This book was such a blast from start to finish!! Ellie Mallory is the kind of protagonist you root for immediately—she’s smart, gutsy, and refuses to let anyone tell her what she can or can’t do. I loved how the story threw her into one wild situation after another, from dodging villains to exploring ancient ruins, and she handled it all with equal parts wit and determination. Adam Bates was the perfect counterbalance to Ellie’s no-nonsense attitude—charming, infuriating, and surprisingly sweet when it counted. Their banter was spot-on and gave the story so much personality. The pacing was perfect, keeping me flipping pages with all the adventure and danger while sneaking in some genuinely funny moments.

What really stood out to me was how the book balanced the action with just a touch of fantasy—it didn’t feel over the top but added a layer of intrigue that paid off in the end. The jungle setting was vivid and immersive, and while I’ll admit I’m not usually one for overly detailed descriptions, here it just worked. The stakes felt high throughout, and I genuinely didn’t know how Ellie and Adam were going to pull things off. By the time the story wrapped up, I was hooked and ready to dive into the next installment. If you’re in the mood for a rollicking, fast-paced adventure with a sprinkle of romance, this one’s for you.

Very enjoyable story! I liked the characters, particularly Ellie's bravery and intelligence. She's smart, she's determined, and she won't let rude and broody Adam get in her way. Another reviewer likened this to Uncharted meets The Mummy and I totally agree. It had the action and excitement, and while the romance is predictable, it's slow burn enough to be believable. Overall, this was a wonderful read and I look forward to the next installment. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Thanknyou so much NetGalley and Crimson Fox Publishing for this arc!!

5/5 stars!!

Omg, I loved this SOOOOO MUUUCCHHH!!!! The banter, the adventure, the mayhem - everything was absolutely perfect. Definitely inspired by Rick and Evelyn in The Mummy, AND I LOVE IT WE NEED MORE LOVE LIKE THEIR LOVE!!!! I finished this in just a few days, and I can't wait to start the next one lol. I love that this is the first in a series and where it ends in a way that the storyline is finished, there's more to their story and I honestly want to read the next one as much as I would if it had a cliffhanger ending 😂 I JUST NEED MORE ELLIE AND ADAM PLZ THANK YOOOUUU!!!

This filled the Romancing-the-Stone-Indiana-Jones-Tomb-Raider fiction hole in my heart. Benson takes all the silly, fun elements and archaeological tropes of those films, some heartwarming characters, and builds a page-turning story that I could not put down. From traipsing through the jungle to boats over waterfalls to dungeon crawling to discovering lost civilisations, this was exactly the adventure I needed. And I cannot wait to read the next one.

Is this book like The Mummy? – As Ellie would say: “Absolutely not”

The main character Ellie was pretty boring from the start. I was impressed with how she managed to avoid the villain at the beginning but things only collapsed from there. I understand why she is so angry given the time period, but she kept raging about the things women weren’t allowed to do and how oppressed they are (note that she was currently living her fantasy: On a journey in a far away land set to discover an archeological site using her knowledge) so it seemed a bit cynical. She is literally proving that things don’t have to be that way but she would not flip the switch about it. She also hates men, children, marriage, and she won’t let you forget it. So yeah, a very “charming" character to follow. Even when it seemed she was having a moment of improvement she would bounce back to old habits faster than it took her to throw Adam’s rock. Which I haven’t forgiven by the way.
I think she did acknowledge at some point that she only survived and was able to make the journey because of Adam, because he was the one who knew how to travel in this land. But honestly she tends to sound ungrateful most of the time.

My preferred POV was Adam’s, he is charming, funny and smart but I felt he was missing development. He does have his flaws but that is not his whole personality.
I tend to love when there is a cute nickname in the mix. However, he kept calling her “Princess” and it fell so flat and not cute in their relationship that I almost begged him to stop.
Not sure if Adam is a Saint or lacks a backbone but either way I didn't understand why he put up with her attitude, let alone fall in love with her. Every mistake or tantrum she would have where she actually put them in danger, he just forgave her so easily. Almost like she didn’t do anything, even when her words hurt him. I don’t get it.

Overall, I got disinterested pretty quickly. There are too many explanations about the jungle and info dumps that got too long. The story does contain a couple of funny things here and there between Ellie and Adam, but I don’t believe there was romance between them.

I would’ve liked to see more of the fantasy aspect of the story sooner. Besides the dreams, everything was pretty normal so it felt like the fantasy came out of nowhere by the end.

NOW… it was brought to my attention that the original version of this book doesn’t contain the many things that I didn’t like about this edition. Apparently Ellie wasn’t annoying and actually an interesting character. So that peaks my interest. I might check it out at some point in life.

