In Rachel Moore's latest novel, finding love with a statue brought to life during an archaeological quest for a mythical artifact sounds far-fetched, but it's the heart of this captivating story.

Margot Rhodes, known for dabbling in everything and committing to nothing, joins a school trip to Pompeii aiming to uncover the long-lost Vase of Venus Aurelia. Alongside her unexpected partner, Van Keane, who steps out of a statue, they navigate Italy's historic landscapes and their own budding feelings. Full of adventure, wit, and unexpected romance, "Us in Ruins" delivers a thrilling escapade where love and treasure intertwine in surprising ways.

This is a fun YA adventure book. I was expecting it to be a bit historical from the synopsis/prologue but large majority of the book is set in current day. If you liked What the River Knows I think you'll love this one too, it has fun puzzles/ruins to solve/dig through. Some of it was a bit unrealistic school wise but that's okay.

Margot writes a fanfiction of her favorite romance adventure book to score a spot on her boarding school’s archeology trip to Pompeii. Armed with the journal of a very handsome teenage archaeologist from 1932, Van, she embarks on adventure to find the mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia. She seeks out the last place Van talks about his journal, only to stumble upon a statue that looks eerily similar to the man himself. When the statue comes to life, it turns out to be Van in the flesh previously frozen as marble for 96 years. Van and Margot team up for a National Treasure style adventure to locate the missing vase.

Expect booby-trap style trials, lots of pining and banter, a little romance, and plenty of adventure.

This is could be a great romantic adventure for middle-grade aged individuals!

While this was a cute little adventure that I think would be a fun read for younger readers I think there are a few things that keep this from being a 5⭐️ book.

The most jarring aspect of this book and the main reason it isn’t getting a higher rating is the frequent obscure pop culture references. I think pop culture references do not have a place in fantasy books. However, under the right conditions (aka a modern setting), a few I can handle. This book however took these references to the max. The FMC needing “three everything showers” to get the grime of the day off was the first fail (does the author understand what an everything shower is?), and then references just kept coming including using “Joe Goldberg” used as an adjective. Nothing dates a book more than pop culture references imo and it really does the writing no favors.

The lack of descriptions of the surroundings during the “trials” made it hard to imagine what was happening and took away from the “adventure.”

All in all not a bad middle-grade book but certainly one that probably will only appeal to a younger audience.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was a cute, fun, and easy read. I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the adventure. I wish we got to know more about Van, or had some of the chapters in his perspective.

I absolutely loved this book—it was heartfelt, touching, and adorable in the best way possible. The story was never a bore and I seriously couldn’t put it down. A definite 4/5 stars.

This was a very interesting idea which was slaps really well executed. It was funny and heartwarming

Thank you Harper Collins and Rachel Moore for an advanced copy of Us In Ruins in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you’re a fan of Indiana Jones, Night at the Museum, and The Mummy you’ll love this! There’s a little romance, there’s archaeological dig sites, there’s animation of statues, and trials the main characters must complete to gain a goddesses reward. I think the characters are really well developed, including the side characters. I think Margot is a really cute FMC. She’s really relatable. It’s also a really cute grumpy and sunshine story. Van is a bit rough around the edges, but he softens throughout the story. What drew me to this book was the STUNNING cover! Seriously one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen! Definitely recommend to any lovers of YA!

A cute little take on some YA adventure/fantasy. I really enjoyed the Italian setting with the myth of Venus being the focal point of the adventure, though at times the characters lacked depth that I wanted to be able to identify and care about them. Only a handful of times was Van’s life before becoming an explorer touched on, which I think would have brought him to life once more if given more time. Having those bits in his POV would have been exciting. Margot was sweet and empathetic even if a bit one note at times. Still fun and easy, even if a bit of a drag at times.

For a book centered around statues it’s surprisingly soft.

When a fictionalized story wins Margot a spot on an archeological trip to Pompeii she is ecstatic to trace the steps of her inspiration, the real life Van who went missing in the 1930s looking for shards of the Vase of Venus, but when she stumbles into the ruins she finds more than she’s bargained for and also less than she hoped as she must stumble through the trials of the gods before time runs out.

This book is nice.

With a pretty standard plot it is hard to find fault in the National Treasure like race to the treasure with a sprinkle of mythology mixed in as well as your standard teenage drama when grouped together in a setting where our main character is the outcast. Some of the conflict is somewhat weak especially when it comes to the interactions with her peers but seeing as it’s not the driving force of the story it’s easy to skip through as we circle back to the trials to find the lost pieces and the hanging question of what happens once it’s found.

The characters were fine I think the story benefitted from scenes where it’s just Van and Margot as their back and forth brought lightness to the story. I wish we gave them more to really know and care for them as for most of the story they were just moving pieces lacking a uniqueness that would make them memorable after the final page. There is a lot of potential there with their histories, strengths and weaknesses but just as quickly as we were introduced to them they were gone.

Not a bad story by any means and one that I think will be popular I just wish it gave us more.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This gorgeous romantic adventure is the stuff that dreams are made of! Part Lizzie McGuire movie, part The Mummy, Rachel Moore's sparkling prose lights up on every page. Her characterization of Margot is crystal clear and the romance propels this fast-paced narrative to its heartwarming conclusion. US IN RUINS is the must-read YA of the fall!

