4.5 stars rounded up

I normally am not a huge fan of the workplace rom-com, finding them to be somewhat unrelatable to me, but I loved everything about this feminist look at what it's like to be a woman in a predominantly male field.

Indiana "Ana" Aaron is a coder at Apollo IT, who has just been passed over for a promotion in favor of the younger and less experienced man she just trained. After she expresses her displeasure at the way the situation was handled in the meeting, she is effectively demoted to an all remote team with the company's biggest screw up at the helm. With her gender neutral name, her new boss assumes that she is a man, and when she finds that she is finally being shown the respect she deserves and having her input taken seriously, she isn't in a rush to correct his mistake. When he flies in for a meeting and wants to meet Indiana, everything quickly spirals out of control, with Ana's work friends coming up with zanier and more elaborate excuses why the elusive man's man Indiana can't meet in person. Only the boss's minder, accountant Shane, is clever enough to put two and two together and realize that Ana may just be a nickname for Indi-Ana, but keeps her secret. The two embark on a sweet romance, but I liked how in this story the romance was not the focal point, and rather focused on Ana's trials and tribulations in the workplace. There was a wide cast of side characters between her work friends and father and landlords that provided plenty of witty conversations. I even got a bit of a giggle out of the name confusion, because the same thing has happened to me more times than you would think over emails back when I was working. I am definitely motivated to go back and read the author's first book and am excited for future releases since I greatly enjoyed her writing style and naturally flowing banter.

Thank you so much to @byanastasiaryan @sourcebookscasa @dreamscape_media & @netgalley for the ARC/ALC!

🎀 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🎀
This refreshing, workplace story will have you laughing out loud as Indiana “Ana” Aaron navigates the daily obstacles of being a girl in the male dominated field of IT and coding.

Ana gets transferred to a remote team after voicing her opinion one too many times to her boss. Ana feels this is her chance to blend in and leave her camera off, but she can’t help to speak up to her new boss, who praises her as “Mr. Aaron” to her new team. One hilarious moment to the next, this misconception of Ana’s identity grows bigger and bigger. One bonus though - her mysogynstic boss keeps praising her and giving her the opportunity she craves.

This book literally had me laughing out loud. It’s so very relatable, especially if you have worked as a female in a male dominated workforce. (Insert me exactly here - background working in IT with mostly males)! I’m so glad I haven’t been told to get people’s coffee orders like Ana is told, but the daily biases are there. One quote stood out to me as I read:

“You know, if I were a guy, I wouldn’t be bossy. I’d be assertive.”

If you are a woman, being assertive and going after what you want isn’t always looked upon positively, whereas it is a much more positive thing as a male. Women have to work twice as hard to get the same respect a man does, and this book shows us that in a humorous, relatable way.

Also shown, are the fun relationships. Ana and her dad are adorable. Ana has a love interest that is super sweet, and she has some hilarious friends too. This book is full of everything and I highly recommend it!


🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🩷 Strong, Outspoken Females
🩷 Laugh Out Loud
🩷 Gender Discrimination
🩷 Mistaken Identity
🩷 Workplace Fiction

A fab read, the story of Ana and Shane. Ana is small but not afraid of sharing her opinions. When this gets her in trouble at work and she is moved to a remote team, she is mistaken over email for a Mr, and then seems to be respected for her ideas. What will happen when the truth is revealed? Interesting read, and highlights some relevant issues.

I went into reading this thinking it was a rom-com due to the cover. Once reading it, the premise was definitely different. While I still enjoyed this book, I didnt get the romance I was going in for.

Thank you Sourcebook Casablanca for this arc for an honest review.

Indiana “Ana” Aaron desperately wants to fit in at work while still standing out. While she continues to deliver exceptional work she is often overlooked in place of her coworkers. After transferring to a team of remote workers, everything begins to go smoother until she finds out that her new boss has mistaken her for a man, due to her name. Things quickly spiral out of control when her coworkers begin praising and making assumptions about “Mr. Aaron” and “his” accomplishments in and out of the office.

Not Bad for a Girl is a contemporary fiction stand-alone. There is a vein of romance throughout but it’s not necessarily the main focus of the book. The plot really centers around Ana’s personal growth through unexpected friendships and reflection.

