It took me a minute to get into this one because I couldn't figure out the vibes of our two MC's. But once things started flowing I was caught up! Lucas was so sweet and protective and Avery was so delightful and kind. I do wish we got to dive deeper into things: her background, her relationship with her mom/grandma etc. But other than that, this was so cute!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC!

3.75/5

This story left me wanting more: more romance, more bonding with her grandma, more growth in her decisions. Overall, this was cute, but I wanted to connect to this character more and learn about her culture with her. A lot of the characters felt glossed over and Avery never really developed much of a relationship with them, except for Lucas which is a relationship that felt like it jumped from attraction to love too quickly. I would have liked to see more of them getting to know each other.

3.25/5

singers running away to the countryside is an underrated trope and i need to speak on it..

there's no real reason i requested this arc, other than the cover. also i love reading new romance authors because i feel like i've read everything sometimes. i'm not completely sure what my expectations were for this book but it was just fine. there was kind of a lot going on plot wise and i don't think we dealt with anything enough.

the romance between avery and lucas was sweet but needed more buildup. there first kiss scene made sense but the rest of it was sort of underdeveloped. it was lovely to see avery find a place where she belonged. that element of self discovery was my favorite part of the book. some of the drama with her mother was over dramatic and just felt annoying. i wanted more sweet moments with people like bessie or more moments on the ranch with davey + red.

*thank you net galley and berkley for the arc!*

This was a very sweet contemporary romance that also dealt with themes of Indigenous identity, cancel culture, and family trauma. Avery has to learn some hard truths about the history of stereotyping Indigenous imagery, as well as about her family and tribal history. I really enjoyed the conversations around Indigenous identity, blood quantum, and what “counts” as “Indigenous enough.” In my own community, people often debate what “counts” as Jewish ancestry or “Jewish enough” (often related to ancestry, someone’s politics, or level of observance). It’s interesting to see how other communities deal with these issues.

4.5⭐️ oh my god this book was so nostalgic and made my childhood heart so so happy. If you loved the Hannah Montana movie, this one is for you!!

I honestly couldn’t put this one down and found myself so immersed in Danicas storytelling. I love the way she writes not only about the community, but how accepting and open they were to new people, like Avery. After doing a controversial photoshoot that was meant to be a statement turned into a riot, she’s sent to her grandmothers ranch to lay low and now has the opportunity to learn more about her heritage (even though she knows no one there, including said grandmother).

And our favorite cowboy, Lucas!! The banter between him and Avery was so good and you could just tell that he was so down bad for her even when they were bickering. My chest also ached when reading his story and I just wanted to give him a big hug.

There were some bumps here and there, but I loved seeing Avery’s character growth where she found her place that actually felt like a true home. She never gave up and always showed her hard work and determination and in return, found the best people in her life. I absolutely adored this one and look forward to seeing what’s next for Danica! Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review!

Avery Fox is a disgraced pop singer who tries to honor her Muscogee roots, but accidentally ends up sparking outrage. Lucas Iron Eyes is a hard working, thoughtful member of his community, and also smoking hot and the kind of cowboy that you want to ride if you are saving a horse to ride a cowboy. Put them together and this is a beautiful story about a woman learning about her family and her people by being in community with them, and in doing so, learning why it is so important to be present in the communities we call our own. The story telling here is gorgeous, and so are the characters, and I do need to also take a moment to give a shout out to my new favorite microtrope, only one tornado cellar, because, YEEHAW!!! It was a ride, in the best possible way. To tone down the thirst of this review for a just a moment, I loved how Avery's relationship with her grandmother grew, and how that eventually led to her also understanding her relationship with her mother. This book was funny, fun, sexy, and poignant, and I am so excited to get my copy of it when it releases!

Thank you to Danica Nava, Berkley, and Netgalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I appreciate indigenous representation in the romance genre and liked the main character here. It's clear that contemporary romance isn't for me, though. That said, I know romance readers in my store will like this book and I'll definitely buy it for the store and handsell to romance readers.

Such a touching romcom that is not just about the romance, but also about finding family, community, and identity. I loved the depiction of the horse ranch and the care with which the author gently explored Avery's Native American heritage. A fun and heartwarming read!

I read Danica Nava's first novel and knew I had to read this one so I was very grateful that I was able to get it through NetGalley! This book did not disappoint. I love the grumpy/sunshine hating-to-dating storyline! I also loved Avery's exploration of what family truly means. The only thing keeping it from being a 5 star review for me was that Avery found what family meant but it didn't feel like she really found out what it means to be Indigenous. She went to Oklahoma to find out why her photoshoot was so offensive (and to hide from the media) and Lucas promised to show her what it meant to be "Indian" but I feel like her culture wasn't explored the way it could have been. However, this was a funny, heartfelt, rom-com with a side of family issues and I'll be recommending it to library customers!

Danica Nava's second romance title pairs a canceled pop star and a grouchy ranch hand, who meet in Oklahoma while the former is laying low at her grandmother's ranch. Both are Muskogee, although Avery has no connection to her people and the current firestorm is about her participation in her label's cultural appropriation. While on the ranch, Lucas agrees to teach her about their community and, surprise, they fall for each other.
I don't read a lot of contemporary romance - the tropes and arcs are a little too obvious for me - but I find that Nava writes likeable characters AND the extra layer of representation adds a lot of interest. She has a platform with Berkeley and I appreciate that she's using it to explain ideas of representation and belonging to readers who might not have much prior knowledge. (Also, a book like The Indian Card would be a great deeper dive for people interested in enrollment, blood quantum, and other issues of tribal identity.)
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!

