Due to the fact that this book is being pulled from publication at this time, I will not be reviewing.

Due to the recent allegations and the fact that the title will be pulled from publication, I will not review it.

Well the author announced that this is getting pulled from publication after everything that has come out about them. So, I’m going to go ahead and not spend my time reading this. Especially since If I Stopped Haunting You was bad…

In light of recent events, I will not be reviewing this title. The allegations against this author are heinous and I am glad it is being pulled from publication.

Thank you net galley for the arc. I will no longer be reviewing this book because of evidence comimg forward about the author lying about her native identity.

Given the recent allegations and subsequent response from Colby Wilkens that this title will no longer be published, I will not be reading and reviewing it. Rating for the sake of not damaging my feedback ratio over a title pulled from the publishing calendar. Should things be resolved in a manor deemed satisfactory by the marginalized community affected, I will revisit in the future.

Because this book's publication has been canceled. I am leaving this review. Choosing the "I will not be giving feedback for this book" option would impact my ratio negatively, which is not fair given the circumstances.

The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAAF) has reportedly looked 10 generations deep into Wilkens' family history and was unable to identify a Native ancestor.

Given the recent allegations and subsequent response from Colby Wilkens that this title will no longer be published, I will not be reading and reviewing it. Rating for the sake of not damaging my feedback ratio over a title pulled from the publishing calendar. Should things be resolved in a manor deemed satisfactory by the marginalized community affected, I will revisit in the future.

Will not be giving feedback after claims made by the authors friends about lying about heritage. I think this is really poor behavior and do not want to be associated with it

I requested this because the idea of a Native Indiana Jones-type protagonist sounded so cool. Plus, that cover is gorgeous! Ultimately, though, I like romantic suspense to be heavier on the suspense and lighter on the steam, and this was definitely a very steamy read.

However, one thing this book did nail was the Indiana Jones/National Treasure vibes. I really enjoyed the treasure-hunting plot, and the discussions of Cherokee history and restoring artifacts to the communities they belonged to. Plus, the friends-to-lovers angst between Isi and Louise was well done.

Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a high-heat treasure-hunting romantic suspense.

**EDIT: Due to the allegations about Colby Wilkens not being Native, especially given the clear statement from the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians on who is allowed to claim Cherokee identity, I have removed my rating from Goodreads. I do not wish to support white authors who unjustly claim Native heritage. I will leave my original review up for archival purposes.

I will not be reading this book due to the authors unethical and damaging behavior. I hope that they come forward with a sincere apology though I'm not sure based on their choices that they will.

I was so excited to read this book as it sounded just up my alley but it has now came out that this author is falsifying her ethnicity so I will no longer be reading this.

DNF'd

I am off put by the authors refusal to respond to call outs around identity. I was excited as can be to read this and debut book. The premise of both sounded delightful.

Two best friends, Isi & Louise, are both archeologists who are in love with each other but refuse to confess their feelings for fear of ruining their friendship. Isi is also still dealing with the mystery of what happened to her mother when she discovers a breakthrough... and then promptly gets kidnapped with Louise. This leads the two on an actual treasure hunting adventure where the try to figure out what happened to Isi's mother while also bridging the gap from friends to lovers.

This was the perfect balance of romance, mystery, and adventure. Once the story got going it never stopped and very chapter was full of action that kept you interested and wanting to keep reading. The whole book felt like a fun spin on Indiana Jones while also confronting issues of people taking historical artifacts that don't belong to them for "preservation" purposes. While I personally was hoping for a different end result when it came to what happened to Isi's mother, it was probably the most logical. I also think it would have been interesting to get more insight to her mother and maybe have the book flash back and forth between the past when her mother is searching for the treasure, and the present. Overall this was a very enjoyable, well balanced read.

It’s come to my attention that this author has been misidentifying as Cherokee and Choctaw despite not having sufficient claims to those identities. And based on that I will not be reading or reviewing this book.

It has recently come to my attention that this author was misidentifying as Cherokee and Choctaw despite not having sufficient claims to those identities. Based on that, and what I have heard and seen in other reviews about the native representation being inaccurate and even harmful, I will not be reading or reviewing this book, and recommend others to seek out real, authentic native voices as well.

It’s recently come to light that this author has misrepresented herself as Chocktaw and Cherokee and has no connections to the Native community. For that reason, I won’t be reading this book. Appropriating and exploiting an identity that’s not your own for profit is deplorable. It actively does harm to Native authors, especially those writing about their lived experiences. Please seek out books by those authors instead of this garbage.

In light of recent revelations about this author and the Cherokee representation depicted in this book, I cannot in good conscience read and dedicate time to this author's work. I would encourage readers to consider picking up books by other native authors instead and uplifting other Indigenous voices in the book community.

It has recently come out that this author might not have true connections to the Cherokee and Choctaw ancestry she claims. As a Cherokee reader and reviewer, Ive had this book on my radar doe awhile. The entire concept of Cherokee Gold is already a little suspicious, but Im willing to sit for a Cherokee person owning this.

I wish I had good news to report but this book has alarming representation. I would NOT recommend it. It is in dire need of a sensitivity read at the very least, to be completely re-written without the Native plotlines at best.

The problem with Native voices is that there are so few of us, no one knows when the representation is starkly wrong. There are lots of examples in this books I could point to, but Im not here to write an essay. I will linger on one.

This books quotes the, "there are two wolves inside of you, which do you feed?" As if it is an authentic story and not absolute fakelore. A simple Google search will reveal that this not something Cherokee people say it is made up hogwash.

Honestly, talking about it makes my blood boil. This person is appropriating a Cherokee identity and massively profiting off of it. There are people actually praising this rep. That is so painful for a Cherokee person to see.

Publishing needs to do better.

I really enjoyed this book! What a wonderful queer romance + i loved the Indiana Jones vibes! The one problem I had with this book is that it lagged quite a bit at times. I really wanted the main characters to get together and that is what kept me going. This truly felt like an adventure game which I really liked! I also LOVE any good book with a lost treasure/gold plot...but make it queer and SHEBANG I liked it. This was a solid 4 star read- and I would definitely read something else from this author!