It's cute, it's spicy - I loved it. A sapphic adventure romance I didn't know I was looking for. There's tension, longing, and an intriguing plot line. I didn't want to put this one down.

While I appreciate being given the opportunity to review this work, with it being pulled from production at this time I cannot form and accurate review or rating.

I’ve decided not to review this book because it won’t be published. While I enjoyed reading it, I prefer to focus my reviews on books that are accessible to my audience so they can share in the experience. Thank you for understanding!

I had so much fun reading If I Dig You by Colby Wilkens.
This book really took me on one amazing adventure!

QUEER NATIONAL TREASURE. I repeat: QUEER NATIONAL TREASURE. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for an ARC of If I Dig You! This is Colby Wilken’s second release, and unlike many authors, she did not hit a sophomore slump. The pacing, high stakes setting, and adorable main characters in If I Dig You are immediately captivating and leave you wanting more. This book is perfect for fans of National Treasure and The Mummy!

Characters: 4 ⭐️
Setting: 4.5 ⭐️
Pacing: 5 ⭐️
Plot: 4⭐️
Themes: 4⭐️
Overall: 4⭐️

If I Dig You takes places in the remote wilderness of Georgia, where legends speak of a hidden Cherokee treasure that has been lost to time. Isi and Louise are archaeologists by trade, and have been friends since their days in undergrad. The story opens with the presumed death of Isi’s mom, who has gone missing on her own archaeology mission to recover Native artifacts in Georgia. The pacing is quick and grabs the reader immediately from page one. What happened to Isi’s mom?? Is there something to be found out in the remote forests of Georgia?? All of our questions are answered by the end of the book, and the ride is well worth it.

The villain in the story may have been a bit one-dimensional, but Isi and Louise were fully fleshed-out and relatable FMCs. The book is written in third person, which I find can be a challenging POV to connect with, but Wilkens’ wrote this novel with alternating focus on each FMC as the chapter changes (ex: Ch 1 - Isi, Ch 2 - Louise, etc.). This style of third person allows the reader to form a deeper connection with each character and learn more about what motivates them vs. a standard third person POV.

Colby Wilkens books operate on a very simple and non convoluted manner: I am tempted at times to compare the mystery to a Scooby Doo episode with a focus on Velma's romance. It's simplistic and silly; while that appeals to many I do prefer a bit more depth and grounding my my fiction. So although definitely not a terrible book, you definitely want to set expectations properly and not expect reality to intrude too much into the plot. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

While I adore the comp titles and would love to read something with that exact vibe, this book has been pulled from publication and I will not be supporting the author.

Due to the controversy surrounding this author, I will not be reviewing this book. It's a disappointment as the premise was excellent.

Thank you for the opportunity.

I'm so sorry, but due to the controversy about this author and the fact that this book is no longer being published (to my knowledge), I am not going to read an ARC of this book. I do not want this to negatively affect my feedback ratio, as this is not in my control that this ARC is not being published anymore.

Well sadly I did not finish this book because information came out about the author pretending to be indigenous. Based on what I’ve heard it seems like she did this unknowingly but I couldn’t in good faith read a book about indigenous characters written by a non-indigenous author. All that being said, what I did read was decent and I think I could have enjoyed it had this not come out about the author.

I enjoyed this book but it was a little slow for me. I love the concept and plot but it dragged a bit. If you like archaeology and wlw romance I would give this book a try. Thank you NetGalley for providing me and E-Arc for an honest review!

I no longer feel comfortable with giving feedback on Colby Wilkens' work due to the lies about her Native heritage and am very glad to hear that this novel is no longer going to be published!

I thought this was a really cute romance and I was invested. I loved the cover art too. As a elder emo it spoke to me.

Oof I am not comfortable with the author controversy. The book is being pulled from publication. The writing was ok. I wasn’t in love with the characters or story. And honestly once I found out that she has been investigated for misrepresenting herself as a Cherokee (find that she is not native), I was bummed that I spent time reading it.

I will not be reading or giving feedback to this book since TAAF has announced the author is not Cherokee. This book is being pulled from publication.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First things first- it seems as if this author is not actually cherokee (mixed with white) as she claims in her author acknowledgments. So that’s a problem. https://nypost.com/2024/10/21/us-news/author-colby-wilkens-says-shes-native-american-tribal-alliance-disagrees/

I liked this story. I liked Isi and Louise. I’m ALL about lgbtq representation. And I’m all about native representation but I don’t have enough knowledge about what’s true in this book and what is not. So now that the authors heritage has come to light it’s hard to love this book.

Isi and Louise have been best friends for years. And also in love with each other desperately. And of course, they don’t know it. Throw in scary treasure hunters that want to kill them and you have an action packed friends to lovers story. They get their HEA, and Isi’s mother gets the recognition she deserves.

Maybe some editing and truth telling will make this book worth more of a read in the future.

I’m uncomfortable that her native ancestry cannot be verified. But on top of that this book seems like someone with empathy or sensitivity needed to read and do an edit. Generally I love books about archeological digs and finds and the fact it was going to be a queer story was really exciting.

Kind of disappointed about the entire situation

Isi and Lou have been best friends since freshman year of college. They are also hopelessly in love with each other but too scared to say anything. Will a dangerous and deadly treasure hunt be exactly what they need to confess their feelings?

Read if you like:
-Friend to Lovers
-Book Smart but Love Shy
-Action & Adventure
-Indiana Jones, National Treasure, & The Mummy

This sapphic romance book was better than going to the movies! It had adventure, heart, and spice: a winning combination. I really enjoyed the combination of forced proximity and teamwork as Isi and Lou outwitted the bad guys and solved the riddles to find the treasure. And I loved that the mystery was tied to Isi's Cherokee ancestors.

If I dig you is a f/f friends to lovers adventurous romance, and I was here for it. This book provides a nice timeline for the romance between the characters and the setting is interesting and adds depth to the story. Overall I would give this book a 4.

Before I heard about the controversy surrounding the author, I was excited to read this and now I have heard that it had been pulled from publication but am not sure if that is still the case. I will not be supporrting this author or this work.