real? Too much like a real selfish man with toxic masculinity (that I will admit he was addressing in the story). So I think that kind of brought the whole vibe down for me. I just couldn't understand why a badass like Corrie was so head-over-heels over this mediocre dude. I guess, overall, I felt there was no real chemistry between the characters other than wanting to tear each other's clothes off.

Outside of the romance, I loved the adventure and the plot of finding Chimalli, how important it was for both characters but for drastically different reasons. The remote jungle setting, the mystery, the excitement of finding clues and unlocking secrets lost to time! If more attention was focused on these aspects of the story I think I may have enjoyed it more. It felt like the romance plot drove the adventure, and it would have felt more natural and sweeping if the adventure drove the romance.

To wrap up: I think this is a unique contemporary romance that lots of people will enjoy as a fun and quick read.

I so badly wanted to love this book. The topic, the cover, Latina representation, enemies to lovers...it seemed like my ideal read. Maybe it was because my expectations were so high going in but unfortunately this book fell short of what I was hoping for. I think the author tried to do too many things with the story, the characters, the history and so nothing felt really formed but a lot of half complete ideas. The most action packed part of the book occurs at 90% which is a long time to hold out. I was hoping for more action and Mummy/Romancing the Stone hijinks and less of Ford's semi-insufferable POV and way less descriptions of Corrie's body and how it filled out a tank top. I think there is definitely an audience for this book unfortunately it's just not me.

Thanks to Berkley & Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Negalley, and PRH Audio for the advanced copies of this book. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I was so excited for this archeology, adventure romance. Unfortunately this book just didn't live up to the premise or my expectations.

This book actually made my most disappointing of the year list... This had all the making of a book i should love - rivals to lovers, forced proximity, science. But it just didn't deliver in any aspect.

It felt like the book didn't commit to what it wanted to be. It didn't lean into the action adventure, or the enemies, or the humor, or the romance. Instead it tried to do all of them and didn't them all mediocrely...

If you're looking for a quick, easy romance to quell an archeology adventure urge, this wouldn't be a terrible one to pick up. I think it's a book that pretty much everyone will enjoy. It's just not one I think anyone will LOVE.