Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Raiders of the Lost Heart

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!

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hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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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

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aromanticreadsromance's review against another edition

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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.

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laurenkraigco's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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mtnest's review against another edition

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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? No

2.5

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veritas19's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I really enjoyed this book! I hope there is a sequel in the works because I really enjoyed these characters! Corrie and Ford were the highlights but I also enjoyed the rest of the crew on dig in Mexico. There is swearing and some spice but not extensive. I also loved the cover art and title of this book!

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laheath's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

This is actually a review for the audiobook. Unique concept of two previously competitive archeologists teaming up on an Aztec dig and rekindling a years-old flame. I definitely appreciated the strong female characters, especially the lead with a career in STEM. There was an added mystery about possible theft from the site, but the personal issues of the 2 lead characters did not draw me in.

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ali_fremont's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

Fun premise, loved the aspect of archeology as a main point of the book. The dialogue was sometimes a bit cheesy for my taste. 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

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