Not my favorite DW book but definitely still cute and fun! Pearl and Cord were sweet and will give you all the swoony feels

I love Denise Williams's books but this one was not the greatest for me. It had a lot of backstory which we needed but still didn't fully explain some things either. The characters felt flat to me as well, to me it seemed like they didn't have much chemistry with each other. It also felt a little forced.

Anything Denise Williams writes is pure perfection. Every single time. And this was no different.

Pearl and Cord were characters that we obviously were watching from THE FASTEST WAY TO FALL (still holds to be my favorite of William's books) because they were just so cute.

To be honest I love second chance romances. I completely understood the rationale to break up the first time, but the second? I loved Cord and his cat and his cute ways. But Pearl and I had some confusing times. I really appreciated her draw into STEM and the non-profit she was working on. The whole work set up was great.

All in all, I enjoyed the book immensely and cannnnnoooottt wait for William's next novel!!!

Black History Month

I wanted to love this. It has most of the qualities I want in a book. Strong, independent woman. Diverse rep. However, it felt a little try hard.

I will be the first to tell you I am "woke," no matter how much I hate the word, and while the Black rep in this book feels authentic to me, the two enby characters did not. To me, they felt thrown in as an afterthought. I've had this discussion with a few friends, and we differed on opinions, but for me, not all rep is good rep. Nonbinary people shouldn't be afterthoughts. They should be fully fleshed, with normal everyday interactions.

I'm not saying Black women should only date Black men, because if globalization brought us anything, it should be the mix in cultures. However, when a good portion of the interracial (I hate this word - is there anything new yet?) romances I read contain a BIPOC woman with a white man, I internally cringe. I'm not hating on these couples. I know these couples. I just think it sends the message that BIPOC men aren't "worth it," and that, to me, feels wrong.

All of that aside, second chance romances are not my favorite, and while I knew that going in, that's not what bothered me here. We are supposed to believe that Pearl and Cord's chemistry is off the charts, but I found myself yawning as they were getting it on. I also didn't like how he never listened to her, and just decided to do what he wanted 90% of the time.

Another thing that bothered me was Pearl's mentality. I get it, I get it, "head over heart." Say it one more time for those that didn't hear. For someone supposedly so smart, how did she get entangled in so many interoffice relationships? Shouldn't you learn after the first one?

In short, I wish this sent a better message, and that I liked the couple more as a couple, and separately as their own people. I don't want to write this author off for a subgenre I don't particularly enjoy, so I'll next pick up something a little more up my alley. I was trying to rush and finish this for one of The Ripped Bodice's book clubs, but as you can see, I didn't.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley

This book had all the makings for a fantastic romance, but it just fell a bit flat for me. While it was enjoyable there was just something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. I will still give this author another chance though!

I tried to get into this book as I've loved everything else Denise Williams has written, but something about these characters just didn't have me as invested, i'm not entirely sure why. While I rooted for Pearl and Cord's happy ending, I would've also been perfectly happy had they not ended up together depending on who they ended up with instead which was a little disappointing to realize. Overall I will still be reading future Denise Williams books but hoping to be more invested

I shouldn't have bothered with this one because what the heck was that?! 😅 I was really hoping other reviews were wrong and maybe this was an underrated gem but.. YIKES. I didn’t like Cord from the start and Pearl was really difficult to like as well. Their romance just seemed so weird and forced.

3.5 stars

This was kind of a middle of the road book. I liked his POV, but her POV was just kind of... boring? I felt like the premise was really middle of the road and none of the characters really had any depth or back story.

A wonderfully tension-filled second-chance romance, combined with a workplace relationship. Pearl is a fierce girl boss who doesn't need a man to be fulfilled. But gosh darn, Cord is such a catch! I loved how realistic the story felt, with highly relatable characters. It's an emphatic "yes" from me!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Denise Williams knows how to write tension in a romance book! I loved this second chance romance...it had a brilliant and successful FMC and you couldn't help but cheer on the MMC.

