Do you ever feel like the settings and occupations in romance novels tend to follow the same trends year after year? This is the third archaeology-themed romance set in Central or South America that I’ve read this year. While all three followed a similar premise, this one was arguably the best.

Andrew and Adriana Jones—unrelated—meet after Adriana opens a package mistakenly delivered to her hotel room containing a priceless artifact that Andrew needs for his job. They must travel to Colombia and work together to find a missing pirate treasure before black-market antiquities dealers get to it first!

This was a fast-paced read that was equal parts sweet, fun, and suspenseful. Throw in a clueless brother, Dr. Jones’s ex-girlfriend and her new husband, and you’ve got a well-rounded cast that brings both tension and comedic relief.

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy!

Cute adventure rom com! This would make a great summer beach read. I think the set up with a little "meh" and unbelievable and didn't care for the crazy insta-love, but overall this was am enjoyable read.

DNF at 29%

I think I was swayed by the pretty cover for this book. It’s not that it was bad but there was a lot of archaeological content that I was not interested in.

I chose not to leave a rating on GR

I really enjoyed "Digging Dr Jones". I read it while traveling and being full of adventure, mild suspense, and romance this was a perfect travel read.

I love rom coms with interesting professions or adventure elements and this really delivered. I loved following Adriana and Andrew on their adventure and also witnessing their emotional journey. I will say, this did not feel like a true to life depiction of archeology (not that I have any authority to say this). Rather than organized digs with permits and red tape, this was much an Indiana Jones inspired adventure romp. I wouldn't say this is a criticism, but if you're going to be bothered by the MMC's casual disrespect of what are probably sacred and historic spaces, I'd maybe skip this one.

If I had one major criticism of this book it's that there seemed to be quite a few parts or lines about weight and dieting that I thought were both unnecessary and toxic. Primarily, the MMC follows a restrictive diet that he attributes to his weight as a child. This contributes to the plot in no way whatsoever and I wish it were omitted.

4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book had such an interesting and hooking premise, and honestly I’ve been on the lookout for romance that gives Indiana Jones/The Mummy vibes, and while this book delivered and some aspects, some aspects just fell a bit flat for me - mainly that the relationship felt a little too insta-lovey for me, and that I was missing a lot of romance and build up between Adriana and Adrian! The vibes were all there, and I did have fun during the book but I think there was a little bit of a distance in the emotions of the book - I never really felt the danger that the characters were in and never really felt invested in their love story. It was a fun read for the sun, but not one that I’m desperate to know what happens next.

Digging Dr. Jones by Olivia Jackson is an adventure romcom and the story of Adriana and Andrew.
 
Adriana just wanted to enjoy her vacation when she came across a beautiful bracelet, and she just took it. But it’s not just a normal bracelet and wasn’t meant for her and I loved how this brought the protagonists together even though it was a bit constructed. Adriana is such a fierce woman who goes with the flow and that brought her love and adventure and I aspire for that as well.
 
And then there’s Andrew aka Dr. Jones and let me tell you, I totally dig him as well. He is not only knowledgeable but also has great humor and charm. I totally saw why Adriana fell in love with him and I wouldn’t mind a jungle adventure of my own. I love how invested he is for seeking out pirate treasures and it totally swaps over to the other characters and even the reader.
 
This is the type of romance that is just pure fun and lighthearted and I wish I had read it on vacation because that would have been perfect. You can easily get lost in this world and it was great to follow Adriana and Andrew on an adventure with lots of sparks and heart. I loved their conversations and how they built a friendship as well.
 
If you’re looking for an adventure romance with lovely characters and The Lost City vibes, you need to check out Digging Dr. Jones.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

I am such a huge fan of adventure romance, and the cover and title immediately screamed out to me! Overall, really enjoyed this one, and highly recommend it to any fans of adventure romance

ARC REVIEW

3.5ish stars

what I loved:

The Indiana Jones references and similarities, loved that.

Loved William *the brother* he was amazing

Loved Dr. Jones 🩷

what didn't work for me:

I think this was fairly slow paced for an adventure book for me. Some sections truly dragged on.

This is a little insta-lust which I don't typically like.

I feel like there were several times throughout the book where Adriana reacted in a very immature way and that immediate reaction almost always annoys me.

