Writing: 4/5
Character Development: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Spice: 2/5

Warnings: Language, Sexual Content

Themes: Romance, Friends to Lovers

Text Appeal is about a female programmer trying to survive in the tech world. When she gets fired after a misunderstanding her friend convinces her to join a sexting app to get money until she find a job. The characters were fun and I loved the relationship between them, especially Lark and Teagan. I also loved all the nerd references throughout the book. The begining started out really strong and I enjoyed the ending, but the middle was something I had to push through. I wish there were less complaining from the MC and the relationship between her and the love interest had more to it.

This book is good for anyone who likes STEM and nerd talk and a lot of sexting.

I received a free copy of this book and am leaving an honest review.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher.
I really enjoyed reading this book, will I read it again
Most definitely.
Hopefully in able to get the paperback in Nigeria soon

When I read the description of this book I was so excited. Nerdy girl turned Sex worker? Yes. Friends to lovers? Yes! I loved the story, I loved Toby and even all the side characters. The story was an easy and predictable read but I still enjoyed it. I struggled with Lark though. Usually I love a nerdy, socially awkward female lead but Lark came across as so immature to me and I had a hard time with her character and inner dialogue. I wanted more Toby.

Stars: 3
POV: single
HEA?: yes
Cheating: no
Cliffhanger?: no
Stand-alone? Yes

A friends to lovers slow burn where the female lead is in STEM? Give it to me. I really liked the concept. But sadly, I was here for romance and this book did not give me that. The romance was just dull and forced. I felt like everything that was happening between Toby and Lark was just for the heck of it. I did not feel the connection between them.

Sadly, this did not work for me. But I am still giving it a 3 stars because I liked the characters individually. Maybe in future I will give this another try. Because I won't lie and say that the concept wasn't interesting.

Thank you Netgallery for this ARC!

Lark and Toby chemistry was amazing! It’s was a lighthearted book and LOL moments.
Overall, I think this book is a fun, charming, easy read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the friend-to-lovers trope.

Thank you again!

“Text Appeal” at its core is a friends-to-lovers romance. Lark is an introverted STEM girl, who has been infatuated with her best guy friend since college. Toby is a nerdy laid-back artist best friend who is newly out of a relationship. Everyone knows that Toby and Lark should be together they just need a little nudge in the right direction.

I LOVED the premise of this book. The description drew me in with the promise of a sex positive book, and a heroine learning more about herself. This book was a lot of fun to read. There are strong friendships throughout the book which I enjoyed. Teagan, Lark’s best friend, does everything that she can to help her friends. Sometimes her help backfires, but her heart is in the right place.

Overall, I think this book is a fun, charming, easy read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the friend-to-lovers trope.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2,5/3*

Lark is a self taught developer who's working for a close minded, misogynist company as a junior dev.
She's passionate, capable and has lots of ideas, but it seems her voice isn't heard, her efforts go unnoticed and all her ideas are stolen by more experienced male collegues.
She's also struggling in her social life: pining for Toby her best friend since college, living a dry spell after leaving her last boyfriend when he cheated on her and getting all kind of unrequired advances in reality and by text.
She's just landed a project as a team leader, when a scandalous unsolicited text pops in her cellphone, gets projected during a presentation and she loses her job.
Jobless and without great hope to find a new employment, Lark opens a profile on a sexting app to try to gain her control back while figuring where her life is headed.
Toby is finally single again and gets back in her life, but she doesn't feel like sharing with him how she's paying the bills and while they get closer again a special client takes a place in her heart.

What I was expecting, reading the plot of this book, was an easy rom-com with friends to lovers and "stranger, not really a stranger" tropes, plenty of laughter and funny moments.
In reality I felt like the book starts too boldly: we are projected in Lark work and men issues, she's stressed and harassed by the environment, though she has a supporting friend gang, Teagan, her best friend, tends to double the problems while trying to help.
While I think she's supposed to be a positive model for her freedom about sexual awareness and has some nice moments, I din't really like her.
The story gets better when Lark starts the sexting job, it gets less oppressing and more lighter while progressing.
While I expected some graphic and explicit scene desciption, I didn't think we got to read all the initial harassment text and lots of the later sexting conversations, not really relevant to the story...
There were some funny moments too, some very emotional ones, and I did like Toby's character and Toby and Lark relationship, but mostly I felt Lark struggle and pressure.
I also expected something more Stem related, there are some side nerdy exchanges, or code considerations but it didn't feel like a major theme in the book.