As a last thought, I don’t know what's going on with this cover. Sure it’s kind of appealing but that's mainly because of the color palette, earth tones mostly in pasteles. You literally can go wrong there. However, I don’t understand why there are three different art styles in it. Pretty sure that the statue at the bottom is a photo as well as the plants in the background, or they might be brushes. Long story short, nothing matches and looks weird.

thank you to netgalley for this arc. all my opinions are my own.

this book was so much fun. i loved the dynamic between our characters, ellie and adam. the british and the americans always get along well, right?

this book had precisely the correct amount of danger, intrigue, and made me laugh more than once.

swashbuckling Indiana Jones type adventure with a charming, clever protagonist and some of the coolest vibes that i have ever had the pleasure of seein

I really enjoyed this book! I've been on a historical adventure kick for the past few weeks, and this was absolutely perfect for it! I really enjoyed the characters and the banter between Adam and Ellie. I can't wait to see more of Constance in the second book, as I really liked her character in the first part of the book, as well as the prequel novella! Overall, I would recommend this, and am excited to read the second book :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I loved this so much! It reminded me of national treasure and the mummy. I loved this so much! I can't wait for book 2 to release

It's taken me a while to write up this review, both because I wanted to take my time with the book and savour it but also because the task of sitting down and getting all of my thoughts about it to make any kind of coherent sense instead of me just screeching with keyboard smashes, was challenging. Like, there really aren't words to fully articulate how much I adored this book and the special place it now has in my heart. My day hasn't just been made by the publication of this book, but my entire YEAR because this is the book of dreams for me, truly!

I’m pretty sure everyone’s aware that I’m on a constant quest to find books with Jungle Cruise/The Mummy/Relic Hunter kinda vibes. You know, adventure and romance and treasure hunting with a splash of history! More often than not, I strike out but then I stumbled across this book and it sounded like my DREAM book!

Then I discovered that I’d already read it, or at least…one incarnation of it! I read an arc of ‘The Smoke Hunters’ back when it was due out all those years ago and LOVED it. I genuinely stalked the author's goodreads account on a pretty regular basis to check and see if she'd written any more books with the same characters or just a similar kind of vibe and I hoped and prayed that it would become a series. I was always so gutted that it never did because it was the perfect blend of elements for me and I'd really loved the characters but as it turns out, completely unbeknownst to me, my wish FINALLY came true because the author reworked it into Empire of Shadows AND!!! It's going to be a series!!

The scream I let out when I read the author's note, the sheer euphoric joy, is utterly unmatched. Dreams come true, people. Even if you have to wait a liiiiitttle while for it to happen!

ANYWAY! This book is PERFECTION!! Like it’s everything I wanted and more. 10/10. No notes, ten more just like it please! The vibes are IMMACULATE! It’s Jungle Cruise meets The Mummy with a splash of Relic Hunter and a dash of anti-imperialism. The combination of witty banter, adventure and romance was done to perfection and THEN you have the historical elements!

There’s so much meso-American history worked into this book, I was fascinated by all the little tidbits throughout and it’s very clear the author put a lot of research into it. I also enjoyed the glimpse into the suffragette movement via Ellie, as well as her mindset regarding it all and the role it’ll presumably play in her relationship with Adam and any further tension or difficulties!

Speaking of, I ADORED the characters! They’re funny and memorable and the tension between them was on point! Like I wasn’t expecting the steamy scene what with them being in what could be described as a death pit, considering it seemed like there was no way out, but it was fire! Not to mention their banter that had me giggling away to myself several times!

Naturally, they butt heads throughout the beginning of the book. Ellie’s a lady scholar, a suffragette and headstrong in the best way and I LOVED her determination throughout! While Adam is a roguish surveyor who reaaalllyy loves his machete, and knows his way around the jungle. Despite Ellie thinking otherwise, he’s got plenty of knowledge himself about the area, it’s history and survival in the jungle.

Genuinely, he was giving Rick O’Connel but with a machete instead of a shotgun.

Honestly, I had the best time reading this and while part of me wanted to binge read it in one, I also wanted to really savour it. Especially because the writing was just made for that, like it’s so atmospheric and really the paints the scene for you, not to mention the issues of imperialism that are addressed on the page and all of the historical detail mixed in throughout!

There’s also plenty of threads woven in to set up the next book, as well as the series to an extent and I’m so frickin excited!! Genuinely, I adored this book. It became an instant favourite and I really, REALLY can’t wait for the next book to dive back into Ellie and Adam’s adventures!

If you love anything Indiana jones, tomb raider or my personal favorite romancing the stone this book is a must! Any book that has these vibes I read because there is something immersing to me about romance in the jungle looking for lost treasure together. Benson does just that I can’t to see if this series wil be continued!

