4 that was a great adventure stars!!
This story was not what I expected at all. It definitely reminded me of Indiana Jones but with a strong female character instead of a damsel in distress. I really enjoyed the fact that both lead characters were strong willed and clashed at some things. I was not expecting this to be set in 1898 I have no idea how I missed that in the description.. it’s one of the first sentences. One negative part this book ended way to soon I would gladly go on more adventures with Adam and Ellie any time. Will there be a second book??
Ellie is a wonderful main female heroine. She knows what she wants and doesn’t back down to the limitations set in her time period. Even when society says she should just get married and start popping out babies she does the opposite and graduates top of her class and gets an upper level job. Ellie’s knowledge is limitless she really amazed even me with her level of knowledge on artifacts and such. After she steals an artifact from her boss she travels to central america to find the ruins that the artifact pertains to. However a woman traveling alone can lead to only bad things in 1898 so she needs to find a guide. The guide she ends up with turns out to be more than she bargained for.
Enter the snake wrestling, boat driving, machete wielding, map maker Adam Bates. Let me tell you while Ellie may have not had insta-love for this very masculine hero, but I definitely did. He is the only guide Ellie can get to take her into the jungle to find the ruins. Of course she doesn’t tell him the whole truth behind everything which leads to some interesting parts in the book. Adams character reminded me very much of a more laid back Indiana Jones. He was very calm about taking Ellie out to the wild with him. He even loved the fact that she was brainy. His open attitude toward new things and what happens around him makes me enjoy his character even more. Even when things look super bleak he can find the good part in it.
The thought that was put into this book was amazing, I will say the first couple chapters are a little rough to get into but once Ellie gets to Central America it gets great from there. However the details of the characters and what is surrounding them was wonderful. When they were sweating through the jungle so was I. When they were running for their lives, so was I. This book had to be thoroughly researched just to understand the culture in the area is not something you can just google. I’m really glad that I was given a copy to review by Jaquelyn Benson and Grand Central Publishing in lieu of my honest review.
gooodreads link here
book blurb…
Chasing a threat born in smoke…
London, 1898. Archivist Eleanora Mallory discovers a map to a legendary city . But is it the key to unravelling an ancient mystery or a clever hoax?
Compelled to find out, Ellie journeys to Central America – with a merciless enemy hot on her heels.
In a race to uncover the map’s secret first, Ellie is forced to partner with maverick archaeologist Adam Bates, a man she’s not sure she can trust. Together, they venture into an uncharted wilderness alive with smoke and shadows, where an even greater danger awaits them.
For what lies there whispering to be unearthed has the power to bring the world to its knees.
Join Ellie and Adam as they battle rivers of scorpions, plummeting waterfalls and pre-historic death traps on the journey to uncovering a deadly secret that could shake the fate of the world.
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