I can’t fathom why a whole novel narrated from an British English protagonist ( a ‘nice Victorian Lady’, as per the blurb) should be contracted to an American actor who has to try to feign an RP accent for nearly 17 hours.

This entire audiobook is undermined by a tension where it feels like we’re just WAITING for the artificial accent to slip and for American to show through. And boy does it show through!

Alex Picard macerates her vowels, particularly in her habit of chewing short vowels into long vowels. Like in Ellie's mother's and friend's names: Flo[w]rence and Co[w]nstance.

Similarly jarring is Price's inability to make a British 'u' sound; her 'Tuesday' is still 'Toosday', as is her over-correction of her American softening of a double t, as in 'little'. The phrase ‘rankest injustice’ comes out as a Deep-South Louisiana drawl version of a London Suffragette.

This really ruined the book for me. I was listening judgementally to the comical Queen Elizabeth II impersonation, and taking in none of the story. I was jumping from one pronunciation horror to the next instead of following the plot (try listening to Picard’s ‘o[w]ff’ and not hearing the Queen of Hearts yelling “Off with their heads!”).

When I realised that I needed to rewind to the last place I’d been paying attention to the novel and not the narration, and having literally no idea when that was, I concluded that this audiobook was not for me.

It really seems like a no-brainer to me to cast an English actor for seventeen hours of an English accent. What a failure of casting!

But my thanks for Audio ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

Empire of Shadows is a mass-up of Jungle Cruise (Disney 2021) [the setting] + The Mummy (1999) [Rick O’Connel] + the most badass scholarly FMC [Lily + Evie coded].

There is… adventure [copious amounts]. banter [a lot]. Romance [a little]. Historical elements [tons]. Magic/Fantastical elements [a tiny bit].

This was a pretty great time. I really enjoyed the banter and relationship between the MMC and FMC and my biggest complaint for this book is that there isn’t MORE romance!

If you enjoy historical fiction this is a fun one! It feels very well researched (although I am NOT an expert) and I enjoyed how the author handled some of the tougher topics/aspects of the time period.

Audiobook Narration 4.5⭐️

The narration was spectacular, I loved that there was a distinct accent for the different POVs. Since this is technically all 3rd POV - the female narrator does work well for both sections, but a dual narration with a male narrator would have really set this apart. I do understand that hiring two narrators is often cost prohibitive for indie authors however - and I still think the narrator knocks it out of the park.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for sending this book (audio ARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I got this Audiobook as an arc from Netgalley. I will be posting this review on my goodreads and instagram. Since I got this as a audiobook arc I will start my review by saying this narrator did a great job! I loved how she changed accents for all the different characters to help the listener differentiate. If you are a fan of Indiana Jones and the mummy then this book is for you! I’m going to give this book 3 ⭐️ and a 0 🌶️ rating. I’m giving this 3 ⭐️because it was a little slow paced for my liking.

3.5 Stars

I really loved the premise of this book and loved the voice actor. I am a huge lover of history and thought the search for an archeological site while facing danger was a perfect setup. While I did enjoy this book it felt a bit slow and the added details outside of the "adventure" was something that was hard to keep my attention. It felt also weird to include a romance when the fml Ellie was so against marriage and being with a man. I feel like this would have worked better without having a romance at all. All in all it was an okay read and definingly for people who are looking for a Indiana Jones feel.

YES, All of the YESes. If you are like me, and I know a lot you are, you fall into the following group: Born in the 80s, grew up in the 90s, survived 2000 etc. This book has been described as The Mummy meets Oceans 11, and if you KNOW, many of us had our awaking watching The Mummy 1 and 2 movies. SO: This audio is that. The Mummy meets Oceans 11 and make a baby that turns into COZY ADVENTURE WITH TREASURE. And the narration is submerge. The narrator does such a good job with the voices, her tone and the men. I truly loved this one. Hats off to both author and narrator. Give me more!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was such a fun story with high stakes, mystery, and sprinkling of tension-building romance! I loved every second of learning about the characters and learning more about their journey to the City of Gold.

The audiobook narrator did a great job of utilizing accents to differentiate between characters and bring the most emotion to every character on the page! I think the audiobook could have benefited from having a male narrator for Adam's point of view, but the narrator did a great job on his chapters as well!

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the archeological setting that is perfect for fans of The Mummy, Indiana Jones, and Jungle Cruise. This is full of action, delicious dialogue, and compelling characters. The banter between Ellie and Adam was so good! Do yourself a favor and read this one!

