Quick Synopsis

Rival archaeologists must team up on a secret Aztec expedition, or it could leave their careers—and hearts—in ruins.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Archaeologist Dr. Socorro “Corrie” Mejía has a bone to pick. Literally. 

It’s been Corrie’s life goal to lead an expedition deep into the Mexican jungle in search of the long-lost remains of her ancestor, Chimalli, an ancient warrior of the Aztec empire. But when she is invited to join an all-expenses-paid dig to do just that, Corrie is sure it’s too good to be true…and she’s right.

As the world-renowned expert on Chimalli, by rights Corrie should be leading the expedition, not sharing the glory with her disgustingly handsome nemesis. But Dr. Ford Matthews has been finding new ways to best her since they were in grad school. Ford certainly isn’t thrilled either—with his life in shambles, the last thing he needs is a reminder of their rocky past.

But as the dig begins, it becomes clear they’ll need to work together when they realize a thief is lurking around their campsite, forcing the pair to keep their discoveries—and lingering attraction—under wraps. With money-hungry artifact smugglers, the Mexican authorities, and the lies between them closing in, there’s only one way this all ends—explosively.

Book Review

I was so excited to learn about this book back in November. While I have become a pretty avid romance reader, I still really like to see authors take risks with their stories. And Raiders of the Lost Heart is a unique take on contemporary romance with an adventure storyline.

Dr. Corrie Mejía is a badass female archaeologist whose expertise surrounds Chimalli, an ancient Aztec warrior and her possible ancestor. Being female and Latinx in a male-dominated field means she has had to fight to be taken seriously and respected. Unfortunately, her advancement has been further limited by her graduate school nemesis, Dr. Ford Matthews, who has stolen opportunities right from under her. However, suddenly Ford is begging for Corrie’s help to find Chimalli and prevent him from losing everything.

I picked up Raiders of the Lost Heart for the non-romance plot. I love the idea of a badass heroine who does not need a man to save her and instead comes to his rescue. I am happy to say that I was satisfied with the adventure plot, although I would have liked more action. (I had reasonable expectations since I dated an archaeologist and know it to be nothing like The Mummy or Indiana Jones.) I thought the premise of this novel really made for a fun take on a romance novel. Forget the only one bed trope. There is only one tent!

I found the first half of Raiders of the Lost Heart to be stronger than the second half. As expected in an enemies-to-lovers romance, there is initially plenty of bickering and tension… along with physical attraction. However, I did not fully buy into the love between Corrie and Ford. Physical chemistry really was the primary feeling, rather than care and affection turning to love. To add to this, Corrie has very solid reasoning for despising Ford, and at some point, it just seems like it was swept under the rug and forgotten about. There was no real apology that allowed Corrie to move on and see Ford in a different light. This felt like a significant plot hole for me.

In addition, the third act crisis/break-up is not handled particularly well. It seemed wedged to fit the story, and the reactions did not feel inline with the character development up to that point. Moreover, I thought an important ethical discussion is missing and left me feeling uncomfortable.

For me, I thought the characters were developed a decent amount for a debut novel. Yet, I wished that Corrie and Ford grew through the narrative. Especially in the case of Ford, it was hard to get fully on board with Corrie’s desire for him considering his past actions and blatant white male privilege and saviorism. If I was in Corrie’s position, I could would not have gotten past his shitty actions without a big apology and seeing regret and remorse from him. But hey, maybe that is why no one is writing a romance novel about me.

Overall, Raiders of the Lost Heart is a fun deviation from the typical contemporary romance novel. I found it to be a strong debut and am looking forward to the next novel in the series.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Plot

Character Development