This was such a delightful romance read!! I loved the characters, treasure hunting, and the character development. And a fabulous ending to cap it off! A great feel good read that also explores deep themes. 5 stars!

I loved this book so much. It’s about much more than being a novelist and/or treasure hunting. Its abandonment issues, feelings of inadequacy, found family and taking risks. It’s a beautifully written romance. Thanks to Berkley for the ARC.

This was such a cute book. Apparently this is the year of treasure hunting tropes as I have read three books already and it’s only April. But, I digress… I loved this book, the world building and the excitement of feeling like we’re apart of the treasure hunt with the crew was amazing. Stella and Huck’s relationship was so cute and even with the time jump the author keeps you just as engaged in the story. I will admit that the ending felt a little anticlimactic so I was a little bummed at that but overall as a whole this book was such a fun read and is perfect for fans of the outer banks and treasure hunting.

A fun, quick read, perfect for summer vibes.

The treasure hunting was interesting and I was definitely here for the found family. It’s not just a treasure hunt—it’s a journey through love, loss, and the hope of second chances. I do wish there had been more of a romantic connection between the main characters. I really felt it the first night they met, but not really through the rest of the book. The book is also setup in two parts and I kind of wish that part one had been presented as flashbacks through the book and fleshed out a bit more because some fairly important scenes happened off-page, taking away from some of the emotional connection.

💎 Treasure Hunting
💎 Forced Proximity
💎 Second Chance
💎 Found Family

I really couldn't get into this book, despite it having a premise that seemed exciting. It just didn't work for me.

Heart Marks the Spot by new to me author Libby Hubscher, published by Berkley Publishing, is a stand alone romantic comeedy. A slow burn that had me confused, took me some time to get into the story of the treasure hunter Stella and her favorite of all time author Huck who' s looking for inspiration. The most exciting/ witty thing happening in this story was the fangirling Stella did over her fav author.
HMtS is an ok read, well written, 3,75 stars.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Ultimately I liked parts of this but struggled with others. I thought the writing quality was pretty good apart from some bits that felt a bit repetitive and how some fairly important scenes happened off-page. A lot of the treasure hunting and diving scenes kind of breeze by, and the author's note did mention that they took a lot of liberties with the depiction.

I think the thing the book did best was illustrate the chemistry between the two love interests. The physical pull between them was present in all their scenes together and helped make the insta-love aspects feel less cheap. That being said, I don't know how I felt about this romance? I don't think there's really any justification for how Huck behaved. This is the modern era where cellphones exist, there's no excuse. The way the whole tangle of the past got resolved didn't feel earned or even realistic.

Despite my criticisms, I didn't think this was bad, and I will definitely check out more by this author.

Content Warnings:
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Emotional abuse

What a fun summer read!

I had a lot of fun reading this one. I was fascinated by the treasure hunter element plus we also get an angsty second chance romance. Channeling Outer Banks for sure. Sign me up!

The characters are great here, even the side ones. Hunter and Stella were interesting characters. There's complicated history between them that takes on a toll on both. I liked the tension this created along with the pining. Angst lovers unite!

I enjoyed the plot. It certainly had a lot of adventure. There was always something happening that kept me intrigued. I also loved the locations. Totally need to go to some of these places.

Super fun adventure romance! Would recommend.

Although I loved the premise and many parts of the storyline, there was something about the author's writing style that just didn't really do it for me. That being said, I think the book did a decent job of tackling many difficult topics and emotions with grace, however it left me with a lot of questions while over explaining other parts.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an arc!!

Treasure hunter Stella Moore embarks on an expedition every summer with her childhood friends in search of the Stolen Treasure of the Sea People. When she scores a major find on the group’s latest trip to Iceland, Stella suddenly finds herself one step closer to recovering the hidden treasure. However, it seems she’s discovered more than just lost riches in Iceland. A chance encounter with the charming novelist Huck Sullivan leaves Stella feeling smitten, and Huck, who’s been suffering from a severe case of writer’s block, finds himself feeling more than inspired. When Huck and Stella’s undeniable connection gives way to an unforgettable night on the beach, it seems their luck is about to turn around, until Huck disappears in the morning without a goodbye.

