⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Calling all my Indiana Jones-loving girlies! THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Do you crave some adventure in your contemporary romance? Academic rivals who have a bone to pick with one another? But maybe it's one-sided? Get ready to be introduced to badass Dr. Corrie Mejía, and the swoony bane of her existence, Prof. Ford Matthews, who was DEFINITELY named after our snake-hating cinematic hero.

This was such a fun story! There has always been a part of me that has been interested in archaeology and this book reignited that love. I absolutely loved our FMC, Corrie, who has been fighting for respect in the academic community for her entire career, trying to prove that she is more than just a beautiful face with great boobs. When Corrie is brought in to assist on a dig already underway in search of HER LIFE’S WORK, she is both infuriated to find out who is leading the excursion, but also dead set on being the one to discover it first.

This book was filled with action, adventure, deception, lies, thievery, and some major OHMYGOD moments. I truly loved every second. This was a mix of Indiana Jones, The Goonies, and a teeny bit of The Mummy. If those movies were favorites of yours growing up, or even now, pick up this book! You won’t regret it!

Thank you to Jo Segura, Berkley (@berkleypub @berkleyromance), and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the advance copy of the book!

This was such a ride and I did not want to get off!
 
“Badass Mejia and Weak Sauce Matthews. We’re quite the pair.”

Treasure hunting theme romance books are wiggling their way into the mainstream and honestly, I am here for it. Perhaps they always have been around, and I’ve just been blind, but I know of 3 recentish releases that has this theme (please don’t come for me if there are any).

Within the early chapters I was already texting a friend asking if this was a slow burn because they were written as two hot people and the tension was so apparent right away and I needed to know how long I was going to have to wait for them to be intimate. I love how open Corrie was with the sexual side of herself and was not afraid to be outspoken about it.

As much as this was a romance, there was also heavier topics woven through such as Ford’s reason why this expedition was so important to him and for Corrie she wants to be taken seriously. Corrie is known for being a badass archaeologist for putting herself into dangerous situations and is extremely smart but always seems to be getting passed up for big opportunities. I also thought Segura did a good job with the misogyny that women go through in fields that are deemed “masculine”. And even though Ford was a d**k to Corrie in his responses, I am glad he was self-aware enough to know when he was being like this.

Check this out if you are interested in a steamy romance between 2 hot archeologists on an adventure in Mexico!

PS – HOW AMAZING IS THIS COVER?! I am still not over how beautiful this cover is!

PSS - I'm ready for the next one!

4.5

What to Expect:
🌺Rivaling archeologists
🌺One Tent
🌺Second Chance
🌺Sex positive
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🫶🏽What worked for me🫶🏽
I loved that Dr. Corrie Mejia is a strong, intelligent female lead who is rooted in her culture. Her passion for their search for Chimalli was so clear, and I love reading about people (real or fictional) pursuing their dreams.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me🤷🏻‍♀️
There wasn’t as much adventure as I had expected, but more than anything, Ford Matthews may have been written a little *too* realistically. He fully acknowledges that he used his privilege and connections to get opportunities that would have otherwise gone to Corrie. I don’t think he did enough to be forgiven so I can’t say I’m a fan of his.

Dr. Socorro “Corrie” Mejía has been searching for clues about her long-lost ancestor, Chimalli, for years. And now she has the opportunity of a lifetime to join the dig in Mexico for Chimalli’s remains. However, rival archeologist Dr. Ford Matthews is leading the dig, and these two haven’t spoken since grad school. While the working conditions between the two of them begin a little tense, when it becomes clear that someone in their camp is stealing artifacts, Corrie and Ford put aside their differences for the good of their work. Now as a team, they can begin to uncover their lingering attraction in addition to long lost artifacts!

This is a lusty read with dual POV that combines mysterious elements of an adventure story with a funny romcom! I was hoping for a little more action and adventure, but the relationship aspects were wonderful! The ending felt slightly rushed, however I am now ready for any romcoms about archeological digs, because this was certainly fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, Penguin Random House Audio, and the author for my chance to read and review this book!

Love rival archaeologists! Didn't know this was something I needed. So one of the movies that was listed as childhood inspiration was Romancing the Stone! And can I tell you that when I was little seeing this beautiful mess of a woman with small alcohol bottles in her purse and who wrote romance novels having a silly adventure in the jungle! I wanted to be her!! But I digress!

The enemies/rivals to lovers was great! I loved that the female MC had Mexican heritage like the author and she was also the brains behind the dig. Though he had his motives for a lot of the stuff that happened that made her hate him, intended and unintentional. But he was this handsome Indiana Jones type with glasses. I mean how can you resist (I wouldn't). Shh .

