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mxsallybend's review against another edition
5.0
Book blurbs can be dangerous things, often teasing or exaggerating the aspects of a story that drew you to the book in the first place. You anxiously crack the spine, expecting a character or a theme to dominate the narrative, only to find they’re a small part of something almost completely different. This is especially true of adventure novels where the actual adventure – call it archaeology or tomb-raiding – is little more than window dressing for a contemporary thriller that’s reluctant to get its hands dirty.
Every once in awhile, though, you find that perfect book that delivers exactly what you expected, in exactly the manner you hoped – and that book is Uncharted. Seriously, I went into this with unrealistically high hopes, knowing that there was a romance to deliver on here as well, and somehow Robyn Nyx still went over-and-above. Hands down, this may be the most fun I’ve had between the covers of a book all year.
Before I get to the adventure, however, I have to talk about Rayne Marcellus (tomb-raider) and Chase Stinsen (serious archaeologist), ex-lovers turned bitter rivals who actually make the old enemies-turned-lovers trope work. First of all, they are both fully-developed characters with a shared backstory, motivations to which the reader can relate, and their own distinct, likable charm. I liked the way they sort of played against and flipped the typical butch/femme stereotypes, and how they were both aware of doing it. Along with Gin and Tonyck, the twin mercenaries who slowly come to respect Chase as much as their boss, these are kick-ass women who we have no trouble believing capable of taking on even the darkest, most violent aspects of the adventure.
As for Rayne and Chase’s relationship, there was not a single moment of their interactions that felt tedious or forced, not a single aspect of their movement through fighting, flirting, resisting, and romancing that didn’t ring true. Nyx made me believe that they belonged together, and had me cheering for their romance as strongly as I was their search for lost treasure. There’s so much passion and intensity there, so much sexual energy in a simple kiss or caress, that even the other characters aren’t immune to a little voyeuristic excitement.
Now, getting back to my complaint about actual adventure and archaeology within the genre, Uncharted starts and ends with tomb-raiding adventure, explores a third excavation in between that is both significant and pivotal, and incorporates an extended jungle adventure along the way, complete with bugs, snakes, Mayans, and more. This just doesn’t pay lip service to the adventure, it’s almost entirely an off-the-grid, in-the-wild, underground adventure. Yes, it is mostly x-marks-the-spot fantasy, driven by an ingenious treasure map and series of clues to the final puzzle, but there is enough genuine archaeology to make the fantasy feel real – and as a tomb-raiding adventure fantasy, this is fantastic!
Perhaps even more notable, and certainly of more interest for me, the entire adventure is female-driven and female-focused. Chase’s driving passion, the quest that leads her to the pivotal confrontation with Rayne, is the discovery of Queen Zenobia’s tomb. She hopes to find evidence that supports her as a feminist icon who died a hero, a fact that will erase the Roman lies of her submissive fate. Deep in the jungle, it is a matriarchal tribe that they encounter, with three old women who respect Rayne and Chase as sisters (or perhaps daughters), and who trust them to stand against the men who seek to befoul the treasure. As for that treasure, the MacGuffin of the Golden Trinity, without saying too much, it is intimately connected to female power and the feminine divine. What it is and what it stands for should not be a huge surprise to anybody paying attention, especially if they’re fans of the genre, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful.
And all of this is presented against the backdrop of terrorism, war, deforestation, and other crimes of men against both humanity and nature. No safe, often cheesy, portrayals of old-school Nazis or Soviet Communists here, Nyx plucks her villains from the here and now, and reminds us of what Rayne and Chase are fighting against as well as for.
Well-written, with engaging characters, action-packed adventure, sexual chemistry that’s off the charts, and a feminist mythology that is far more fascinating than the typical overdone Biblical nonsense, Uncharted was not just everything I hoped it might be, it was far more. Seriously, it has all the flash and fun of Lara Croft, Sydney Fox, Annja Creed, or Amelia Peabody, but with far more substance. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Rayne & Chase, because I desperately need more.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2022/10/14/uncharted-by-robyn-nyx/
Every once in awhile, though, you find that perfect book that delivers exactly what you expected, in exactly the manner you hoped – and that book is Uncharted. Seriously, I went into this with unrealistically high hopes, knowing that there was a romance to deliver on here as well, and somehow Robyn Nyx still went over-and-above. Hands down, this may be the most fun I’ve had between the covers of a book all year.
