Finally an indigenous romance novel! I really enjoyed it. We get the life of Ember making herself someone outside of the reservation. Her constant lies that only Danuwoa could see through. I understood why she lied so much but NOT saying it’s okay. When you come from a small community everyone knows everyone! It’s a drastic change from moving outside the rez to the city. I think that Danica Nava did a really good job of telling how it is for most indigenous people making that change going into what most feel is a whole new world. Everything was there that was relatable the family dynamic, the relationships, and growing as a person.

This was a good debut romance and I loved that this was written by an Indigenous author! It follows the fmc Ember in her unsuccessful pursuit of a job. She decides to put white as her ethnicity on the job application instead of native American and that leads to her getting her dream job. She meets the mmc Danuwoa who is also indigenous and they like each other but don't really go for it because of work. They later start to see each other secretly though Ember hides a lot of stuff from him. There is also a blackmail plot from one of Ember's coworkers and lots of secrets that blow up for everyone.

I thought the romance was so cute and Ember and Danuwoa were perfect for each other. I liked the diversity in the book the native American culture and how it influenced the main characters. I thought the character development with fmc was a good one and felt bad when things blew up in her face. The book touched on racism and discrimination the fmc faced and what other indigenous people face in the white-dominated workforce. There were a few slow times in the book and I think the pacing wasn't always the best but I really enjoyed the romance and I'm interested to see what the author writes next. Thank you Berkley Romance for this arc.

Really enjoyed the book, the fmc went though a lot and it helped her grow in the end, and the romance was top tier, absolutely loved the couple. 10/10 would recommend!

First treat: this is the first Native American rom-com published by a major publisher. It was a treat and an eye opener and a bonding experience for me. She dealt with racism, sexism, micro aggressions, cultural appropriation and so on. But it was all there in support of the story. Never preachy. Second treat: this book put the comedy back in rom-com. I found myself laughing out loud, bothering my family! Oh well, their sacrifice was in support of greatness. The cast of characters highest point goes to her crazy wonderful roommate, Joanna.

Strangely enough, Ember wants to get a better job than plunging stopped up toilets at the local bowling alley. Her brother skipped bond thus losing all her money for college. And she just can’t get break. Ember tries to be truthful but that has gotten her 37 job rejection notices so she decides to tell a few little lies and half truths. After checking the Caucasian box and representing helping her friend with taxes as past accounting experience, suddenly she gets a job offer. But in the face of further bigotry she keeps having to spin more tales.

You know it is all going to blow up on her but the story developing with coworker, hunk(!) and fellow Native American, Danuwoa,- that story is quite nice and steamy. There’s lots of funny banter between characters and within Ember’s internal dialogue. The interplay with her Auntie and her brother is both universal and uniquely Native American. As are her relationships with everyone from white co-workers to her best friend Joanna to her hilarious interactions with the old-man bowling team.

This is a masterful and fun first novel and I look forward to more from her. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A spellbinding debut. It’s entertaining, tense, and brimming with a sizzling chemistry, got a perfect indigenous representation and a swoony romantic story. I’ll be recommending it endlessly.

DNF at 10%.
I’m super sad, because I LOVE the Native representation, but the writing style was not working for me.

Loved the Native American representation, but this book was basically a self imposed miscommunication trope and I hate those.

3.5 stars ⭐, rounded up!
As soon as I saw this book on netgalley, I immediately put in a request for the ARC. It is both discouraging yet not surprising that this is the first widely published contemporary romance novel where a Native author gets to center a Native couple falling in love. I am hoping that this book gets the publisher support it needs to become a huge success so more Native authors can write fun, swoony romances.

