Denise

I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. On the one hand I loved reading about the archaeological dig that the characters were on. On the other hand I found that the characters fell flat and I had a hard time connecting with them.

What this book really had going for it was a really interesting look at an archaeological dig and at Mayan culture. I really enjoyed reading the parts about the Mayans and all their different gods and what those gods represented. I also liked when Elizabeth would explain the Mayan calendar. Her explanations became a bit confusing at times (it is a bit complex) but it was interesting nonetheless.

I really found it hard to connect with the characters in this book. At first I hated Elizabeth and felt that she was cold and heartless. Once I learned why she is so distant from her daughter Diane I began to feel a bit sorry for her. While I did feel sorry for her nothing about her really made me like her. Quite frankly she was crazy and I just couldn't believe that no one but Robert could have seen that and tried to get her some help. The character that I liked the most in this book was Barbara. She seemed to bring some normality to this book.

This book kept building to an event in which you know some characters in this book are going to break. It really picked up in the second half and I while I initially enjoyed the conflict at the end I feel like it dragged on a bit longer than it should have. I was satisfied with the ending of this book and how the relationship between Elizabeth and Diane is shown in the end.

Overall I enjoyed this book for the archaeological aspects, and the discussion on Mayan culture. I felt like the characters could have been developed more and that the conflict at the end could have been shortened a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.