This book officially cemented the fact that I love romance novels set against the backdrop of Indiana Jones-style archaeological adventures. The story feels fast-paced, thrilling, and endearingly cute all at the same time.

Taking a star away because a couple of character choices felt a bit out of character, especially towards the final third of the book. However, if you enjoyed “The Lost City” movie, definitely grab this book! And if you haven’t watched that film yet, I’d highly recommend that too - it’s the perfect companion piece!

Thank you @netgalley and @berkeleyromance for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was the absolute perfect mix of romance, adventure and suspense all wrapped into one book. I love the whole archeological side and getting to see an expedition going on while also getting some spicy romance scenes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Rafa and Miri - while they had their issues - were so cute together and I spent half the book just wishing they would tell each other the truth.

Then that PLOT TWIST (the gasp I audibly gasped when that was revealed!!!) was amazing. I quite literally never would have guessed and I’m BEGGING for her next book to have an update on that whole situation.

The spice was good. I have to say though I loved the tension before the spice. There wasn’t a lot just a couple of scenes but they were done in a way that didn’t interfere with the story or take over it. THE RAIN SCENE 🥵

Highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good adventure, a tale of a lost city and a badass FMC who won’t take no for an answer.

Big thanks to Berkley, Jo Segura and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

The strength of Jo Segura's archeology series lies in its balance between fun adventure romp and respecting the history and culture creating the books' backdrops. Here, that balance is built right into the plot: Miri is the archaeologist looking for proof and trying to solve an ancient mystery, and Rafa is there to protect his mother's people and what they've kept safe for generations. The clashes that occur when these two sides meet are exciting and fresh, and Segura's proven to be a welcome new voice in the romance world.

Thank you NetGalley for this review copy.
This was a great romance adventure book and I loved every minute of it!

This was such a cute quick read! The writing in this definitely got better since the first book and I was giggling/ kicking my feet the entire time reading this. The romance was SIZZLING and I loved the chemistry between the two characters

This is amazing. An nerdy insecure archeologist and a suave camera man. A plot thick enough to be quicksand. With plenty of laughs along the way. This is a definite read from me.

# Temple of Swoon
# 3/4/2025 ~ 3/4/2025
# 5.0 / 5.0

A novel following Dr. Mejia’s protege Dr. Miriam Jacob’s a cute quirky snack obsessed Fanny pack wearer. After a change up in leads on an exhibition to discover the lost ancient moon city Miri finds herself in charge. Miri looks up to her protege’s smarts and sexiness which forces her to realize that she can be the best version of herself just by being herself. And armed with the clues Dr. Mejia passed to her for safe keeping she starts to figure out what no one else has before in her field. However she is facing the secret opposition of Rafa, a journalist photographer who is documenting the finds but also leading them astray in a misguided attempt at being a protector of the site. And also a a criminal underground art thief boss who wants to find the site first and not for any of the right reasons. As team members drop like flies in pursuit of less dangerous jobs Miri is faced with make or break career choices and a deeper passion of protecting history and learning about those before us.

This was the perfect blend of adventure and romance! It was a delight from beginning to end. I related to Miri’s struggles with self-doubt and her desire to prove herself. It was feel- good and action-packed all at the same time.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. I felt like I was taken along this adventure through the Amazon rainforest! There was love, adventure, shock, action, and more in this read! It definitely gave me a today's generation's Indiana Jones vibe!

**3.5-stars**

🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡

Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on the most important mission of her life, to find Cidade da Lua, the Lost City of the Moon, in the Amazon rainforest. It's her first chance to lead an expedition and prove herself as a serious archaeologist. Rafael Monfils is a journalist who has joined the expedition, with the hopes of chronicling their search for the lost city, or at least that's what they think he's doing.

In truth, Rafael is on a mission of his own, and that's to stop the team from ever setting eyes on Cidade da Lua, thus protecting his mother's legacy. All he needs to do is keep them off the correct path. Once Rafa meets Dr. Jacobs though, he has a really hard time staying focused on his task. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants her to succeed. What's a guy to do?

As they get further into the jungle, it becomes clear they aren't the only ones searching for the Lost City. Soon, Rafa's mixed feelings and Dr. Jacobs's imposter syndrome are going to be the least of their worries.

Temple of Swoon was lightyears beyond Segura's 1st-book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, for me, to which this is a companion novel. I enjoyed these main characters, Rafa and Miri, soooo much more, though I still had some slight issues with it. Nevertheless, I am very happy I picked it up and am glad I took another chance on this author. If there's another companion novel, I'm def game.

It's funny, one of the things that I disliked the most about the Raiders of the Lost Heart was the female main character, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Going into this I thought, it's fine, this one follows different people, you won't have to deal with her. While that may be true, at the start of this book, as we're meeting our new female lead, Miri, we learn she is sort of a mentee of Corrie in the archaeological space, and Corrie handpicks her for this position.