This was a super cute read!!!! I loved the diversity it gave. I have been trying to boarded my reading into more diverse books and this hit that mark for me perfectly. I love the writing style. I am excited to read more from this author.

I really enjoyed Denise Williams' first two books - they were light, refreshing, funny, quick reads. This one, however, really missed the mark for me. While there wasn't one thing that inherently stood out as bad, it was all the small things that just didn't work that really added up. For example, I didn't care at all about the main plot - I didn't care about Pearl's career drama and I wasn't engaged at all during the flashback scenes. The characters overall were super one dimensional - I finished this book a few hours ago and couldn't tell you one thing about either of them. They also just totally lacked chemistry. The core of a good second chance romance is that undeniable underlying tension and these two could have met an hour before this story started for all their lack of chemistry. Overall, this was a real let down, and sadly has bumped Denise from my autobuy author list.

Denise Williams truly knows how to captivate an audience with her words! These characters felt like people I am friends with and thats something easy for me to say. I would say that she knows how to give her characters depth without taking away from the plot of the book. I truly loved the idea of a second chance workplace romance! I didnt think about how the two would connect but I was hooked!

Technically Yours" is an engaging read with a refreshing take on diversity in STEM through Pearl, a black female leader. Pearl is inspiring and relatable, and her interactions with her sisters add warmth. Cord’s sincerity and his adoration for Pearl make him a lovable character.

While the constant obstacles in Pearl and Cord’s relationship, mainly due to Pearl’s self-sabotage, were a bit tiring, I still found myself rooting for them as a couple.

I also enjoyed the mentor-mentee relationship between Tye, Pearl’s nephew, and Cord, which added an extra dose of charm to the story.

Overall, "Technically Yours" is thought-provoking and enjoyable, especially for those interested in diverse representation in STEM.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A second chance romance told between the past and the present featuring MC Pearl and Cord's, two friends who turned lovers. I loved the dual POV. I love Cord, but pearl frustrate me to no end. I understand her so I didn’t roll my eyes too much.

Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of second chance romances, but I think I would have struggled with this one even if it wasn’t that trope. I found both Pearl and Cord to be underdeveloped characters and never fully understood their attraction to each other (outside of lust).

- Dug the back and forth timeline
- Distinction between Pearl and Cord’s perspectives needed to be stronger in certain pats of the book
- Loved that Cord has boundaries and began to speak up for himself
- The last 60% of the book made up for the glacial pace of the first 40%
- Excellent character work

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced copy.

I loved how much inclusivity this novel had! I've read plenty of books where the author makes an attempt at inclusion, but for one reason or another, it feels forced; that was NOT the case with this novel. Williams' is clearly a very talented author.

This is also a STEM novel, which I was not aware of going in. Typically, STEM novels are not my favorite; this is only because I am not a science, technology, and math girlie. But I love that these are becoming more popular for the readers who are.

I think this is going to be a very popular book with many readers, and while it wasn't quite my cup of tea, I will definitely read Williams' work again.

Denise Williams continues to top my list as one of my favorite authors of all time.

This was an adorable and heartfelt romance that I have been waiting literal years for. Ever since we first saw Pearl and Cord in The Fastest Way to Fall, I know that they would have a romance of epic proportions, and I was right.

Not only did this book have great non binary representation in two characters, including the super fun young relative of Pearl, but the relationshop between the two main charatcers grew into such a mature and respectful relationship.

Denise Williams writes books I wish I could live in. She knows how to write the hot moments along with the sweet ones and I will eat it up every time.

My first Denise Williams book and I was very excited after all of the hype I saw on booksta over the years!

Cord and Pearl fell for each other years ago and are only now being given a second chance at love… five years later. After five years with no contact, their connection is immediate despite the many roadblocks in their way. Pearl and Cord both are hesitant to trust their feelings and take a risk as they grow closer, but it becomes impossible to keep ignoring the electricity between them.

I was severely underwhelmed during this one until the end. The last 20-30% really hooked me but overall it wasn’t that I didn’t connect with the characters or the storyline I just thought the writing was a little bland. I love a dual POV audiobook with 2 narrators and this was no exception!