I don't know how Anastasia Ryan manages to accurately express office culture, especially male dominated spaces, but she does. The depictions are spot on. There were several times I found myself commenting “oh yeah. I've worked with someone like that”. There are quite a few hilariously relatable characters.

The audio for this book is excellent! It is solo narrated by Jesse Vilinsky. She does a terrific job capturing the characters’ moods as well as bringing out the humor throughout the storyline.

Not Bad For a Girl is Anastasia Ryan's sophomore novel. I loved her debut, You Should Smile More but this one really hit home. I can’t wait to see what she has next for her readers.

I voluntarily read, listened to, and reviewed advanced copies of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley!

I read You Should Smile More by the same author last year, and didn’t understand the hype. But so many folks loved it, and the premise of this one sounded a bit stronger, so I thought I would give it a go. I read to 25% and had to set it aside because it wasn’t grabbing me. I came back and gave it another try, but had to declare DNF at 37%. This author is just not for me. If you like an easy read with a large cast of characters doing things people would never actually do at work, this might be for you. This is not a rom-com, more humor/satire IMO.

Not only a hilarious rom com, but a hilarious look at a woman trying to smash the glass ceiling and combat stereotypes. Indiana is a cute woman who is extremely petite working in the tech industry as a coder and is never taken seriously even though she can not only out code most of the bros, but she is also the one teaching them how to do their jobs only to watch them get promoted over her to jobs they can't possibly do. When a misconception in an email happens and she doesn't immediately correct it, it gets blown out of proportion by well-meaning friends and suddenly the misconception takes on a life of its own. So, when do you come out as yourself and take ownership of who you are? What lengths would you go to in order to keep your job and possibly get the promotion? Is it worth killing a potentially awesome relationship over? I giggled, I laughed out loud, I stomped my foot in frustration, because let's face it all women know a misogynistic jerk who dismisses them without listening! This book was such a fun read and I can't wait to read more from this author and soon!!!

3.5 stars Thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Not Bad for a Girl is a feminist romance. Indiana is a female coder who, because she has the same name as a male movie hero, is mistaken for a man and finally has her work taken seriously. This book is light-hearted look at what women have to deal with in the work place, yes it may be a bit exaggerated, but at my job (and many of my friends') you can see the disparity in which men and women are treated. This book is quirky and funny and would make a great Netflix rom-com. It is a quick and enjoyable read. Nothing groundbreaking, but easy rpose and interesting characters, though some of them were a bit one dimensional (Evan, Heidi). Loved the MC Indiana, her dad and Shane.

4.5 stars rounded up. I am all for standing up to misogyny and taking down the patriarchy. Every single job I have had, people receive better from the men employees vs. the females. It has even gone so far as a customer asking for a manager when they didn't like my solution and I was the manager. Then pointing to my only male coworker and wanting to speak to him, when I was his supervisor and he was a brand new employee. So that should tell you how much I related to this book, I can only imagine working in a male-dominated field. Also, we love a woman in STEM! It was funny, had a little romance thrown in, and I loved all of the non-sexist characters. I definitely recommend this if you need a little female empowerment and some good laughs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book just wasn’t for me. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but looking at the cover you’d expect a cheesy rom-com type book. This definitely wasn’t that. There was a very minor subplot of romance but the chemistry was hardly there.

This book tackles misogyny and gender discrimination in the workplace but not in a way that was necessarily interesting. It dragged a lot and there were a lot of really long-winded conversations that added absolutely zero to the story.

Bit disappointed as I really loved Anastasia Ryan’s debut novel, but this really just didn’t hit.

So this one started just a touch slow for me, but I did get completely sucked in and I’m so glad I stuck it out. I will say the sense of humor and situations the FMC finds herself in (thanks to the “help” of her friends) borders on ridiculous, but I found myself giggling and laughing out loud so frequently, that apparently it works for me. I would say the romance is almost secondary to the “steminist” & misogyny in the workplace plot, but I didn’t mind at all. Just a fun yet somehow serious read. I could see me listening to this again.

Women's fiction is not my go-to genre as I can find it overly angsty and stressful without the joy of a happy-ever-after at the end of it all.

Not Bad for a Girl was a romp of a read. Funny, full of heart, and kind of inspiring - a rom com of a feminist manifesto.

