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Raiders of the Lost Heart #2
Temple of Swoon
An instant USA Today Bestseller!
A LibraryReads Pick!
Her find the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon rainforest.
His protect the holy temple . . . and his heart.
While her mentor may be the world’s most badass archaeologist, the only thing bad about Dr. Miriam Jacobs are her corny jokes. But when Miri is charged with leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon for the fabled Lost City of the Moon, she finally has her chance to prove to her colleagues that she’s capable—and hopefully prove it to herself, too.
Journalist Rafael Monfils has joined the archaeological team to chronicle their search for the lost city. Or at least, that’s what they think he’s doing. Rafa’s real goal? Make sure the team does not reach the Cidade da Lua, stopping the desecration of the holy city and protecting his mother’s legacy. All he needs to do is keep them on the wrong path.
If only the endearingly quirky Dr. Jacobs wasn’t so damn tenacious—each of Rafa’s tricks and purposeful wrong turns only seem to fuel her determination. Even worse, he’s charmed by her goofy attempts to channel Lara Croft as they traverse the dangerous Brazilian rainforest. But they’re not the only crew hunting for the lost city, and soon the untamed jungle—and their untamed hearts—might be the least of their worries...
A LibraryReads Pick!
Her find the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon rainforest.
His protect the holy temple . . . and his heart.
While her mentor may be the world’s most badass archaeologist, the only thing bad about Dr. Miriam Jacobs are her corny jokes. But when Miri is charged with leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon for the fabled Lost City of the Moon, she finally has her chance to prove to her colleagues that she’s capable—and hopefully prove it to herself, too.
Journalist Rafael Monfils has joined the archaeological team to chronicle their search for the lost city. Or at least, that’s what they think he’s doing. Rafa’s real goal? Make sure the team does not reach the Cidade da Lua, stopping the desecration of the holy city and protecting his mother’s legacy. All he needs to do is keep them on the wrong path.
If only the endearingly quirky Dr. Jacobs wasn’t so damn tenacious—each of Rafa’s tricks and purposeful wrong turns only seem to fuel her determination. Even worse, he’s charmed by her goofy attempts to channel Lara Croft as they traverse the dangerous Brazilian rainforest. But they’re not the only crew hunting for the lost city, and soon the untamed jungle—and their untamed hearts—might be the least of their worries...
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First published January 7, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,166 reviews
November 12, 2024
Kinda boring for an action adventure romcom.
For a story based on an adventure movie franchise, this was so lacking in fun.
It felt like the author was trying to recapture what she did with the first book and just rewrote the same story. Even the villain was the same.
I did like that the hero was French Canadian/Brazilian and on the golden retriever side, I love a supportive hero, but he was a liar so points off for that. I’m not really into romances when one of the main characters is tricking or lying to the other from the jump.
Anyway this book was ok but nothing great. Lacked comedy and romance, and veered too much into horny inner monologues instead of action-adventure or swoon, despite the title.
They did swing around on vines a lot, which I question the physics of, and there was some decent lore around the city they were trying to find. Overall this needed a boost of pretty much everything to make it any more than three stars.
A good idea, blandly executed.
Meh.
Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the complimentary early copy.
For a story based on an adventure movie franchise, this was so lacking in fun.
It felt like the author was trying to recapture what she did with the first book and just rewrote the same story. Even the villain was the same.
I did like that the hero was French Canadian/Brazilian and on the golden retriever side, I love a supportive hero, but he was a liar so points off for that. I’m not really into romances when one of the main characters is tricking or lying to the other from the jump.
Anyway this book was ok but nothing great. Lacked comedy and romance, and veered too much into horny inner monologues instead of action-adventure or swoon, despite the title.
They did swing around on vines a lot, which I question the physics of, and there was some decent lore around the city they were trying to find. Overall this needed a boost of pretty much everything to make it any more than three stars.
A good idea, blandly executed.
Meh.
Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the complimentary early copy.
January 15, 2025
GIMME MORE!!! 😍
This book was like Indiana Jones but make it girly with an archaeology packed adventure that was SO much fun to read! Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on a mission to find the Lost City of the Moon, and her expedition is all set with a great crew which obviously it includes a hansome journalist/photographer Rafael Monfils, whose real purpose is to sabotage her work 👀 to protect the city.
The way the author brought these two together, the storyline, and how Rafa tried to "sabotage" the expedition was freaking awesome. I loved how this book took the action packed vibe we usually see in movies and how Miriam’s personality with her determination to prove herself in a male-dominated field as an archaeologist. And let me tell you, she is a TOTAL BADASS!!!
The woman empowerment throughout this book? IMMACULATE 🙌 Miri swinging on vines, fighting off hunters, and telling the sexy man to step back HECK YES!!! The vibes were EVERYTHING.
Rafa & Miri 4EVER. Their romance was such a strangers-to-lovers situation with a dash of insta-love, but honestly, I treated this book like a fun action movie and ATE IT UP. And when the tension finally broke? HELLO spicy spice 🌶️ This book was EVERYTHING I didn’t know I needed.
tropes
💜 strangers-to-lovers
💜 forced proximity
💜 archeologist fmc x journalist/photographer mmc
💜 workplace romance
💜 slow burn
💜 insta love
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
How soon can I start reading a book in 2025.. 👀
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ indiana jones but make swoony - say less thank you Berkley and Netgalley for my free eARC
This book was like Indiana Jones but make it girly with an archaeology packed adventure that was SO much fun to read! Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on a mission to find the Lost City of the Moon, and her expedition is all set with a great crew which obviously it includes a hansome journalist/photographer Rafael Monfils, whose real purpose is to sabotage her work 👀 to protect the city.
The way the author brought these two together, the storyline, and how Rafa tried to "sabotage" the expedition was freaking awesome. I loved how this book took the action packed vibe we usually see in movies and how Miriam’s personality with her determination to prove herself in a male-dominated field as an archaeologist. And let me tell you, she is a TOTAL BADASS!!!
The woman empowerment throughout this book? IMMACULATE 🙌 Miri swinging on vines, fighting off hunters, and telling the sexy man to step back HECK YES!!! The vibes were EVERYTHING.
