Book Review: Love, Artifacts, and You (Soul Mates in Romeo #4) (ARC)

Author: Sarah Ready

A love that spans from the jungles of Central America to the hidden caves of Romeo, New York…

Infamous treasure hunter Emma Castleton desperately wants to find the Lost Treasure of Romeo. Emma’s been labeled a fraud and she’s determined to fix her reputation.

She’s also been promised that when she finds Romeo’s Lost Treasure, she’ll finally find her soul mate. But Emma knows that’s a lie. Her true love died ten years ago on a devastating treasure hunt in Central America.

Former street kid Andrew Santiago loved Emma with all his heart. That is, until she shattered his life, betrayed his trust, and left him for dead. Now Andrew’s back, wealthy and powerful, and determined to take his revenge on the woman who broke his heart.

But as Andrew and Emma hunt for Romeo’s Lost Treasure they uncover secrets of the past, buried artifacts, and ever-present danger. Soon, they’re confronted with a choice, what is the greater treasure – true love or revenge?

[Chasing Romeo (#1) / Love Not at First Sight (#2) / Romance by the Book (#3) Reviews]

Love, Artifacts, and You is the fourth novel in the Soul Mates in Romeo series. While the novels in this series can be read as standalones, every story, for me, is worth reading, especially in order as the timeline between each book is continuous. The amazing part about this series is that every story is incredibly different and each couple does feel like soul mates, which is the main focus. Every story is full of flawed and relatable characters in an enchanting real-world setting. While this novel does eventually return to Official Town of Love USA, Romeo, New York, the story begins on the other side of the world where the reader meets the characters when they are seventeen years old.

Emma Castleton and Andrew Santiago are on an expedition with Emma’s father, Edward, and Andrew’s uncle, Rigo, are on a search for the Heart of the Empress (a two-hundred carat blood ruby). Rigo is Andrew’s guardian after his mother, Rigo’s sister, died when he was four. Edward is a famous archeologist and Rigo works as his porter. While Emma and Andrew want to be together, Edward does not approve of the relationship and wants Emma to marry Justin Van Cleeve, who he deems to be of the same status. While on this expedition, a life-changing event takes place, which separates Emma and Andrew. The story goes through Andrew’s moments afterwards, which are heart-breaking. The two characters reunite in Romeo, New York as each end up there a different way to search for the famed Lost Treasure of Romeo. Along the way Emma meets famed matchmaker, Miss Erma, who predicts Emma will find her soulmate after finding the treasure. The problem is that the man Erma describes sounds like Andrew, who Emma believes to be dead.

The entire concept of this story is intriguing and is unexpected. Andrew goes through some unspeakable horrors that will haunt him for a lifetime. While the reader does not immediately know the details of Emma’s life in the same time, it does come out over time. While the impatient reader in me wanted to know Emma’s part right away, I loved how it was done as it kept the focus on Andrew changing based on his circumstances. There are many betrayals and schemes within this fascinating world of archeology. Andrew and Emma are not the same people they were before when they reunite, but I love that there are pieces that remind each of them of what they loved about the other in the first place.

Overall, this story was not what I expected and was impossible to put down. While there are some darker moments, there are many light-hearted ones to balance out the story. Together it made the entire tale realistic as both good and bad moments exist in the real world. While the reader can guess how this story will end, it is a roller coaster ride of how you get there. This series continues to entertain and I absolutely cannot wait to the next one!

**I give a special thank you to Book Sprout and the author for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**