Lark is a programmer at a tech company where most of her coworkers are highly misogynistic men. When the opportunity to lead a project comes along, Lark jumps on it, desperate to prove herself and finally get the respect she deserves.

Unfortunately, right as she's sharing her screen to pitch her idea to her team, she receives an unsolicited nude picture, which of course, pops up on screen for everyone to see. Lark loses her job and, thanks to her jerk of an ex-boss who blackballs her name, can't find more work. That's when her friend Teagan suggests the idea of sexting for money. Though the idea initially makes Lark uncomfortable, she goes for it. Meanwhile, she's also juggling her relationship with her friend and long-time crush, the newly-single Toby. Things get more complicated when Lark begins to grow close to a mysterious man she meets on her sexting app.

I really loved this story! It was so great to watch how every character experiences growth. The way Lark became more comfortable with her sexuality and grew into her own person was so satisfying, and I loved watching her friendship with Teagan evolve. Speaking of Teagan, I hope she gets her own book in the future because her personality was so fantastic! On the outside, she's happy-go-lucky, but she has this secret heart of gold that we only just scratched the surface of. She really reminds me of a female version of Barney from How I Met Your Mother, and totally stole every scene she was in.

Of course, while I loved the friendship dynamics of the girls, the romance was also a joy with plenty of swoon worthy moments and nerdy references to go around! Not to mention, the spice! I can't wait to read more from this author!

Our main character, Lark, works in the tech industry, and is one of the few women in her company. Like many women in a male-driven environment, she constantly deals with misogynistic comments and harassment on a daily basis. She finally gets an opportunity to progress in her career, but when something goes wrong, she ends up being fired.

Lark’s best friend Teagan suggests that she get into sex work to make some money while on the job hunt- specifically a texting(sexting) app where others pay her for dirty talk and companionship.

The main romance surrounds Lark and her male best friend Toby. Toby recently broke up with his girlfriend, and is rekindling his friendship with Lark. Of course, Lark is also talking to multiple other people on the sexting app, including one that she develops feelings and desire for.

I loved that this book included a bisexual main character, themes of pro-feminism and pro- LGBTQ, features women in STEM, and a side character that is a lesbian. So much diversity and inclusion that many romance novels wouldn’t even dare to include.

This book had all the bones in the right places, but I can only rate it a 3⭐️ because I never truly fell in love with the characters. Teagan was like nails on a chalkboard for me the entire novel. I love a strong, extroverted woman, but she completely crosses the line to annoying and controlling for me. Lark is a pushover and is incapable of any action without someone telling her what to do. And Toby….well I can’t tell you much about him without spoiling the end for you, but I haven’t forgiven all his actions yet.

Overall, this was a fun, lighthearted read that I recommend if you love

💻Women in STEM
📱Unique sexting plot
💕Feminism
🌈Pro LGBTQ+

🔥🔥🔥🔥 This isn't your average romance story, it's spicy, messy and will make you wonder who she is really falling for. Her best guy friend or some stranger that's texting her?

Thank you to NetGalley for supplying me this book for free.
I’m glad that I got this for free, because I would be pissed if I paid for the mediocre carousel ride that I just went on. I understand that this was a friends to lovers story, <spoiler>but if someone I knew violated my privacy like that or was remotely like Teagan? They’d be gone from my life, </spoiler> and that is what is so frustrating about this book because the fmc constantly puts herself through this, especially with her bff! It made the story really hard to enjoy.
Well, that and the constant bashing of sexist men, but what else are you going to fill the book with especially when you’re writing a book where the main character is a sex worker. I hate sexist men just as much as the next woman, but oh my god. Find other things to write about.
I started not liking almost every character by the end of the book and wasn’t rooting for the main couple.
Some of the jokes did hit for me. However, as a zillenial, a lot of them did not.
I like romcoms with unique premises. I’m sorry, this one was not executed well.

I enjoyed the sex-positivity in this book, but unfortunately didn't feel much zing between the main characters.

Also, the text bubbles were really difficult to read :(

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Intriguing, entertaining, fun and even a little bit spicy. Lark’s story was really good to get through. I felt like her very unexpected employment and not so much unexpected relationship with her best friend Toby definitely made my day a little bit brighter. While the plot twist was a bit expected as I see it, the story in itself felt really engaging and fast paced so I didn’t bore myself not one minute.
Toby was absolutely amazing and I easy fell for him from moment one.
The friendship between this very crazy and fun group of women trying to find themselves happy moments and a happy life.
Plus these people (and especially Lark and Toby) are all big nerds like me so … best friends always and forever !!
I loved how this book put the value of understanding each other and speaking freely and openly with each other before anything else to build a good and healthy relationship that can last everywhere in any situation.
I so much appreciated the story as it was presented and I had a really great time reading it !!