Rafa & Miri 4EVER. Their romance was such a strangers-to-lovers situation with a dash of insta-love, but honestly, I treated this book like a fun action movie and ATE IT UP. And when the tension finally broke? HELLO spicy spice 🌶️ This book was EVERYTHING I didn’t know I needed.
tropes
💜 strangers-to-lovers
💜 forced proximity
💜 archeologist fmc x journalist/photographer mmc
💜 workplace romance
💜 slow burn
💜 insta love
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
How soon can I start reading a book in 2025.. 👀
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ indiana jones but make swoony - say less thank you Berkley and Netgalley for my free eARC
November 27, 2025
**3.5-stars**
🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡
Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on the most important mission of her life, to find Cidade da Lua, the Lost City of the Moon, in the Amazon rainforest. It's her first chance to lead an expedition and prove herself as a serious archaeologist.
Rafael Monfils is a journalist who has joined the expedition, with the hopes of chronicling their search for the lost city, or at least that's what they think he's doing.
In truth, Rafael is on a mission of his own, and that's to stop the team from ever setting eyes on Cidade da Lua, thus protecting his mother's legacy. All he needs to do is keep them off the correct path.
Once Rafa meets Dr. Jacobs though, he has a really hard time staying focused on his task. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants her to succeed. What's a guy to do?
As they get further into the jungle, it becomes clear they aren't the only ones searching for the Lost City. Soon, Rafa's mixed feelings and Dr. Jacobs's imposter syndrome are going to be the least of their worries.
Temple of Swoon was lightyears beyond Segura's 1st-book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, for me, to which this is a companion novel. I enjoyed these main characters, Rafa and Miri, soooo much more, though I still had some slight issues with it.
Nevertheless, I am very happy I picked it up and am glad I took another chance on this author. If there's another companion novel, I'm def game.
It's funny, one of the things that I disliked the most about the Raiders of the Lost Heart was the female main character, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Going into this I thought, it's fine, this one follows different people, you won't have to deal with her.
While that may be true, at the start of this book, as we're meeting our new female lead, Miri, we learn she is sort of a mentee of Corrie in the archaeological space, and Corrie handpicks her for this position.
At the start, Miri goes on and on about how drop-dead, off-the-charts, hot Corrie is. No other woman ever has, or ever will, compare to her. ((puke)) That was one of the things that drove me nuts about the 1st-book, and here it was, rearing it's ugly head yet again!!
Luckily though, that trend did sort of peter out as the story went along. I did like how quickly this kicked off as far as Miri and Rafa's meet cute. I liked their chemistry from the start and enjoyed watching their relationship grow.
The way this author writes sex scenes are not at all to my tastes, they're definitely more ewww than awww for me, but what I did appreciate here was the genuine conversations that Miri and Rafa had.
I liked the more serious sides of the story a lot. We delved into Miri's insecurities, as well as Rafa's family stuff and I felt that was very well developed.
Overall, I enjoyed this so much more and am really glad that I gave this author another shot. I feel like if her work keeps progressing we could have a real win with the next book. I'm looking forward to it!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this romantic adventure!
🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡💜💚🧡
Dr. Miriam Jacobs is on the most important mission of her life, to find Cidade da Lua, the Lost City of the Moon, in the Amazon rainforest. It's her first chance to lead an expedition and prove herself as a serious archaeologist.
Rafael Monfils is a journalist who has joined the expedition, with the hopes of chronicling their search for the lost city, or at least that's what they think he's doing.
In truth, Rafael is on a mission of his own, and that's to stop the team from ever setting eyes on Cidade da Lua, thus protecting his mother's legacy. All he needs to do is keep them off the correct path.
Once Rafa meets Dr. Jacobs though, he has a really hard time staying focused on his task. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants her to succeed. What's a guy to do?
As they get further into the jungle, it becomes clear they aren't the only ones searching for the Lost City. Soon, Rafa's mixed feelings and Dr. Jacobs's imposter syndrome are going to be the least of their worries.
Temple of Swoon was lightyears beyond Segura's 1st-book, Raiders of the Lost Heart, for me, to which this is a companion novel. I enjoyed these main characters, Rafa and Miri, soooo much more, though I still had some slight issues with it.
Nevertheless, I am very happy I picked it up and am glad I took another chance on this author. If there's another companion novel, I'm def game.
It's funny, one of the things that I disliked the most about the Raiders of the Lost Heart was the female main character, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Going into this I thought, it's fine, this one follows different people, you won't have to deal with her.
While that may be true, at the start of this book, as we're meeting our new female lead, Miri, we learn she is sort of a mentee of Corrie in the archaeological space, and Corrie handpicks her for this position.
At the start, Miri goes on and on about how drop-dead, off-the-charts, hot Corrie is. No other woman ever has, or ever will, compare to her. ((puke)) That was one of the things that drove me nuts about the 1st-book, and here it was, rearing it's ugly head yet again!!
Luckily though, that trend did sort of peter out as the story went along. I did like how quickly this kicked off as far as Miri and Rafa's meet cute. I liked their chemistry from the start and enjoyed watching their relationship grow.
The way this author writes sex scenes are not at all to my tastes, they're definitely more ewww than awww for me, but what I did appreciate here was the genuine conversations that Miri and Rafa had.
I liked the more serious sides of the story a lot. We delved into Miri's insecurities, as well as Rafa's family stuff and I felt that was very well developed.
Overall, I enjoyed this so much more and am really glad that I gave this author another shot. I feel like if her work keeps progressing we could have a real win with the next book. I'm looking forward to it!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this romantic adventure!
January 25, 2025
**Many thanks to Berkley and Jo Segura for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**
Miriam Jacobs STILL cannot believe that her mentor is none other than THE Corrie Mejia, the boss babe archaeologist who made a name for herself on a trip searching for the Aztec Empire not too long ago. Although she secretly yearns to reach that level of indescribable and effortless 'cool', Miriam is a unpolished at best and a bit of a newbie, one who is more at home cracking dad jokes than anything else. So when she gets the opportunity to lead an expedition through the Amazonian jungle, it's MORE than just overwhelming: it's seemingly IMPOSSIBLE. After all, with no map leading the way and only sparse clues pointing to its whereabouts, how on EARTH is Miriam going to be the one to lead her team to the City of the Lost Moon?
Well, Rafael 'Rafa' Monfils is going to make SURE she doesn't get there...but he can't say a word about his intentions. Posing as a journalist who will be documenting the trip, he is charged with making sure the crew doesn't actually stumble on the right path to lead them to the lost city (Ciadade de Lua, or "Moon City") while maintaining an air of innocence. There's only a few problems with this plan: first off, from the minute these two lock eyes in a taxi, there is HEAT for days...and secondly, the more obstacles Rafa tosses in her path, the more determined Miriam becomes to not only lead her team to victory, but to prove that Corrie put her trust in just the right mentee. But as it turns out, there is more than one group set on finding the ancient city and claiming its spoils...one who will stop at nothing to keep Rafa AND Miriam at bay. But can these two fight the urge to bond (in more ways than one) and can Rafa keep his eye on the prize? Or will his desire for Miriam overtake his mission and put BOTH of them square in the path of the enemy...with NO escape from the lost city in sight?
