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obstinateheadstrongcurl's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Raiders of the Lost Heart follows Drs Corrie Mejia and Ford Matthews, rival archaeologists who unite to find the remains of an Aztec warrior. This book had promise but it really didn’t live up to it for me. I think if I had read it when I was a teenager I would have had a good time with it, but there were just too many holes for me to buy in.
I found the archaeology plot line to be poorly researched. Why would a dig be organised with the goal of finding one individual’s remains? Why are they breaking Mexican law by retrieving said remains for a private individual? The plot twist at the end resolves these difficulties, but changes the issue from one of research to ‘why are these supposedly experienced archaeologists not asking any of these questions before signing on to the dig?’
I really didn’t like how women’s sexuality was handled in this story. Corrie has been sexualised from adolescence and all throughout her career, but the author is constantly sexualising her as well.We also find out Ford’s previous relationship ended because their sex life never recovered after he walked in on her masturbating when he returned early from a long dig, as if the poor woman was just supposed to wait for him when he’s gone for months at a time.
Lastly, the story keeps brushing against actual issues, like nepotism in elite academia or who owns historical artefacts, and reducing them to character flaws of Ford. It really felt like an opportunity was missed to tell a more interesting story.
I really didn’t like how women’s sexuality was handled in this story. Corrie has been sexualised from adolescence and all throughout her career, but the author is constantly sexualising her as well.
Lastly, the story keeps brushing against actual issues, like nepotism in elite academia or who owns historical artefacts, and reducing them to character flaws of Ford. It really felt like an opportunity was missed to tell a more interesting story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racism
ms_elchert's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Cancer
aimeea70's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
cassielaj's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I have been excited for this book as long as I’ve known of its existence. Which has been probably close to a year at this point. I have been BEGGING the publishing industry at large for more adventure books centering women, and this one is so good! It is definitely heavy on the romance side of things, so I wish there was just a bit more adventure, but in this case I just want there to be more of this book. Corrie is such a cool character, and Ford is a great counterpart to her. It took me a little while to like him, but I think Segura manages the “flawed character who makes mistakes but is still believably lovable” very well. I loved this story and I want more of Corrie and Ford’s adventures!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Cancer
gcawiezell's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
totalaxolotl's review against another edition
It was way too fast
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
annamay1021's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual content
lakinglaze's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A raunchy archaeological contemporary romance — was it reflective of real-life archaeology? No. But — was it fun? Yes! This was a bit spicer than my typical read, but it was a pretty fun story. It’s nice to see archaeology in romance and on a dig at that — speaking as someone with two degrees on the subject. Fun time all around. I hope to see more archaeological themed contemporary romance novels in the future!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Body shaming, Cancer, and Stalking
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cancer
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
aromanticreadsromance's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
okay, hear me out, i know romance sells in the book world, but this totally should have been the first book of an adventure series with corrie as the sole and primary lead. in each book, she goes on a different archaeological dig, and she is met with different challenges and light mysteries. remove ford entirely from the equation. that man is like the bran flakes or shredded wheat of men. corrie is like the frosted flakes or lucky charms of women. she's a total badass, and i LOVED her character (she only annoyed me once... or possibly twice... in the entire book). i want every woman lead to be as strong and independent as her.
the romance in this was... senseless and kinda awful??? trust me, i know romance is MY genre, but i could have done without the romance. the third act conflict was TOO big to be resolved in the five remaining chapters. ford did not do much, if any, groveling. he just didn't understand how hard it was to be a woman, especially a woman of color, in academia broadly and archaeology specifically, and that's my least favorite brand of white man. i just don't think his character was developed enough. several parts of his storyline felt unresolved or unanswered, like his feelings about his dad. did i understand ford's motives? sure. were his motives enough to absolve him? absolutely not.
i still enjoyed this book, for the most part. the writing was solid, and the adventure was fun.
the romance in this was... senseless and kinda awful??? trust me, i know romance is MY genre, but i could have done without the romance. the third act conflict was TOO big to be resolved in the five remaining chapters. ford did not do much, if any, groveling. he just didn't understand how hard it was to be a woman, especially a woman of color, in academia broadly and archaeology specifically, and that's my least favorite brand of white man. i just don't think his character was developed enough. several parts of his storyline felt unresolved or unanswered, like his feelings about his dad. did i understand ford's motives? sure. were his motives enough to absolve him? absolutely not.
i still enjoyed this book, for the most part. the writing was solid, and the adventure was fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Cancer
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Blood and Violence