Hilarious and cleverly written! Loved the heart and soul of this story. Danica Nava is an author to watch! For fans of Romcom, especially those who loved My Lady Jane Grey and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

—Dianna Rostad USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of You Belong Here Now

fun, light-hearted, and relatable.

'The Truth According to Ember' is a debut novel by Danica Nava that follows a Native American woman, Ember Cardinal, trying to get her professional career started in Oklahoma City. With a few minor fibs, she lands a job at a tech company and finds herself tangled with a fellow coworker and Native American Danuwoa. As her half-truths catch up, she finds herself in a tough situation with work and her relationship. Ember must return to her roots and get support from her community and family.

Overall, I loved this book because of its simplicity and how the book had such an easy flow to it. The groove immediately started going and I did not have to think too hard about things. I loved the friends-to-lovers trope, the drama, and the love. I was not a fan of all the lying done by my girl Ember, but I can understand where she is coming from as a woman of color and her background in poverty. It is hard to do anything in corporate America without networking. Danuwoa was very charming a super green flag to me and I just love everything about him. EMBER DON'T LIE TO HIM AGAIN.

Wonderful rom-com from a new-to-me writer. Ember trades working at the local bowling alley behind for the corporate jungle. But the jungle is complicated. I loved the story of family, life struggles and finding true love. Word of warning, keep a box of tissue handy. I am looking forward to the next book. 4 Stars

✨Summary:

Ember Lee Cardinal, struggling to find a job, tweaks her resume and half-lies about her ethnicity. As Ember leans into the white half of her identity, she lands her dream accounting job in Oklahoma City and catches the eye of Danuwoa Colson, a fellow Native American in IT. They start a secret relationship despite the company's no-dating policy. Their romance becomes more thrilling, but everything changes when a colleague catches them together during a work trip and blackmails Ember. Now, she faces a difficult decision - to keep quiet and continue living a lie or risk everything by telling the truth.

✨Review:

This is a debut Native American romantic comedy and it delivered. The FMC, Ember, was hilarious and so was the MMC, Danuwoa. One of the things I loved the most was how realistic this story felt. Ember’s lies and their ultimate consequences, white corporate America, and the blossoming romance between Ember and Danuwoa felt so real.

Another aspect of this book I love is how the characters are written in this. It felt like everyone’s personality shined no matter how small the character is. And I would be remiss not to mention how masterfully the author handled the heavy themes of racism, sexism, identity, and cultural appropriation. These important topics were seamlessly woven into the narrative, all while maintaining the light tone of the story. 4.5 ⭐️

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Berkley, and Danica Nava for this arc!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Never knew how much I needed Native RomComs. There's just not enough of them. Truly loved Ember and all her white lies. Danuwoa is a total dream boat. It's hard not to love them instantly.
I loved the reality that everyone that is mixed faces, lying on the resume to get the interview. Choosing which nationality will get the call back. Which part of you to hide for the job. Never felt so seen.
Really hope Danica Nava has more romances planned. <3

Dear Danica Nava: thank you for this book

This was a highly anticipated 2024 release for me… and this one didn’t disappoint

I will say, at times, the characters were super frustrating. As the reader, you can see things a little more clearly than the characters in the story can… but, our female main character (Ember) made some VERY questionable decisions that were obviously… not the best.

HOWEVER, despite some poor judgement calls …. Nava made sure you were rooting for Ember throughout the whole book. Which amped up the stakes and the drama… my poor cuticles were gnawed to bits during the climax of this story.

And there’s spice, great chemistry between the love interests, a perfect ending (including a nice epilogue), and even an excellent discussion guide at the end.

I’m hoping to read more from Danica Nava in the future, and I’d love to see more Indigenous rom coms published.

Suggested snack pairing: fried corn bean burritos

Triggers: racism, sexual content, abandonment, death of a parent/s (off page), pregnancy (side character)

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this novel.

My is posted on my Instagram @bedtimesandbooks

What happens when a few little white lies snowball into something beyond your control? That question is at the heart of The Truth According to Ember.

While Ember’s reasons for fudging the truth are quite valid and shed light on the challenges/barriers that Indigenous groups face, her lies could irreparably harm her budding relationship with co-worker Danuwoa. The push-pull dynamic between these two characters is the fuel in the engine of this book. Ember and Danuwoa’s connection is palpable, and Danuwoa’s golden retriever energy is what all the best book boyfriends are made of.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book (save the stress that was caused by waiting for the other shoe to drop, but that’s a me problem) and the author’s writing style. I will definitely be reading more from Danica Nava in the future.

