Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I really really wanted to like this book because the concept sounded so fun but it was just too horny, dirty (not the good kind) and bloody for me. I feel like it would have been better if they were friends to lovers instead of friends but not really friends to lovers. I needed to see them acting as just friends, in order for it to be believable that they where so afraid to lose their friendship that they kept quite for so long and it would have also been kind of nice to see them being a couple for longer than we got. I did love the clues and stories of the Cherokee people and how that related to the treasure and I wish we had more time with that.

If I Dig You is a queer romance between two archeologists, Louise and Isi, who go on a wild adventure in search of lost treasure and answers about Isi’s mom’s disappearance. I haven’t read many adventure romances so I was excited about this one! The adventure plot line is steady throughout the story, but I found the romance to drag and be repetitive. That said, if you enjoy slow burn friends to lovers, only one sleeping bag, or Indiana Jones this one is worth a shot! The information about Cherokee history was also interesting, I wish there was even more of that.

3.5⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

I just want to say a quick thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early copy of If I dig you. I've been looking forward to this book for months since I first saw the announcement post and I'm so pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I will always take an opportunity to read sapphic books especially if they are set in mixed genres. A sapphic adventure romance is not something I knew I needed until I saw it but now I can't believe I've never read that combination before. Wilkens took every opportunity to make us laugh and swoon over the romance between Isi and Louise but also left us with a lot of tears and bittersweet conversations. I feel like there were a few points where I felt like it was a bit ridiculous that they were able to focus so much on their history and personal problems when they were actively being chased through the woods but that’s sort of the charm of romance as a genre and overall I felt like the mix of developing their relationship and exploring their survival and the adventure at hand was pretty balanced.

I want to say more but I don't really like to leave spoiler reviews so I'll just say I love the tattoo Louise got in the end :)

I would highly recommend this to anyone that likes the sound of the synopsis! It was so much fun

I really wanted to love this. The premise was great but it was sloooooow in the beginning, picked up about the halfway point, and then some things were just… weird? Like, these two were WAY too focused on each other in places where they should have been focused on escape. It felt kind of forced in that way. I love the friends to lovers trope, but it wasn’t until 60% that they acted on it and I got a little tired of BOTH of them being all angsty and refusing to say anything to the other one.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Although I was expecting some sapphic pining considering this is a friend's to lovers trope, I wasn't anticipating quite this much. I'd say about 20% of the book is adventuring and the other 80% is Lou and Isa silently pining for one another and trying not to tear their clothes off in the middle of the woods. It also wasn't as intense a book as I thought it would be considering the warnings, there are plenty of cute and campy moments. The aspect of this book that was lacking for me, however, was that adventure aspect. I wasn't super drawn in by the quest for the gold, and found myself questioning at many points how they were navigating and surviving as well as they did. It felt like too much of the adventure was spent on them just walking miserable and cold through the woods. Overall though, the story is enjoyable and definitely much more of a romance book. If you want lots of sapphic pining, some spice, and a little side of adventure, then this fits the bill. 3.9/5 stars rounded up

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Isadora and Louise are longtime archaeologists and best friends. Except Louise took off for a prime job in Turkey, among other things, and Isadora felt left behind; and thus, their relationship has been challenging as of late. It doesn't help that Isadore has feelings for Louise; so, she throws herself into looking for her mother, who disappeared years ago during a research trip. What Isadore discovers is that the gold her mother was looking for is real, and she is not the only one who learns this; a wealthy collector is also looking for this. Isadora and Louise are kidnapped, then break free, but now must figure out how to survive in the mountains with just each other.

I read through this book very quickly. It was entertaining, propulsive, and Isadore and Louise had a lot of chemistry. I enjoyed the background story of archaeology and research, as well. If you are looking for a real adventure with some romance sprinkled in, definitely pick this book up.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Super cute and fun, easy to read romance. As someone who wanted to be an archaeologist growing up too, I love that we’re getting more archaeology romcoms!

Personally not for me. I tried to get into it and even gave it two different tries in case it was a mood thing, but I was not able to get past the first 15%. I know a lot of other readers will love this book though.

This was another book that I really wanted to love (I also had an archeology-loving phase and thought this would be a fun little romp to quench that childhood obsession a bit).

This is another example where I just find sapphic books to fall a little flat for me and I think that is so sad. Someone give me a spectacular sapphic romance novel already! It's what the world needs and deserves. Maybe it was because this couple was insta-lovey. And those fall so flat and disappoint me so much.

I found these main characters a bit boring and a bit cliché even with such a fun premise. Maybe it being more friends to lovers (if we're being specific and technical about it) also played a role in me not being as invested. I tend to not love friends to lovers because I don't like not seeing much relationship build up. The characters being friends before I even know them means that I don't get to see much of their bonding and shared experiences. Why are they friends? How did they become friends? I don't know, I didn't get to see any of it -- that kind of thing.