This was a cute read though with a little spice 🩷

There were bits of this I loved, other bits I'm not sure about. It was fun for the most part, but I didnt really feel any of the emotion. Not the lust, the fear, anything really. The set-up was fun but the next parts didnt seem fleshed out enough to get invested in.

If you are looking for a lighthearted adventure story, this could be right up your alley ... or take you down some dark tunnel.

I'd round up to 3.5 stars.

This was an amazing adventure read for fans of Indiana Jones. The romance was perfect and I loved all of the references to Indiana Jones.

This treasure hunting romance was right up my alley. Unfortunately, though there were bright spots, it had a slow start and never quite blended the spicy romance with the adventure in a convincing way. There were long sections of only adventure and suspense, interspersed with short bursts of only romance and spice. I also found the brother-sister relationship odd and slightly uncomfortable, despite the reasoning behind it. For me, this had a lot of potential but didn't live up to the premise.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC.

This is one of my favorite covers of 2025! It screams "flirty adventure!" and I'm here for it.

Once I started reading, I was a little disappointed by a few things. I didn't feel that connection between Andrew and Adriana like I hoped to. I thought it was too flirty too fast but that is probably just a me problem. I did think the bracelet cuffed to her wrist from the get go was a fun way to start out the book.
Some of the events at the end of the book felt way too fast and forced. I would have liked that slowed down a bit.
I love that authors are writing adventure rom coms and I'm excited to see what this author writes next.

If you’re picking this up hoping for Indiana Jones or The Mummy vibes—with swoony romance and thrilling adventure—you might want to adjust your expectations. The premise had promise, but the execution... not so much.

Adriana starts off fine but quickly becomes a frustrating mix of “poor, daddy issues, and bad decisions.” Andrew, the love interest, has no real personality beyond being hot and into her for no clear reason. The romance felt forced, the chemistry nonexistent, and the smut? More clinical than sexy—quantity over quality, sadly.

The adventure parts started strong but lost steam fast, especially with so much time spent in hotels and not, you know, adventuring. Side characters like Adriana’s brother William felt like stereotypes instead of fully formed people.

Also, shoutout to the random Ryan Reynolds reference and weird product placement (we see you, Apple Watch). Quick read? Yes. Memorable or romantic? Not really.

DISCLAIMER: I only read until 50% and I'm sad to say I couldn't finish.
My opinion here is based on what I did read, and I do acknowledge it's not about the whole book and perhaps some of my issues with it were resolved by the end, but alas, I couldn't bring myself to do it.


My thoughts:

I can overlook certain stylistic choices because that doesn't mean the book is bad. I can try and ignore certain choices the characters make because it's the author's decision and I'm sure they'll have a reason. I'm even willing to try and understand some stereotypes used if they illustrate the ignorance of the characters and provide a good scenario for personal growth.
But if I'm asked to ignore all of it?
All at once?
Nope. NOPE, I can't.

This FMC is excessively whiny and needy and entitled at the same time. The fact she has this deep codependent relationship with her brother to the point of complaining when he didn't share how he felt for one chapter and say "if I lose him I have nothing" felt so overly dramatic, I was screaming at her to look for a good therapist.

Also, what do you mean you go to Colombia and your order paella?! A SPANISH dish?! And not even prepared correctly?! Why?!?! With how vast the Colombian cuisine is, this detail annoyed me endlessly.


The MMC is the only reason why I kept reading this long but not even this British Indiana Jones could keep me engaged enough.

I promise the premise of this one called to me sooooo much, but unfortunately and ultimately, it wasn't for me.

Urgh. What did I just read? 20% DNF.

I came here hoping for something in the vein of the Raiders of the Arcana series—maybe even with a sprinkle of Emily Wilde vibes. And honestly? I don’t even know what I got.

This book gave me bland, annoying characters, inorganic and cringe-worthy dialogue, and stiff, forced descriptions.

But the real crime? The painfully obvious and frankly concerning lack of knowledge the author has about archaeology—and about how the real world actually works. I know, I know: "It’s fiction!" or "It’s fantasy, anything goes!" But that’s exactly the risk writers take when blending real-world elements with fictional settings. If you don’t want readers questioning your accuracy, then build your world well enough that it explains itself. Create internal logic. Lay your foundation. Formulate your laws.