At the start, Miri goes on and on about how drop-dead, off-the-charts, hot Corrie is. No other woman ever has, or ever will, compare to her. ((puke)) That was one of the things that drove me nuts about the 1st-book, and here it was, rearing it's ugly head yet again!!

Luckily though, that trend did sort of peter out as the story went along. I did like how quickly this kicked off as far as Miri and Rafa's meet cute. I liked their chemistry from the start and enjoyed watching their relationship grow. The way this author writes sex scenes are not at all to my tastes, they're definitely more ewww than awww for me, but what I did appreciate here was the genuine conversations that Miri and Rafa had.

I liked the more serious sides of the story a lot. We delved into Miri's insecurities, as well as Rafa's family stuff and I felt that was very well developed. Overall, I enjoyed this so much more and am really glad that I gave this author another shot. I feel like if her work keeps progressing we could have a real win with the next book. I'm looking forward to it!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this romantic adventure!

I adored the first book in this series and this one lived up.
I think I liked the characters in this one even more.
Miriam is adorable and way more realistic for me than Corrie.
It has drama, tension, spicy bits, adventure and snacks.
Totally recommend.
Much love to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC.

"Temple of Swoon" is a thrilling and adventurous story that combines elements of "Indiana Jones" and "Romancing the Stone." I enjoyed the slightly sarcastic female protagonist who is determined to rescue herself and the love interest who learns from the past while forging his own path in life. This companion book to Jo Segura's first novel, "Raiders of the Lost Heart," is fast-paced and easy to read, offering a delightful mix of quick wit and a sense of archaeological adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jo Segura, and Berkley publishers for the opportunity to read and review. Three and a half stars for me.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, Temple of Swoon was all kinds of cute. In this, you will meet Miri and Rafa. She dreams of becoming a badass archeologist one day, just like her mentor. He is a journalist joining the archaeological team on the adventure to find the lost city. Together, they just might end up being the best team ever or completely awkward. It's a toss up for sure.

Let's start with the romance between these two. Sure, I could see the crushes on one another in the beginning, but it did take me a while to get on board with them becoming a couple down the line. Mostly because we (the reader) know that Rafa is lying to her but doesn't want to. So, I'll admit that I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for her to find out the truth. Eventually these two ended up winning me over, and I really enjoyed them being a couple.

On top of that, we had so many secrets throughout this. Mostly revolving around Rafa and his father. I just didn't trust him and knew something was fishy. It's safe to assume that I wasn't expecting the giant twist so much, but it definitely made so much sense!

In the end, I loved the Lara Croft and Indiana Jones vibes throughout this. Miri and Rafa ended up being rather cute, and I wish them luck on their next adventure: marriage and becoming plant parents.

As a kid, I loved the Indiana Jones movies, so I was excited to read a rom com about a female archeologist discovering a lost city.

While I enjoyed the first book in this series, I thought this one lacked some of the action and tension of the first. The main characters seemed to fall a little too rapidly for one another after less than 48 hours. Then, when they were together, I didn't think they had much chemistry. I also thought that a lot of the elements of the plot were too much like the first book. I began having déjà vu.

What I did love was the lore behind this expedition and the various clues they found along the way. I wish we were able to delve deeper into this and the mysterious guardians of the lost city. I'd read more about that element of the story.

Interconnected Series: Can be read as a standalone

Adored the dedication: “To those who think they aren’t enough. You are. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

This book was my first read from the author. It is an adventurous expedition to find the Lost City of the Moon through a Brazilian rainforest, mixed with banter between the main characters, clever and witty archeologist Dr. Miriam Jacobs (Miri), and Journalist/Photographer Rafael (Rafa), who is on a secret mission.

If you love adventure or Indiana Jones-inspired stories, this is for you! It was a cute and fun read.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Berkley Pub for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

This was so much fun. There was banter and adventure and shenanigans galore. I love the push pole between the characters and how they find themselves getting closer through all of the obstacles that they face. It’s a really fun entertaining book.

Soooo the premise of this book was so fun and SO CUTE...

However....

It kind of draggeddddd and although the characters were cute and their banter was fun, I couldn’t get into the story as much as I wanted.

The ending was really cute though and that was a really clever way to end it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura!

Let me tell y'all how much I absolutely adored this book. I read the first one in the series (Raiders of the Lost Heart), and it was fine, but this, THIS was such a wonderful read. Miri is put in charge of an expedition to find the Lost City of the Moon. Many have tried, and no one can quite figure it out. Rafa finds his ways to the expedition, too. The only thing is that he's there to sabotage the mission due to his family's connection to the city. So, Miri and Rafa have a very real attraction, but the secrets are still there. What I loved about this was that it had so many things - It had great humor, romance, and some twists and thrills along the way, and it was just the best blend of "stuff" to make a read that I couldn't put down! Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the look at this January 2025 release!