Book Review: Her Life in Ruins by Cynthia W. Gentry

 


Thank you to #NetGalley for this book to read!!!

What a surprise it was, a fun read with a bit of everything in it! The main character, Catherine Saunders is working on her PhD in archeology. Her advisor is a real stick in the mud. All she has left for completion is her dissertation. She must translate the final section of graphics on a Mayan artifact vase to finish it.

But things go horribly awry when she goes on a trip with her college, Stanford, as an advisor.  The vase is stolen from the lab of her research associate. Without it, she is doomed. So, no holds are barred; she'll do whatever it takes to retrieve that vase. Along for the ride is her best buddy, Nick. He is a fellow graduate student in her field of study and becomes a love interest as he has had a secret crush on her.

The author did a really good job of making this story entertaining. It has a bit of everything; there's literally something for everybody. I loved the information touched on in the backdrop of the story. Really shared well to make it interesting but not mundane or boring.  A few side characters the author threw in the storyline were memorable such as a feisty old lady named Mary. For a good portion of the book, it's not very obvious who the real bad guy is in the story and so there is quite a twist. The race to get all this resolved for Catherine is a race against time.

I loved it and found it very fun to read! It is humorous and at times, has you on the edge of your seat.  I couldn’t believe this was the first book of this type for this author. I will definitely keep her on my future watch list for any new releases!

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