Love the setup for the next dig. And the side characters who were helping out were funny and added to the story. Though there were some bad guys as there is with archaeology. There is a fine line between preservation and grave robbing, depending on who is bank rolling.

Thank you berkleyromance for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

In you’re looking for an adventure spicy romance, this one was perfect. I was definitely drawn to think one by the cover and the story did not disappoint. If you’re an Indiana Jones or Mummy fan I definitely this you’ll enjoy this one! There is a little bit of mystery and a who can you trust storyline!

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🤍Third Person POV
🤍Steamy
🤍Action/Adventure
🤍Enemies to lovers

Rival Archeologists, adventure, and a spicy romance… count me in!

Raiders of the Lost Heart follows Archaeologist Dr. Socorro "Corrie" Mejía, as she travels into the Mexican jungle to search for the remains of her ancestor, Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. When she arrives at this all-expenses-paid dig, she discovers that the lead Archeologist is none other than her nemesis Dr. Ford Matthews...
Ford Matthew’s is desperate. After spending months searching for Chimalli’s remains, he has come up empty handed. As a last-ditch effort he recruits Corrie to the dig since her life’s work makes her an expert on all things Chimalli.
The two must find a way to work together for the sake of the dig or the whole project could be for nothing. What they don’t expect m is to find common ground in the midst of their fighting and maybe something more…


My review:

I really enjoyed this book. I like the archeological aspect of it as well as the theme of body and sex positivity that is shown through Corrie’s character. I thought she was so well written and I appreciated that although she is sexualized in her field, it never held her back from making a name for herself and excelling in her profession.
I also enjoyed Ford’s character and how morally complex his situation is. I won’t go into too much detail on that because I don’t want to spoil it but it gave his character depth which made me like him all the more.
Also… The spice in this book was piping. The chemistry between Corrie and Ford is palpable and I loved their dynamic.
Something that I wish there was more of was information on the dig itself. Nothing too technical but I felt like there could have been more scenes where the history was explained with extra detail so we as readers could understand why this dig would be so important. I also would have loved to see more of Ethan and Sunny’s relationship.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any spice loving romance reader.

My rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Corrie Mejía has spent her life trying to get people to look beyond her body. When an opportunity to prove herself by joining an expedition searching for Aztec warrior (and her area of expertise) Chimalli, Corrie jumped at the chance even though it seemed too good to be true. And, it was too good to be true, as this dig reunited her with her nemesis, Ford Matthews. Ford, who had stolen her fellowship and broken her heart, and with whom she also still had a spark and connection.

I was so swept away by this story. It's the adventure romance I didn't know I needed! I had a good feeling about this rom-com from the get-go, and it only got better and better for me as I accompanied Corrie and Ford on their search for Chimalli.

So many aspects of this story won me over. First and foremost, I adored Corrie and Ford. What's not to love about an archaeologist who earned herself a reputation in the vein of Lara Croft. But, Corrie wasn't just sass and beauty, she was brilliant, and I was rooting for her to find Chimalli and prove to everyone that she was right all along.

Initially, I was a bit wary of Ford. I mean, he broke Corrie's heart! But, he earned my adoration with both his words and actions. I also found myself very sympathetic towards his personal woes. Though I didn't agree with his tactics, I understood his motivation, and I trusted that he would do the right thing in the end.

People are labeling this a rom-com, and it may be appropriate in this case. The story was bursting with humor and wit, but there was also a healthy dose of action and adventure. There were many challenges out in the Mexican jungle, and it was a thrill to watch Corrie and Ford conquer them. There was a bit of a nefarious plot as well. I guess we needed some high drama, and it was woven well into the story. Speaking of that subplot, I was pretty excited that it opened the door to a possible sequel, and should that book happen, I know I will be reading it.

Overall, I had an amazing time reading this fast-paced adventure romance that was filled with action, humor, swoons, and great characters who were easy to root foot. I am looking forward to more from Segura and really hope we get to enjoy more "Adventures of Badass Mejia and Weak Sauce Matthews".

An adventure romance with strong winks at all the big adventure romance movies? You betcha I was going to snag this up. The promise of a heroine of Aztec descent, a rush to recover the artifacts, and a firecracker of a romance from a new to me author ratcheted up the pre-read excitement.

Raiders of the Lost Heart did indeed play to a few classic adventure romance movie strengths, had a solid historical backdrop for the artifact hunt, delved into the struggle women in the archeological field face to get ahead, a woman confident in her sexuality, and gave an interesting cultural background for the heroine.

