A review by obstinateheadstrongcurl
Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura

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.
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