First off all, this story is fantastic 🤩 I cannot believe I’ve never read a book that gave Mummy vibes before. And I LOVE Ellie. The second she handcuffed herself to parliament I knew she’d be one of my favorite FMCs💛

I read via audiobook & the narrator -Alex Picard - was perfect! She was so easy to follow, and had me laughing out loud. My husband also started listening and loving it as well - he was even asking for updates when I was listening without him.

5/5, I cannot wait for book two!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing & Jacquelyn Benson for the ARC

*posted to Goodreads & Amazon

In the era of the Suffragettes Ellie Mallory, champion for her own and women’s rights, is unlikely to fulfil her dreams. Archaeological knowledge is her bedrock, getting the tea for her oblivious boss is the reality. A husband to be found for blissful peace - Ellie’s opinion is ‘absolutely no way!!!’. A series of by chance events mean that Ellie’s dreams are actual possibilities. Deadly ones at that, and just maybe she does need some male help after all. But definitely not Adam Bates, no, anyone but him. But as ancient arcane secrets and magic come to light, the search is on and evil conspirators need to be foiled. Book one is a whole story, but I think there will be more adventures for Ellie in the future. Just what she wants (and a boyfriend/male companion to boot after all). Thank you to Vaughan Woods Publishing and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I think this is going to be my favorite read of the year! (2024) Because holy cow was this good! This was EVERYTHING I have been wanting and hoping to find in a book again. Immaculate vibes. I know it will get compared to The Mummy a lot and you can tell the author took inspiration from that. But Benson weaves her own unique tale with just an unique blend of characters. I loved every moment of this book. The pacing was done well, the character development was on point, the tension between the love interest was adorable! I don't even like Historical Fiction that much, or so I thought! I loved the setting and time period for this story, and the hint of fantasy was just enough. I can't wait to recommend this to all my friends. I really really can't wait to read the rest of the series.
The narrator did an excellent job on the voices as well, overall great audio production.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book! It is absolutely packed with adventure, mishaps, myths, legends, and bantering main characters. I found Ellie and Adam to be great characters and while they both have hearts of gold, they are also very human and have their flaws. I loved their first meet scene lol. When I saw comparisons to The Mummy/Indiana Jones, I was both excited for the vibes and a bit nervous that it wouldn’t deliver - but this book did not let me down.

The audiobook is incredibly well-done and the narrator perfectly captures the personalities and performance of not only the main characters (which are spot on!) but even the smallest side characters. Highly recommend the audio version!!

Thank you to Vaughan Woods Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.

This sounded like something I would absolutely enjoy. I love the cartoon The Road to Eldorado so thought a romance would be amazing. I loved the adventure story. Sometimes I read these romances and the adventure is minimal and I always want more action. I want more of the journey and obstacles so this was great. I enjoyed the audio narration. The characters had good chemistry when they weren't arguing. Well, when she wasn't arguing. I felt like it was suppose to come off as funny banter but she just got on my nerves. She started arguments with him for the dumbest reasons. I felt like the story dragged on a little too long and while I enjoyed the adventure there wasn't enough romance to balance it out. I found myself growing bored toward the end. Overall, it was fine but not a standout. 3 stars.

LOVED this book! It gave me the perfect Indiana Jones/archaeology vibes. I love history and found this such a good read!!

This book was sold to me by comparisons to Indiana Jones and The Mummy, it didn’t disappoint. I fully expected this to be a good book, but I absolutely loved it! I’m usually a high fantasy girl so this was actually a refreshing break I didn’t know I needed and it had me giggling and squealing. The narration was great, I had a few issues here and there with the over-emphasised posh accent of Ellie (which was funny considering the narrator is British) but other than that 0 complaints. My favourite book of the month.

This was a fun, fun read. I ate this one up. It gave me vibes of a mash up between The Mummy, The Goonies, and National Treasure. What I loved most: Bates. He is a treat to spend time in the pages with. His dynamic with Ellie was so, so fun. Ellie brought a feminist (for the time period) spunk that I tend to latch onto. I really liked her as well. The booby trap filled adventure kept me needing to know what happens next. This book is so my scene that there really isn't much I didn't like. The world building was vivid and easy to follow - which might also be partially credited to the absolutely stellar narration done by Alex Picard. The way she was able to separate characters all on her own was insanely good; her use of voices and accents added to much to the reader's experience. I absolutely recommend the audiobook for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jacquelyn Benson, and Victory Editing for this audiobook ARC - I do own a physical copy I purchased myself.

