Lizards Hold the Sun

Have you ever read a book where you can feel the love and passion saturate every single page and scentence and word? Where you know the author poured their whole heart and soul and knowledge into their writing? That is this book.

Xiomara is an Indigenous Mexican archeologist, and Calehan is the architect on the reservation assisting with the building of a museum for the artifacts. This is a romance novel, where I feel like these two have set the bar now even higher of what a respectful and loving relationship should be.

Honestly writing this review is difficult because I loved every aspect of those book, from the culture (I love love love when books have passages on food and how food impacts the characters!) to really seeing what archeology means and what it entails and the side characters that fill out Bunchberry. But, of course, it is the romance that takes the stage here. Calehan is so wonderful and sweet and knows when to tease and to be serious, and I loved that they both felt human and had motivations and complex emotions and its so good!

! Spoilers!

There is a third act breakup, but it works so well here because the characters feel real, and the reasoning behind it feels so true to life. And it takes months! for them to get back together, and the whole time he is just being so respectful of everything and her choice while yes still trying to communicate with her, but not crossing any boundries!

I loved this book and have to do a reread soon as I may just have to break my fear of annotating.

CW: Grief, loss of a parent, loss of a spouse, racism