Links: Amazon, Goodreads, Price: £10.24
Archaeologist Casey is dedicated to the search for hidden treasure and ancient artefacts, so much so that her responsibilities as an academic and any sense of law and safety quickly go out of the window when she is on the hunt. When she finds herself teamed up with the new head of her department, she is sure he will close-down her investigation and block her tenure – but soon romantic sparks begin to fly, and danger lurks around every corner.
This book was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the Lara Croft type of central character. The romance is sweet. Casey is, erm, rather high maintenance, and there is a great deal of reliance on whatever Americans mean when they talk about a gentleman’s “Southern Charm.” But she is very much the driving force behind the plot, the action, and the direction of the romance.
There were, however, things I did not enjoy about this book. The descriptions of both academic life (I have a PhD and worked in academia) and archaeology (I have friends working in the field) were deeply unrealistic, making this feel more like an Uncharted video game without the mass violence. Of course, that doesn’t have to be a problem – this book would be boring as hell if it was six-months of filling out grant forms followed by a year of slowing dusting a six-foot square site. But still, it felt weird.
The second was the emotional whiplash – huge relationship problems would emerge only to be resolved and forgotten about in a couple of pages. I guess for some this might keep the pace up, but, honestly, it made Casey seem rather ditzy. Again, this may be a British/American thing.
Finally, the “Brass Ring” felt like a gang of dolls, set up for the sequels and all practical perfect in every way – look, here’s lawyer barbie, and now, novelist barbie. I get the need to build the series, and its cool having lots of powerful female characters, but it felt – I dunno – artificial?
These complaints are rather personal. Blockbuster movies are filled with shortcuts around realism to maintain excitement, shortcuts through emotional depth to keep the relationship moving, and impossibly perfect characters because, hey, what else do you want your fantasy for? So, if you’re looking for a good time popcorn romance with an unusual theme and female driven action, and an old-fashioned southern gentleman (not in the sense that he comes from Kent and likes hunting foxes), then I recommend this book. I mean, I watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the fourth time last night, so I can’t complain about a book whose primary purpose is fun. Pick up a copy and enjoy!
