Please welcome Sophia Rose back to the blog with an adventure romance. Treasured Whispers by Kendall Talbot is the fourth novel in the Treasure Hunters series. Come see why Sophia gave it five cups of coffee!
Treasured Whispersby Kendall Talbot
Series: Treasure Hunters #4
Genres: Romance
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Rating:
A sunken nightmare. A deadly twist of fate.
When rogue treasure hunter Archer Mahoney and his overzealous sidekick Jimmy dive into dark Egyptian waters, their sights are set on finding the final pieces of a stolen 13th century sacred treasure. But a deadly attack during an unauthorized hunt plunges them into an astonishing sunken discovery that could either rewrite history or become their watery grave forever.
Rosalina’s night exploring an ancient Egyptian temple turns deadly when she is kidnapped by a ruthless adversary out for revenge. But now it’s not just her life on the line —her unborn baby is at risk, and Rosalina won’t go down without a fight.
In Egypt, the land of intrigue holds many dark secrets, but when everything spirals out of control, how will Archer and Rosalina avoid becoming yet another mystery amid the golden sands?
Treasured Whispers, book 4 in the Treasure Hunter series is a thrilling action-adventure novel with a dash of romance. If you love your romance loaded with action and suspense, this is for you.
Warning: For readers who might be triggered by sensitive subject matter, this book contains scenes which depict incest. It is not graphic, however readers sensitive to this should read with caution.
Sophia Rose’s Review
A race to find a 13th century treasure hidden beneath dark lake waters in Egypt has the treasure hunting team back in action and in more danger than ever. A hiatus of a few years had me thinking the earlier trilogy was the end of the series. However, the author chose to pick up the tantalizing leftover plot threads and begin a new series arc for which, I, for one, am tickled to death.
Treasured Whispers is the fourth book in the Treasure Hunters series and it does have connections to the previous trilogy. However, if a person wished to dive in with this one, there is enough in the beginning to get the reader up to speed and able to plunge forward with this new treasure adventure.
Archer and Rosalina are having a baby and both are excited to be parents and have a family together. But, for Archer, he has unfinished business that won’t let him leave it be. He feels drawn to find the remainder of the Calima Treasure that was his dad’s dream and became his own after his dad passed away. Rosalina is ambivalent about this and believes the treasure is cursed after all that has happened before.
And, when they learn that the scholar who was meant to help them decode the old documents has betrayed them and gone treasure-seeking on his own so that they are forced to rush to Egypt’s Abu Simbel Temple and try to regain lost ground on the search, she may just be right. For out of the shadows, an enemy treasure hunter who has sworn revenge on Archer wants to take the treasure and all that Archer holds dear and he puts in motion events that become dire circumstances for Archer and his team.
I am nearly breathless after finishing this book. That tends to happen with many of Kendall Talbot’s heart-stopping adventurous romantic suspenses. Granted, it took me a bit to get my legs under me when I first started because it had been a long while since I read the last book in the series. My memory was bad and I was glad to get re-introduced to Archer, Rosalina, Jimmy his partner, and the rest of their team, young Alessandro and the enigmatic Ginger. All their previous treasure hunting had been from aboard Archer’s beloved yacht, Evangeline, but they leave the Evangeline to hare across the sand to Lake Nasser and Abu Simbel for an Egyptian-set adventure.
Once things got introduced, Treasured Whisper was off to the races with a duel-pronged attack that left Archer and Jimmy imprisoned in an underwater cave and Rosalina and the rest of the crew attacked while at the Abu Simbel Temple light show with one kidnapped, one desperately injured, and everything a mess.
Like with the earlier books, the villain gets narration time along with the others so there are multiple points of view. Massimo was ruthless, but his mother was even more so and their relationship was quicky as the blurb hinted about the incest. Nothing on page, but beyond their cut-throat actions this familial ugliness was just extra grist for my ‘love to hate them’ mill.
While Archer and Rosalina are an established couple, all is not smooth sailing as they disagree on the treasure hunting focus he has and the danger it brings, but she insists on being right there with them. He wants her to stay distant and safe since she’s carrying their child, but the infernal man doesn’t get that she can’t do that when he puts himself in danger. Also, they get a bit of shock about one of their trusted people who had history with the rival hunters.
It turns out that a new season of the series has sprung up and there will be more treasure hunting adventures. I love this series that gets gritty and bloody and desperate, but somehow the crew led by Archer finds a way through. Loved how the author goes the extra mile with the setting so that Egypt comes alive as much as her characters and their situation. Definitely recommend to those who enjoy fast-paced action romance in exotic settings.
*available in Kindle Unlimited
Treasured Whispers by Kendall Talbot brings a new season to this series and opens things for more treasure hunting adventures. #romance #action #TreasureHunters Share on XStay Caffeinated!
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Katherine
Treasure hunting and romance seem like they would make a fabulous pairing. Plus this one just sounds fun. This is an author I’ll definitely be looking for. Great review!
Sophia Rose
I love that pairing too. Yay, hope you enjoy her books if you get the chance, Katherine.
Lola
I like the idea of a treasure hunting concept for a romance series. It sounds nice how this series follows the same couple throughout the series, I always like seeing how a couple progresses throughout books. The mix of romance and suspense sounds well done. Great review!
Sophia Rose
Same here! A treasure hunt is always an exciting setting and it is nice to see the couple mature and face stuff together. Thanks, Lola!
Lover of Romance
I really loved your review of this one here. I know how much you love this genre, and it sounds like this book was such a win for you. I am so happy about that.
Sophia Rose
You know me well, Renee. I was captivated. 🙂
Wendy Williams
Wonderful review Sophia. It sounds exciting and something I would want to read.
Sophia Rose
Oh yes, these are real adrenaline reads. I always blow through them quickly. 🙂
Mary Kirkland
Imprisoned in an underwater cave? I just watched a thriller called The Cave and they were all stuck in an underwater cave. lol This sounds good but I wouldn’t want to wait years between books.
Sophia Rose
Yeah, that was scary to me just reading about it. I knew they would get out, but still…
I think there was the original trilogy and then a break and now there is a new season that will hopefully release in the usual distance apart. I don’t like big gaps either because my memory is only so-so. LOL
Anne - Books of My Heart
I’m glad to see this book well into the series be such a favorite!
Sophia Rose
Oh man, I seem to have so many favorites when I read her books. Love the world-wide adventures and treasure hunts they go on.
Ailyn Koay
my biggest issue is that it looks like the 2 found each other in the treasure hunt, like the treasure means nothing. Really screams romance, but how about the hunting part?
Sophia Rose
They are a second chance romance and they got together back in book one so the romance part is the ‘after they got together’ part and balancing their life together and their treasure hunting. Oh yes, there is plenty of the treasure hunting part going on- cryptic writings, maps, clues at the monuments, etc. 🙂 Good stuff, Ailyn!
Ailyn Koay
cool!
Melliane
Oh it looks good and I love stories set in Egypt so I’m even more intrigued now!
Sophia Rose
Woohoo, glad to introduce you to it, Melliane.