This book is for all the fans of archeological adventures with a side of romance! Set in 1898 it follows a suffragette scholar and a roguish surveyor as they deal with an ancient map, dangerous terrains, villains, magical artifacts, and more! The story was action packed while being balanced out with plenty of banter and heart.

The narrator did an amazing job on the audio and captured a variety of different genders, accents, and personalities so well! I have really enjoyed contemporary romance narrated by her before so it was so fun to see how much versatility she has.

When Ellie discovers a map to a lost city, she intends to prove to the world that women can be archaeologists too. Only, there are much darker forces after the city than just capitalists.

I’ve been seeing this compared to The Mummy, Indiana Jones, The Road to El Dorado, and all those similar treasure hunt stories. And it is all of these and more. With an intelligent, rage filled protagonist, her heartthrob expert mapmaker sidekick, this story takes us on a wonderful adventure, that also takes the time to examine historical archaeology and its roots in colonialism, imperialism, and racism.

The scene setting was really well done. I felt like I could easily picture the the gray and dismal streets of London, to the wild jungle our plucky adventurers moved through.

One of the things I feel I need to rave about the strongest is the romance. I’m not usually one for romances in my adventure stories, because it takes a lot for me to remain invested in romance when there are historical treasures to be discovered. But Benson did an excellent job getting me invested in Ellie and Adam as individuals, as well as building up the relationship that had me rooting for them the whole time.

And I cannot praise enough the narrator! She did a fabulous job differentiating between Ellie and Adam’s POVs. Even beyond the accents, the tones fit their characters wonderfully. And the side characters all also sounded unique. I am absolutely going to be seeking out more of Picard’s narration.

I’ve bought a copy of this book already, and out a hold on the first in Benson’s Charismatics series at the library. And I can’t wait for the second book in Raiders of the Arcana!

Many thanks to both NetGalley and Vaughan Woods Publishing for this audio arc.

Jacquelyn Benson's Empire of Shadows is a captivating historical fantasy that delivers on adventure, intrigue, and a touch of romance. Narrated impeccably by Alex Picard, the audiobook immerses listeners in a world of daring exploration and perilous quests.

The story follows Ellie Mallory, a determined archaeologist who finds herself caught in a race against time to discover a legendary lost city. With a ruthless villain hot on her heels, Ellie must rely on the help of the enigmatic Adam Bates to navigate treacherous terrain and uncover ancient secrets.

Benson's writing is both witty and engaging, creating a richly detailed world filled with vibrant characters and thrilling escapades. Picard's narration brings the story to life, capturing the nuances of each character and delivering a dynamic performance.

While the plot may be somewhat predictable, the author's ability to balance action, humor, and character development makes the journey thoroughly enjoyable. Fans of historical fantasy and adventure will find Empire of Shadows a must-listen.

4.5 stars

Between Jacquelyn Benson's writing skills and Alex Picard's talents as a narrator, this audiobook is an experience that everyone should indulge in. I didn't think I could love this book anymore, but I was happily proven wrong.
I normally struggle with one narrator voicing both the male and female main characters as they don't normally sound too different, but the way Alex differentiated between the characters by changing their tone, pitch, accent, etc, was incredible and made it more realistic for me. It blew me away. I can't wait for their adventures to continue in book two.

Always going to love a book based on archeology! This book hit everything that I was hoping for with the adventure, excitement and the banter between our two main characters. The audiobook was a joy to listen to. The narrator really gave a lot of life to the characters. Looking forward to the next book!

This book has ruined other books for me.
"The Mummy" in a novel. Sold.

I had the pleasure of being able to listen to this amazing story on Netgalley and I was extremely impressed! I am extremely thankful I was given the chance to listen to this novel because I have not been this blown away in a while.
Not only was the narration brilliant but, the story and characters kept giving!
I was ether laughing at the banter or gasping from the action and adventures.

EVERY MINUTE WAS A RIDE THAT I NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE

Ellie is my new favorite girl. I wish I knew her in real life. Her sense of adventure, her courage and bravery, and most of all her love for explosives! She is such a fun character and very relatable. I really enjoyed her pov. I really want to meet her brother so I am eagerly waiting for the second part of this book to come out so I can continue her story because I miss them already!

Then we have Adam Bates. I don't think I loved a man like this since Rick O' Connell! The romance and humor along with how he treats Ellie I just ate it all up! Did I forget to mention he is Ellie's brother college best mate?
Slow burn but the best kind.
There is so much adventure from quests to escaping a terrifying man with supernatural secrets. When It was over I hated that it stopped! I can not wait for the next in the series.
Jacquelyn Benson you earned yourself a lifelong fan after this and I could not thank you more!

Five Stars!!