It's was a little hard to rate this one. honestly, this book was ok. I liked the start and the characters, the themes of archaeology and a scholar fmc were something I was really excited to read more about, but the story was just too simple/ok (?)
I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did. It's not bad, but it's not super exciting or very good either. one thing that affected my enjoyment was the writing, it felt unnecessarily detailed, like the type that doesn't really add anything to the story. It dragged a bit and made the reading a little tiring.
as for the characters, l liked them together. ellie and adam were cute and had some funny banter, but individually, they lacked depth. I couldn't really connect with them. ellie sometimes annoyed me, but adam was great. 3.25 stars

This book was such a pleasant surprise! 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 🥰 Such a fun adventure!!!! A historical fantasy romance with the perfect amount of banter. Very well written I couldn’t put it down. I am excited for book two

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

After a couple false starts, I finally got this book finished and overall enjoyed it!
Promising a book for fans of The Mummy was both a help and a hindrance in this case. I was dragging my feet because I worried that it would underdeliver on the comparison to such an iconic piece of storytelling. On the plus side, I’m immediately going to pick up anything that says it’s for fans of The Mummy.

The two main characters’ dynamic worked well, the writing had pockets of beauty, and although plot wasn’t complex, it still was an enjoyable ride!
I’ll definitely be adding this to my list of adventure recommendations!

What an incredible book!
If you like films about ancient mummies and slow burn this book is definitely for you!

Thank you to Crimson Fox Publishing and Jacquelyn Benson for allowing me to review Empire of Shadows, Raiders of the Arcana, Book 1.
Empire of Shadows caught my eye in the post-reading slump after I read another historical adventure fantasy book. I wanted a book to get lost, with a strong female character leading the charge against a dastardly villain in historical fantasy adventure with lost civilisations, mythology and a pinch of romance to sweeten the story to perfection between the main characters, Ellie and Adam. Thank you, Jacquelyn Benson, for answering my bookish prayers!

I gobbled down reading this book; the plot was entertaining action-packed with a dash of magical realism that brought to life the mystery and wonder of an ancient civilisation. Jacquelyn Benson's writing paints a wonderfully vivid tropical setting to encase her characters' escapades with interesting, comical, and heart-warming storytelling to bring to life this perfect blend of historical fantasy and romance elements in the plot. One of the highlights of the story was an excellent villain with a chilling presence on the pages, a gang of henchmen, and giving chase on the heels of the protagonist – but the villain isn't your stereotypical villain type, making him slicker and more wicked with a clear-cut black and white portray of good vs evil construct in Empire of Shadows.

Ellie and Adam are great main characters who complement each other perfectly in terms of personality and build a pithy team dynamic between them. They might start as strangers, but they quickly find a common course and friendships as they are both intelligent, respectful, and packing plenty of sassy and grit to get them through the perils of their jungle journey to find a lost civilisation before the baddies do. I loved the personality dynamic between Adam and Ellie – she's the impulsive, bookish, undaunted one with gumption, and he is the clever-headed, prepared, outdoorsy type with charm. Their romance is a slow burn with a gentle bubbling chemistry that starts with their snarky and witty banter lighting up the page with humour and teasing. While the main characters, Ellie and Adam, steal the show of the book with their dynamic, electric banter and mischief towards one another – Jacquelyn Bensons brings to life her second characters with warmth, respect, and insightful cultural elements to the local people who Ellie and Adam interact with on their quest.

I think Jacquelyn Benson did a fantastic job of representing the era, including the struggle for women's rights, the rise of anti-colonialism across the world opposing European rule and respect for the cultural heritage of native peoples without an agenda, reporting on the actual history, ideologies, and events framed around the context of her story. She brings to life the beautiful and complicated ancient cultures of the Mayan and Aztec empires, which I agree don't get as much exposure as other ancient civilisations unless your will to travel thousands of miles to visit the countries once home to these great peoples. The culture and history woven through the story in the former British Honduras, now modern-day Belize, was riveting and enthralling. I've picked up several historical books about the era and region to satisfy my curiosities about the culture and history of this area.

Check out the Empire of Shadows if you want a book about treasure hunting, archaeologists and far-flung destinations with an exciting plot. A perfect historical adventure with a peppering of fantasy and magic vibes of movies like Uncharted and The Mummy. It might keep you sane if you are waiting for the release of another book with similar themes but featuring a Victorian setting and ancient Egyptian history.

Single POV, Strong Willed FMC, Breaking Gender Stereotypes, Historical Romance

Perfect for fans of The Mummy, Empire of Shadows follows Ellie who is looking to find her way in the world as more then just a secretary. When a lost item is thrust into her hands she follows her guts and sets off to search for the lost civilization the item belongs to. The male MMC, Adam Bates, is equal parts charming and exasperated by strong willed Ellie. While this book does start on the slow side once it gets going it really transports the reader and feels thrilling.

I was liking it at the beginning but then I realized that it is not for me and I abandoned it, but I definitely recommend it because it is a book that many people may like. so give it a chance.

Victorian + Fantasy? Yes!

This is such a unique and engaging world, I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I couldn’t get enough honesty. I loved the packing, the worldbuilding and characters.