Arrow of Fortune by Jacquelyn Benson
Raiders of the Arcana #3
Gaslamp Fantasy/Historical Fantasy
November 18, 2025- Self-Published
ARC

Review by Angela

I discovered this series while browsing through Amazon looking for book deals and new releases. It was the blurb for the first book in the series, Empire of Shadows, that caught my eye and led me to smash that one-click button. It begins with “Nice Victorian ladies don’t run off to find legendary lost cities.” I mean come on; tell me you aren’t intrigued. I was introduced to Ellie Mallory and Adam Bates, as they teamed up to follow a stolen map to a lost city in Honduras, all while evading some bad guys with nefarious purposes and slowly falling for each other. I immediately jumped into the second book, Tomb of the Sun King, which follows Ellie and Adam to Egypt and more adventures. They are joined by Ellie’s step-brother and Adam’s childhood best friend, Dr. Neil Fairfax, and Ellie’s BFF Constance Tyrrell. It was rocking good time and reminded me a bit of The Mummy. (Which is a fabulous thing)

Now the foursome has traveled to India, where they are searching for a dangerous artifact of the Ramayana, desperate to find if before it falls into the wrong hands. Contance has family here, and she is excited to see her grandmother’s homeland. Adam goes where Ellie goes, as they’ve fallen deeply in love and have decided to stay together. Neil is just along for the ride, but he desperately wants to figure out his visions and why he is the keeper of a legendary sword.

I kind of feel like the pacing was a bit slower at first in this book, not really jumping into action as fast as the first two installments. Maybe because there were so many character POVs. But I was okay with that as the personal relationships continued to grow deeper and the world-building and series story arc kept building. Several of the villains from the first two books continue to make appearances, as their character arcs are integral to the overall plot.

Adam and Ellie are magnificent; I just simply adore them. Their loyalty to each other, chemistry, and profound competence is compelling. There is also a deep respect and understanding between them that is lovely. Neil and Constance play a huge role in this book, and their opposites attract romance was thoroughly satisfying. I love them together. He is academic and a bit stodgy, and she is a firecracker, who is always ready for an adventure and keeps him on his toes. (There is a fake engagement!!) How can any of the bad guys defeat the four of them working together?

The pacing picks up significantly as the foursome find more and more clues, and head out into a mysterious forest. There are plenty of action scenes, along with tigers and man-eating catfish, and dangerous characters who are also hellbent on finding the same artifact.

This is an absolutely fabulous addition to the series, and I am thrilled that the next book will see the foursome traveling to Korea and confronting Adam’s father. Highly recommend this series.

Final grade- B+