Before I get to the adventure, however, I have to talk about Rayne Marcellus (tomb-raider) and Chase Stinsen (serious archaeologist), ex-lovers turned bitter rivals who actually make the old enemies-turned-lovers trope work. First of all, they are both fully-developed characters with a shared backstory, motivations to which the reader can relate, and their own distinct, likable charm. I liked the way they sort of played against and flipped the typical butch/femme stereotypes, and how they were both aware of doing it. Along with Gin and Tonyck, the twin mercenaries who slowly come to respect Chase as much as their boss, these are kick-ass women who we have no trouble believing capable of taking on even the darkest, most violent aspects of the adventure.
As for Rayne and Chase’s relationship, there was not a single moment of their interactions that felt tedious or forced, not a single aspect of their movement through fighting, flirting, resisting, and romancing that didn’t ring true. Nyx made me believe that they belonged together, and had me cheering for their romance as strongly as I was their search for lost treasure. There’s so much passion and intensity there, so much sexual energy in a simple kiss or caress, that even the other characters aren’t immune to a little voyeuristic excitement.
Now, getting back to my complaint about actual adventure and archaeology within the genre, Uncharted starts and ends with tomb-raiding adventure, explores a third excavation in between that is both significant and pivotal, and incorporates an extended jungle adventure along the way, complete with bugs, snakes, Mayans, and more. This just doesn’t pay lip service to the adventure, it’s almost entirely an off-the-grid, in-the-wild, underground adventure. Yes, it is mostly x-marks-the-spot fantasy, driven by an ingenious treasure map and series of clues to the final puzzle, but there is enough genuine archaeology to make the fantasy feel real – and as a tomb-raiding adventure fantasy, this is fantastic!
Perhaps even more notable, and certainly of more interest for me, the entire adventure is female-driven and female-focused. Chase’s driving passion, the quest that leads her to the pivotal confrontation with Rayne, is the discovery of Queen Zenobia’s tomb. She hopes to find evidence that supports her as a feminist icon who died a hero, a fact that will erase the Roman lies of her submissive fate. Deep in the jungle, it is a matriarchal tribe that they encounter, with three old women who respect Rayne and Chase as sisters (or perhaps daughters), and who trust them to stand against the men who seek to befoul the treasure. As for that treasure, the MacGuffin of the Golden Trinity, without saying too much, it is intimately connected to female power and the feminine divine. What it is and what it stands for should not be a huge surprise to anybody paying attention, especially if they’re fans of the genre, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful.
And all of this is presented against the backdrop of terrorism, war, deforestation, and other crimes of men against both humanity and nature. No safe, often cheesy, portrayals of old-school Nazis or Soviet Communists here, Nyx plucks her villains from the here and now, and reminds us of what Rayne and Chase are fighting against as well as for.
Well-written, with engaging characters, action-packed adventure, sexual chemistry that’s off the charts, and a feminist mythology that is far more fascinating than the typical overdone Biblical nonsense, Uncharted was not just everything I hoped it might be, it was far more. Seriously, it has all the flash and fun of Lara Croft, Sydney Fox, Annja Creed, or Amelia Peabody, but with far more substance. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Rayne & Chase, because I desperately need more.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2022/10/14/uncharted-by-robyn-nyx/
queerlitloft's review against another edition
5.0
Author extraordinaire Robyn Nyx, once again delivers another superb wlw book to sink your teeth into.
Unchartered is just the right mix of adventure and romance with an enemies to lovers/second chances theme.
Throughout the story the author weaves a fine balance of action, danger and love, punctuated in all the right places with humourous banter and sexual innuendo.
These interactions between Chase and Rayne give levity to the more angst filled parts of the story without diluting the excitment of searching for The Golden Trinity.
Chase and Rayne start out in contempt of each other but their journey together has a redemptive nature. Both of these main characters are multifaucted, with their own histories and hangups that are somewhat processed on their adventure - ultimately allowing us to see their emotional walls start to come down.
The author is deft at fully fleshing out any secondary characters. I felt like i knew Tonyck, Ginn and Pablo as much as the main characters which adds layers to their interactions and the story as a whole.
Nyx writes unashamedly strong women loving women characters and like all of her previous works Nyx isn't afraid to tackle hard topics. Uncharted delves into the plight of the Amazon and it's indigenous people with a range of food for thought; deforestation, illegal logging, the ethics and morality of the antiquities trade to name but a few.