Heartbroken, Stella vows to put Huck in her rearview mirror, but a year later, she can’t seem to escape him. Huck’s cardboard cut-out is plastered all over town to promote his newest bestseller, and his treasure-hunting protagonist seems undeniably similar to Stella. Luckily, Stella has a new expedition to throw herself into as she prepares to navigate a shipwreck…at least until an unexpected crew member arrives in search of inspiration for his next novel and a second chance with Stella.
What ensues is a thrilling escapade full of romance and adventure as Stella and Huck work to uncover not only buried treasure but also their buried feelings for each other.
*******************************************************************
This book was a quick, lighthearted read. The treasure-hunting expeditions were fun, and I loved the friendships between the characters, particularly Huck’s growing friendships with Zoe and Gus. I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope, so I was a bit disappointed with the third-act conflict because I believe a lot of the drama could have easily been avoided if the characters just spoke with each other. I also wish there were more treasure-hunting portions of the book. For an adventure romance, I’d say this book leans more towards the romance side of things, and I would have loved to see some more action and adventure.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, and I think it would make a great beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free digital copy of this book!

Heart Marks the Spot is a fun and adventurous read, one with heart and a hope for life being all that you can make it. If there’s one trope I love, it’s found family, and this novel has it in spades. The whole treasure-hunting gang of friends made me so grateful to have my own group of people whom I treasure as my own every day.

I’m giving three stars because I found this book to be a little wordy at times. There would be pages of one person’s dialogue that I thought could be condensed, but that’s a personal preference. The content of the book itself was meaningful and had depth despite its more lighthearted nature. This is the first of the author’s books I’ve read and I hope to enjoy more in the future.

I have read other books by Hubscher that I enjoyed but this one missed the mark. It dragged on quite a bit in the beginning and while treasure hunting seems exciting in theory it wasn’t in execution. I really enjoyed Huck’s character but wasn’t a huge fan of Stella or Teddy. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley for the ARC!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book! This book follows Stella, a treasure hunter, and Huck, a bestselling novelist. The premise of the book reminded me of the movie Fools Gold with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The book opens in Iceland, where Stella and her 3 close friends are hunting for treasure. She meets Huck and immediately hits it off with him and they form a bond. He is in Iceland trying to overcome writers block and he decides to join Stella and her friends on their hunting expedition. Afterward, Huck and Stella have an unforgettable night, but the next morning he is gone leaving her heartbroken.
In the year following, he writes a successful novel and she moves on with her life.
When they get thrown together again for another mission, they are unable to resist the pull towards each other.

This book was fun and I definitely enjoyed it, but it was missing something that would have pushed it into the five star category for me. I think some of it was just a little far fetched for my taste. Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

I really enjoyed reading Stella and Huck’s story! Second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, and when you add treasure hunting to the mix, it makes for the perfect summer read. Great work!

Heart Marks the Spot was the perfect blend of adventure and romance! As a huge fan of Uncharted, the treasure hunting drew me in right away, and the brilliant writing kept me hooked. This book is so well-written, and the storytelling is immersive. I loved every minute!

Libby has such a beautiful voice, and I loved that she chose to tell this story in two parts instead of flipping between before and after. Instead of the conflict being a mystery drawn out until the end. it was all out in the open for the reader as the story pivoted to a second chance romance.

Move over, Nathan Drake, Stella is our new favorite treasure hunter!

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the gifted copy! All thoughts are my own!

