Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am opting out of reading and reviewing this book due to the controversy surrounding the author and the book being pulled from publishing. I wish all the best to Colby in the future and look forward to reading anything else we may see from her in the furture.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book, but you'll really have to suspend your disbelief. The characters act like late teens/early twenty-somethings and then it comes up that they are in their mid to late thirties. I found the "being chased by the bad guys" sections to be a little thin, but the romcom factor was just fine.

There's not much there to establish the characters as friends other than Isi's traumatic backstory--you just have to believe that they are. I would have liked more details to support how supposedly close the two women are to one another. The love factor seemed mostly like lust to me.

I am bummed that this got pulled before I could read it, but I understand why. I hope that Colby Wilkens is able to write again in the future!

optimg out of reviewing and reading as apparently there is a lot of controversy about the author and i believe this book has been pulled from being published

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. This book was cute. The banter between the two girl's was really interesting and fun to watch.

70/100 or 3.50 stars

Edit: I did not know about the controversy at the original time of posting my review, but I am keeping the rating the same. I do understand how harmful what they have done is and how tiring it is for white people to keep doing that shit; however, changing my overall review will not do anything since it's the sales that matter and not a rating on Goodreads. I will not be interested in buy this book/adding it to my collection, though, so I have removed that part of my review.
This was a fun adventure! The characters were interesting and the POVs were fun to follow. I will say, this is a horny as hell book. I liked the slow burn with this one, however, both POVs are constantly thinking about having sex with each other, so if that is not your thing, then I would probably not recommend this...but if you do love that slow burn romance with a big payoff, this is for you! The story itself was fun with the archaeology storyline and mystery/adventure. The sapphic romance was well done and complicated in a realistic way.

The sexual content in this story is well done and effective, so if you like your romances spicy this is the book for you!

I believe this book is not being published due to issues with the author so I will not be reading it.

If I Dig You sets out to be a sapphic Indiana Jones adventure with a dash of National Treasure, blending romance, archaeology, and a treasure hunt with cultural significance. While the premise is full of promise, the execution doesn’t always live up to its potential.

The story follows archaeologists Louise and Isi, two best friends who have spent years dancing around their feelings for each other. Louise once fled after a failed romance, breaking Isi’s heart, and now that she’s back, she’s afraid of repeating the past. Meanwhile, Isi is grieving the loss of her mother, a renowned archaeologist, and struggling with her unresolved feelings for Louise. When Isi stumbles upon her mother’s journal, which holds clues to a lost Cherokee treasure, the two are kidnapped by a wealthy woman and her henchmen, who force them to decipher the clues for their own gain.

Louise and Isi wander through the woods, yearn for each other, and overthink their emotions without actually talking... which was weird? Their romance follows a classic friends-to-lovers trajectory, and while their chemistry is undeniable, the constant rehashing of their thoughts and feelings quickly grows tiresome. There are countless descriptions of them staring longingly at each other, but despite having plenty of time to talk, they simply… don’t.

I wanted more... there was a lot of discussion about archaeology, but not enough actual adventure. A magical element is introduced but feels underdeveloped and, repetitive. The stakes don’t always feel real, as Louise and Isi somehow manage to destroy without facing consequences.

I did like the cultural aspect of the story. It felt meaningful, particularly Isi’s journey of reclaiming what rightfully belongs to her ancestors and community. This part of the narrative carries real-world weight, and the author deserves credit for bringing awareness to ongoing struggles faced by Native Americans. When the actual treasure hunt kicks into gear, the story becomes more engaging, and the final resolution of the romance, while long overdue, is ultimately satisfying.

Overall, it wasn't bad. I liked the slow-burn sapphic romance and archaeology-heavy narratives.. but I just wish it wasn't as repetitive

Opting not to review at this time as the author has pulled the book from publication due to scandal surrounding her questionable heritage.

I heard it was cancelled because of the authors dubious indigenous heritage so I will not be reading it.

Due to the author controversy and the negative connotations around this book I had to DNF. I am not a fan of utilizing ancestry and native themes when the author doesn't do their due diligence in research

I received an arc for this and while I’m grateful for the opportunity I won’t be reading any further. I was hoping that some of the controversy around the author would be resolved so I could honestly read and review but since it’s still outstanding I will not be reading on.

Oof. I don’t really want to touch this with a 10 foot pole, but since I got the arc and I appreciate all advanced copies that I get, I will do my best. My favorite thing about the book is the cover. 10/10 on that. Other than that, the writing and the controversy are a hot mess. I was so looking forward to this book becoming my new LGBTQ + read, too. My wife is native, and from what I’ve learned about the culture, and how the author has treated the culture is anything but ok. I’ll leave my review at that.

I really wanted to love it, but alas I did not. There is Also some issue with ancestry which put a cloud over the experience

Wooooo my approval rating is about to go WAYYYYY down.

1. I got to the end of this book before i did a little stop by goodreads and found the absolutely SHOCKING news about this author appropriating native culture TWICE in her novels and actually not being native american AT ALL?

2.the climac of this book is white people being punished for stealing native goods is amazingly tone deaf in light of this news.

3. Smp has recently had problems with diversity and inclusion and yikes x19363738 for this.

I will not be reviewing this title as it has recently come out that this author might not have true connections to the Cherokee and Choctaw ancestry she claims. To do both this and include Indigenous culture in her and make it a significant point of her novel is not something I am willing to support, especially since the stories can be told without these inclusion or significant plot points having these connections. Indigenous stories NEED to be told, but being told from disingenuine sources is not something I want to support. Should this change and the claims be invalid, I would rescind this. But the lack of response on her part makes everything rather suspect.

The only thing I can attest to is that the cover designs are flawless.

Thank you for the ARC of this book, due to the controversy surrounding this author I don't feel comfortable reading this book anymore.

I appreciate the offer to review this book. I will not be writing a review as I recently became aware that publication has been paused for this book. I do not feel it would be beneficial to share feedback for a book that my followers & friends will not have access to. I apologize and hope this will not affect my chances at any future releases from this publisher.

This book was... not it. I liked the premise and the inclusion of sapphic romance, but the story just fell flat. I had read this author's previously released book and it was alright, so when I saw the blurb, I became really interested in this one and wanted to give it a chance. It just wasn't for me: the plot was good at the beginning and then the development fell short.

I read this before the controversy. The book was good but idk if it was my favorite. I felt like the book could of been better and character development was lacking a bit, loved the story line idea of it but the execution wasn’t here for me. Overall it was a cute story and although the controversy of the author I do appreciate for giving me the opportunity to read this.