I tried to get into this book, but I just had a very hard time connecting with the story and the characters. Everyone felt stereotypical and cartoonish, and I could not figure out why everyone was making dumb decisions, talking in an overly flowery and stilted manner, or narrating everything they were doing in their heads. I could not get into the plot or identify with the characters. I did not finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Antiquity Affair.

I think Egyptology is fascinating which is why I submitted a request, but sadly, this didn't capture my interest as much as I had hoped.

Described as an Indian Jones type adventure, I found the narrative too long, almost tedious, and the cast lacking in charm, intrigue and not compelling.

Lila and Tess are typical sisters; different women with different temperaments, but both brilliant and smart.

Sadly, they live in a time when women are supposed to get married, breed sons, and keep a household for the rest of their life, not be educated or have a career of their own.

It was hard to suspend disbelief for many of the scenes and scenarios.

Then, the plot was bogged down with the silly romance subplots and Lila and Tess making goo-goo eyes at their prospective lovers.

The suspenseful moments were drawn out and took too long to get to the point.

Character development wise, it was okay. I didn't dislike Lila or Tess, but I didn't like them, which was unfortunate.

I love novels featuring sisters or a sister team-up.

The tone of the story read as a YA romance, so that might be the reason I wasn't a fan of the sisters, or anyone else.

The Egyptian stories was fascinating, not historically accurate, and not enough for me to like the book more than I did.

Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for this audio ARC.

This premise sounded so exciting, and I was really excited to get into this one. This book follows two sisters, whose father is an archeologist studying ancient Egypt. It is meant to be a feminist Indiana Jones type book, which I think sounded really cool. Sadly for me, it did not work.

This book is extremely predictable. Literally every plot "twist" that happened I anticipated. Shocker, each sister falls in love with the one man she is on the adventure with. Further, these girls have thoughts that they likely would NOT have had in 1907 or whatever year this took place in. It was so unbelievable that these women were raised in the late 1800s yet had the same progressive values as many do today.

I loved the idea of this, but I wish it was just more believable and less predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when you take Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and add two sisters with opposite personalities–one with an appreciation for archaeology, the other who will do anything to keep her family from financial ruin?
You get the action-packed, archaeological adventure that is The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne.

Lila Ford dreams of entering Manhattan society and marrying in a well-to-do family to hopefully save her own family from financial ruin. Tess Ford dreams of following in her father’s footsteps and someday running her own archaeological dig.

Thanks to a case of mistaken identity, Tess ends up kidnapped from her sister’s debutante ball by the rich and powerful family Lila had hoped to marry into. Lila is surprised by the appearance of her father and ends up on a boat to Egypt for the adventure of a lifetime.

I had so much fun reading The Antiquity Affair! I was definitely one of those girlies who had an ancient Egypt obsession growing up (my mom even bought me a hieroglyph stamp set for Christmas) and I am still one of those girlies who adores The Mummy movies so when I read the synopsis for this book I knew I would love it and boy did I love it!

Although it was a bit cliche at times, it had everything you could want from a historical mystery. It took a bit for me to really get into it but once I did I couldn’t put it down. Just when you thought something was finally going to go right for our protagonists, a new obstacle or betrayal got in the way.

I loved Lila and Tess’s characters but I will say I wish there was more of a focus on their relationship and their reconciliation. It felt a bit swept under the rug in favor of romantic moments with each of the sister’s love interests. The romance felt rushed, and a bit forced so I would have liked to see that dialed back so the sister relationship could have been more fleshed out. I also think their father got off a little too easily considering how awful he had been to them growing up.

Overall, Kelly & Thorne have created an exciting world that leaves the reader wanting more. More adventure, more puzzles, more action, more mysteries. Fortunately for us, the ending leaves us with hope for more possible adventures with the Ford sisters.

I love books featuring archeology, riddles, and ancient artifacts. This one was a treat and I had a lot of fun.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I quite liked the premise of "The Antiquity Affair", but the book didn't live up to my expectations. The romantic subplots weren't really developed enough for me to be believable and the sisterly relationship was interesting, but their conflict was resolved in an unrealistic manner that felt like the author was trying to cut corners instead of properly resolving the plot point.

What a fun book!