But, I ended up with mixed feelings because there were all those wonderful things I mentioned previously, but I had some issues with the romance and behavior at times of the romantic pair. If their antagonism had been about him getting her job and then now needing her to save his bacon, that would have worked as an enemies to lovers conflict for me, but that extra grudge she had about him blowing up a past relationship made no sense since a few dates and a kiss don’t make a relationship to me. Ford’s ‘why me’ attitude when he had breaks that Corrie didn’t get made it tough for me to sympathize with him. Then there was the trite romance dialogue once they did start to iron out their differences that left me flat. Things picked up in the romance when the action element finally kicked in and I must say these two were sizzling with the sexy times.

As to the adventure element, I was somewhat disappointed. I confess this is partly because of my own anticipation. About two-thirds of the book was mostly contemporary romance set in jungle and then turned into action at the very end. I was thinking the action would get going much earlier. Corrie pulled a couple dumb moves that created action when she needed rescuing, but the last part of the book was admittedly thrilling and made for a fab finish that left me hoping more adventures would come along for Drs. Mejia and Matthews.

I enjoyed the author’s note that delighted me with explanation of what was fiction and what was fact since I do love learning about archeological discoveries and how they advance our historical knowledge.

And, so, while it may seem I was very disappointed, this was not the case. I think if one anticipates going in that the romance struggles and hashing out personal issues are the main focus at the start and the action adventure side will be low key and not kick into high until later then this will be a more satisfying read. Once again, kudos for giving readers a heroine, ethnically diverse, representing a woman academic, tough and capable in an exciting jungle adventure. Adventure romance fans will also get a kick out of spotting iconic movie nods and likely find Raiders of the Heart worth tracking down.

This is like if you took Indiana Jones and Lara Croft and put them in a romance novel (with significantly less running from/shooting bad guys unfortunately.) Even though there's not as much action as either of those iconic franchises, there's still academic rivals and mutual pining, two of my favorite tropes. I loved the tension between the MCs and I'm crossing all my fingers that we'll be getting more treasure hunting adventures from the two of them in the future.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for my copy to review.

When archeologist Dr. Corrie Mejia was told she would have to give up a entire semester of teaching to go on a dig in Mexico, she agreed, despite not knowing who was investing in the dig or who was working on it. It had been her dream to work on an expedition in the Mexican jungle, looking for evidence of Chimalli, who she believes is a long-long ancestor of hers. She had done her dissertation on Chimalli. And despite doing many digs all over the world, she’d never yet been able to find the funding for the one she wanted.

And then, when it happened, someone else stole the expedition right out from under her. She is the world’s leading expert in Chimalli, and the investor chose someone else to lead the dig she’d been waiting on all her life. So of course, she said yes, and she set off for Mexico as soon as possible.

What she found there is her old nemesis from grad school, Dr. Ford Matthews. He had stolen the prime teaching gig she wanted after graduation, and now he was the one running this dig? Corrie thought it was so unfair that he got so far just by being charming and handsome, but she can’t pass up the chance to find where Chimalli had lived and died, so she agrees to stay. Plus, she finds out that clearly they had been there for several months already and hadn’t found anything. If they had, they wouldn’t have needed her. They were digging in the wrong place, and Ford was betting on her to find the right spot.

All Corrie had to do was to focus on the expedition. And forget about that night she and Ford spent together back in school. But the more time she spends around him, the harder it is to just forget. The sun over the Mexican jungle is not the only thing that is making her hot.

But there are issues. The new site she finds doesn’t give up the secrets she was looking for. The weather is crazy, from hot to flooding rains, and it seems like there is a potential thief, and Ford and Corrie have to figure out who it is before the entire expedition is ruined. They both need the expedition to be successful, and nothing can stand in their way. Not even falling in love.

Raiders of the Lost Heart is a fun, spicy rom com that brings the archeology of Indiana Jones together with a love story of former enemies who lean into the heat that comes from hate. With lots of jungle fun and flirty banter, this novel sizzles with the heat of the jungle as well as the jungle love.

I really loved this book. It’s filled with passion and humor and a strong female lead. Corrie is a truly special character, strong and smart and adventurous. She made a name for herself in a male-dominated field and stole the hearts of everyone she met. The setting for this story is unique and exciting, and the writing is smooth and propulsive. And the book is overall just an amazingly fun book to read. You don’t want to miss Raiders of the Lost Heart. It is perfection.

Egalleys for Raiders of the Lost Heart were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-second chance romance
-work place
-forced proximity
-only one tent

I had a lot of fun with this one. The sexual chemistry, two archaelogists on a dig falling in love. There was a lot of mess with their backstory as these two dealt with a mysterious backer and shennanigans at the campsite. and we know how much I love some mess. I adored how driven and just confident Corrie was including sexually. The dig site was such an interesting setting for this romance and I am so excited to see what Jo writes next.