After feeling pleasantly surprised by Segura's first book in this series, Raiders of the Lost Heart, I was EAGER to grab this next installment. In the previous book, Segura managed to toe the line between scintillating and silly, adding just enough of a "female Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft" vibe to make the book feel fun, fresh, and different...and to oddly keep me hooked, despite some areas for improvement.
But when it came to this second attempt at a jungle exploring, adventure rom-com with rivals (albeit secret ones?) to lovers, I found myself longing for the simple silliness I found in the first installment...and missing the BEJEEZUS out of one Corrie Mejia.
Yep, that's right...the characters you spent ALL of the last book getting to know intimately? All but gone here. Corrie is MENTIONED as a mere link to this current story...but that's where the similarities and the ties to the first story come to a stop. There's nothing WRONG with Miriam, per se, but I just found her a less interesting, less confident, and less street smart version of Corrie...so much for female empowerment. There's also nothing necessarily WRONG with Rafa; he's a perfectly serviceable counterpoint to Miriam, although their big 'connection' is basically driven 10000% by lust and not by much else, which can be a bit boring to read after a while. (I mean, we get it, they're both good looking...but with this much ELSE in common, could they not have built MORE of a substantive relationship to go along with it?) I can't say I was ever rooting for OR against them per se...they seemed more like just people destined to hook up and date for a few months before going their separate ways.
Unfortunately, the other problem with this particular series is rather than growing and expanding, I felt as though I was retreading the SAME well-worn grooves on the jungle path. Although the plot is certainly different (less work rivals to lovers and more strangers to lovers) this also sort of removed the stakes AND the emotional impact to an extent. Without commenting on the plot itself this is hard to discuss, but by the time you figure out who the 'real' enemy is, your emotional balloon will all have but deflated...and things get pretty boring from there on out. If the book were a TV movie (because let's face it, feature film it is not), this is the part when you'd pick up your cell phone and start idly scrolling, glancing up every so often. I think it's only introduced to introduce some empathy for Rafa's character...but at the end of the day, he had NO problem sabotaging Miriam from the beginning which was just sort of vindictive. He certainly ends up having a LOT in common with the eventual villain...that's all I'll say. 🤐
The word "swoon" can have many meanings, from "to faint from extreme emotion" or even "to become enraptured." But when it came to THIS Temple of Swoon, the definition I related to most?
"A state of bewilderment."
3 stars
Miriam Jacobs STILL cannot believe that her mentor is none other than THE Corrie Mejia, the boss babe archaeologist who made a name for herself on a trip searching for the Aztec Empire not too long ago. Although she secretly yearns to reach that level of indescribable and effortless 'cool', Miriam is a unpolished at best and a bit of a newbie, one who is more at home cracking dad jokes than anything else. So when she gets the opportunity to lead an expedition through the Amazonian jungle, it's MORE than just overwhelming: it's seemingly IMPOSSIBLE. After all, with no map leading the way and only sparse clues pointing to its whereabouts, how on EARTH is Miriam going to be the one to lead her team to the City of the Lost Moon?
Well, Rafael 'Rafa' Monfils is going to make SURE she doesn't get there...but he can't say a word about his intentions. Posing as a journalist who will be documenting the trip, he is charged with making sure the crew doesn't actually stumble on the right path to lead them to the lost city (Ciadade de Lua, or "Moon City") while maintaining an air of innocence. There's only a few problems with this plan: first off, from the minute these two lock eyes in a taxi, there is HEAT for days...and secondly, the more obstacles Rafa tosses in her path, the more determined Miriam becomes to not only lead her team to victory, but to prove that Corrie put her trust in just the right mentee. But as it turns out, there is more than one group set on finding the ancient city and claiming its spoils...one who will stop at nothing to keep Rafa AND Miriam at bay. But can these two fight the urge to bond (in more ways than one) and can Rafa keep his eye on the prize? Or will his desire for Miriam overtake his mission and put BOTH of them square in the path of the enemy...with NO escape from the lost city in sight?
After feeling pleasantly surprised by Segura's first book in this series, Raiders of the Lost Heart, I was EAGER to grab this next installment. In the previous book, Segura managed to toe the line between scintillating and silly, adding just enough of a "female Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft" vibe to make the book feel fun, fresh, and different...and to oddly keep me hooked, despite some areas for improvement.
But when it came to this second attempt at a jungle exploring, adventure rom-com with rivals (albeit secret ones?) to lovers, I found myself longing for the simple silliness I found in the first installment...and missing the BEJEEZUS out of one Corrie Mejia.
Yep, that's right...the characters you spent ALL of the last book getting to know intimately? All but gone here. Corrie is MENTIONED as a mere link to this current story...but that's where the similarities and the ties to the first story come to a stop. There's nothing WRONG with Miriam, per se, but I just found her a less interesting, less confident, and less street smart version of Corrie...so much for female empowerment. There's also nothing necessarily WRONG with Rafa; he's a perfectly serviceable counterpoint to Miriam, although their big 'connection' is basically driven 10000% by lust and not by much else, which can be a bit boring to read after a while. (I mean, we get it, they're both good looking...but with this much ELSE in common, could they not have built MORE of a substantive relationship to go along with it?) I can't say I was ever rooting for OR against them per se...they seemed more like just people destined to hook up and date for a few months before going their separate ways.
Unfortunately, the other problem with this particular series is rather than growing and expanding, I felt as though I was retreading the SAME well-worn grooves on the jungle path. Although the plot is certainly different (less work rivals to lovers and more strangers to lovers) this also sort of removed the stakes AND the emotional impact to an extent. Without commenting on the plot itself this is hard to discuss, but by the time you figure out who the 'real' enemy is, your emotional balloon will all have but deflated...and things get pretty boring from there on out. If the book were a TV movie (because let's face it, feature film it is not), this is the part when you'd pick up your cell phone and start idly scrolling, glancing up every so often. I think it's only introduced to introduce some empathy for Rafa's character...but at the end of the day, he had NO problem sabotaging Miriam from the beginning which was just sort of vindictive. He certainly ends up having a LOT in common with the eventual villain...that's all I'll say. 🤐
The word "swoon" can have many meanings, from "to faint from extreme emotion" or even "to become enraptured." But when it came to THIS Temple of Swoon, the definition I related to most?