It's got a little of everything: adventure, puzzles, history, family dynamics, commentary on colonization and antiquity dealing, romance, humor,

I really enjoyed this one but I would have liked it more if the romance was either toned down or removed. Give me more puzzles! Give me more of sisters being badass. Just, give me more. Hopefully there'll be a sequel.

Special thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I'm not really into adventur books but I highly recommend this one. Two daughters Lila, a socialite, and Tess who wants to follow her father even made it more enjoyable because they are so diverse.

Their father has done research on something called The Serpent's Crown. This book was fun. It had perils, puzzles and a great plot as the 3 of them, father and daughters have one adventure after another. Great for fans of Indiana Jones everyone is saying in the critic reviews and I agree.

A lot of fun! Highly recommend, even to people who don't like adventures. 4 stars!

**I received a complimentary copy of this book, and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own**

This was a great fun read! I dislike giving star ratings because books have so much nuance but this would be a solid 4 stars, would recommend. I liked the Indiana Jones meets The Mummy meets National Treasure vibe, and although it was slow to start, it picked up rather quickly with only a few repetitive phrases (a pet peeve of mine).
I loved seeing Lila & Tess come together and I wished for a little more dialogue between the sisters at the end, resolving their years of hurt due mostly to lack of communication & with basically no support from their father or grandmother. The ending itself was very abrupt, leaving the door wide open for a sequel -- too wide open. I wish we had gotten even slightly more clarity about the characters next steps instead of a movie-like close. I did really like all the heroes in the book and I will be sure to look out for a sequel.

This is a super fun action adventure story with a touch of romance. I loved the idea of putting women into these roles and having them be the hero of the story. It was also nice seeing the social and ethical issues of archeology addressed. Having the characters thoughtfully decide how to handle their discovery instead of plundering for glory and profit was wonderful to see.

The Antiquity Affair is set in the early 1900s, featuring two estranged sisters, Lila and Tess. The story told in alternating POV. They're the daughters of an archeologist who have taken drastically different paths. Throughout the story, while solving puzzles and action-packed adventure that puts their lives in peril, they are finding their way back to each other.

This was an immensely enjoyable fast-paced, and thrilling adventure. I'm hoping this is only the beginning for Lila and Tess.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A thrilling adventure of two sisters uncovering an ancient secret and healing their broken relationship? Sign me up! The Antiquity Affair is so fun and action packed, but also has very sweet character moments. This was probably one of the most realistic sister relationships I've read and each sister had a unique voice making it very easy to know which perspective I was reading from.

I enjoyed the dual voices that paired well within the novel and it made for a fun read. This fell more into YA territory than I initially expected especially in regards to the female leads subverting expectations and solving everything. There was a lot of effort in the beginning of the novel to recreate the Gilded Age and then it just disappeared. Meanwhile you have the father figure who really just detracts from the story and some convenient flirting. The book was fun overall. Just beware of the tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3.5

It is 1907, Dr. Warren Ford is a renowned Archeologist on the search for the serpents crown in Egypt. When his latest expedition does not go to plan, The men who hired him are not too happy with his failure and rectify it by attempting to kidnap both his daughters. Lila who is about to make her debut, and Tess a wildcard determined to follow in her father's footsteps. They end up only successfully grabbing Tess, mistaking her for Lila, while Dr. Ford is able to warn and intercept Lila in time and takes her with him to keep her safe. What ensues in the hunt for the serpents crown is betrayal, love, sacrifice, the fight for power, moral dilemmas, trials, puzzle solving, and hijinks.

After watching the new Indiana Jones this weekend, I was super excited this was described as a female centred version. And while I did not feel it was the case I still enjoyed and had a good time. The commentary of colonialism, imperialism, and plundering was very appreciated and a surprise. The sister relationship in the end was exactly what i wanted from the story, but the back and forth miscommunication between them got on my nerves a bit. The romance elements didn't work for me, they felt a but too unrealistic and took me out of the story a bit. Overall it was very fun, fast paced, and a good time.

Though it took a while to get going, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Once the slow start had passed, it moved at a good clip, and the excitement never let up. The historical detail was also appreciated. My only gripes were that pacing issue I mentioned, and that the sisters’ reconciliation didn’t take place until what I thought was too late in the book - hints of a thaw could potentially have been mentioned earlier.