Ember, the protagonist in this book, is struggling with a lot of setbacks. She has had to spend money on her brother's legal issues and put her dreams of college aside to make ends meet. Also she is met with silence when she applies for jobs outside of the reservation. She comes up with the idea of checking the White box on a job application instead of the Native American box and she gets interest right away. Now I will point out that she also fudges a lot of the details on the application, giving herself qualifications, experience and education that she doesn't have. Outright lying by a protagonist in books, especially in situations where they can easily get caught really ramps up my anxiety. I spend the first third of the book like 😬😬😬😬 hoping things don't blow up for her. It was honestly a relief when she did fine in the role itself although it struck me as some serious magical realism that someone with zero corporate or admin experience could just be dropped into a role where they are an executive assistant for a CEO of a huge corporation and pull it off. No matter how meticulous and anxious her personality was, it seemed like a huge stretch. I kept thinking "How does Ember even know how to type fast enough? Use all these software programs?" Every executive assistant I have worked with has definite "Magical wizard holding this entire place together" vibes which would be hard to recreate when you're basically winging it in every aspect of the job. Still, for the sake of the story I managed to suspend disbelief and go with it since I was enjoying other parts of the book.

I really loved the love interest Danuwoa, whose character was very believable and endearing. I felt his exasperation at Ember's lies that continued after she was in the job. She grew a lot though and they got a good HEA that I could get behind.

All the side characters were fun. I especially loved Danuwoa's little sister.

A small ending spoiler...






I really loved how Ember was able to turn to her tribe for the support she needed to get the education and experience she wanted. It was a great way to end the book!

A cute and silly office romance about two indigenous individuals in OKC. I laughed, I teared up, I shut the book from frustration and I giggled. There were times I thought the storyline was a little ridiculous but there is so much real, human experience throughout the whole book that kept me coming back. Ember and Danuwoa’s story was flawed and sweet and goofy and spicy. I loved the causal and frequent dropping of indigenous words through the book. The characters are fully fleshed out and Walela is by far my favorite. I think this was a solid debut and I definitely look forward to what Danica Nava cooks up next. Thank you Danica Nava, Berkeley Publishing, and Net Galley for the E-ARC.

Tropes: workplace romance, forbidden/secret, protective MMC

Favorite quotes:
For every Indigenous woman who has ever felt invisible. I see you. I am you.

I’d never had a serious boyfriend or anything. I usually just had elaborate crushes on guys I had hardly ever talked to and created a false reality in my head about why the relationship never worked out. It was safer that way.

Never in my life had I been so earnestly checked out.

This book was so relatable, but also a totally different lived experience than my own. It was fun and serious, sexy and cringey, just like real life. I look forward to seeing more from this author!

Witty, fun romance with plenty of substance! This was a delight to read. Ember is a lovable chaotic you can't help but root for. She lies when in a pinch, yes, but she's spunky, resourceful, loving, and clever--and Nava creates a compelling voice for her that will hook you immediately. And Danuwoa is swoony and very sexy, and they have chemistry that has tension but also lots of joyful laughter. This was a ton of fun - highly recommended!

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. Appreciate the representation for what it is and what it's achieving for a minority community. I'm not clicking with the writing style, though, so unfortunately I'm calling it.

3.75 ⭐️

What a lovely and unique romance. I loved it so much but Ember lying all the time was making me so anxious 😬

Wow! Wow! Wow! What an absolutely breathtaking debut by Danica Nava! I enjoyed every single second of this book! Danica did an amazing job of building the characters, the workplace, and the community within this book. It felt like I truly knew every person and the environments created felt like realistic ones that either I have navigated or that I have seen others navigate. I know this book will allow readers, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, to feel seen, understood, and loved!

Ember is a liar, but also a good person! This girl can do no wrong in my eyes! She was making me cry, cackle, and even had me feeling proud of her in certain moments. Her character development was absolutely phenomenal and I think the ways that Danuwoa helps her in that growth is really beautiful.

Danuwoa is probably one of the sexiest MMC I’ve ever read! This man had me feeling things! His kindness, patience, and honesty made him not only the ideal man, but also exactly what Ember needed.

