Somewhere in the Badlands, embedded deep in centuries-buried rock and sand, lies the skeleton of a massive dinosaur, larger than anything the late nineteenth-century world has ever seen. Some legends call it the Black Beauty, with its bones as black as ebony, but to seventeen-year-old Samuel Bolt, it’s the “rex,” the king dinosaur that could put him and his struggling, temperamental archaeologist father in the history books (and conveniently make his father forget he’s been kicked out of school), if they can just quarry it out.

 

But Samuel and his father aren’t the only ones after the rex. For Rachel Cartland this find could be her ticket to a different life, one where her loves of science and adventure aren’t just relegated to books and sitting rooms. And if she can’t prove herself on this expedition with her professor father, the only adventures she may have to look forward to are marriage or spinsterhood.

 

As their paths cross and the rivalry between their fathers becomes more intense, Samuel and Rachel are pushed closer together. Their flourishing romance is one that will never be allowed. And with both eyeing the same prize, it’s a romance that seems destined for failure. As their attraction deepens, danger looms on the other side of the hills, causing everyone’s secrets to come to light and forcing Samuel and Rachel to make a decision. Can they join forces to find their quarry, and with it a new life together, or will old enmities and prejudices keep them from both the rex and each other? 

 

 

If you're not a big fan of "insta-love" then you'll probably be doing some major face palms while reading this book. Two of the main characters, Rachel & Sam, don't just 'think' they're in love, they go from full fledged bumbling innocents 

 

to married business partners,

 

(spoiler show)

in record time- with ALL details included unfortunately! 

 

I liked how the characters deviated from the norm though and didn't follow their strict society rules. I wasn't expecting their bold, rash moves which I have to give them credit for. It made for a nice change and was hilariously entertaining! 

 

The rivalry and fighting between their two fathers though felt too contrived and became a little irritating after a while. There was just too much of it I think. 

 

Anyone who has an interest in paleontology or fossil hunting or even if you just enjoy a grand adventure, you'll especially like this one! Don't take it too seriously though and just have fun with it and you'll enjoy it a lot more!

 

*I received this ARC from NetGalley & Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

 

Written by a paleontologist who specializes in traces of dinosaur behaviors--footprints, teeth marks, nests, burrows, gastroliths, and more--this book paints a far more vivid picture of dinosaur life and habits than mere skeletons could provide. It is also chock full of dad jokes. Seriously, this book is teeming with puns and one-off references to geek culture. That doesn't make it a faster read--it's a dense book packed with scientific information and it'll take you awhile to get through it--but that does help make the experience extremely enjoyable. Also a plus: numerous anecdotes of the author's fieldwork and class trips and detailed explanations of paleontological practices that are accessible in part because they assume the reader is smart enough to understand them. I really enjoyed delving into the science of how we know what we know about dinosaurs, and what as-yet-unmade discoveries could advance our knowledge or turn it all on its head.

 

A+ read immediately after watching Jurassic World, for sure.

Great theory, strong evidence, but the prose was mind-bendingly dull. Skipping the notes helped some, but it was still a harder push to get through this than it was to get through Moby-Dick. Use for reference, not for reading pleasure.

The rating is mostly for importance. This is probably the most important (non-fiction) book of the 19th century, evne if it isn't the best. I don't really know what life would have been like for someone like me before this but I can imagine it would have been a tad more frustrating. So thanks Charles. Darwin is hardly the most engaging writer on biology (I'll take Konrad Lorenz any day of the week) but that isn't really the point. And there are flaws: he avoids answering certain foreseen criticisms (supposedly he had a word count to stick to, but who knows), and he personifies "natural selection" all too much. Of course we know that it is just the name for a process that happens naturally, rather than a thing that picks and chooses traits. But then he was writing in a certain time and that can't be helped. Flaws aside, it's imprtance cannot be understated, since it's hard to imagine most human- and animal-centric science since happening without it.