It kind of evoked Jerry Maguire (Indiana speaking truth at a work meeting and having a love interest be one of the first to quietly take her side) and a little 9 to 5 (friends ganging up against "the man" with you).

I loved how this book was all about Indiana becoming a swashbuckling hero in her own right; not like the archaeologist but a tech person who really knows her stuff, how to execute projects, knows how to lead a team, and inspire.

Many of us have had toxic bosses in the workplace and it felt like a win for us all having Indiana triumph.

3.5 Stars
Women’s Fiction
Female in a Male-Dominated Tech Career
Hidden Identity

Indiana Aaron is a female coder. The story begins with her being passed over for a promotion to a male colleague. She lets her boss know what she thinks of this and gets transferred to a remote team where her new boss assumes she’s male because of her name. Indiana lets him think she’s a male because he seems to have more respect for her(him) and offers him more work. Things escalate due to all the lies that are told so that he (the boss) never sees Indiana’s face.

I think the cover is slightly misleading. It looks like a cute romcom (which I thought I was requesting), but it’s barely a romance. There is a subplot romance, but it’s just sprinkled in a little bit. It is, however, being marketed as Women’s fiction

This book is about gender and other forms of workplace discrimination. It takes a real and serious matter and makes it quirky and funny at times. I liked the depiction of misogyny in the workplace in this book. I think it was pretty well done. Not only was her boss a misogynist, but he was also a horrible boss and sucked at his job. The rest of her co-workers were nice and supportive though. The way they stood up for and with her was great to see.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book was a little off. I didn’t hate it because it is sweet that everyone lets Ana be herself with no apologies, but her main gal friend was so annoying & the random long-winded conversations about nothing didn't elevate the story. I didn’t feel like any of the characters had much depth to them. The romantic subplot was meh; I didn't feel any chemistry, and the father and his flame just felt like we were introducing strong female characters just for the point of it. I think it could have been established better.

Overall, this was an ok book for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Anastasia Ryan, and Netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is book had me covering my mouth, to try not to laugh out loud and smile like an idiot while at work. The romance in this was soo cutee. Ana and Shane own my heart!! I loved seeing her dads life and him finding someone, it was so cute and so sweet. The best part of this book though was every story about Indiana, they were always so out there and so funny.

While this book was comical at times, but I found myself extremely frustrated with the misogyny throughout the book. There will be groups of readers who thoroughly enjoy this story. I had a difficult time finishing the book. I rate it 3 stars for the simple reason that it did make me feel something…anger.

This was an adorably funny, quick read! I laughed out loud quite a bit! At first I was a bit frustrated with the misogyny and the way the men were putting down Indiana because she was a woman but it all came together in the end. Indiana and her friends were really fun and the stories that flowed easily out of Heidi and Patrick were hilarious. Shane was adorable but I do feel like his and Indiana’s romance was so fast paced it was hard to fall in love with them. I love quirky characters and this one for sure came through.

This was really sweet! It felt a little political and preachy about sexism throughout, but I did appreciate Indiana's struggles as a female in the workplace. The cast of characters was fun, and I do always love a happy ending! Overall, this was a fun, quick read that I would recommend to romance readers!

The Narrator was great, and I really enjoyed the audiobook!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy to read!

Skilled coder Indiana struggles to fit in at work due to her outspokenness. When transferred to a remote team, her boss assumes Ana is a man and praises “his” assertiveness. Ana decides not to correct her boss’s sexist mistake. As the legend of Indiana grows, so do the complications.

I loved this book. The tone is light and fun, taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject matter. Ana and Shane are adorable together.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

- Workplace Comedy
- Mistaken Identity
- Female Coder
- Strong FMC

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the overall idea of shedding some light on gender inequality in the workplace, but I just was not a fan of how it was done here. Everything about “the manly Indiana” drove me absolutely crazy as it was all so unrealistic. I went in expecting a romcom, but the romance aspect was very lack luster and added very little if anything to the overall story.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for letting me read this book.
I WISH that all men were as lovely as Indiana's dad, or her work team. I agreed with all of the author's views on women in the work place, and how they're portrayed in cartoons and movies.
Sadly, this is the way the world is right now. I sort of wish there was a bigger focus on the romance, as this book seemed to be more women's fiction, but that's just a personal preference.
3.5 stars