I was beyond excited for more Native romance, but especially the first one from a Big Five publisher! I knew I had to get my hands on it somehow!
This book follows Ember Lee Cardinal who in searching for new job tests a theory and clicks the "White/Caucasian" box on the employment form instead of "American Indian/Alaskan Native" box, a little white lie that's also more of a half-truth as her father -is- white. Luck was on her side and she gets a job in the accounting department of a tech company with good pay and benefits, things Ember really wants to have. At the job, she runs into Danuwoa Colson, a Cherokee man in the IT department she had accidentally run into before her interview. Danuwoa is good at his job and good at navigating corporate life so he can be stable and give his little sister Walela, who has down syndrome and lives with him, the best life he can after the loss of their parents. Sparks start to fly between the pair as they begin a friendship and work in close proximity on various assignments.
Ember has her own family drama she doesn't want to think about, namely her brother Sage who is fresh out of jail and the reason she had to drop out of college (and lie about graduating on that resume). We get to see a lot of how her life growing up has impacted her as an adult, especially as the "fixer" in the family. Although Ember stressed me out at times with all of her tiny lies, I did really appreciate her arc throughout the story. She has to learn to take help from people: her roommate/best friend Joanna (who I adore! She is an artistic vibrant contrast to Ember), her Auntie, her brother, Danuwoa, and especially her community. I also really like the dynamic between her and Danuwoa. It's fun and flirty, but heavy on sarcasm as he sees through a lot of her little lies. I also love how Ember embraced Danuwoa's little sister, Walela. Honestly, Walela is an absolute gem and so funny. She is Miss Indian Princess (a title from a pageant in the community that gives her fun little tasks and events to host). Speaking of, I love the little dynamic between Walela and Sage. It's so cute! Actually, let me also gush about Joanna a bit. She reminds me a lot of one of my best friends. She is outgoing and so supportive of Ember while still pushing her. I would love to have a Joanna book! The best part being that her love interest could literally be anyone as she is open to any gender.
Although this book deals with some different tougher topics like casual racism in the workplace (and just in general), loss of parents, incarceration, and abuse of power in the workplace, the author is able to balance this out with funny and more lighthearted moments. I genuinely had a really good time reading this book and found myself laughing at some of their antics.
I think people will really enjoy the cast of characters and the steamy romance!

3.5⭐️3🌶️

Contemporary Romance
Own Voices Author
Workplace Romance
Forbidden Romance
First person POV
Indigenous MC’s
🏳️‍🌈 Side Character
Disabled side character



The plot of the book highlights heavier themes throughout from racism/micro aggressions, sexism, corporate nepotism, feminine hyper awareness, complicated family ties, historical oppression and common generation issues among the native population. There is something of a lived experience in the pages of this book, and you can feel it. I respect this author and that this is an OwnVoices story.

With so much being packed into the plot lines of this book, it’s no wonder that the main character feels locked in a mentality that makes her seem immature or naive when it comes to certain aspects. Her lies and constant anxiety was giving me major secondhand anxiety that made this story harder for me, personally, to enjoy.

The MMC is depicted as the perfect man… I was always waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. We didn’t get to know him as a person other than the hot IT guy, which was a real disservice to his potential.

I hope that more indigenous authors make contemporary rom-coms. I enjoyed reading!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Superb debut!

I absolutley am obsessed with this book. When it comes to the banter and chemistry, I was sold. I really appreciate and adore the representation in this book as well.

Thank you for the free eARC Berkley Romance!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Ember is a Native American woman struggling to find a job when she decides to lie on her resume…and her lies quickly begin to spiral out of control at her new corporate job.

I absolutely loved the writing style of this one—Danica Nava is clearly an incredible new talent and I’m already so excited to see what she writes next. I also love the representation here…there are FAR too few novels with Native American MCs, and even fewer romances, and I am so very glad this book exists and will hopefully get the spotlight it deserves!

I’m not a huge fan of lying as a main plot point, so I had my moments of difficulty. That said, I thought it made a lot of sense here and even though I didn’t agree with all of Ember’s choices, I understood why she made them. As a recovering corporate lawyer, I also really enjoyed seeing Ember’s experiences with a corporate lifestyle and chasing her career dreams! Finally, there are some stellar secondary characters here, and I *badly* want Ember’s brother Sage to get his own book one day…

CW: Racism/sexism

I can't believe that this is the first traditionally published romance novel written by an indigenous author. As much as I love romance, this is an indication of how much more work there is to do in diversifying romance books.

