‘Crash Site’ by Rachel Grant: Did I Hype Myself Up Too Much?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the author, Montlake & NetGalley for this free copy.

• Title: Crash Site
• Author: Rachel Grant
• Publisher: Montlake
• Pub. date: 4 January 2022
• Series: Fiona Carver #2
• Page count: 396
• Source: NetGalley
• Genre: adult, romance, thriller

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For archaeologist Fiona Carver, the Caribbean glistens with untold menace in a heart-racing novel by Rachel Grant, USA Today bestselling author of Dangerous Ground.

Fiona Carver has landed a dream assignment: conducting an archaeological inventory of Ruby Island, a privately owned, pristine gem in the Caribbean. Two months in paradise exploring and mapping a lush rainforest, vast caves, and a seventeenth-century star fort and following up on legends of hidden Spanish gold. Add a simmering reunion with wildlife photographer Dean Slater and it’s enough to take Fiona’s breath away. But the sparkle fades when Dean’s arrival is met with sudden, terrifying danger.

Reunited and determined to see the project through, Fiona and Dean find themselves in a swirl of intrigue as they delve into the complex history of the unspoiled refuge, now a tropical haven for billionaires and their secrets. But the work isn’t easy, as someone appears determined to kill the project—by any means necessary.

As betrayal casts tropical storm clouds over Ruby Island and treasured friendships dissolve into distrust, one thing becomes clear: Fiona and Dean are trapped in a dangerous paradise.

You can check out my review of Book 1, Dangerous Ground here.

Content warnings: described blood, drugging someone against their will, explicit sexual content, loss of a loved one (mentioned), on-page death, panic attacks, terminal illness (mentioned), violence (gunshots, physical assault)

Ever since I read Dangerous Ground, book one of the Fiona Carver series, I have been dying to read this book. I even preordered this book but my impatience got the better of me when I noticed the review copy up on NetGalley, so here we are!

Crash Site picks up nine months after the events of Dangerous Ground, with Fiona Carver on assignment on Ruby Island in the Caribbean. She’s accompanied by a group including her friend Sadie and they have been brought in by the island’s owner, Josh, a buddy of Fiona’s from field school, to carry out a documentary of the historical island.

In the midst of their excursion, they are joined by the documentary film crew and the wildlife photographer, who turns out to be Dean Slater, to Fiona’s shocked surprise. But romantic tensions aside, strange things start happening during their documentary-making process, like a helicopter that almost takes out Dean and mysterious people on the island who don’t seem to be happy about a documentary happening. Soon Fiona and Dean are once again entangled in a life-or-death island stay that might endanger the whole crew.

• The latter half of the story was what really worked for me. The story really picked up and the action and suspense really gave me book one vibes! I loved it!
• I really liked the story behind the suspicious events that plague the documentary crew. It was believable and I almost suspected it too but I still liked the dynamics that this hidden plot brought to the story.
• Fiona was great as a character here! I really loved her in book one because of her level-headedness and her bravery, and Crash Site really showed her at her best.
• Fiona and Dean had a great dynamic, despite the status of their relationship. I loved seeing them as friends or whatever they were at different stages of the book.
• I really liked how the author teased some romance for Dylan, Dean’s twin brother, as well! This guy is such a cinnamon roll and deserves so much! Maybe he gets a series too? I would totally grab it!

• The pace of the story was a bit haphazard. The story starts of really strong with some twists and death-defying stunts but then the story really slows down. I was almost bored reading the middle one-third of the book.
• The passages on the archaeology and other science-y stuff got really dense at some points. I honestly couldn’t understand it compared to how I actually enjoyed the details in the first book.
• The ending was way too predictable and brisk to me. I loved everything that happened during the intense scenes and once the ending came around, I was bored because I could easily predict what was going to happen.
• I was so annoyed at the romance, especially Dean! This boy took so long to make up his mind and when he did, it felt a bit anticlimactic? Even the way their story as a couple ended left me confused, because we didn’t really see much of what they are like together at all.

Crash Site was an okay sequel to Dangerous Ground. There was a lot less suspense and action and more of the mysterious aspect. The writing put me off a bit at certain points and the romance did not really live up to my expectations. However, I loved seeing the old characters again and that was what really fueled my love for this series.

More Crash Site content: my review of Book One and Dísir’s review

USA Today bestselling author Rachel Grant worked for over a decade as a professional archaeologist and mines her experiences for story lines and settings, which are as diverse as excavating a cemetery underneath an historic art museum in San Francisco; surveying an economically depressed coal mining town in Kentucky; and mapping a seventeenth century Spanish and Dutch fort on the island of Sint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles.

In all her travels and adventures as an archaeologist, Rachel has found many sites and artifacts, but she’s only found one true treasure, her husband, David. They met while working together excavating a four thousand year old site about to be destroyed by the expansion of a sewage treatment plant in Seattle. Despite their romantic first meeting, she has no intention of ever setting a story at a sewage treatment plant.

Rachel Grant lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children.

Have you read Crash Site or will you be picking it up?