Maybe it's because I started reading this book on the day I had a headache and already started and DNFed two other books but I couldn't get into this one either so I stopped reading it at around 10-20 %.
I didn't feel connected to the story, I also didn't love the formatting. The texts in the book were in clouds as you see on your phone but it was also so teeny tiny that you can't see the text at all. It put me off the book because I just wasn't in the mood to zoom in every time and it really puts off your reading experience. So, it is me and maybe some will like it if they can overlook that, personally, I just can't.

I did enjoy this book I really did, it took me a little while to get into it but once I did I flew through it. I laughed at so many points in this book I could relate to Lark so much. Don’t really wanna give too much away, but if it sounds interesting to you go for it. I would deffo recommend

This was such a fun, sex-positive debut from Amber Roberts! Her voice jumps off the page and feels authentic from start to finish. I loved seeing a romance where sex work was treated with such respect by the author and all the characters. It was treated as a legitimate job and seeing Lark come into her own sexuality and grow to love the sexting business was such a great, refreshing arc. Because texting and messaging was such a prevalent part of the story and there were big portions of the book that were focused on them, I was so happy that Text Appeal truly nailed it from language and attitude, to the absolutely amazing screen names for all of Lark's clients.

I can't wait to see what she does next!

TEXT APPEAL is a super fun, voicey romp of a romance that follows Lark, who takes up sexting after she's laid off from her coding job. I loved the feminist undertones of this and getting to watch Lark take more accountability for her life and what she wants while also coming into her own sexuality. I love strong female friendships in romance and a good friends to lovers arc, Toby was a super sweet love interest and I loved getting to see him and Lark re-connecting during the book after drifting apart due to one of his ex-partners.

A delightful, voicey, sex positive romp about an out of work programmer who begins a sexting side hustle to make the ends meet and ends up finding the connection of her life!

Fans of friends to lovers and You’ve Got Mail will enjoy Lark’s journey as she juggles her feelings for the screen name she can’t wait to text back and her BFF she’s suddenly seeing in a new light.

I really enjoyed how Robert’s stayed true to the kinds of messages people receive online. They felt authentic and real (even the scummy ones). I’m glad she didn’t gloss over that dark part of the internet.

This definitely felt like a rom meets women’s fic/commercial crossover so fans of stories that straddle the line will love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.

“Text Appeal” by Amber Roberts is about a self-taught coder who, trying to make ends meet, takes up sexting with some interesting results.

What I liked - The cover - it’s adorable, it’s cute, and from it you know that somehow computers are going to be involved. And a romance. I also liked some of the geeky references (of course you watch Indiana Jones if it’s playing; and the opinion about the Star Wars films). I also liked Teagan - we all need that one friend who will be organized like crazy, love us like crazy, help us like crazy, and put up with us seemingly no matter what (even if she or he comes across as a Mack truck occasionally). I think the general plot outline was a good one. I liked the representation also.

What was meh - Why name the best friend and the love interest with the same first initial? Yes, Toby and Teagan are different, but I would’ve preferred Colby and Teagan (or Toby and Meghan) in order to quickly keep the two characters apart (especially in scenes involving both characters). Additionally, I don’t know why the text messages in the Kindle version were graphics (which required clicking and expanding to read) opposed to text - rather bothersome especially when reading at night (black on darkish grey difficult to read). I’m not sure there was much tension between Lark and Toby - maybe simmering longing? It kinda fell flat for me. I was also surprised that Lark didn’t come up with faux names for Toby and Teagan - Teagan isn’t a common name, who is to say that the person she was texting to couldn’t’ve done a Google search for Teagan with other clues Lark dropped? Be careful out there folks!

What I didn’t like - Lark’s work experience. I worked in tech about a decade and my partner for about three times that amount. Yes, there are stories about women being discriminated against - but Lark (and the receptionist) would’ve had a case as it was so blatant. Additionally other things regarding her job were just too out there - is there really a “regional no hire list”? And legally no office can give a reference, they can confirm you worked for the company and from when to when & that’s about it. The NDA sounded a lot over the top - while you may not be able to give specifics, you can always give a general summation (I programmed, this many lines of code, did this general thing). And when her boss returned and insisted she work on the program - no way in heck; that was so OTT. And Lark’s justification of the price she charged and wanting going forward was fine, but not how she justified it (“I get paid $3/minute on my other jobs” - I’d’ve said “That’s really odd. Who charges by the minute besides 1-900 folks?”). I also didn’t like how Lark never seemed to take responsibility for things that happened - even when it was pointed out to her (“you told him to tell his friends” … “technically you quit”).

