Tag Archives: romance book

Book Review: Temple of Swoon

For fans of Jo Segura’s “Raiders of the Lost Heart” comes her next romance, “Temple of Swoon.”

Segura’s sophomoric novel is just like her first novel, in that it is inspired by Indiana Jones. But instead of a male lead character, she puts the woman at the head of the story. Along the way, she finds a little bit of heat and romance with a side of adventure.

In “Temple of Swoon,” Segura creates a spinoff from her debut. This new story stars Miriam (or Miri). She is tasked to co-lead a team in search of the Lost City of the Moon. Here, the Indiana Jones inspiration comes from the movies Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull. She even adds a splash of Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Because what female Indy doesn’t want to be Lara, the badass archaeologist?

When Miri arrives in Brazil, she’s just missed her connecting bus to her hotel. Hot journalist, Rafael (or Rafa), finds himself in the same predicament. So he takes a taxi and offers to give her a ride. They later discover that they are both assigned to the same expedition. He’s covering the team for his magazine as they search for the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon. But unbeknownst to the team, he’s really there to sabotage their efforts. His mother has ties to the city. It is their mission to stop it from ever being found by outsiders. Even if that means they have to kill the people searching for it.

Dr. Corrie Mejia and Dr. Ford Matthews (from “Raiders of the Lost Heart“) were supposed to lead this expedition. But Ford injured himself, so they stayed behind in America. They name Miri and Dr. Bradley Quinn as co-leads, and this terrifies Miri. This is her first time leading (or co-leading) an archaeological expedition. But as they start off on their mission, Quinn receives a concussion and injury, and ends up in the hospital. Miri takes what’s left of the team and heads to their next destination. That is when the nefarious Pierre Vautour (from “Raiders of the Lost Heart“) sends his goons to stop them.

While Miri and her team search the Amazon for the lost city, sparks start to fly between Miri and Rafa.

So enough of the synopsis. For romance fans looking for spice, it doesn’t happen until 72% of the way in. You will have to endure a lot of flirting, lust, and heavy kissing. Yes, it will drive you crazy thinking, ‘just get it on already.’

I gave the spice factor 3 chili peppers out of 5.

Now, I feel like I need to discuss the spice. I say this only because halfway in, I stopped to read the reviews for this book. There was one review that stood out on why the book was DNF (did not finish). It was because they got to the halfway point and there was no spice.

I remember Raiders as being very spicy. Like Thai chili peppers escalating up to ghost peppers (at times). But this one was just a pure jalapeno pepper. Now, I don’t read a lot of romance books, so I inquired as to whether this is normal. A few people responded that book two does not always have to be spicy. This is especially true if there are more “plot points (external forces).” [Thanks @thebookdisciple, @c.e.grayson, and @permanently_booked for the clarification.]

The spice in Temple was missionary compared to Raiders. In a way, that is perfectly fine if you are an Indiana Jones girl and are here for the adventure. There’s just a sprinkle of romance, and a little bit of jalapeno.

So if you focus on the adventure part of this story, I think you’ll enjoy the book more. If you are in this for the spice or romance, I’m afraid you will feel slightly let down. Personally, I love the Indiana Jones aspect of this story. Miriam was the first Indiana Jones girl. I like that Segura chose this name for the main character in this book. Corrie, in Raiders, was very much like Indiana Jones’s Miriam in every way. That’s what I loved about Raiders.

Another aspect I love about this book is that this is a Latina story written by a Mexican American woman. I love that Segura loves archaeology and Indiana Jones. I hope she writes many more stories making women such strong characters (and archaeologists). We need more badass Lara Croft and Miriam characters. Also, I believe Lara Croft and Miriam from Raiders of the Lost Ark only needed a little spice. The entire reason for their stories was all about the adventure and the archaeological find.

I am perfectly fine with Segura taking us in that direction from here on out. Sorry, smut lovers.

You can pick up your copy in the Bookshop.org or Amazon link in the Shop menu above. Happy reading.

Publication Date: January 7, 2025

The Japanese Lover

At the end of every year, Isabel Allende knows what she will write about when she begins her writing season.  It was closing in on December 31st when she was out with a friend, walking around in Brooklyn when her friend was telling her about her mother and her Japanese gardener.  They had been friends for over 40 years.  Isabel responded, “They were lovers.”  The friend taken aback, laughed and said, “No, they were just friends!”  Isabel said she could not imagine being friends with a man for 40 years and never sleep with him once.  Thus, the inspiration for the tale of “The Japanese Lover.”  Allende is a passionate woman and she brings that to her writing.  The book is well written and a beautiful story set in the present day and during World War II when the Japanese internment camps took many Japanese families away from the lives they built.  The book also dives into a time when races were not mixed.  A must read.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]