Super cute read! Light and fluffy, very funny, full of references for millennials and Gen Z. No judgement around sexting and lots of judgement around the douchebaggery of the millennial male. So much fun! Lark and Toby get there eventually . Amber Roberts is an author to watch, with a great take on romance and possibly a lot more to say about women in STEM.
Thanks so very much NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

2.5*

This book honestly had a lot of potential but it felt very lacking. There were a lot of good tropes but they just felt as if they weren’t executed properly. I got bored into the book halfway, latter half was very predictable, ending was really rushed. I wish I had better things to say but I don’t so I wouldn’t really recommend this book because you can definitely find better.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

As the only woman programmer at her work, Lark is shocked when she is finally give the opportunity to lead a project for a huge client. But during her first team meeting, an unsolicited NSFW picture ends up being projected for her entire team to see. Her coworkers are quick to rat her out, costing Lark not just the account but her entire job. Desperate for a way to pay the bills, Lark lets her 3 best friends convince her to try getting paid to sext as a way to keep her afloat in-between jobs. Lark is terrible at the beginning, but as she starts to receive regular clients, and regular coaching from her friends, Lark begins to get comfortable with her new side hustle. However, there is one person who absolutely cannot find out what she is doing: her good friend, and long time crush Toby.

The premise of this book had me intrigued from jump. It is such a modern age story line and there was feminism sprinkled throughout. The banter between Lark and her friends, as well as her messages once she begins her sexting career had me laughing out loud.

The reason I am knocking the book a couple stars was the relationship with Toby. Their friendship was endearing and 100% percent believable, however I did not feel any real spark with them throughout the book. It made the romance aspect of the book unbelievable in my opinion.

Though this was not a home run for me, I do still recommend if you are looking for a lighthearted and funny read.

I thought the story was fun and an easy read but I honestly have to say that I expected much more from this book since I loved the cover and the synopsis seemed very interesting. The story felt very flat and plain for me, the characters were really bland and I couldn’t connect with them. Overall it’s a book that I cannot say it was bad, but I also wouldn’t recommend it.

I want to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.

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

The premise of this book was what initially appealed to me, a positive take on sex work etc, it had the potential to be good, but for me, it wasn't good. There are two main reasons that I didn't like this book, the writing and the characters.

I'll start with the writing, there were spelling mistakes and errors, but I can push through that when it's an arc. I can read anything, I prefer reading third person and this book is a prime example of why I prefer to. There's so much telling and no showing, and what's worse is every single irrelevant thought and unnecessary action is mentioned and it is so hard to tolerate when you can't stand the character. I read Icebreaker a while ago and that was the same.

Not a single character is likeable, they are all intolerable. Lark is pathetic and pitiful. Teagan, I could not stand Teagan, I'm guessing the author tried to insert some comic relief with this character but she's not funny or charming. Lark and Teagan are bad friends, they're shit friends, and frankly, they deserve each other. Toby is boring. There are two more characters, I think, but obviously, I have no recollection of them.

Side note: the text screenshots are very difficult to read on your kindle because of the size and colouring, especially if you use the mobile app.

Rating: 4 stars ⭐️

I enjoyed reading this book. I also liked the STEM aspect about it and the book was easy to read.

It starts with Lark that got unfairly fired from her job. To pay the bills, she begins sexting online for money and liked it more then she first thought. Lark has a crush on her bestfriend for years and got feelings for him. Will she tell him how she feels or is she starting a relationship with someone online..

Thank you to Amber Roberts, Alcove Press and Netgalley for providing me with this arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute read.. will read this book again! We will end up doing book club with this book.. Super cute!

I love STEM books and this one was no exception. It was an interesting outlook on a topic that isn’t talked about much. It was compelling and intriguing.

Bursting with feminist and sex positive vibes, Text Appeal is a fun and fresh take on the friends to lovers trope featuring perfectly matched nerdy Lark and Toby. More than a romance, Robert’s debut novel is also a reminder of the power of acceptance and forgiveness, both of oneself and others.

A fun story! I liked her work dynamic and how she struggled there, and her and Toby were super cute!

This was a fun friends to lovers story with an interesting twist on the workplace setting. I was very drawn to the plot line of a woman working to make her way in a male dominated industry. I appreciated the sex positivity and the agency Lark had as a sex worker.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!
We follow our main character, Lark is working in Tech a male-dominated field. To earn money on the side Lark begins to work as a sex worker through a texting app, what could go wrong? Que the male love interest, Toby who is her long time friend and someone who she is absolutely hiding her secret job from!
The plot all sounds very compelling however to me it was sort of a miss!

This book had some ups and a lot of downs. It started out okay but became very tedious to read after the 30 percent mark. I went into this book excited to read a sex worker-positive fluffy and steamy romcom and what I got was… not that. Most of the issues I had with the book centre around the MC, Lark. She was so immature and infuriating.

I think that Teagan is an incredible toxic friend, I felt disgusted by a lot of her actions and inability to take responsibility