Happy Pub Day to Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura!

Rival archeologists team up to find the remains of a long-lost Aztec warrior in this enemies-to-lovers book.

I enjoyed the first half of this book with Corrie being a badass archeologist and learning more about the Aztecs and archeology. But the more we saw Ford her rival since grad school the more I didn't like him. He completely undermined Corrie multiple times in the past and on this dig but yet she's still coming back to him. I liked the adventure romance aspect but wished the storyline of the second half wasn't so clichéd.

The moment I saw the cover reveal for Raiders of the Lost Heart I knew I would have to read it. I'm glad to say it did not disappoint! The story had a lot of action and adventure, and I had a fun time reading it.

We follow rival archeologists Corrie and Ford as they team up for a dig in the jungles of Mexico. The pair haven't seen each other in over a decade, but the tension and longing is palpable as soon as they reconnect at the airport. For Corrie this dig is personal - she has reason to believe she has direct ties to Chimalli, the Aztec warrior whose remains they are searching for. Ford needs money to help his sick mother and finding the artifacts are the ticket to paying for her stay in a top of the line medical facility. The dig will only work if they can put their past differences aside and work together.

I love that the action kicks off from the very beginning of the novel. Corrie is almost immediately thrown into the dig and you can tell the author did her research. There were no points in this novel where the story lagged. I love how Corrie owned her sexuality and didn't back down, even when the public were quick to categorize her as stereotypical sexy Latina. She also spoke up about the double standards when it comes to women in a field strongly dominated by men and I appreciated that.

The chemistry between Corrie and Ford was immediate and there were plenty of spicy moments throughout the novel. However - I just really didn't love Ford. Even though he had his moment of groveling I just didn't think it was enough to justify his actions. I think Corrie deserved better. I still thought this was a good debut and will definitely read from this author again - even if we follow the same main characters.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a review copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy. The following review is my honest opinion.

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura is a fun rom com adventure. It really reminded me of the recent Sandra Bullock movie, The Lost City. Both had the same vibes.

Raiders follows two rival archaeologists, Corrie and Ford, as they go in search of the long lost remains of Corrie’s ancestor. What follows is a textbook enemies-to-lovers bickering/flirting relationship. However, it’s not all by the numbers with this trope. You get a jungle backdrop, an intense backstory, and an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft.

The book will leave you wanting more. It’s impossible to put down as you want to see more of their adventure, and more of the steamy relationship. And let it be known: there is steam.

If you’re a fan of enemies-to-lovers, archaeological adventures, and ancient mysteries, this book is definitely for you!

What a fun adventure of a book. I really enjoyed Raiders of the Lost Heart, mainly for the unique plot and sassy characters. It was refreshing to see a strong, confident woman representing the STEM field.

An archeological dig brings together old acquaintances that have a brief past and now can't stand the sight of each other. Can they put their differences aside to find an ancient relic and quite possibly uncover a love for each other.

DNF at 25%. This review contains spoilers until Chapter 4.
I also did try to read this quite a few times and ultimately decided it wasn't for me.

I know a lot of people will like this and find this fun. I love romance books but as a member of the aroace spectrum, there are things that happen in some romance books that just very much confuse me and put me off in on romance books and this featured quite a large number of them, which I will be enumerating in this review for my fellow a-spec romance readers. So while this might not be for me it just might be for you.

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura follows schoolmates turned academic rivals Corrie and Ford as they team up on a secret Aztec expedition deep into the Mexican jungle in search of Corrie's long-lost remains of her ancestor, and for Ford's part financial salvation to help his sick mother.

I started of enjoying this novel and hoping it didn't turn out cringe for me but it was very emotionally explosive with seemingly no buildup. They're both well into their 30's but they both act very emotionally immature while both being incredibly sexually frustrated from the get-go for each other that it honestly feels contrived. I personally needed some sort of solid foundation for the situation that the author put them in to make it believable but instead we were simply told that she''s been attracted to him forever and so has he so they basically spend their entire adulthood pulling each others' pigtails like toddlers who don't quite know how to process emotions. Corrie feels also very not-like-other-girls-and-thats-why-i-have-a-crush-on-her and how's she's very much objectified, but she also sees herself as ordinary and plain and not that great and I personally vehemently dislike that kind of FMC.