Set in 1898, relluctant allies Ellie and Adam embark on an adventure across the Belizean jungle to track down a seemingly fantastical forgotten city.
One of my favourite themes across the story was the depiction of native Belizeans and other ethnic groups. I was very relieved when the characters openly denounced colonialism and had nuanced discussions about its effects on the local communities. The author clearly has done research on the subject, as well as on Mesoamerican folklore and history, which were wonderfully woven into the plot and setting.
The romance was one of the other highlights of this book. Ellie and Adam’s dynamic was electrifying: the banter, the tension and the secret admiration of each other’s intelligence.
Alex Picard does a remarkable job bringing to life Ellie’s and Adam’s personalities and emotions. In addition, Picard navigates through several accents flawlessly. I’d highlight how she sticks with either American or English accent depending on which main character’s POV the chapter is narrated from. And for those whose pet peeve is the strange “male voice” some narrators put on -fear not! Picard’s emulation of the male characters is as convincing as it is enjoyable.
All in all, this audiobook is a perfect chance to either freshen up or catch up on this series before the release of Tomb of the Sun King.

This was SO MUCH FUN!! I love those old archaeological adventure movies like Indiana Jones and The Mummy but I especially loved seeing a female scholar take the lead in this one. The writing is fantastic and pulls you right into the end of the 19th century. The well researched history is woven into the story so well as to not overwhelm with details someone like me who is only familiar with the rudimentary events. The plot is filled with dangerous trials, fearsome creatures and, of course, greedy shady figures. But our protagonists can handle anything thrown at them when together.

Ellie is smart and witty and a feminist during a time when women are fighting for their right to vote. And Adam is a very handsome assistant surveyor general with a heart of gold who’ll follow her into every danger. Oof how I adored their banter and sizzling chemistry. And the way Adam never once questioned Ellie’s expertise.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was so captivating and handled all the different accents so well. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the review copy!

I haven't fallen in love with a straight romance in ages, but I was hooked by this one from the word go. Both the main characters were utterly charming, fun to read about, had the BEST banter. It was non-stop action, with great tension. And the narrator!! I have a new favorite narrator now. I desperately hope she does book 2 because I NEED it immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of the audiobook!

3.5 Stars!

The Mummy meets Indian Jones in this exciting first book in the Raiders of the Arcana by Jacquelyn Benson. Our MMC Adam Bates and FMC Eleanor Mallory, team up in order to find a lost city. The year is 1898 and Ellie has chained herself to the gates of the parliament in support of women's suffrage. She then finds herself arrested, and then let go on the condition that she would indulge in such activities in the future. The repercussion of her actions, she is fired from her job of being an archivist at the Public Relations Officer. It is here that Ellie, finds clues to a hidden or shall we say lost city. Ellie being scholarly inquisitive by nature decides to tackle this bull by its horns and find this lost city and show the world that woman can do magnificent things of given the chance. But Ellie is not the only one who has her eyes set on the prize. And it will not be an easy to accomplish task. As she sets on her journey, she meets Adam Bates, an American archaeologist and land surveyor who agrees to help her in finding this lost city.

Honestly, this was an enjoyable read. The banter between Ellie and Adam was hilarious. Their first meet was *chef's kiss* The author has done her research in terms of the archaeological elements of the story, so that was a job well done. Made the reading experience much more interesting. The narrator did a fantastic job of switching between accents and narrating the story. The struggles that women face despite being educated, smart and talented did nothing for them just because of gender discrimination was also aptly portrayed.

So why the 3.5 stars? The book was overtly long. The middle part also felt dragged out. That's where I felt like I was losing the interest to continue reading/listening.
Also, the romance started off strong but took a back seat somewhere in the middle with more focus shifting to the other characters in the story.

To summarize, if you adore The Mummy and like stories that talk about lost worlds and artefacts, if you like your FMC to be sassy and strong willed and if you like your MMC who love to support said sassy ladies then this book is right up your alley.

is what happens when a Victorian lady decides archaeology is more fun than being ladylike. Ellie Mallory’s career tanks after a minor whoopsie arrest, but no biggie — she’s got a treasure map and a shirtless, snake-wrangling sidekick, Adam, who’s allergic to clothing.

Together they race a villain to ancient ruins, dodging death, stealing pants, and maybe falling in love. Think Indiana Jones but with more corsets, machetes, and flirty danger. If you like your historical adventures with some sass and swagger, this is your jam!

You that NetGalley and the publishers for letting the sensitives, incredible audiobook, the narration was wonderful.