Danan, Rosie. Do Your Worst. Berkley. Nov. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9780593437148. pap. $17. PARANORMAL ROMANCE

American Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker, a gift held by generations of women in her family that allows them to scent the magic of a curse. Riley is the first in her family to try to make a business out of this unique skill, and her biggest job yet is to break the curse on Arden Castle in the Scottish Highlands so its new owners can successfully make it a tourist destination. Beyond the curse, her biggest foe is the hot but infuriating British archaeologist Clark Edgeware, who believes she’s a sham and should be fired. Their attraction only increases, though, as they battle to prove each other wrong, but ultimately, the two of them together may be the key to fulfilling the deal with a fae that the castle’s last resident made centuries ago. Danan (The Intimacy Experiment) expertly deploys the enemies-to-lovers trope as Riley’s confidence and Clark’s arrogance are peeled away to reveal the wounded, kind people underneath who are made for each other. VERDICT A curse breaker and an archaeologist go from enemies to lovers as they vanquish a fae curse in this delightful, steamy romance.—Melissa DeWild  

★Segura, Jo. Raiders of the Lost Heart. Berkley. Dec. 2023. 368p. ISBN 9780593547465. pap. $17. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

DEBUT This sexy, engaging romance leads readers through the wilds of academia and sets them down in a realistic archaeological dig. Dr. Corrie Mejía is a badass archaeologist, outrunning a jaguar (okay, jaguarundi), and recovering stolen artifacts and returning them to their owners, but none of that has brought her funding for the dig she really wants to do. Eight years ago, she and Ford Matthews had a moment, but the next day, Ford broke Corrie’s heart. Since then, he’s also stolen a fellowship that should have been hers, and now he’s scored a fully funded dig for the remains of Chimalli, an Aztec warrior and Corrie’s possible ancestor, as well as the subject of her dissertation. However, Ford’s dig is going nowhere, so he tricks Corrie into helping him. Finding out that she’s only assisting Ford and that her nemesis is in fact the dig’s lead researcher infuriates Corrie, but she can’t say no to this once-in-a-career opportunity. As she works closely with Ford, they both realize that their attraction is still sizzling; the hot Mexican jungle is about to get even steamier. VERDICT With its well-crafted, interesting characters and intriguing storyline, this debut novel will fly off shelves.—Heather Miller Cover