If you've got this far and are wondering what sets Uncharted apart from other adventure style books, for me it's undoubtedly the ability that Nyx has to craft exquisite sentences.
Just one of my favourites, '... Rayne still saw the escaping drops of liquid sorrow fall from Chase's face...', perfectly depicts Nyx's writing talent. The skill to elevate even the simplest of reactions to the next level, to draw a reader into the story as if you were there, experiencing it yourself.
Oh and if you've been lucky enough to read Robyn Nyx's wifes books written by Brey Willows, you'll have fun hunting the easter eggs in Uncharted!!
Unchartered is just the right mix of adventure and romance with an enemies to lovers/second chances theme.
Throughout the story the author weaves a fine balance of action, danger and love, punctuated in all the right places with humourous banter and sexual innuendo.
These interactions between Chase and Rayne give levity to the more angst filled parts of the story without diluting the excitment of searching for The Golden Trinity.
Chase and Rayne start out in contempt of each other but their journey together has a redemptive nature. Both of these main characters are multifaucted, with their own histories and hangups that are somewhat processed on their adventure - ultimately allowing us to see their emotional walls start to come down.
The author is deft at fully fleshing out any secondary characters. I felt like i knew Tonyck, Ginn and Pablo as much as the main characters which adds layers to their interactions and the story as a whole.
Nyx writes unashamedly strong women loving women characters and like all of her previous works Nyx isn't afraid to tackle hard topics. Uncharted delves into the plight of the Amazon and it's indigenous people with a range of food for thought; deforestation, illegal logging, the ethics and morality of the antiquities trade to name but a few.
If you've got this far and are wondering what sets Uncharted apart from other adventure style books, for me it's undoubtedly the ability that Nyx has to craft exquisite sentences.
Just one of my favourites, '... Rayne still saw the escaping drops of liquid sorrow fall from Chase's face...', perfectly depicts Nyx's writing talent. The skill to elevate even the simplest of reactions to the next level, to draw a reader into the story as if you were there, experiencing it yourself.
Oh and if you've been lucky enough to read Robyn Nyx's wifes books written by Brey Willows, you'll have fun hunting the easter eggs in Uncharted!!
hhushaw's review against another edition
3.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a really good book, I loved the banter between the characters. It did take me awhile to get into but the more I started to like Chase and Rayne the better it got. For some reason this book never clicked with me which is strange as I did enjoy the characters a lot. This was a good book just not something that I fell in love with. The adventure and love undertone makes this book very engaging!
judeinthestars's review
4.0
This is the third archaeologist/tomb raider lesfic story I’ve read in less than four months. Granted, the first two are part of the same series but still, that’s a lot compared to how many I had read before, which, if I’m not mistaken, is zero.
The good news is, they’re very different. Not so much the premise – a serious archaeologist, devoted to History and a greedy sexy slightly obnoxious tomb raider – but the tone, the way the story goes, the writing… This is my second book by Robyn Nyx, and while the first one, [b:Never Enough|33546953|Never Enough|Robyn Nyx|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482514649l/33546953._SY75_.jpg|49789685], was really good, it was way too violent for me to really enjoy. This one, though, was much more to my liking.
Chase Stinsen is earnest and determined to unearth the past so everyone can learn from it. For Rayne Marcellus, hidden treasures are meant to be sold. Ten years before Uncharted starts, Chase and Rayne were friends and working together, until Rayne betrayed her partner in favour of a different lifestyle, involving loads of money. But a close encounter with death on a Syrian site encourages Rayne to rethink her priorities and her feelings for Chase. When she’s asked to go after the legendary Mayan Golden Trilogy, she enlists Chase’s reluctant help.
At first sight, both main characters might seem a little cliché, with the serious butch archaeologist on the one hand and the callous femme antiquities finder on the other, but they’re more complex than that. Rayne’s apparent casualness stems from an unloving and exacting childhood and the need to constantly prove herself, to be enough, to be more. Her character growth over the course of the book is remarkable, all the more so as it has begun before she realises it. Chase, on the other hand, doesn’t evolve as obviously but she allows her self-confidence to show more and more, and takes matters in her own hands, both professionally and personally.