So a couple of scenes that that trigger my aspecness:
- the way she keeps referring to "nether regions"
- the way she psychoanalyzing the way he drinks water 🫠
- the way she mentions how he is “sexy without the sex” uh.... can someone please explain what that even means??? 🫠
- the way he has two letters tattooed on his arm and this dell girl assumes its her initials after ogling him all night only for her to ask outright and have him tell her its his DYING MOMS INITIALS. 🫠
- the way her breasts brush his arm and instead of moving away like anyone else in real life, that just stand there and stare at each other and absolutely no one moves away and they just keep staring at each other
- the way she keeps assuming the absolute worst of him on every aspect of his humanity and yet every time she thinks of him or sees the barest hint of him she wants to bang him and how she calls him appetizing multiple times 🫠
- and then finally, the main reason why I ended up DNFing this is when he chooses to help her unpack her things in direct contrast to her wishes (where she tells him to stop), reaches into her bag, and - surprise! - the first thing he pulls out is this massive purple sex toy called Barney the Monster 🌚 and this mid-thirty year old man seems to have no clue what a vibrator/dildo is so then she tells him and he acts SO SURPRISED and flustered, leading him to run out of the tent, and into the rain, to the shower room to wank off like a teenager to thoughts of her using Barney.

Soooooooo yeah. This is definitely NOT for me but it might be for you!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley, and Netgalley for the eARC and Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC, allowing me to read and reread in two different media.

📣 a dislike to lovers adventure story where the heroine is the Lara Croft type

📖 what’s one of your Monday numbers? Mine are: 4:45, when I woke up today 🙃; 1, kid sick with a stomach thing; 2, books I’m currently reading.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’m not the type to get into races with jaguarundi or go on unguided tours of caves, for example, but I *do* love an adventure story & the thrill of the hunt in my local antique or thrift store 💁🏻‍♀️ so Jo Segura’s Raiders of the Lost Heart was right up my alley.

This book is really fun.

Featuring two professors who have a missed romantic opportunity & betrayal in their background, ROTLH takes the reader on an intriguing ride through the jungles of Mexico & a dislike-to-lovers relationship arc.

Corrie Mejía is the badass archaeologist type who’s been compared to Lara Croft & isn’t afraid of a bit of danger with her quest. She’s also trying to make it onto the archaeological map amongst her colleagues, who don’t entirely give her the respect she’s due.

An opportunity to search for Chimalli brings her face to face with an old nemesis, Ford Matthews, a hottie who she believes betrayed her. Ford is self-aware, self-critical when necessary, and secretly consumed with worry.

In the jungles of Mexico the two have a chance to confront their past & figure out if they have a future.

This opposites attract works really well together, both of them tempering the other/encouraging the other when necessary. I liked how wrong they could both be about their work/research methodologies—it’s nice to see talented, really smart people not be perfect sometimes 🤪.

For me, some of the external drama gets to be a bit much, & I didn’t 💯 love the pacing of how certain strings are tied at the end, but by & large this is an entertaining, adventurous, passionate story by an author I’d definitely like to read again.

4 ⭐️. Out tomorrow!

CWs: blackmail, previous slut-shaming, mother currently has cancer, loss of parents, former betrayal of parents.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a Christmas tree decorated in pink & gold.]

When Ali Hazelwood recommends it, you know it's gonna be good!

Think national treasure but make it a rom com! This fun action packed adventure read was so fun and really packs a punch! So much suspense and adventure mixed with just the right amount of romance to leave you swooning. It really felt like a movie!

Dr. Socorro “Corrie” Mejía, archaeologist has the chance to go deep into the Mexican jungle to find a long lost artifact, but there's a catch, she has to go with her grad school nemesis.

LOVED the women in STEM rep! As a woman in STEM myself, the author captioned the plight of a woman in a male dominated field and depicts our heroine as the queen that she is.

LOVED the duel POV! Really made the enemies to lovers believable and the chemistry more palpable.

Overall, took some of my favorite tropes and themes and combined them in a perfect adventure!

I didn’t love this like I’d hoped.

I think one of the main reasons for that is because one of the main storylines only exists due to a misunderstanding that could have been easily solved with a quick conversation or even a five-minute phone call. Harrison needed to man up and talk to Corrie ten years ago before the misunderstanding snowballed. Instead, he gives up on the girl he supposedly had feelings for in favor of pursuing a relationship with someone else because he thought Corrie wouldn't ever forgive him. He also does several other things that should have us giving him some major side-eye.

Another factor that kept me from fully enjoying the book is the fact I had to keep reminding myself these were thirty-something adults. Their thoughts felt immature for their age. It was like they had the raging hormones of teenagers, Corrie especially.

I wanted adventure, sweeping romance, and banter. Let's put it like this, I wanted the perfect tea latte. and instead, I got lukewarm water.