Ember is a young woman at the crossroads of her life and career. She has been rejected from countless jobs, very likely because she is indigenous. So she decided to keep that out of her next application and to make up a degree she has not completed. When she gets the job, it turns out she is an incredibly competent worker and excels at her job. If you are someone who can't handle the heroine lying over and over again, sometimes for no apparent reason, this will not be the book for you. I was so annoyed at Ember until I realized that what Danica Nava is doing here is exploring the insecurities put on a young Indigenous woman by a racist and sexist colonial power structure. In that context, her lies are a tool of survival.

Danuwoa is a sweety pie of a hero. He is a mature man, sure of who he is and is unwilling to settle for less than he deserves. He loved the heroine but will not let her cross his boundaries without repercussions.

There is so much to dissect in this story, and I am so glad that it exists!

When a Chickasaw woman lies on her resume to get a job she never expects to find herself falling into an office romance. Ember Lee Cardinal wants a job but after dropping out of community college and having barely any work experience, she's facing rejection left and right, so she decides to take a "creative" aspect to her resume and lies about her qualifications and ethnicity. Ember is half Native American and half White, and writes that she is fully white on her resume. She is desperate to land her dream accounting job and surprise surprise she gets it. Yet things get complicated when she begins to fall for the hot IT guy, Cherokee Danuwoa Colson. Despite the no-dating policy at work, they begin a secret relationship... but Ember's lies start to pile up and if the truth gets out she's done for. Can Ember find a way to save her job and her relationship or will her lies catch up to her and cost her everything? This one was unfortunately a miss for me, I really wanted to like it but honestly the only thing it had going for it was that it had great rep but otherwise the storyline felt a bit lacking. It's a really simple office romance plot and honestly Ember isn't all that much of a likable character that I found myself rooting for. The romance just didn't feel like it was all there for me and the whole "lying" and being super under-qualified for her job wasn't really that great either. Ember lied to get a job that she wasn't even qualified for in the first place and honestly her resolution for the "work place dating" policy was not that great. I just didn't care all that much for the romance or the story by the end of the book unfortunately. While this one was a miss for me, if you like office romances maybe you'll have a better time with this one than I did.

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Oh my heart! ♥️

I knew I was going to love The Truth According to Ember from the moment I read the dedication. It reads, “For every Indigenous woman who has ever felt invisible. I see you. I am you.”

Yes, 100% yes!

The Truth According to Ember is cute and funny while also being complex and full of heart. It’s full of swoon worthy romance, family, friendship, personal growth, resiliency and culture. It also explores racism, insecurity and micro aggressions in the workplace. Truly an emotional rollercoaster and a fabulous read!

This is my official request to the publishing industry for more of this - more Indigenous stories!! It made me so incredibly happy to see the Cherokee language on the page and gosh, I wish my grandmother was here to see it. ♥️

This is such a wonderful debut and I’m so excited to see what the future holds for Danica Nava!

Wado (thank you) Berkley for sending me an advanced copy of the first traditionally published Indigenous romance!

Thank you Berkley Pub and Berkley Romance for the free book and thank you PRH Audio for my #gifted listening copy of The Truth According to Ember! #PRHAInfluencer #PRHAudioPartner #BerkleyBookstagram #berkleypub #BerkleyIG #berkley #TheTruthAccordingToEmber #DanicaNava

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐚
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

𝟓★

This book was absolutely amazing! I absolutely loved the representation in this book and cannot believe the lack of Native American rom-coms. Books like this are so important and I am so excited that Danica Nava is writing books with such important representation. This book was funny, witty, steamy, and an overall amazing rom-com. I listened to this book in one day because I could not stop. Ember was such a likable FMC and from the start I was so invested in this story. I thought Danuwoa was such an amazing MMC and he was just so sweet.

💜Workplace Romance
💜Forced Proximity
💜One Bed
💜Found Family
💜Indigenous Representation
💜Own Voices

🎧I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Siena East. I absolutely loved my time listening to East bring this one to life. She did such a phenomenal job and was truly so dynamic. I cannot recommend this one enough, and the audio is truly perfect!