Don't get me wrong, this was a fast and campy read (and those certainly have their merit and place in the world), but I just wanted a bit more. Sorry for being a party-pooper.

And this cover is so cute! I love the style, it reminds me of the old Archie comics illustrations. And I love those.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I wanted to LOVE this. Queer archeologists, one of them Cherokee, racing against an evil treasure hunter/private collector to find hidden Cherokee gold? The unearthed potential!! (Ha, archeology joke, ha...)

This started off fun, but then it slowlyyyy started to drag, and I saw that I was 50% through and the treasure rescue aspect had barely begun. Our two MCs Isi and Louise spent an entire night (chapters, and chapters, and chapters) talking about their history over and over and honestly being a little too horny for two people getting stalked through the forest by treasure hunters with guns. There was a lot of tell-not-show about their relationship. I think I would've preferred flashbacks instead of them relaying their past in conversations to each other.

The bad guys also barely showed up. Clarice Walker/her cronies were there for the initial abduction, some brief danger in the woods, and then GONE completely while Isi and Louise had their sex camping vaca until they showed up again at the very end. I think of National Treasure ("Someone else is after the treasure." "Of course someone else is after the treasure. It's the axiom of treasure hunting.") but that's barely true here. The villain was a tiny, miniscule, microscopic conflict for most of the book. Though I did kind of love the gold and Indiana Jones-ish ending when we eventually got there.

There were some fun and cute parts! Some sections did make me laugh out loud. But I wanted more of that and more action and adventure. I feel like you could easily skip half of this and not miss anything. So much of it was "do I kiss her no it'll destroy our friendship but i want to kiss her i should do it wait boobs no our friendship but kiss boobs sex." Everything else never really got off the ground. It was less Indiana Jones and more sapphic-sexual-fantasies-with-thin-plot. Not that there's anything wrong with that (I've read my fair share of those let me tell you), but it wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for with this novel

An absolutely adorable, nerdy sapphic love story. Features themes of grief, hidden love, and jealousy. One of the characters has secret feelings for her best friend- not just a crush, but head over heels in love. Anyone who's ever had secret feelings for a girl-friend can relate to this. Anyone who loves archeology or the Appalachian mountains will love the setting.

This is a cute, spicy lesbian novel. The concept is fun - two best friend archaeologists get kidnapped and then go on a wilderness journey involving snakes, spiders, guns, and sharing sleeping bags to try to find treasure. The best friends are in love with each other, but of course they don't want to risk their friendship. They risk their lives for each other and find themselves in increasingly dangerous situations which further solidifies that there is no one else they'd rather be there with. I thought the dialogue was cute, but found myself wishing there was just a little more tension. HOWEVER, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and it's not often lesbians get a fun book!

I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion I am giving voluntarily.
I have been a super fan of Colby since reading “if I stop haunting you” and just like I knew then I also knew within five chapters of this book, that it’s phenomenal. The way she sucks you into the story and makes me completely forget I’m sitting in bed and not climbing between two mountains to escape my kidnappers with my best friend I’m secretly in love with is what I love about Colby’s writing style. She also weaves in real life indigenous issues without you even realizing it and as an Oklahoma Seminole myself I couldn’t be more proud and truly thankful we have someone else speaking up for us.
If you want a sapphic romance Indiana jones style, pick up this book!
You won’t be disappointed

The second I saw this was available to read on NetGalley I RAN!! I devoured this book! We love a sapphic friends to lovers with pining on both sides!! SO MUCH PINING! This book was so funny and fast paced

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've been DYING for some more Indiana Jones / The Mummy inspired stories and I will always be looking for sapphic romcoms. Unfortunately the friends to lovers element in this one didn't really work for me because the characters are already in love at the beginning of the story; the fun of friends to lovers lies in the journey, the discovery, the denial. I also struggled to connect with the writing.

I love the archaeology element to this book and how it’s used in the romance part of the story. I was invested in what was happening to the characters and glad they were wonderfully written. The plot of the book had that charm that I wanted and was glad it was everything that I wanted. Colby Wilkens wrote a strong story and glad I got to read this.

I think this was a beautiful story take national treasure or Indiana jones but make it gay with two girls in love, also one of the girls was looking for what happened to her mother in the story so they went on a adventure with a treasure map, very cute.

I absolutely loved If I Stopped Haunting You and this one was pure queer perfection that made my bi heart so so happy.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Queer Indiana Jones sums this up almost entirely! The characters were amazing and the cover is just gorgeous!! This is a good read and makes you feel like you are right there with the characters!

Wilkens’ talent for creating rich, dynamic characters shines through, particularly in the way Isi grapples with her past and her feelings for Lou. Their journey, fraught with danger and discovery, is a thrilling backdrop for exploring love and vulnerability. The mix of archaeology and personal stakes creates a riveting narrative that feels fresh and engaging. This isn’t just a treasure hunt; it’s a poignant exploration of what it means to truly uncover the depths of your heart. A must-read for anyone who loves a compelling adventure with a side of heart.