These two characters compliment each other so well! Their ability to communicate with just facial expressions and subtle touches made me absolutely squeal every single time! Their romance was sexy and quick, but it didn’t feel rushed or surface level. While reading I could feel that these characters genuinely liked each other and I could feel the love growing between them as the book progressed!

I cannot recommend this romance enough! It is definitely my favourite workplace romance that I’ve ever read and I already can tell it is going to be one of my favourite reads of 2024!!!

First of all, I absolutely love this gorgeous cover. I really like the indigenous representation. What I didn't like was Ember. I didn't like her character and that made it difficult for me to get through the story.

I think the author shows great promise and there's definitely an audience for the book. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you Berkley for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

When I first learned about The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava while scrolling threads one day, I was so excited to see it. First of all, one of my gateway romances was a workplace romance. It’s a trope I don’t always lean towards but every time I read it, I’m reminded of how much I love it. The tension! It’s unmatched. Secondly, since I read so much Romance, i’m thrilled to add an Indigenous author and story to my shelves. Love is a universal feeling, so everyone should be represented in the genre.

Overall, I really liked this book. I think the opening scenes were so great at setting it up. I didn’t vibe with some of the pacing but I think it balances the more difficult moments that are necessary to the story with the swoony rom com moments. I highly recommend reading the author’s note at the end. There’s a lot of pressure to the “first” and I’m glad the author was able to tell a story authentic to her.

Synopsis:

“Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they're caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Tropes—I love a workplace/office romance and I haven’t read one in so long! I love the tension this trope creates and there was definitely a lot at stake in this story.

The Characters—I really could identify with Ember’s need to present herself as someone she wasn’t. It took me a long time to accept that my journey is my own and my worth isn’t reflected by my accomplishments. I obviously I have privileges discussed in this book, but the core of her struggles made me feel seen.

The Conflict—I thought the conflict was very realistic which is great as a reader but very sad and difficult to read about as a human. But, it all made sense and moved the story along.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

Some Romantic Moments Felt Forced—I just wanted a little more depth, but I think it’s because this started with a little insta-love/insta attraction and sometimes that’s hard for me to buy in to.

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 2/5 Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Content Warnings:

racism, racial slurs, cultural appropriation, abandonment, classism

Even after sitting with it for a few days, this is an easy 5 stars for me. It's strange to think that we needed to wait until 2024 to get our first traditionally published Native American romance, but I'm glad the time is here and that Danica Nava is blessing us with this delectable story.

The Truth According to Ember has so much I love in a romance: a protagonist that feels like a friend (even when you yell at her for the decisions she's making), chemistry and tension that leap off the page, discussions of real-world issues that don't feel heavy-handed, people and situations that feel authentic, and of course, some hot scenes.

Plus, that scene in the supply closet?! It's what my romance dreams are made of!

This is such an easy recommendation that I shared it with at least a dozen people within 24 hours of finishing it.

I loved this one! Ember takes a while to learn her lesson but the story is so enjoyable. Danuwoa is so kind and gentle and patient with her. They have great chemistry. Some of the comedy does lean towards outdated. This novel does read closer to women’s fiction than romance. Can’t wait to read more from Nava!

The Truth According to Ember is a fantastic debut romance that celebrates love, family, friendship and community. I really loved Ember and reading about her journey. The romance between Ember and Danuwoa was really sweet and fun to read about. This is definitely an upcoming release that should be on everyone’s radar this Summer.

I saw something that said this is the first romance by an indigenous author published by a major publisher. It’s about time! I loved the representation in a contemporary story that isn’t centered on trauma (not because I don’t want to hear that but because all people should be multidimensional). This says some things about marginalization and how to treat people without being overbearing.
As for this as a contemporary romance, it’s a cute story with likable characters. It includes some of the usual tropes and wording, but it’s well written and has a satisfying ending. I’ll be looking for the followup that’s teased at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!