This is a gem of a debut! Thank you to Berkley publishing for my digital ARC and PRH Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

Danica Nava's debut rom-com follows a charming and plucky Native American heroine, Ember Cardinal, and her series of white lies that lead her to a new career opportunity. Propelled from a low-wage job at a bowling alley to the corporate world as an accountant's assistant and then an water cooler gossip, I found Ember's perspective to be fresh and funny. Ember's connects with her IT co-worker, Danuwoa, another Native American and the two not only have sparkling chemistry, but a shared experience of facing blatant racism and micro-aggressions in the work place. Ember is determined not to let her attraction to Danuwoa threaten her new career trajectory, but unfortunately her web of white lies to both her bosses and Danuwoa might backfire regardless. This romance is full of banter, workplace drama, forbidden tension, and readers will easily connect to Ember's POV. Despite her missteps, Ember's journey was a reminder of how a young professional's years can be full of insecurities, angst and injustices, while also being a time of FUN, growth, and new beginnings. For any reader who has ever grown up in poverty, been a first generation college student, or faced racial/gender discrimination in the workplace, I think you will adore and root for Ember!

It was so fun to read a romance starring Indigenous characters! I really liked how the story felt lived in and grounded, and I always love when stories are, at their heart, about learning to lean into your community. I prefer my romances very couples-centric, and this one definitely focused on Ember's personal and career journey over the love story, which is pretty typical for rom-coms these days. Also, her incredibly bad judgment made it a little hard to root for her, especially when Danuwoa didn't have any big flaws himself. Nonetheless, excited to see what comes next from this author!

Ember is an aspiring accountant who had to give up her dreams and drop out of college to work and support herself. Fed up with her job at the local bowling alley, she fibs on her resumé in pursuit of an accounting assistant position at Technix, a role she gets after a serendipitous interview. There she meets Danuwoa, who becomes a quick friend and witness to her neverending missteps as she learns to navigate the corporate world. Through sheer luck, Ember finds herself rising in the ranks, but her excessive lies spin out of control.

Formally, this was a fine novel with cute moments and antics. There were a few scenes that played out a bit clunkily and the pacing was inconsistent, however, the book’s strengths lie in its cast of bright and distinctive characters who either rally around Ember or act as foils to her wholesome desires to simply work with numbers and make a good living. I felt deeply for Ember and was rooting for her as she fought to earn her position, pushed through mortifying accidents, and deflected racist microaggressions from her coworkers. I didn’t totally feel the chemistry between the leads, and often felt Ember’s career woes eclipsed the romance, but Danuwoa was a sweet love interest who was caring and reliable, and showed great patience for Ember as she continued to lie as a defense mechanism.

As this novel enters the public stage, I can predict the critiques that will descend upon it: Ember is stunningly inexperienced, gullible, quick to lie, etc. but it is important to acknowledge the systemic barriers Ember has encountered her entire life that put her at a disadvantage in the corporate world. We can criticize Ember for her choices and habits, but not without also confronting the inequities that she was born into. This book said, yes have your romcom, but don’t forget that even in the rosy tinted romance universe, not everyone starts out in a fair world.

3.25⭐️

The Truth According to Ember follows Ember, a young native woman who is tired of being rejected for job after job. Determined to find steady work as an accountant, Ember decides to embellish her resume and leave out her Indigenous background. However, when she finally gets hired, Ember ends up befriending Danuwoa, the only other native at the company; and worse, she finds herself falling for him when there is a no-fraternization rule. Unable to keep up with all her white lies, Ember must decide if being honest with the man she is falling for is worth losing her job.

This was a great debut romcom, full of banter, drama, and so much diversity! The romance was completely adorable, I loved how sweet and enamored Danuwoa was with Ember. The workplace environment was very central to the plot and I liked that it was a little messy and daunting to Ember; it felt very genuine and raw which can be hard to find in a romcom. I also appreciated how much insight there was into native culture and community, I loved getting to know Ember's family and how they came together to rally for her was so sweet. I will absolutely be reading more from Danica Nava in the future; we need more native and #OwnVoices romances out there!

This was a fun, fresh romcom! I’ve been prioritizing diversifying my romance reads, so requesting to review this one was a no-brainer.
It took me a little while to warm up to the main character, Ember. To put it simply, she lies—often and implausibly. A few seemingly harmless white lies spiral out of control, leading to chaos. The book relies heavily on the miscommunication trope, which can be quite frustrating for readers. Some of Ember’s lies are so bizarre that it’s hard to follow her logic. (Like, girl tell him you’re allergic to his cat, it’s fine).
I did end up liking her, though! Ember is funny and tough, with a lot to fight for and a fierce capacity for love. All of these traits make her a compelling lead. It’s hard not to sympathize with her, especially considering she was dealt a bad hand; many of her questionable choices become understandable in that context.
Danuwoa “Native Daddy” Colson made for the perfect swoon-worthy male lead. His calm steadiness balanced Ember’s chaos beautifully, and he came across as a genuinely good guy—no red flags in sight!
Oh, and the last line of the book? A banger if there ever was one.