From the publisher:
Two very indoor people rough it on a remote island after getting swept up in an archaeologist’s hunt for a famed jewel in this dazzling new adventure rom-com by Kerry Rea, author of Lucy on the Wild Side.
If Emily Edwards knows one thing, it’s that you don’t go to a remote island by yourself. Ever the type A personality, Emily doesn’t want to hike around an unfamiliar island, but she’s determined to fulfill her late father’s national park bucket list, starting with Isle Royale National Park—home to wolves, bears, and hundred-year-old shipwrecks. She has no choice but to hire a tour guide, and there is only one that isn’t booked solid.
Ryder Fleet, co-owner of Fleet Outdoor Adventures, wouldn’t call himself a wilderness expert, and he definitely doesn’t know how to find true north. But when his dormant adventure guide business suddenly finds life again after a random inquiry, Ryder somehow finds himself on a ferry to Isle Royale with a very beautiful, no-nonsense woman. What this woman doesn’t know is that his brother Caleb, who died two years ago, was the outdoorsman of their business, while Ryder just did the marketing. But how hard could it be to hike up a few mountains?
Pretty difficult, actually, when murder is involved. Emily’s perfectly planned trek turns disastrous when she and Ryder witness a brutal crime and are suddenly forced to evade a group of archaeologists on the hunt for a jewel. As they spend nights together too close for comfort, they realize their shoddily built fire isn’t the only thing that’s kindling, and that they must trust each other if they want to escape the island with their lives—and hearts—intact.“The great outdoors brings peril and passion in this high-octane rom-com…Rea ramps up the suspense, but never races through the relationship itself, allowing it to develop at a natural pace amid the drama. The characters slowly reveal their hidden depths…igniting an attraction that inspires them to want to save each other. It’s the perfect mix of danger and delight.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Rea takes readers on a delightful adventure that’s packed with action, twists, and humor in this forced-proximity rom-com. Hand to fans of Jo Segura and Sarah Hawley.”—Library Journal
“This hilarious novel doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a quick, fun read.”—Booklist
Emily lost her father over a year ago, but is still feeling guilty that she kept putting off going to national parks with him. Now that he’s gone, she feels it is her mission to spread his ashes at the top park on his bucket list, Isle Royale National Park. Emily much prefers a five star resort to doing anything outdoors, but guilt is a powerful motivator. This particular park requires some outdoor survival skills for sure, and since she doesn’t have any, she invites her boyfriend along. But two weeks before their trip, he dumps her.
Frantic, Emily tries every tour guide she can find until she reaches Fleet Outdoor Adventures, and miraculously, they have a guide available. What they don’t tell her is that her guide, Ryder, is actually the marketing person at this company but since his brother, the actual guide, passed away, the company has sort of fallen apart and is on the verge of going under. This is the last attempt to try and save it, so off Ryder goes into the wilderness on a truly madcap adventure.
Things don’t start off well when he almost misses the ferry that takes them to the park. Emily is not impressed with Ryder, to say the least, and the more they hike the less impressed she is. Ryder can only fake it for so long until he admits he is just as clueless as she is.
Meanwhile, Emily met an archaeology professor from Harvard on the ferry who tells her about a shipwreck he is researching. When they run into him in the woods, he claims his mentor tried to kill him because they found a rare blue diamond on board the wreck. Turns out to be the other way around, and Emily and Ryder realize they are in deep trouble when they witness a murder. And then they become the hunted.
This is more silly than serious, despite the guns and goons. Ryder and Emily slowly find a way to get along, and then more feelings develop. This was a really fun read with a lot of laughs between the murder attempts, and the forced proximity trope works really well here. Rea has become a must-read author for me, if only for the laughter – and what could be better than laughing?
11/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE JEWEL OF THE ISLE by Kerry Rea. Berkley (November 26, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593815649. 336p.
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