"A state of bewilderment."
3 stars
December 4, 2024
DNF @ 50%
I'm so sorry I didn't like it 😭 it's supposed to be a rom-com, a silly little romance ( or so I thought), but there is so much action happening, AND it's istalove lust. Like who does that ?? All he thinks about is her sapphire eye *shuddering* they are on a mission to the Amazon to explore the last ancient civilization that mysteriously disappeared. It's her first time leading the team. He is a photographer who is assigned to archive what they discover, but he's secretly plotting to never let them find what they're looking for, so do you wanna know what he did? He endangered all his team's lives yep that's right he is so responsible
Pre-read
I got approved for this eARC 👉🏻👈🏻 thank you Netgalley
I'm so sorry I didn't like it 😭 it's supposed to be a rom-com, a silly little romance ( or so I thought), but there is so much action happening, AND it's ista
Pre-read
I got approved for this eARC 👉🏻👈🏻 thank you Netgalley
February 7, 2025
„but he hadn’t yet popped the top of this hot little can of pringles“
i’ll be talking about this sentence in therapy
i’ll be talking about this sentence in therapy
January 18, 2025
3.5 stars! This was a fun and entertaining adventure rom-com. After reading Temple of Swoon, I'm realizing I need more adventure romances in my life.
I enjoyed the rainforest setting as well as the concept of an archaeological expedition to find a lost city. The pacing was great, and I didn't feel like it slowed down during any parts. However, I feel like the book was missing that it factor, which would've made it four or five stars. There could've been more action, higher stakes, more emotional depth, and/or less insta love.
And I didn't think the characters had the best chemistry. Based on the synopsis, there inevitably was going to be a major miscommunication/break-up, but I think that should've happened sooner so we could see the characters mend their relationship before the climax of the story. I also thought there would be a bit more Indiana Jones-style action. But this was definitely entertaining and unlike any romances I've read before!
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for sending me a copy of Temple of Swoon. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)
I enjoyed the rainforest setting as well as the concept of an archaeological expedition to find a lost city. The pacing was great, and I didn't feel like it slowed down during any parts. However, I feel like the book was missing that it factor, which would've made it four or five stars. There could've been more action, higher stakes, more emotional depth, and/or less insta love.
And I didn't think the characters had the best chemistry. Based on the synopsis, there inevitably was going to be a major miscommunication/break-up, but I think that should've happened sooner so we could see the characters mend their relationship before the climax of the story. I also thought there would be a bit more Indiana Jones-style action. But this was definitely entertaining and unlike any romances I've read before!
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for sending me a copy of Temple of Swoon. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)
June 1, 2025
I love a good adventure romance, but I definitely ended up enjoying book one much more than this one. I liked the beginning, but this is more on the rom-com side and the humor was just a bit too over the top for my taste. Then, the ending was pretty rushed and they never really addressed what went wrong...the heroine never made the hero grovel for what he was doing? WE know he felt bad when we were in his POV, but he was literally sabotaging her search for the lost temple...while they were hooking up!? I wanted him to grovel a bit more in the end.
December 7, 2024
i was super excited for this one as i really enjoyed my time listening to raiders of the lost heart however this one fell super flat for me. i felt like for the most part too much was going on while simultaneously feeling like nothing was actually happening?
i love the concept of these books, i feel like their really unique to the romance market right now but the execution of this one was too lackluster for my liking 😭
i love the concept of these books, i feel like their really unique to the romance market right now but the execution of this one was too lackluster for my liking 😭
dnf
February 27, 2025trying to be better about DNFing when I'm not loving it
Read
March 9, 2025he calls her “pringles” during sex. TWICE.
February 7, 2025
Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura
Romantic adventure.
Dr Miri Jacobs is out in charge of leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon in search of the fabled Lost City of the Moon. The rest of the team knows she doesn’t have the experience and more than one pointedly oppose her. Miri is determined to find the city. Someone has to be successful eventually so why not her?
Journalist Rafael Monfils joins the archaeological team to chronicle their search but in reality, he’s there to make sure the city is not found. He needs to protect his mother’s legacy and that means keeping Miri on the wrong path. But Miri seems to be unusually lucky and proficient in uncovering clues to the missing city. Rafael has decisions to make. Betray Miri who he’s grown to care for, or follow her dreams.
A charming story reminiscent of an old movie, this romantic adventure is filled with danger, romance and adventure. Miri is unexperienced but determined to master whatever necessary to reach her goals. Even if it’s getting luggage on the bus or learning to swing on a vine. And you have to know that lesson is going to come in handy later in the story!
Entertaining romance and adventure.
Romantic adventure.
Dr Miri Jacobs is out in charge of leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon in search of the fabled Lost City of the Moon. The rest of the team knows she doesn’t have the experience and more than one pointedly oppose her. Miri is determined to find the city. Someone has to be successful eventually so why not her?
Journalist Rafael Monfils joins the archaeological team to chronicle their search but in reality, he’s there to make sure the city is not found. He needs to protect his mother’s legacy and that means keeping Miri on the wrong path. But Miri seems to be unusually lucky and proficient in uncovering clues to the missing city. Rafael has decisions to make. Betray Miri who he’s grown to care for, or follow her dreams.
A charming story reminiscent of an old movie, this romantic adventure is filled with danger, romance and adventure. Miri is unexperienced but determined to master whatever necessary to reach her goals. Even if it’s getting luggage on the bus or learning to swing on a vine. And you have to know that lesson is going to come in handy later in the story!
Entertaining romance and adventure.
February 14, 2025
* ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️🌶️
* Cute archeologist journalist team up on an expedition to find the lost city of the moon in the Amazon. It’s not without its fair share of hang ups.
* Cute archeologist journalist team up on an expedition to find the lost city of the moon in the Amazon. It’s not without its fair share of hang ups.
April 30, 2025
bestie, this was so bad! I didn't expect greatness, but it is shocking how underwhelming every aspect of this book was.
setting? barely any details to indicate our characters were in the amazonian rainforest. they could've been walking a gravel trail in a public park.
characters? flat! MMC says 3 poorly Google translated French sentences in the first few chapters to indicate he's Québecois and then never gives his first language a second thought again. FMC is adorkable and self-doubting until MMC convinces her she's a badass.
plot? incredibly trite. the "lost city" was abandoned by its unknown Indigenous population during the early colonial era, and despite the fact that the descendants who protect the lost city play a large part of the plot, there seems to be no existing modern ethnocultural group connected to the lost city, conveniently sidestepping any need for confronting the icky ethical problems that come with an archeological "discovery" story. the plot "twist" had no emotional resonance. I understand we don't want murder in a pulpy romance, but it's inconceivable that an expedition, even one led by academics, didn't have any kind of weapons? not even machetes?? in the RAINFOREST??
most pointless and mindless epilogue I've ever encountered. left me wanting to skim the Acknowledgements!! unprecedented, you understand??? bestie, I LOVE acknowledgement sections.
