Review: Hunter’s Treasure by Olivia Jackson

Hunter’s Treasure
by Olivia Jackson

My Rating: 3 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f

Blurb:
A brand new spicy forced proximity action adventure romcom set on a desert island!

Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren, Jo Segura and Meghan Quinn.

One treasure map. Two total opposites. A romance they never saw coming…

When Sydney York ends up shipwrecked on a remote island, the last thing she expects is to end up on a treasure hunt. But when she meets Hunter Holden, the island’s sole inhabitant, who just happens to be searching for a legendary treasure, she ends up drawn into an adventure that leads across treacherous terrain, fighting venomous snakes and facing an enemy also searching for gold.

Will the two treasure hunters find the gold they’re searching for, or is it possible their unlikely partnership might turn into something more priceless?

Tropes:
– Destination romcom
– Desert island location
– Forced proximity
– Chance encounter
– Spicy

My Review

I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

That cover caught my eye when I first saw it, it’s so pretty and summer-y and then I read the blurb and was so excited to read this one. I started it shortly after I got approved for it. Hunter’s Treasure follows Sydney as she ends up shipwrecked on an island, but it’s not uninhabited, a guy named Hunter lives there and he believes there is treasure hidden on the island.

I thought the premise was so fun with the island setting and treasure hunt. Sadly this book didn’t fully work for me. I never fully warmed up to Sydney although I did like her more as the story progressed. Hunter on the other hand was great and I liked how sure of himself he was and determined to find the treasure. I liked the treasure hunt and them figuring out the clues. I didn’t like the bit of danger toward the end. Mostly it just felt like everything about this book was just okay and it never got better than that for me.

One of the things I liked most about this book was reading about such a sunny and summer-y island setting while we’re going through winter here and I am struggling with seasonal affective disorder. That was the part I liked most, it was nice escaping to this sunny island for a bit every day.

The romance between Sydney and Hunter does develop relatively quickly, but I appreciated they took some time to get to know each other. There are also some fun little details like the actual notes they send each other that are in front of some chapters, which I liked. I wanted to like them together, but again it was just okay. I didn’t fully feel their romance, but they were sweet together most of the time. I didn’t really care for the bit of tension with Sydney wanting to leave the island and Hunter wanting to stay and they never really talk about it at all, both set in their ways. And then at the end it all gets resolved so quickly and it just bothered me. There is a bit of steam in this one, but it’s not as spicy as I had expected form the blurb.

To summarize: I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up just being okay for me. I liked the island setting and the treasure hunt with them figuring out the clues. I never fully warmed up to Sydney, but I mostly liked Hunter. They were sweet together, but I didn’t fully feel their romance. There is some tension about them both wanting different lives, but it got resolved very quickly at the end despite them not really talking about it and it dragging on for the whole book. The tropical island setting was so fun to read about while it’s winter here and I am struggling with seasonal affective disorder and I think that’s the thing I enjoyed most and what kept me reading.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.