4.25 stars

This was such a fun second chance romance filled with adventure and treasure hunting! Huck and Stella had an instant connection when they met in the bar and over the course of just a few days they fall in love and find treasure, but after Huck leaves in the middle of the night their future is up in the air.
I really enjoyed Huck and Stella’s relationship in this book! Even though it was a little insta-lovey I did feel like they had really good chemistry and they put the effort in to getting to know each other. When they meet up again over a year later there is initially some animosity but you can still feel the chemistry between them. I felt like they rebuilt their relationship in a way that felt really authentic and realistic and I loved the way they learned to communicate better with each other.
The treasure hunting was also a really fun plot line. I enjoyed the way treasure hunting connected to Stella’s past and how it really shaped her character development. The whole group was so entertaining and I really enjoyed their dynamic.
My one main issue with this book was that the pacing felt a little off at times. The entire first third of the book is given away by the first line in the blurb. While I enjoyed the chemistry between Stella and Huck in the “before” section of the book, it felt a little bit like an extended prologue because it was pretty much just setting up the second part of the book. Other parts of the book felt a little rushed, especially the ending. I would’ve liked to see more resolution and how we got there.
Overall though, I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone looking for a fun romcom with some adventurous elements.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eACR of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Heart Marks the Spot follows the story of Stella Moore, a treasurer hunter, and Huck Sullivan, an author who broke her heart. Huck and Stella meet by chance in Iceland and after a successful treasure hunting expedition and one night of perfect passion, Huck abandons Stella. Now, a year and a half later, he's back in life as he tags along for her crew's next treasure hunting adventure, hoping to find inspiration for his next novel and to atone for breaking her heart.

I enjoyed the treasure hunting aspect of this novel. I actually haven't read many books with a focus on that, so it felt new and refreshing. I also really enjoyed the cast of characters, especially Stella's best friend Teddy (for the most part anyway).

I didn't give the book a higher rating because I felt like the chemistry between Stella and Huck was just a tad lacking. They seemed to have more chemistry during their first meeting in Iceland and it was never quite captured again in my option. I also found long stretches of the novel to include more exposition than I would have liked; telling instead of showing, you know?

Overall, it was a fun novel and I was able to get through it at a fairly quick pace. The book comes out in July and with the summer, sun, and sea diving vibes, I think this will be a great book for the summer season!

time of dnf: 21%

unfortunately despite how badly I wanted to like this based on the premise, I don’t think it’s for me specifically at all, my final straw was the joking mention of the racism in Peter Pan from a mc who’s lifelong dream is to find an African diamond and never mentions what they plan to do with it (like maybe …give it back???) idk the randomly colonial themes of their treasure hunt really took me aback personally


I did like Huck (and Zoe and Gus) but Stella and Teddy’s characterization seemed a bit messy in a way I was not going to enjoy reading so I decided to quit while ahead 😔

this is also one of my first time reading this author so I am bummed about this outcome but will try again with another of their works!

thank you so much to netgalley and berkeley for this arc to review nonetheless 💗

I quite liked Play for Me by this author, but I could NOT get into this one. I felt the characters were very cringey and the plot was weird. I would perhaps try this again on a trip to Iceland, but overall - a miss for me.

Content warnings: parental abandonment, emotionally abusive parent

Stella, Ted, Gus, and Zoe have been hunting for treasure since they met in college. Stella's parents left her with maps and legends and not much else. On their expedition to Iceland, Stella meets Huck at a bar. Huck Sullivan is a bestselling author whose last book was panned. His agent books him a trip to Iceland hoping the author will be inspired to write something new. Huck joins the crew and they find treasure. Huck and Stella have obvious chemistry, which comes to a head their last night in Iceland. And then Huck disappears.

A year later, Stella has barely picked up the pieces of her heart when Huck's new book comes out... And she's on the cover. Huck has turned her into Lucky Malone, the main character in his new treasure-hunting adventure romance series. But Huck needs material for the next book, and he agrees to finance Stella's next hunt if he can join the crew.

This is the first novel I've picked up in a long time that grabbed me in the first chapter. I instantly liked both Huck and Stella despite them being flawed characters. I wanted to go on this journey with them, and loved every minute of it.