This was a solid 3 star book :) I really liked all the concept behind this story but unfortunately, the book did not give me all the romance background I need :( Overall, it was a fun read!

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts is a fun, flirty, and refreshingly modern romance that combines humor, heart, and just the right amount of spice. The story follows Teagan, a cautious and relatable heroine, as she navigates an unexpected emotional connection through anonymous texting while tackling her insecurities and embracing new opportunities. Amber Roberts’ sharp, witty dialogue and engaging characters make the story a page-turner, with a balance of laugh-out-loud moments and heartfelt depth. Though some twists are predictable, the unique premise and charming chemistry between the leads make this a delightful read for fans of contemporary romance.

I absolutely loved this book. Amber Roberts is a fresh voice in romance and this was such a unique premise and absolutely adorable!

Text Appeal was a cute and quick romance read - I liked Lark's attitude in the beginning and the sexting made for a funny play. I'm not the MOST crazy about friends to lovers, but this one actually worked quite well for me. Lark was a bit insufferable for a bit there but I did appreciate how she came around and tried to right some of her wrongs.

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts is a witty and steamy rom-com featuring Lark Taylor, a coder who turns to text-based sex work after a career-ending mishap. Juggling her growing feelings for her longtime crush, Toby, and an intriguing anonymous client, Lark navigates the complexities of self-discovery, love, and sexual empowerment. With humor, heart, and a delightful friends-to-lovers dynamic, the book offers a fun escape, though the third-act conflict may feel predictable. Fans of Olivia Dade and lighthearted, feel-good romances will find Text Appeal a charming, relatable, and sometimes steamy read with plenty of swoon-worthy moments.

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on subjects like workplace sexism and having anxiety about job security. Contains explicit sexual content.

As soon as I saw this book marketed as one for Olivia Dade fans, I knew I had to get my hands on it—and I must say, Amber Roberts did not disappoint. “Text Appeal” follows Lark, the only woman programmer at a firm, in the aftermath after she accidentally projects an unsolicited, scandalous picture in front of her coworkers during a presentation. Now unemployed and needing that cashflow, she starts sexting for pay, at the suggestion of a friend. But how is she supposed to come clean to her best friend (and unrequited crush) Toby? That’s a problem for future Lark, perhaps.

I know some say this book was a bit of a slowburn, but I absolutely loved the pacing of this romance. And so, while the story’s pacing was engaging and quite funny at times, a few plot points felt predictable. The inevitable third-act conflict (you’ll see it coming a mile away) leans a little too hard into the classic miscommunication trope, which isn’t it for me. Still, the chemistry between these characters is just so intoxicating. I was giggling, kicking my feet, that’s all I’ll say.

“Text appeal” is for anyone who’s ever overanalyzed a text (or twenty-two), secretly fallen for someone online, or just needs a feel-good escape filled with laughs and swoony moments.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 08, 2023

I enjoyed this book. It had all the greats of a love story. I enjoyed the sex positivity, feminism, and standing up for yourself. It was a nice easy listen that I'd recommend to others.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

Does the adage about not judging a book by its cover extend to the title? Because I picked this book to read based purely on the pun-y title. I went into it expecting a laugh out loud type rom-com. And it mostly delivered on those expectations. At least at first.

I easily saw where certain parts of the story were heading, but what I didn't foresee was the way Lark would react. While I can sort of understand her perspective, her reaction seemed excessive, especially considering her behavior up to that point. It's really disappointing when a story loses you near the end. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened with this book for me. There was one other minor detail from the blow-up that really bugged me, so I have to ask, am I weird because I have multiple phone chargers? I can admit that the six I have specifically for myself is overkill, but only having one seems really unrealistic to me. And I got caught up on that line of thought for a while.

Overall I give Text Appeal 3.4721 out of 5 stars.

Text Appeal by Amber Roberts is a fun and steamy debut that centers around Lark Taylor, a coder who stumbles into text-based sex work after losing her job in a humiliating incident. With a delightful friends-to-lovers dynamic, Lark's relationship with her longtime crush, Toby, builds alongside an intriguing connection with an anonymous client, CosmicKismet. The book brings humor, sex positivity, and a dash of awkwardness, while exploring Lark's journey of self-discovery and love in the digital age. Fans of lighthearted romance, STEM heroines, and playful banter will find this a charming and witty read.

This book was a little underwhelming and not really what I was expecting from it. The synopsis really intrigued me, but the story itself fell a bit flat in the second half.

Quick Summary: A sext-y NA

My Review: Text Appeal by Amber Roberts is a standalone contemporary romance.

About the Book: A newly unemployed programmer finds herself in a desperate situation. As a solution to her dilemma, she chooses to enter into a new working situation...as a s-x worker. Even as she gets her footing and gains some traction on her new track, she struggles with the feelings she has for her best friend.

Favorite Scene: The First Kiss

My Final Say: This was an up and down read. It was filled with humor, playful interactions, sarcasm, and funky friend banter. It was also filled with misogynistic behavior, awkward fantasy play, and tepid relations. It was somewhat predictable. It seemed that the whole bi-presentation was written into the story just for the sake of having a LGBTQIA check off.

Other: This book presented itself better in the audiobook format versus the e-book format.

Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: -/-
Audience: NA
Status/Level: 🫤

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Alcove Press), and to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

After losing her dream job, Lark’s friend sets her up with a job as a text-based sex worker. While she becomes acclimated to her new line of work, she finds it becoming more and more difficult to hide what she’s doing from her long-time crush/best friend Toby.

I liked the format with the displayed texts. They may be difficult for those reading the ebook format, especially on a phone or smaller screen. The chemistry was fairly tepid even for friends and lovers. There was at least enough angst between them to make the romance believable.

While this book wasn’t a great fit for me, I do think there are many readers who enjoy the “secretly crush on my best friend” trope enough to give it a try.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was not for me. I appreciate the publishers and netgalley giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

It wasn't the worst, but I didn't find the FMC believable and a little annoying at times. The premise had so much potential and did intrigue me but the execution fell flat in my opinion. And I have to say that I did hate the FMC’s BFF with a burning passion.

I'm not sure if it was a formatting issue or the intended presentation bit I found this book difficult to read. The text messages were hard to follow and really detracted from the story. I could not get involved with the story. There was a lack of chemistry between the main characters and the plot dragged at times. overall this book was a struggle.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love the idea of this book but it took me a while to get into it. I will definitely give it another try when I can get my hands on the audiobook!

I loved the writing style right from the start. It was engaging and entertaining. Plus, this book made me laugh, cry, squee, cheer, gasp, sigh, swoon, melt, fan myself, take deep calming breaths in order to move on, gave me goosebumps, made my breath hitch, made me read with misty eyes for like the whole final 15%, it just TOTALLY affected me. My emotions were all over the place and all of them were INTENSE! I utterly LOVED IT!!

Super cute book that will keep the reader entertained the whole way through the book. I really liked the main characters.

I was really excited for this one because I love seeing more representation of sex work and the different forms that can take, but this did not feel like a positive sex work representation, especially as Lark basically got into the sexting at the insistence of a friend. Definitely not for me.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.