I didn't really expect the ancillary/backdrop plot to be stellar, but I also did not love the romance plot. too autistic and apathetic to detail exactly what wasn't working, but I know enough to have been befuddled when they broke out the "I love yous"
most egregiously, the sex was mid. brief, rote, uninspired. I will concede that there were some moments of sexual tension that had some heat.
pet peeves:
FMC doesn't see how great she is until MMC convinces her with his dick
instant vaginal wetness
FMC has a name + a cutesy shortened nickname + a nickname from the MMC ("Pringles" was fun when they were flirting, but during sex and declarations of love??)
setting? barely any details to indicate our characters were in the amazonian rainforest. they could've been walking a gravel trail in a public park.
characters? flat! MMC says 3 poorly Google translated French sentences in the first few chapters to indicate he's Québecois and then never gives his first language a second thought again. FMC is adorkable and self-doubting until MMC convinces her she's a badass.
plot? incredibly trite. the "lost city" was abandoned by its unknown Indigenous population during the early colonial era, and despite the fact that the descendants who protect the lost city play a large part of the plot, there seems to be no existing modern ethnocultural group connected to the lost city, conveniently sidestepping any need for confronting the icky ethical problems that come with an archeological "discovery" story. the plot "twist" had no emotional resonance. I understand we don't want murder in a pulpy romance, but it's inconceivable that an expedition, even one led by academics, didn't have any kind of weapons? not even machetes?? in the RAINFOREST??
most pointless and mindless epilogue I've ever encountered. left me wanting to skim the Acknowledgements!! unprecedented, you understand??? bestie, I LOVE acknowledgement sections.
I didn't really expect the ancillary/backdrop plot to be stellar, but I also did not love the romance plot. too autistic and apathetic to detail exactly what wasn't working, but I know enough to have been befuddled when they broke out the "I love yous"
most egregiously, the sex was mid. brief, rote, uninspired. I will concede that there were some moments of sexual tension that had some heat.
pet peeves:
FMC doesn't see how great she is until MMC convinces her with his dick
instant vaginal wetness
FMC has a name + a cutesy shortened nickname + a nickname from the MMC ("Pringles" was fun when they were flirting, but during sex and declarations of love??)
future-releases
April 15, 2024The cover was just revealed today and it is stunning! Can't wait to read this when it comes out!
Here are some of the tropes this book will have (per the author):
- Forced proximity
- Secret mission
- Workplace romance
- "Not looking for love"
- Lost City, Temple of Doom, and Jungle Cruise vibes
- Quirky archaeologist FMC
- Journalist MMC
Here are some of the tropes this book will have (per the author):
- Forced proximity
- Secret mission
- Workplace romance
- "Not looking for love"
- Lost City, Temple of Doom, and Jungle Cruise vibes
- Quirky archaeologist FMC
- Journalist MMC
November 3, 2025
Well. I didn't like this.
There was way too much vine swinging. The first time, it was like haha ok, a little too on-the-nose for this archeologist in the Amazon to be swinging from vines, but then it became a thing. She would not stop swinging from vines. I just couldn't take it seriously anymore.
Honestly, Miri was such an air-head. She spends weeks just waltzing through the Amazon with no rhyme or reason. Halfway through the book I came to the realization that they hadn't done anything in all the weeks they were there. Just swinging on vines, falling in ditches, and walking in circles.
I also hate the nickname Pringles.
Pre-read
I've had this on my TBR for a while, and I guess now's as good a time as ever!
There was way too much vine swinging. The first time, it was like haha ok, a little too on-the-nose for this archeologist in the Amazon to be swinging from vines, but then it became a thing. She would not stop swinging from vines. I just couldn't take it seriously anymore.
Honestly, Miri was such an air-head. She spends weeks just waltzing through the Amazon with no rhyme or reason. Halfway through the book I came to the realization that they hadn't done anything in all the weeks they were there. Just swinging on vines, falling in ditches, and walking in circles.
I also hate the nickname Pringles.
Pre-read
I've had this on my TBR for a while, and I guess now's as good a time as ever!
June 24, 2024
Raiders of the Lost Heart was one of my top reads of 2023, so when I saw Jo Segura’s sophomore novel was available for ARC requests, I jumped at the chance. Sadly, Temple of Swoon does not live up to ROTLH. While the cover rivals ROTLH and Segura returns with a delightful adventure and fun puns, Temple of Swoon suffers from too many plotlines.
Insta-love is hard for me to get behind most of the time. It’s hard to figure out where the lust ends and affection begins, particularly when the two characters are thrust together in forced proximity for weeks to months. Miri and Rafa were both interesting characters on their own, but I found their quick love hard to believe, especially since they’re in an environment where it’s easy to attach yourself to the people surrounding you.
Miri is Corrie’s mentee, but has never led a dig or written a published journal article. It seems odd given that Corrie is well-published and well-known in the archeological community and has not helped give Miri that opportunity until now when it is thrust upon her to everyone’s surprise. Miri also makes decisions based on what Corrie would do throughout the book (WWCMD?), but she never really develops her own voice and thoughts in respect to how she should handle and lead this expedition. It would have been nice to have more time to delve into her claiming her own identity in the archeological world.
The lore of the Lost City of the Moon and its protectors was fascinating, but got lost in the midst of other plotlines (mainly Vauter). The story would have moved along much better and been more fascinating had the main conflict been Rafa being a protector of the Moon City while Miri is leading the expedition to find it. I would have loved to know more about the protectors and the city. Why did they leave? Why did they leave the riches? Why did they never come back? Why is it so important to continue to hide it? How did the protectors begin?
When I found out that the villain in the first book is the same villain in this book, I questioned how and why. The story already borders on fantastical that having the same cartoonish-like villain back again makes it more hard to believe. When you find out that Vauter is actually Rafa’s dad, I was so confused. While you get little hints that Rafa’s dad might not be as supportive as you think, Rafa definitely felt his love throughout his life and deeply cared for him. It seemed to be a plotline to give the story a more emotional punch, but ended up feeling overwhelming and confusing.