Lila and Tess are sisters who find themselves at the center of a plot to uncover and steal a legendary Egyptian artifact. Both sisters have their strengths with Lila skilled in solving puzzles and decrypting ciphers while Tess is knowledgeable in history and excavation sites. Despite their differences and distance over the past years, they must work together to find the artifact to save their lives. Overall, a fun and light adventure story for fans of Indiana Jones or the Mummy.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. The Antiquity Affair was an edge of your seat read that pulled me in from the beginning and kept me engaged until the end. I liked how the point of view switched between the sisters so that readers got a view into what was happening in multiple locations. I definitely think that this book pulled in the spirit of Indiana Jones and am hoping that this is the first title in a series of books.

I requested The Antiquity Affair on NetGalley, but a couple days later I saw it at the bookstore and had to purchase a copy. The very next day I was approved for the NetGalley copy and I'm not mad about it. This book was fantastic. It's just as promised...Indiana Jones meets The Mummy. I love both of those, so of course I loved this. I really hope this turns into a series. I loved seeing the sisters work together and also have some very sister-like arguments. It really captures the complicated sister relationship.

The ‘Antiquity Affair’ was an entertaining adventure story centering around two sisters. The story spans across oceans and countries as Tess and Lil try to discovery the mystery of an Ancient Egyptian artifact. While some of the plot points and romance in this book felt very predictable, I found it to be an enjoyable read. It reminded me of the old adventure story’s I read as a kid such as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. It made me feel really nostalgic. If you are looking for a light read that has some action elements to it, I would recommend this book to you. I am usually not a fan of romance books but I enjoyed the light banter between the characters. I wish the authors had gone more into depth about the history surrounding Ancient Egypt but I really appreciated all the puzzles and ciphers in the book.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

A woman centered nod to Indiana Jones? Action and adventure? Sign me up!

The Antiquity Affair is a book that for me was just good fun. While it touched briefly on a couple of important topics (colonialism in North African countries, sexism, corruption, etc..), it wasn't a super deep, dig into your soul type story. Instead, this was an action packed adventure revolving around an Egyptian artifact that gives the beholder an inordinate amount of power. We have a clear delineation between the good guys and the bad guys. The bad guys are almost comical at some points in their fumblings, but in a way that was enjoyable.

I will say that this was much more romance heavy than I was expecting. As someone who isn't a big fan of romance, particularly love at first sight romance, I found it a bit too insta-love and the relationships resolved in a way that was too neat and tidy for me.

If you want a book that you can just have fun with and not think deeply about, you may enjoy this book.

*Thank you to Netgalley, both authors, and Harper Muse for both an E-ARC and Audio-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.

** a note that the Harper Muse ebook arc format is really really difficult to read.** -- Please, please, please address this -- this is the second I've had this month, and the logos breaking up the text is really frustrating.


✨ Review ✨ The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly, Jennifer Thorne; Narrated by Brittany Pressley, Holly Linneman

Girl-power, anti-colonial Indiana Jones with some Parent Trap sister-reversal vibes!!!

This was a lot of fun to read and just what I needed! It's 1907 and Egyptology is erupting across the world. Tess and Lila, daughters of a famous archeologist are quickly launched into an adventure in this book with their roles reversed -- with Tess facing down marriage prospects and Lila on the run.

Both are posed with a decryption challenge, for which the future of the world is at stake. It has lots of big quest energy, alongside romance, family drama, and more -- all while the characters are traveling the world.

This was full of puzzles and adventure in Indiana Jones / DaVinci Code style, but with a little more of a critical lens through which the characters questions the ethics of archaeology and the West's taking of goods from places like Egypt. I think it maybe could have gone a little further in asking these tough questions, but I appreciated it all the same. I also loved that it put women into daring and important roles in the story.

The audiobook was great -- the narrators brought a lot of personality to their characters which made Tess and Lila come to life. This book is guaranteed to put you on the edge of your seat!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4-4.5)
Genre: historical fiction, thriller/mystery, romance
Setting: Paris & Egypt
Reminds me of: a more feminist take on Indiana Jones
Pub Date: June 6 - out now!

Read this if you like:
⭕️ adventures and puzzles
⭕️ Egyptology and archaeology but with a more anti-colonial lens
⭕️ badass female leads
⭕️ a great blend of genres::: historical fiction, thriller/mystery, romance

Thanks to Harper Muse and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!