This was a good quick read, perfect for summer vacation! It was enjoyable and relatively easy to follow along!

I love this book so much! I loved all the references to contemporary pop culture like indiana jones and taylor swift and lara croft! I loved Margo and Van! It was such a fun read and perfect for the start of my summer vacation. I absolutely love history and this was a great book that included some magical elements, archaeology, and some all around fun antics. Keeping up with Margo is a feet but she is such a great female lead character. Highly recommend to everyone!!

This book was an amazing read, that took you places you didn't know you were going to go. I was fully absorbed in this book right off the bat and flew through it in one day. The author did an amazing job with the plot and making the characters unique but relatable. I will be recommending this book to all of my patrons, family, and friends. Great read!

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC :)
This story follows Margot as she ventures off to Pompeii & Rome in search of a mythical artifact, the Vase of Venus Aurelia. But first, she needs to find all five of the missing pieces; as she already has one shard. To find these, she is guided by the journal of a lost teen, Van Keane, who originally found them years ago. But what Margot doesn't expect to find, is Van Keane himself, as he turns from stone to living flesh. The two must work together to find the missing pieces, in this enemies to lovers story, as each is searching for the vase for their own gain.

My experience with the novel: I'm not sure if its because I have never been to Pompeii or Rome, but I found it hard to follow the description of the world they were in; I would have wanted more. Therefore, the world building was not the main perspective of the story. The action felt rushed, like it wanted to get your heart pumping in this 'Indiana Jones' feel; again for me, I wanted more description, it was hard for me to follow along on their adventure. The ending felt rushed- but it was satisfying. I did enjoyed the banter between Margot and Van though. And I also did not see the ending coming, plot twist!! Super cute overall. I would totally recommend this to younger teens that want an adventure read, with light mild romance.

I would tag this as: mild romance- clean read- adventure- fantasy- young adult

A nice, middle book to read with an interesting premise interweaving some Greek mythology references and archaeology. The romance is cute and I feel like plenty of readers will relate to Margot and Van equally. A bit predictable at times, but worth a read nonetheless.

A fast-paced romantic-comedy adventure. I think a lot of readers will be gobble up the romance here, and Margot is absolutely delightful. Her (3rd-person) narration made me smile more than once, and I know my teenage-self would have identified with her. This book does require quite a bit of suspension of disbelief (and I mean this in regard to the realistic aspects of the story--not the magical relics of ancients gods), but it's good fun if you are able to let go and just roll with it.

5/5

Falling in love with the statue you brought back to life while searching for the shards of a missing artifact that may grant you your heart's greatest desire? It’s more likely than you think.

Rachel Moore’s sophomore novel is for anyone who loves The Mummy, high-stakes adventures, and romance novels, all wrapped in an incandescent Italian summer. Margot Rhodes, A high schooler known to try everything and commit to nothing, schemes her way onto her school’s archaeological trip to Pompeii but gets more than she bargained for when she accidentally ignites an age-old search for the mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia. Enveloped in the architecture of Italy and its history, Us in Ruins centers an unlikely partnership between soft-hearted Margot and stubborn former statue Van Keane, overshadowed by moments of yearning and keen understanding. I needed a fun romantic adventure in my life and this absolutely nailed that, while also serving an unexpected amount of angst. Us In Ruins is for the people who want too much but don’t know how to reach for it, who are so scared of disappointment that they never settle for just one thing — who ultimately find solace in the love that they never expected to be granted. In her latest, Rachel Moore expertly balances adventure, cleverness, and heart, as two complete opposites realize the real quest might be winning the other's heart.

This will be featured on my blog closer to the publication date

Margot Rhodes may have dove head first into many ideas of who she wanted to be in the past, and given up on them all, but she is determined that this time it's going to stick. Her application to spend the summer in Rome working on an excavation site was approved, beating out other applicants, and she is ready for the adventure. Her fellow students, however, are less enthusiastic about her presence, since they've all be taking archeology classes and Margot hasn't.
But Margot has been obsessed for a while with a novel and a true life story, both revolving around the same ancient artifact, the Vase of Venus Aurelius. Most people believe the vase is a myth, but Margot believes it is real and she's going to find it. But the first thing she finds is actually the statue of a boy who was hunting the vase one hundred years ago and was thought to have died when a site he was excavating collapsed. And when Margot gets close the statue, he comes back to life.
Now Margot and Van have no choice but to work together to hunt down the scattered pieces of the vase and put them back together. If they can survive the trials and find all five treasure and fame will be there's. If they can't, its probably because they died along the way.

The premise of this book is a little cheesy, and requires some suspension of disbelief when statues start coming to life all over the place. But the heart behind the story is fun. And if you're an Indiana Jones fan the trials they have to get through to retrieve the pieces of the vase are great.
The fraught enemies to lovers relationship between Van and Margot takes a front seat ahead of their adventures which slows down the plot and could be disengaging for some. Also the plot twist that came toward the end was really obvious. And since one of the "big reveals" was actually known by Van the entire time, it really felt like a stretch to believe they didn't figure it out before... The ending missed a few beats for me too. I enjoyed the resolution to the climax, but the 'what comes next' part really dropped the ball and left me feeling unsatisfied. Everything resolved to neatly without any explanation of how it happened, and certain details got way to glossed over. But overall it was a fun book, and I enjoyed reading it.