Empire of Shadows was a brilliant foray into historical fantasy with an engaging host of characters and all the appeal of Indiana Jones and The Mummy. Ellie is the perfect protagonist for me. She does not fit the typical mold, doing everything that she can to live her life on her terms despite the overbearing expectations placed on her by 19th century society. I giggled my way through many of her exploits as she moved from being arrested for protesting for women's suffrage, to stealing an artifact from her boss while waiting for him to terminate her employment, to outmaneuvering a violent treasure hunter, and finally posing as a widow in order to persuade an unsuspecting guide to accompany her on an expedition to explore a potentially historic find. As an unwed female archaeologist, she faced hurdles at nearly every turn and always found a way around them to accomplish her means. The plot was fast paced, if a bit slower toward the middle of the story, and the author did a fantastic job of crafting a world that made my heart race with tension. Her use of imagery made me almost feel as though I was there in the ruins with Ellie and Adam, using their tenacity to save not only themselves, but everyone they know and love as well. I had an absolutely wonderful time reading this one and I can't wait to see what happens in Egypt!
The only complaint I have with the audio version itself, is that I really wish that there had been a male narrator as well. The female narrator did a wonderful job with Ellies lines, but did not have the vocal range necessary to nail the mail parts in my opinion. I would have loved it so much more if there had been a gruffer voice to perform Adams parts.

I give this book 4 1/2⭐️I felt like I was on the adventure with the characters. I loved it. I really enjoyed it and I loved the narrator of this book I love how this boook is a mixture of the mummy and Indiana Jones put together and love the banter and flirting of the characters it was just so much fun and will definitely be reading the next book

EOS is an immersive, archeological adventure where "Romancing the Stone" meets the "The Mummy". Ellie and Bates take you on a journey through the Honduras jungle in search of an ancient city. While the journey is adventurous the book does lag a bit in the middle, I found myself pausing for an extended period of time instead of having the impulse to move through it. EOS did end strong, without a crazy cliffhanger and Book #2 set to release in October 2024.

🎧Audiobook: 16 1/2 hours on 1x
Narrator: Alex Picard
I thought Alex did a wonderful job and put personality into the different cast of characters. Her narration was full of personality and expression that grabs your attention.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ALC in exchange for a review of the audiobook.

Any book that describes itself as having "The Mummy" vibes I am definitely going to at least attempt reading! But I'm going to go a step further and say this book is a mash up of The Mummy and Jungle Cruise with a sprinkle of Indiana Jones and I couldn't stop listening!

The characters, Adam and Ellie, were so wonderful and their chemistry was pure perfection! The descriptions of the places they traveled through were so detailed it really felt like I was there! The narrator did a fantastic job with the voices of all the characters and it really helped bring the story to life. There was a point in the book that I did feel was slower and I feel like some parts could have been cut out altogether but I think this was probably just a me problem because I struggle with longer books, but this is the reason why I am giving it 4 stars (really 4.5 stars) instead of 5. But I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this series and can't wait for the 2nd one to come out! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook!

audio-ARC from NetGalley

Me: I don't like historical fiction.
Also, me to everyone I know: You've gotta read this! It's so good!

This book is perfect for fans of adventurous treasure-hunting stories - think The Mummy, National Treasure, The Lost City, etc. We follow a British woman named Ellie who stumbles upon a map indicating where the White City (kinda like El Dorado) is. Someone is trying to steal the map from her, so she grabs a ship to Belize on a whim and hires an American ex-pat named Adam - who she actually kind of hates - as her guide. All while the murderous man who wants the map pursues her.

There was not one part of this story that didn't work for me. The narrator was incredible - character voices, general narration, and accents were all performed phenomenally. The settings were so ... vibrant isn't the right word because London sounded pretty dreary, but they were just so vividly described and beautifully executed. Our cast of characters was a delight, and relationship dynamics and motivations were well fleshed out and believable.

I found the exploration of the untouched wilderness and relationship development masterfully written. I never felt like anything took too long, nor did it seem that anything needed more time than it was allotted. The characters came to a slow, begrudging respect for one another, and the extra emphasis on Adam's commitment to the community and cultures around him really hit home.

The best part of this story definitely was Adam and Ellie. They get off to a pretty rocky start - cue hate to love, forced proximity, and hidden identity tropes - so their interactions were genuinely hilarious. Adam suffers from reading difficulties but thrives in his role as a surveyor in South America, going about his life with all the joyful exuberance of a year-old labrador retriever - he even has his favorite stick ... which, in this case, is a much-cherished machete. Ellie, for her part, has the worst impulse control of all time, often thinking to herself: That is clearly a very delicate, ancient device that must be treated with utmost care ... I'ma poke it. Honestly, same.