The article Rafa wrote in the epilogue was also super confusing. Why is he writing a FAQ when he hasn’t even published an article yet? How do people know all about this dig and that they found the Lost City? I would have loved to have spent more time on Rafa discovering his Brazilian heritage and his responsibilities as a protector of the Moon City.
While Segura’s sophomore novel brings a fresh perspective in romance and adventure, it fails to be as captivating as her debut.
Insta-love is hard for me to get behind most of the time. It’s hard to figure out where the lust ends and affection begins, particularly when the two characters are thrust together in forced proximity for weeks to months. Miri and Rafa were both interesting characters on their own, but I found their quick love hard to believe, especially since they’re in an environment where it’s easy to attach yourself to the people surrounding you.
Miri is Corrie’s mentee, but has never led a dig or written a published journal article. It seems odd given that Corrie is well-published and well-known in the archeological community and has not helped give Miri that opportunity until now when it is thrust upon her to everyone’s surprise. Miri also makes decisions based on what Corrie would do throughout the book (WWCMD?), but she never really develops her own voice and thoughts in respect to how she should handle and lead this expedition. It would have been nice to have more time to delve into her claiming her own identity in the archeological world.
The lore of the Lost City of the Moon and its protectors was fascinating, but got lost in the midst of other plotlines (mainly Vauter). The story would have moved along much better and been more fascinating had the main conflict been Rafa being a protector of the Moon City while Miri is leading the expedition to find it. I would have loved to know more about the protectors and the city. Why did they leave? Why did they leave the riches? Why did they never come back? Why is it so important to continue to hide it? How did the protectors begin?
When I found out that the villain in the first book is the same villain in this book, I questioned how and why. The story already borders on fantastical that having the same cartoonish-like villain back again makes it more hard to believe. When you find out that Vauter is actually Rafa’s dad, I was so confused. While you get little hints that Rafa’s dad might not be as supportive as you think, Rafa definitely felt his love throughout his life and deeply cared for him. It seemed to be a plotline to give the story a more emotional punch, but ended up feeling overwhelming and confusing.
The article Rafa wrote in the epilogue was also super confusing. Why is he writing a FAQ when he hasn’t even published an article yet? How do people know all about this dig and that they found the Lost City? I would have loved to have spent more time on Rafa discovering his Brazilian heritage and his responsibilities as a protector of the Moon City.
While Segura’s sophomore novel brings a fresh perspective in romance and adventure, it fails to be as captivating as her debut.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2025
This review is going to be harsh. I will start by acknowledging that creating a book of any time is a difficult endeavor. I know this book was crafted for us readers to have a silly goofy time and it’s not that serious (as I said with her first installment). But this book is actually borderline problematic and I hated it. Full disclosure, I am an archaeologist.
All of the issues I outlined in my first review (for Raider’s of the Lost Heart) can essentially be applied here. But this book is actually plagued by another larger issue which tells me that Segura doesn’t understand modern archaeology at all.
That issue is that the community did not want the “Lost City of the Moon” discovered. So, what gives this random American (and Canadian) group the right to waltz into the country and declare it their goal to find it to “protect it” and “study it.” It’s giving *colonizers* You know, decades ago (in the USA) anyone could “excavate” archaeological sites as long as they had landowner permission – including Native American burial mounds. These people would literally collect skeletal remains and store them in their garage or closet. It wasn’t until 1990 that NAGPRA was developed to protect these sites and include Native Americans in these discoveries. So, like…. Honestly… What gives Miri the right…? If the local community actively does NOT want the site discovered, why are they there? This crew should be openly working with the public prior to doing anything with this site. Public archaeology is inherent to archaeology in general. Adding a component such as this to the book would have made it worlds better. Without it is, it’s giving colonization. It’s giving archaeologists knows the culture better. It’s giving Segura has no idea what she’s talking about.
And there are more factors that lead me to believe Segura has no idea what she’s talking about. 1) There is very little archaeology in this book. It’s mostly just walking through the rainforest. That is not how we survey or look for sites. 2) There are multiple mentions of LIDAR. She did not describe what she meant at all. I am confident she has no idea how it works. It may be possible to obtain LIDAR images over the amazon, but how would that help find an archaeological site? Archaeological sites are typically… underground. But let’s just say this was an existing city and they used a drone. The tree canopy alone would hide it. And the amazon is massive. How they going to fly drones over the entire thing? Masks no sense. Also, it’s not that expensive, and many people can access LIDAR through a free app lol.
So in addition to everything I outlined re: archaeology in my first review, these are my ADDITIONAL issues with this book. Let’s get into the characters next.
1) Miri. She is a shell of a human with no personality or background.
2) Rafa. He was more well developed than Miri.
3) Villian. He was cartoonish.
4) Anissa. I am assuming this will be the FMC of the next book. She was not developed, just there with the most lines.
5) Crew. These people had no development. They were just there. Literally characters were introduced to quit the next day (see Jerry).
The romance was cringe. I will be claiming compensation for the overuse of Pringles. The writing was juvenile. The overall story was identical to the previous. Segura learned absolutely nothing from her previous work and her writing actually got worse. She needs to get better editors or hire an actual archaeologist or sensitivity reader for her books if she actually wants to improve. This is giving cash grab and it’s not a lewk.
I annotated this book with corrections. I added a small list of resources at the end for anyone interested in legitimate archaeology and will be tossing this into a free little library. I will be reading any future installments because I am out here trying to show people archaeology isn’t like this. We respect marginalized and underrepresented peoples and truly only want to do good on them. We also respect members or the community and truly enjoy working with them and learning their history.
All of the issues I outlined in my first review (for Raider’s of the Lost Heart) can essentially be applied here. But this book is actually plagued by another larger issue which tells me that Segura doesn’t understand modern archaeology at all.
That issue is that the community did not want the “Lost City of the Moon” discovered. So, what gives this random American (and Canadian) group the right to waltz into the country and declare it their goal to find it to “protect it” and “study it.” It’s giving *colonizers* You know, decades ago (in the USA) anyone could “excavate” archaeological sites as long as they had landowner permission – including Native American burial mounds. These people would literally collect skeletal remains and store them in their garage or closet. It wasn’t until 1990 that NAGPRA was developed to protect these sites and include Native Americans in these discoveries. So, like…. Honestly… What gives Miri the right…? If the local community actively does NOT want the site discovered, why are they there? This crew should be openly working with the public prior to doing anything with this site. Public archaeology is inherent to archaeology in general. Adding a component such as this to the book would have made it worlds better. Without it is, it’s giving colonization. It’s giving archaeologists knows the culture better. It’s giving Segura has no idea what she’s talking about.