Overall, a 2.5 read, but I’ll round it up to 3 stars as it was slightly better than “okay,” but I do wish the insides of the book had lived up to that adorable cover!

I enjoyed the premise and the idea of a sex positive book putting a nice positive spin on sex workers and providing a new POV of the struggles of women in the workplace, however this was not what I expected. The writing was good and the book opened well but it dragged on for a while before the actual plot gets going and once it did I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters and felt the FMC was too awkward and uncomfortable about the topic of sex for the story to even make sense. I feel like I am in the minority for not enjoying this so a lot of people will definitely enjoy this but it wasn't for me.

The pace was off and the entire story dragged. Some awful amount of time is set to establish any kind of connection between the main couple. The sex worker plot was introduced after what I felt was a much convoluted narrative around Lark's toxic place of employment.

I liked some of the sexting aspect as Lark was trying to navigate her newfound sex worker skills but most it felt pretty random and added nothing to the story. All the while nothing was really happening with Toby.

I enjoyed what I was able to read of it, but unfortunately I was not able to finish it due to some formatting issues with the pictures embedded in in the novel. From what I was able to read, I think it will be a very enjoyable novel.

Text Appeal balances a plot too ridiculous to be true, while still being relatable to the point of well-targeted second-hand-cringe. There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and times when I had to put the kindle down from anxiety. (I'm a laughably empathetic reader and cringe is my kryptonite.)

When an unfortunate string of patriarchy-lead events causes Lark to lose her tech job, her friends help her get into sexting for pay - regardless of her sexual inexperience and crippling embarrassment. At the same time, her friend and long-time crush Toby is finally single at the same time as her, and they spend a lot of time dancing around each other - building up an almost frustrating amount of tension for everyone involved - including the reader.

This story has a lot of elements that folks in their 20s and 30s can identify with: online dating, apps, unsolicited pictures, dreams not working out, toxic work culture, and the casual everyday experiences of misogyny and prejudices based on sexual orientation.

The inherently spicy content ranges across all spectrums of cringe, amusing, and sexy. The topic of sex and being a sexual person is well validated and humanized in a way that a lot of readers can appreciate.

Ahh it was a good read but not exactly my cup of tea. The book had texts as images which was annoying to read in ebook tbh.

I enjoyed reading this, it was a bit slow missing the tension that comes with a slow burn. But it had a great friends to lovers vibe. I liked the characters and the plot. I haven't read a book with someone who starts sexting after losing their job so it peaked my curiosity to read more.

Text Appeal’s premise had the potential to make an incredibly fun and flirty new favourite for me. I jumped in and was immediately excited by the progressive main character, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and feminist and sex-positive themes. I was excited for a steamy friends-to-lover story. Unfortunately, I found the entire book to be…lukewarm at best. While there definitely were some playful and funny moments, they were hardly of equal measure to the many moments that left me feeling annoyed and uncomfortable. There was just far too much cringe and not enough of the empowerment that was promised.

This book had so many things I’d usually love:
• Woman in STEM rep
• Friends-to-lovers trope
• Strong female friendships
• Sex positivity
• An epistolary format
• LGBTQ+ rep

I expected a steamy rom-com and what I got was… not that in the slightest. Most of the issues I had with the book centre around the MC, Lark, and her inability to make decisions for herself. Her need for constant nudges and reassurance from others was exhausting - and her reliance on her best friend Teagan was near insufferable. Lark seemed to be incredibly judgy about Teagan’s job but her lack of decision-making basically sees her do whatever Teagan suggest, even when it seems completely out of character. So much so that Teagan basically coerces her into taking up sex work? It felt so implausible that Lark would take the job let alone excel at it since she hardly showed any interest in learning how to get good at it outside of copying scripts from her friends. She seemed to have a near-non-existent understanding of sex and didn’t seem remotely interested in learning. I mean 50% of the way through she’s supposed to be making a ‘comfortable’ amount of money through this and she’s flabbergasted when her friend suggests she watches p*rn??? How does that make sense? She was judgemental as hell and that didn’t really seem to change. It just wasn’t believable that she somehow ended up paying her rent through sexting. It was so cringe-worthy and not at all hot.