Alas, the reason I can not give this book a full five-star rating is also why I find treasure-hunting movies so frustrating: They always break everything. I can't go to a demolition derby without wanting to cry, and I can not watch the utter destruction of (fictional) historical artifacts without a minor mental breakdown.

Is that going to keep me from reading book two? Absolutely not! I can't wait!

This was a gripping and thrilling story full of lots of adventure and excitement! The main characters had absolutely undeniable chemistry as both colleagues and as lovers. The narrator really gave it her all and kept the story moving with clear voices for the many many various characters. The author leant a great voice to each character to the point where you really felt like you knew them!

I absolutely loved this book! It was well-written, creative, and well-narrated. I have already pre-ordered the sequel!

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. It kept my attention throughout - with fun, adventure and 2 great main characters with good banter! I am excited for the next book to come out and to see their next adventure!!

(3.5 rounded up to 4)

What I liked:

Any book with archaeology will have me bursting at the seams to read it.

Ellie and Adam have great banter.

The whole adventure was a lot of fun

The narrator was great

What didn't work for me:

This was way longer than I think it needed to be.

First, I want to start off by saying thank you to @netgalley for the chance to audio read this book! I had such a good time, and the narrator was top notch, I loved all of the accents and how everyone was very easily distinguishable.

I got fairly bored around the 65% mark, but the ending was very cool, and I'm glad I didn't DNF! I can't wait to see where the story goes in the next book and how their relationship develops. This very much gave 'The Mummy's vibes and I was here for it. I pictured Brendan Fraser as Adam, and you can't convince me it wasn't him 😂

If The Mummy and Indiana Jones had a cosy book baby, this is it. I’d firstly like to say that the narrator did such a great job with the dual POVs and multiple accents! She really brought the story to life.

The book started off really strong. Ellie, our FMC, ends up arrested at a women’s rights protest and loses her job. She’s left with few options open to her and, after stealing an ancient artefact and a map, she begins a dangerous journey to fulfil her dreams and protect historical civilisations. Enter our MMC, Adam Bates, an American cinnamon roll sweetheart. As someone whose favourite colour is Morally Grey, I didn’t expect to love Adam as much as I did!

I did, unfortunately, zone out a little towards the end. I didn’t love the storyline with the antagonist. It felt a little forced as a plot driver and took away from what I really wanted which was the lore and the romance.

Overall this was an extremely well-written book with great main characters! I loved their chemistry and the romance felt natural to the plot and not overly-heavy. The book was very descriptive and I felt like I was right there with the characters exploring the jungle and ancient ruins. I appreciated that it tackled important issues like colonialism and theft, and I LOVED how the book ended with opportunities for sequels (although reading it as a standalone would be fine).

I did feel like it was too long, there are full scenes that would have been fine being cut out, but other than that I didn’t mind it too much. I also really loved all the accents that the narrator did, it really brought the characters to life! 4.25 rounded up.

🌈Queer rep: none

3.5 Stars

Empire of Shadows is like a book version of The Mummy or perhaps Indiana Jones—adventure, romance, villains and a secret civilization hidden away in the jungles of Honduras.

Adam Bates *swoon* He is a dreamy, handsome, daring adventurer, armed with a machete. And our MFC Ellie is a kickass scholar who dreams of living beyond the restrictions society puts on women during Victorian times.

Ellie stumbles upon a map to an unknown ancient city and is forced to flee with said map after a ruthless villain finds out about her discovery and desires the map for himself. Through some comical adventuring, Ellie ends up employing Adam Bates, a local surveyor, as her guide to find this mysterious city. Tons of fun banter, close calls and daring exploration brings Ellie and Adam close as they attempt to evade villains and find the archaeological discovery of the century.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vaughan Woods Publishing for this Audio ARC.

Historical romance
Victorian times
Adventure
Comical banter

I also got an e-ARC of this book prior to it's release so I am writing this view purely based on my experience with the audiobook.

This audiobook was such a great listen! The story had a good pace, and the characters were equally as lovable when narrated as they are on paper. The narrator did a fantastic job differentiating between the two main characters switching between Ellie's prim English and Adams American accents effortlessly—even when I sped it up to 2.5x!

I cannot rate this book highly enough, if I could give it more than five stars, I would! It has a bit of everything, history, mystery, romance, intrigue, espionage?!?

I loved the characters - the world, the magic, Adam is the perfect male character, he has the charisma and sarcasm of beloved fictional explorers such as Indiana Jones with the sweet, less womanising side that we all know and desperately seek in a mmc. Meanwhile Ellie is what every academically minded girl wishes she could be when she grows up.

This book is perfect for anyone who loved The Mummy, Indiana Jones and Atlantis. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am for book two. If you havent read this book already, you need to! Highly recommend!!!