And there are more factors that lead me to believe Segura has no idea what she’s talking about. 1) There is very little archaeology in this book. It’s mostly just walking through the rainforest. That is not how we survey or look for sites. 2) There are multiple mentions of LIDAR. She did not describe what she meant at all. I am confident she has no idea how it works. It may be possible to obtain LIDAR images over the amazon, but how would that help find an archaeological site? Archaeological sites are typically… underground. But let’s just say this was an existing city and they used a drone. The tree canopy alone would hide it. And the amazon is massive. How they going to fly drones over the entire thing? Masks no sense. Also, it’s not that expensive, and many people can access LIDAR through a free app lol.
So in addition to everything I outlined re: archaeology in my first review, these are my ADDITIONAL issues with this book. Let’s get into the characters next.
1) Miri. She is a shell of a human with no personality or background.
2) Rafa. He was more well developed than Miri.
3) Villian. He was cartoonish.
4) Anissa. I am assuming this will be the FMC of the next book. She was not developed, just there with the most lines.
5) Crew. These people had no development. They were just there. Literally characters were introduced to quit the next day (see Jerry).
The romance was cringe. I will be claiming compensation for the overuse of Pringles. The writing was juvenile. The overall story was identical to the previous. Segura learned absolutely nothing from her previous work and her writing actually got worse. She needs to get better editors or hire an actual archaeologist or sensitivity reader for her books if she actually wants to improve. This is giving cash grab and it’s not a lewk.
I annotated this book with corrections. I added a small list of resources at the end for anyone interested in legitimate archaeology and will be tossing this into a free little library. I will be reading any future installments because I am out here trying to show people archaeology isn’t like this. We respect marginalized and underrepresented peoples and truly only want to do good on them. We also respect members or the community and truly enjoy working with them and learning their history.
Read
August 9, 2024DNF at 36 percent
I just couldn’t connect to the story or characters. There was lots of action but I didn’t feel invested in the stakes.
I just couldn’t connect to the story or characters. There was lots of action but I didn’t feel invested in the stakes.
December 29, 2025
3.5 stars, doesn't quite reach 4 but I'll round up for rating because I enjoyed the vibes and I did, in the end, get what I was wanting, which was a fun adventure with some romance.
This is a romcom adventure in the vein of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy but not quite as exciting. But if you're looking for something with those vibes I don't think you'll be disappointed, it's just not as rolicking or with as much fun banter but it is still an absolutely silly read that is fun to spend time with. I didn't find either lead supremely charming but neither were either of them awful in any way, which I find can sometimes be the case in these types of stories.
The adventure they find themselves on has its ups and downs and, with some silliness ensuing, they eventually fall in love. I just couldn't help but keep comparing this to Jacquelyn Benson's wonderful Raiders of the Arcana series, particularly the first book, Empire of Shadows, which is set in Honduras (this book is set in Brazil). Benson's has a lot less sex (she fades to black, compared to the more explicit scenes in Temple of Swoon) but a LOT more adventure and sexy banter. Even without the explicit scenes the romance in Empire of Shadows feels more established and real, whereas it's more insta-lust in Temple of Swoon. So it really depends on what you're looking for but I would recommend both if you want an adventure romance... I'd just recommend Empire of Shadows a bit more highly lol
Overall a not bad way to spend a few hours - the audiobook narrated by Kyla Garcia was well done and a pleasant listen. I liked it!
This is a romcom adventure in the vein of Romancing the Stone and The Mummy but not quite as exciting. But if you're looking for something with those vibes I don't think you'll be disappointed, it's just not as rolicking or with as much fun banter but it is still an absolutely silly read that is fun to spend time with. I didn't find either lead supremely charming but neither were either of them awful in any way, which I find can sometimes be the case in these types of stories.
The adventure they find themselves on has its ups and downs and, with some silliness ensuing, they eventually fall in love. I just couldn't help but keep comparing this to Jacquelyn Benson's wonderful Raiders of the Arcana series, particularly the first book, Empire of Shadows, which is set in Honduras (this book is set in Brazil). Benson's has a lot less sex (she fades to black, compared to the more explicit scenes in Temple of Swoon) but a LOT more adventure and sexy banter. Even without the explicit scenes the romance in Empire of Shadows feels more established and real, whereas it's more insta-lust in Temple of Swoon. So it really depends on what you're looking for but I would recommend both if you want an adventure romance... I'd just recommend Empire of Shadows a bit more highly lol
Overall a not bad way to spend a few hours - the audiobook narrated by Kyla Garcia was well done and a pleasant listen. I liked it!
August 5, 2025
*4,5 ⭐️ Gefühlt wurde alles, was ich in Teil 1 noch ein bisschen kritisiert habe, in diesem Band verbessert:
Die Atmosphäre des Amazonas? Hab ich gespürt.
Mehr Input zur Archäologie? Mein Wissen wurde erweitert.
Tiefere Emotionen? Definitiv da.
Insgesamt war es einfach eine richtig coole Geschichte, die meine Liebe für Abenteuer à la Tomb Raider mit genau der richtigen Prise Romance kombiniert hat 🗺️💘
Bei Jo Segura entwickeln sich die Beziehungen ja oft zuerst über die körperliche Ebene – das muss man mögen, aber mich hat’s nicht gestört. Im Gegenteil: Es hat gekribbelt! Und wie süß die beiden miteinander umgegangen sind... Pringels ist jetzt offiziell mein neuer Lieblingskosename 😄
Ich bin sowas von bereit für das nächste große Abenteuer!
✨Emotionale Tiefe: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📈Storyline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎭Charaktere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌍Atmosphäre: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Schreibstil: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Die Atmosphäre des Amazonas? Hab ich gespürt.
Mehr Input zur Archäologie? Mein Wissen wurde erweitert.
Tiefere Emotionen? Definitiv da.
Insgesamt war es einfach eine richtig coole Geschichte, die meine Liebe für Abenteuer à la Tomb Raider mit genau der richtigen Prise Romance kombiniert hat 🗺️💘
Bei Jo Segura entwickeln sich die Beziehungen ja oft zuerst über die körperliche Ebene – das muss man mögen, aber mich hat’s nicht gestört. Im Gegenteil: Es hat gekribbelt! Und wie süß die beiden miteinander umgegangen sind... Pringels ist jetzt offiziell mein neuer Lieblingskosename 😄
Ich bin sowas von bereit für das nächste große Abenteuer!