Anyway, this just wasn’t for me. I feel massively betrayed by the summary. Reading this felt less like reading a book and more like scrolling through a block of awkward text messages between teenagers. Oh, and I didn’t realize it was contemporary—not a genre I gravitate toward—but even that wasn’t the main issue here.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, for the ARC!

I went into Digging Dr. Jones expecting a swoony, rom-com Indiana Jones—adventure, chemistry, maybe a fedora or two. What I got was brain rot.

I don’t want to be mean—I hate being mean—but I genuinely feel like I need financial compensation for the time I lost on this book. I DNFed it at 25%, and even that was a struggle. You know when you keep checking how many pages are left, hoping you’ve somehow skipped ahead? Yeah. That.

The writing style is… how do I put this nicely? It’s abhorrent. Lazy, overly simplistic, lacking any sort of spark or rhythm. It tries so hard to be quirky, but it's giving “Look at me, I’m so FUNNY!”. It lands somewhere between cringey and exhausting. It’s the literary equivalent of someone yelling punchlines at you with a plastic sword.

The FMC? Oh, dear. She’s got the confidence of a Bond girl with the intellect of a damp napkin. And because the book is written in first person, I was trapped in her head—like being locked in a room with someone whose every third thought is a bad tweet.

Now, maybe I’m the problem. I was reading this alongside Jane Eyre, which probably didn’t help. Going from Brontë’s elegant prose to… this, felt like literary whiplash.

Honestly, it’s like the author binged Indiana Jones, had a fever dream, woke up at 3am, wrote the whole thing in one sitting, and then just hit "publish" before anyone could stop them. Editing? Never heard of her.

Maybe this will work for readers who enjoy chaotic energy and don’t mind a plot that feels like it was scribbled on a napkin. But for me? It’s a big, resounding “no.”

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

The treasure-hunting premise was what ultimately won me over in this story. It added a sense of discovery and momentum that kept me engaged, especially in the latter half. I found myself genuinely excited to see how the adventure would unfold, and that element ended up being one of the book’s strongest features.

Before that point, though, I struggled a bit. The tone early on was a bit too offbeat for me—the humor in the main character’s narration felt like it was trying a little too hard, which made it difficult to connect with her. Adriana and her brother William also felt more juvenile than endearing at first, which threw off my immersion in the story. Similarly, the romance with Andrew kicked off so quickly that it lacked the buildup I usually enjoy in slow-burn relationships.

Thankfully, things took a turn for the better around the halfway mark. The characters began to mature, and their interactions felt more genuine. Adriana and Andrew’s relationship, in particular, started to shine. They shared some sweet, tender, and even steamy moments that made their connection far more believable. Andrew really stood out as a character—quiet, protective, and full of heart. I came to appreciate him more with every scene.

Visually, the book is a stunner—the cover art is absolutely gorgeous and was a big part of what drew me to the story in the first place. I'm really glad I had the chance to read this ARC, thanks to NetGalley. While the beginning didn’t entirely work for me, the story found its stride and delivered a satisfying, entertaining read by the end.

I had a lot of difficulty with this book. I was excited to read it as I studied archaeology and love a good romance. I found the characters hard to love and connect with and the writing/ prose was a bit too unserious for lack of better words.

Thank you One More Chapter for the #gifted ARC of Digging Dr Jones by Olivia Jackson.

This book had a premise that immediately intrigued me—an adventurous rom-com with strong Indiana Jones vibes? Count me in! I was genuinely excited to dive into a story that promised both romance and action.

While the setup was fun and the concept creative, somewhere around the halfway point I found myself losing interest. The plot didn’t quite hold my attention as I had hoped, and I struggled to stay engaged with the characters and pacing.

That said, although it didn’t quite work for me, I can see this being a great pick for readers who enjoy romances with a twist, a dose of adventure, and a light-hearted escape. It’s a unique blend that may hit the right spot for others!

If you like Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone and want a lighthearted read with a treasure hunt then I would suggest to check this out. I give it 3.5 stars. I thought the book was entertaining, but I felt like the FMC Adriana was written to act almost like a character in a YA book and had no substance. The character felt very flat and Andrew felt like the typical good looking MMC who is obsessed with the FMC after knowing her a few days. If you enjoy the insta-love trope this may be up your alley but it isn't a favorite of mine. While this wasn't a fav I still thought it was entertaining and worth a read, especially if you are into treasure hunting and forced proximity.