In terms of the romance, I didn’t feel a smidge of chemistry between Toby and Lark. We’re supposed to believe they have this years-long connection but it was a case of us being told and not shown this through mentions of cute moments from their past. There was little of this connection within the timeline of the book itself and I just couldn’t get invested. They were only partially believable as best friends but even less so as lovers. It was sweet in theory but I found the execution of mutual pining to be lacklustre at best. I mean.. he walked in on her little solo and it wasn’t hot, just awkward. Even when they did get together I was underwhelmed. Speaking of underwhelming… the reveal. We all saw it coming. I love a good You’ve-Got-Mail-esque storyline but this just dragged on unnecessarily. Oh, and then it got much, much worse as we learned more.

I think overall my biggest issue with this book, in the end, is the fact that it promises feminism and empowerment and it doesn’t really deliver. Yes, it features women openly discussing their sex lives. But there’s a lot in this book that negates the concept of feminism. Firstly, I was not a fan of the portrayal of workplace sexism. In a rush to set the story up, it was all ancient stereotypes and frat boy talk on steroids - a very cheesy and garish portrayal of misogyny and I felt that in an attempt to cover such a complex topic in a rush, the portrayal ends up feeling reductive. Such misogyny tends to be insidious and underhanded and the men at Lark’s workplace felt like the most obnoxious caricatures of sexism. To me, this portrayal felt disingenuous and counter-productive to the story’s message. Additionally, while there was mention of women’s sex toy parties and sexual liberation, it felt like there was far too much in the book that was the antithesis of feminist messaging. For instance, Lark’s constant painting of Toby’s ex-girlfriend as a villain for keeping the friends apart. I get that it happens, but it was mentioned far too many times. After the fifth mention, it felt icky. Lark gave me serious pick-me-girl vibes by trying to show that she was ‘not like other girls’ with her constant mentions of her own ‘nerdy banter.’ Also more importantly, I felt the ickiest about the implication that turning to sex work was Lark’s rock bottom. It left a very bad taste in my mouth. The way she spoke about it didn’t feel empowering or like a very positive portrayal to me. Paired this with the third-act reveal i.e. Teagan’s basically facilitating an online sexual relationship between Toby and Lark without Lark's consent??? I felt violated on Lark’s behalf.

For a book that literally teases ‘sex appeal’ on the cover… it just didn’t do it for me.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I'd probably actually give it a solid 2.5 stars if I were honest. I mean when we throw out Firefly references, you have my heart. Literally talking about the Hero of Canton, my brain has not stopped singing that song! I love the nerdy references of too soon cancelled, amazing, sci-fi show! Coming out of my fandom crush here, overall I was a little disappointed. The writing is there Ms. Roberts did a good job building the scene, but it kind of dragged out a bit too much.

Let's start with being a woman in STEM, specifically designing and coding, though I myself am not a in this field, I do have female friends that are. This whole scenario feels like someone guessing what it may be like working in this field based on old TV shows or books. Though life is not as easy as a man it isn't this blatantly this sexist. For a story that wants to empower women it is certainty missing the mark.

Sexting to make money, I get it, gotta make rent when you can't find a job because your vagina got in the way of finding your dream job. The whole sexting thing also felt like it was dragging. Yes it's a fun exciting world and it helps our main character develop confidence BUT there's a line where it stops being a plot device and becomes extra padding that's not needed.

There is so much manipulation in this story, so much. By pretty much everyone. We don't know boundaries, honesty, integrity, etc. It just doesn't exist in this world. Which again, moving the story forward. The whole twist was obvious from moment one. Like no surprise at all 0% surprise for anyone except the MC.

So, what did I even like about the story you may be wondering? I did like the overall relationship of Lark and Toby. I did, I think they are sweet and neither of them have the self confidence to move their relationship forward. They have a cute and really honest friendship. I actually liked our toxic Teegan character. She seems really interesting and I would totally read a story about her. She has more life and angst and charisma than all the other characters combined. She stole all her scenes. I think this was probably the authors fav. character too (IMO).

This is a debut, so I'm hoping there is more to come from the author, there is potential here that just needs some fine tuning. I mean do what you love right, that seems to be a big message in this book, that I agree with. Sometimes it's hard and not everyone is going to like it, but who cares it's all about what makes us happy.