✨Emotionale Tiefe: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📈Storyline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎭Charaktere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌍Atmosphäre: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Schreibstil: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 10, 2025
Plot PLOTTED. I was surprised by the ending reveal and loved that we got an epilogue.
Some characteristics felt cringe at times but it wasn’t horrible.
🌶️🌶️
Some characteristics felt cringe at times but it wasn’t horrible.
🌶️🌶️
March 2, 2025
I adored the first book in this series and this one lived up.
I think I liked the characters in this one even more.
Miriam is adorable and way more realistic for me than Corrie.
It has drama, tension, spicy bits, adventure and snacks.
Totally recommend.
Much love to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC.
I think I liked the characters in this one even more.
Miriam is adorable and way more realistic for me than Corrie.
It has drama, tension, spicy bits, adventure and snacks.
Totally recommend.
Much love to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC.
January 17, 2025
⋆˚࿔ temple of swoon review 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
┆ ⤿ 💌 3.75 stars!
I really enjoyed raiders of the lost heart and this was the follow up! I loved the development of rafa and miri's relationship it was refreshing to have just pure interest from the beginning, no misunderstandings and hate turned love. Just two people who clearly are interested in each other, I also enjoyed their tension! The family issues Rafa was struggling through as well were absolutely heartbreaking.
However, I think the pacing and action of the first book worked better. Within this one we were either flying through action scenes or absolutely nothing was happening at all. I also wasn't too big a fan of the ending where we are basically just told the answer to any question we may have.
Overall, still a fun read makes me want to watch some Indiana Jones! Thank you to Berkley and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
｡ﾟ• ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈ ┈ ┈ ┈• ｡ﾟ
“He traveled the world. Witnessed some of Earth's most magnificent wonders. Yet none of it was as fascinating-or beautiful-as Dr. Miriam Jacobs. ”
｡ﾟ• ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈ ┈ ┈ ┈• ｡ﾟ
⤿ follow me on instagram!
┆ ⤿ 💌 3.75 stars!
I really enjoyed raiders of the lost heart and this was the follow up! I loved the development of rafa and miri's relationship it was refreshing to have just pure interest from the beginning, no misunderstandings and hate turned love. Just two people who clearly are interested in each other, I also enjoyed their tension! The family issues Rafa was struggling through as well were absolutely heartbreaking.
However, I think the pacing and action of the first book worked better. Within this one we were either flying through action scenes or absolutely nothing was happening at all. I also wasn't too big a fan of the ending where we are basically just told the answer to any question we may have.
Overall, still a fun read makes me want to watch some Indiana Jones! Thank you to Berkley and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
｡ﾟ• ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈ ┈ ┈ ┈• ｡ﾟ
“He traveled the world. Witnessed some of Earth's most magnificent wonders. Yet none of it was as fascinating-or beautiful-as Dr. Miriam Jacobs. ”
｡ﾟ• ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈ ┈ ┈ ┈• ｡ﾟ
⤿ follow me on instagram!
November 24, 2024
Temple of Swoon is the second book I've read by Jo Segura and it's unfortunately as disappointing as the first. The quality of the writing isn't poor but the characters are not well drawn. The heroine especially comes across as a bumbling fool. It's one thing to be clumsy and quirky but she is genuinely horrible at her job an makes one poor decision after another. Her behavior is so bizarre that at one point I found myself thinking one of the antagonists was right about his criticism of her. The hero lies to the heroine for the entire book and endangers her life and her career at multiple points. Don't even get me started on how poor the representation of the archaeology field is either. It's frustrating because I want to love these books but they fall flat each time.
March 15, 2025
3.5⭐️
this was so fun and cute!!! however rafael had a terrible nickname for miri and once he used it in a spicy scene it gave me the ick 😂
this was so fun and cute!!! however rafael had a terrible nickname for miri and once he used it in a spicy scene it gave me the ick 😂
May 30, 2025
There was a disturbing lack of Indiana Jones-style vine-swinging in Raiders of the Lost Heart, something that Temple of Swoon thankfully delivered.
December 15, 2024
Thank you Berkely for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!
WOW.
I truly was going into this with an open mind, but as the book continued that idea changed. This book takes a "quirky" attempt at an archeological adventure and it didn't work.
The characters and material within itself fell flat. How the content in the book seemed repetitive and yet overwhelming at once is quite surprising.
I also want to share that I disagree with the premise of the way that the relationship was written, having the MMC be responsible for the sabotaging the mission without communicating with the FMC his intentions and his actions wasn't hot but a red flag. Don't get me wrong, I truly disliked the fmc but damn was that a major ick.
This is the second time in which this author has written a MMC that purposely sabotages the FMC career and I simply cannot stand behind this idea. Like why is it that men have to sabotage women's careers and these women forgive them and fall in love with them?
The relationship dynamic and building between the main characters as romantic partners was truly terrible and a poor attempt in quirky. It's so strange and I cannot find myself finding reason as to why their relationship was worth reading about.
WOW.
I truly was going into this with an open mind, but as the book continued that idea changed. This book takes a "quirky" attempt at an archeological adventure and it didn't work.
The characters and material within itself fell flat. How the content in the book seemed repetitive and yet overwhelming at once is quite surprising.
I also want to share that I disagree with the premise of the way that the relationship was written, having the MMC be responsible for the sabotaging the mission without communicating with the FMC his intentions and his actions wasn't hot but a red flag. Don't get me wrong, I truly disliked the fmc but damn was that a major ick.
This is the second time in which this author has written a MMC that purposely sabotages the FMC career and I simply cannot stand behind this idea. Like why is it that men have to sabotage women's careers and these women forgive them and fall in love with them?
The relationship dynamic and building between the main characters as romantic partners was truly terrible and a poor attempt in quirky. It's so strange and I cannot find myself finding reason as to why their relationship was worth reading about.
November 15, 2024
hopefully net galley doesn't hate me for this eek but this read like a cheesy action movie.
good things:
the setting
the idea of it: the looking for ancient civilizations in the amazon is such a cool concept it just fell flat for me. I felt that it had a lot of cliches which some people love but because of that I didn't really get into the characters or invested in their love story. a lot of really dramatic puffed out your chest lines that just felt like, yeah, a cheesy action movie. but maybe that's just me.
good things:
the setting
the idea of it: the looking for ancient civilizations in the amazon is such a cool concept it just fell flat for me. I felt that it had a lot of cliches which some people love but because of that I didn't really get into the characters or invested in their love story. a lot of really dramatic puffed out your chest lines that just felt like, yeah, a cheesy action movie. but maybe that's just me.
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