While Kaplan’s Easy Nevada series is outlandish and adrenaline-fueled, Nyx’s Uncharted is much more grounded. Not to say it’s not exciting (it is!) but it feels less like a silly but fun adventure and more like the real thing. There’s just enough technical talk to make the characters sound like they really are the experts they’re supposed to be, but not enough to turn the story into a lesson on Mayan mythology.
Nyx did a wonderful job describing the conditions in which the protagonists hunt for the treasure, whether it’s the places, the weather, the ever-present insects… The very first scene takes place in the Paris catacombs and from the first page, Nyx throws the reader in the heart of things. The sounds, the smells, we’re with Chase, not just watching her.
Locating the crux of the story in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest also allows the author to reflect on the logging business – both legal and illegal –, the impact on local populations and on the planet as a whole. Once again, it could have been tedious but it’s not at all, it flows, just part of the story.
The pace is excellent and the secondary characters are as layered as the MCs. I especially love the former military twins with opposite personalities but the same loyalty to Rayne. In a world of greed and callousness, where betrayals abound, that kind of loyalty is just as precious as any treasure and another testament to who Rayne really is beneath the surface.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
The good news is, they’re very different. Not so much the premise – a serious archaeologist, devoted to History and a greedy sexy slightly obnoxious tomb raider – but the tone, the way the story goes, the writing… This is my second book by Robyn Nyx, and while the first one, [b:Never Enough|33546953|Never Enough|Robyn Nyx|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482514649l/33546953._SY75_.jpg|49789685], was really good, it was way too violent for me to really enjoy. This one, though, was much more to my liking.
Chase Stinsen is earnest and determined to unearth the past so everyone can learn from it. For Rayne Marcellus, hidden treasures are meant to be sold. Ten years before Uncharted starts, Chase and Rayne were friends and working together, until Rayne betrayed her partner in favour of a different lifestyle, involving loads of money. But a close encounter with death on a Syrian site encourages Rayne to rethink her priorities and her feelings for Chase. When she’s asked to go after the legendary Mayan Golden Trilogy, she enlists Chase’s reluctant help.
At first sight, both main characters might seem a little cliché, with the serious butch archaeologist on the one hand and the callous femme antiquities finder on the other, but they’re more complex than that. Rayne’s apparent casualness stems from an unloving and exacting childhood and the need to constantly prove herself, to be enough, to be more. Her character growth over the course of the book is remarkable, all the more so as it has begun before she realises it. Chase, on the other hand, doesn’t evolve as obviously but she allows her self-confidence to show more and more, and takes matters in her own hands, both professionally and personally.
While Kaplan’s Easy Nevada series is outlandish and adrenaline-fueled, Nyx’s Uncharted is much more grounded. Not to say it’s not exciting (it is!) but it feels less like a silly but fun adventure and more like the real thing. There’s just enough technical talk to make the characters sound like they really are the experts they’re supposed to be, but not enough to turn the story into a lesson on Mayan mythology.
Nyx did a wonderful job describing the conditions in which the protagonists hunt for the treasure, whether it’s the places, the weather, the ever-present insects… The very first scene takes place in the Paris catacombs and from the first page, Nyx throws the reader in the heart of things. The sounds, the smells, we’re with Chase, not just watching her.
Locating the crux of the story in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest also allows the author to reflect on the logging business – both legal and illegal –, the impact on local populations and on the planet as a whole. Once again, it could have been tedious but it’s not at all, it flows, just part of the story.
The pace is excellent and the secondary characters are as layered as the MCs. I especially love the former military twins with opposite personalities but the same loyalty to Rayne. In a world of greed and callousness, where betrayals abound, that kind of loyalty is just as precious as any treasure and another testament to who Rayne really is beneath the surface.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
jamorjelly's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Super fun read, and both characters are wonderful!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
cdownes's review
Nyx has written a fast-paced thriller that's easy to enjoy. Part Tomb Raider part angsty history, there's a little bit for everyone.
Nyx's writing style is engaging, the characters are interesting and the plot provides some fun for the reader. In particular, the environment has been constructed in a realistic and relatively detailed way.
I would have preferred more detailed character development but overall, a good read.
I received an ARC for an honest review
Nyx's writing style is engaging, the characters are interesting and the plot provides some fun for the reader. In particular, the environment has been constructed in a realistic and relatively detailed way.
I would have preferred more detailed character development but overall, a good read.
I received an ARC for an honest review
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