Book Review: Fossil Feud 

Fossil Feud is a well-marketed book, but beware: this isn’t the high adrenaline romance story you think it is. There are fossils but hardly any feud.

Official Summary

Renegade paleontologist Ripley Adams is this close to digging up a fossil treasure and vindication. She’s spent the last three years in academic exile after her ex-boyfriend stole her work, betrayed her trust, and broke her heart in one fell swoop. If she can unearth a complete specimen of her newest discovery—a never-before-seen missing link between dinosaurs and birds—it will put her back on the map and finally restore her ruined reputation.

But when unfairly hot Oxford professor James Smithson crashes Ripley’s dig site, she realizes she’s not the only one searching for redemption in the Montana dirt. James is convinced a splashy new fossil is a fraud, and he needs Ripley’s help to prove it. She’d tell the buttoned-up Brit where to stick his suspicions, but the fake fossil is eerily similar to hers . . . and the fraudster is her ex.

The race is on to reveal a T-rex-sized discovery. Polar opposites Ripley and James will have to find common ground if they’re going to take down a hoax that could ruin them both. And as they dig deeper into their unlikely attraction, Ripley’s excavation boots won’t be the only things getting a little dirty. . . .

Quick Information

Author: Maggie North
Published: July 28, 2026
Genre: M/F Romance, Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Forced Proximity, Workplace Romance, 3rd Act Break Up

Review

Ripley Adams once had high aspirations in the field of paleontology. After her ex-boyfriend stole her paper in college and tried to pass it off as his own, she's done trusting others with her work. Now working in the field independently, she stumbles upon a new fossil specimen. She will do anything to keep her work going, even team up with Oxford professor James Smithson, who she once went to for help in the past. 

Conceptually Fossil Feud should have everything it needs at its core to create a compelling, romantic, and fun narrative. However, the devil is in the details and it's here that a reader will see nothing but cracks in its false visage. The problems begin from the root of the plot itself. The FMCs original issue stems from her ex-boyfriend stealing her work, however she doesn’t exactly do anything to fight those allegations. Even when she reaches out to Smithson in the past, she gives him a vague statement and does not really tell him ‘hey this jerk is lying, I can prove it by xyz or here are my notes that comprised the paper’. She just accepts it and lets herself be run off. I’m not saying this doesn’t happen, but she's supposed to be this courageous and strong, independent woman who ‘doesn't need a man’, but she doesn’t stand up for herself either. This weak foundation that was supposed to establis this big redemption arc for the characters fell flat. 

When you name a character after one of my favorite characters of all time, I have very HIGH expectations for that character. The FMC just didn’t have the impact I thought she was going to have. Everyone tells her how great she is despite this or that or how courageous she is, and it just felt like an echo chamber or having a personal hype squad. 

It’s clear that the author has done a great deal of research for this book, and the actual paleontology facts as well as the complications of fossil hunting were interesting. And I wish they would have leaned into that more, than the fabricated drama.

The entire fraud fossil plot thread is so thin, it can hardly be considered an arc. There is no logical reason for Smithson to show up to Ripley’s random dig site and ask her to help him investigate the fraudulent fossil. There is one night at the museum of “investigating” and the rest of the time *checks notes* they are sending emails asking if anything is afoot. The book never even clearly explains WHY Smithson thought the fossil was false in the first place besides ‘he wanted to make amends for the past’. So he was just stalking Ripley’s ex and going to say whatever he found was fake? This whole plot thread was based on the single action of getting the two main characters into forced proximity. 

There are no real stakes to this book. At one point Smithson bends to tie Ripley’s shoe and says he's keeping her alive. From what? There is no real danger to Ripley besides the risk of someone saying something mean to her. The main bad guy is nothing more than a mustache twirling villain who Pink Panthers his way into stealing bones from six different museums with no one being the wiser. Does she need to be afraid of him? No. Mr. Pink Panther doesn’t even threaten violence once throughout the story. He literally does nothing but stay offscreen for 90% of the book. 

The main love interest is two dimensional at best. He serves the plot by being there, but not hovering, being supportive, but not taking over the dig, helping the FMC, but not doing her job for her. Smithson walks some invisible tightrope that only the author could see. Again, at the core the attractive British love interest could have been interesting, but he ended up being a jumble of other movie characters and not really being his own distinct one.

This story is a complete and utter let down in the romance department. There is a flimsy fabrication of a ‘we can’t be together’ plot despite the two characters having feelings for each other and no logical reason to keep them separated. You would think Smithson was a Red Coat and we were reading a Revolutionary War story with the way the two characters are trying to say they don’t have feelings for one another because ‘it's complicated’. They literally have no reason to not just get together. 

So what are the “reasons” the book gives for why they can’t be together? Well, she's worried about what her peers would think about her if she's in a relationship with Smithson. Smithson’s reason for not wanting to be with Ripley is some unresolved daddy issues and not wanting to upset Ripley. If you are so worried about what other people will say about your relationship, then just break up cleanly. You clearly care more about what other people think than your own feelings toward one another. What further underscores my frustration is the fact that everyone close to Ripley and Smithson is rooting for them at all times. 

This whole ‘they kiss one moment, then pull back the next’ merry-go-round is so annoying. The moments they get together don’t fare much better. Despite there being intimate scenes, they feel clunky and vague, as though the reader is trying to see what's happening through a fogged window. We have some concept as to what's going on, we can see shapes and hear questionable dialogue ‘in the throes of passion’, but we can’t really tell what specific game of Twister is taking place. These scenes caused me to be completely pulled out of the book. It almost felt like the author was uncomfortable writing these scenes but needed to check a box and went about it in the most nondescript way they could do it. As a result, the chemistry between the two characters feels undercooked besides them each finding the other hot. No real depth. 

For having such a large cast of supporting characters, they may as well have been cardboard cutouts with their names painted on them. They are forgettable and have no distinct character traits or personalities that make the reader care about any of them. The meaningful depth of a found family story is hardly within these pages.

How many movie references is too many? Fossil Feud will easily show you that breaking point and then go even further. References to other media in books is something I don’t particularly enjoy, but I’ve learned to live with it, especially while reading contemporary fiction. However, Fossil Feud spends so much of its time trying to reference popular movies that it forgets to be its own book. The heavy handed use of movie quotes, titles, and actor names pushes past the level of a good chuckle. It became annoying and, more importantly, distracting. 

I am frustrated and upset because I wanted to love this book. I am devastated that I had to give this book a lower rating. From the cover to the summary, I felt for sure this would be the perfect book, but in the end, it was just a mirage. There are better ways to spend hours of your time and more importantly better books with characters who have their own identity and aren’t cheap knockoffs of a handful of beloved characters. 

This book was marketed as being just like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park. Beloved franchises by many fans. Fossil Feud isn’t even on the same planet as those other media. 

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

A copy of this book was provided for an ARC Reader Review. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.