Avery and Lucas are my new OTP! It was super cool too see a perspective I am not super familiar with. Avery was incredibly strong and inspirational, and watching her reconnect with her roots was amazing. Lucas himself was such a great person, just so in tune with himself, but still became better with Avery. The way their stories intertwined was so perfect, they way they interacted was both wholesome and spicy, and I can't wait for more from Danica!

I have a book hangover after this, and I'm not mad about it :)

A cool concept and a cute story.

I would have loved this more if the usual dumb romcom barriers weren’t inserted so hamfistedly.
Avery was a great heroine and I loved her development and growth as she discovered herself and her heritage, but unfortunately Lucas was not as well developed and I needed more depth from him.
But I’m super happy to read a book with Native American characters written by a Native American author, those parts seemed so authentic and the cultural aspects were inserted so organically I loved them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the arc, these opinions are unbiased.

Love Is a War Song is a charming opposites-attract rom-com packed with culture, redemption, and sizzling chemistry. Avery Fox, a disgraced Muscogee pop star, finds herself at her grandmother’s ranch, where she clashes with the brooding cowboy Lucas Iron Eyes. Forced to work together to save the ranch, their reluctant partnership turns into an unexpected connection.

Danica Nava beautifully weaves themes of identity, belonging, and second chances into a heartfelt story with witty banter and emotional depth. While some moments feel predictable, the romance is electric, and the journey of self-discovery is compelling. A must-read for fans of forced proximity and slow-burn tension!

I really enjoyed this sophomore novel by Nava! She has such a way with internal character voices and really knows how to write nuanced female characters growing into themselves. I had hoped that Avery would grow a bit more and be able to truly stand up to her mom during the course of this book, but you can tell that she's going to keep growing so much in the coming years. My true only complaint is that I wish the book had taken place over a longer timeline. I wish Avery had been at the ranch for the whole summer and not a single month. I think that we could have seen so much more growth and connection between not just Avery and Lucas, but also between Avery and Lottie (maybe even between Avery and Hattie, too). Overall, though, this was a charming fish out of water celebrity/normal person romance that will be a great edition to your shelf!

If you live for the nostalgia of childhood movies like Hannah Montana the way I do, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!!!! A story filled with hilarity, heart, and an exploration of identity, Danica Nava’s cowboy x pop star romance is the perfect addition to the 2025 lineup of music centered love stories that I’ve been falling in love with 🥹

Avery Fox, childhood actor turned musician, finds herself in the eye of public scrutiny after her attempt to make a statement in a feather warbonnet on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine receives backlash. With nowhere else to turn, Avery hides out at her estranged grandmother Lottie’s horse ranch in Oklahoma- a place she’s never been, filled with family she’s never met. The perfect opportunity to get to know the Muscogee heritage she’s been accused of faking, Avery bides her time working on the ranch as she attempts to connect with a past she spent a lifetime in the dark about.

Between Lottie’s refusal to talk about what caused the decades long rift between her and Avery’s mother, and Lucas Iron Eyes, the (VERY attractive) ranch manager who hates everything Avery stands for, Avery struggles to find her way. When it comes to light that Lottie’s ranch is facing the threat of closure, Avery and Lucas must put aside their differences in order to save her family legacy.

One thing I love about Danica’s writing is the way she centers community and the idea that the mistakes you make are not the sum of your identity in her stories. Avery spent her entire life being told what to do and who she was, and her time in Oklahoma gave her a chance to step back and define that for herself. Despite the obstacles she faced, Avery still showed up each day, willing to learn more about life she missed out on as a child. The fact that the Broken Arrow community
embraced Avery, never making her feel like an outsider despite the world’s insistence that she doesn’t belong, made me incredibly happy to see 💚

AND LUCAS???? I LOVED their interactions so much, and the way he taught her little things about his life on the ranch despite his negative preconceptions of her. The way they fell into each other slowly as the story went on, even with their clear attraction to each other being immediate, felt like the perfect pacing for the story 🫶🏽

As one of my favorite reads of the year, this cements Danica as an autobuy author for me!

This was a beautiful exploration of culture and identity. I loved watching Avery grow to love and appreciate her heritage, while building tension and chemistry with Lucas. It was sprinkled with lighthearted, humorous moments and made me feel like I really knew the characters. I love a grumpy/sunshine trope as well. Can't wait to recommend this one!

Love is a War Song is a heartwarming romance by Danica Nava. I enjoyed the characters, Avery and Lucas, and the play on the Western/cowboy/Native American theme. I liked that Avery's journey involved learning about and connecting with her culture and her family and that her social media disgrace was not a downfall, but a new beginning.

The romance was lovely, but I think I connected more with the romance in Nava's last book, The Truth According to Ember.

Thoughtful explorations of identity are surfacing more and more in today's books and I am here for it. This felt a little "young" for adult readers (re: tone, not age of protags) but it was a pleasant and enjoyable read.

First of all- this cover is absolutely stunning.

Also, I loved Nava's first novel so I had high expectations for this one and it did not disappoint. I will happily read every book she writes.

Ok, here is my review:

Pop star and actress Avery Fox is on the brink of superstardom when an ill-advised magazine cover where she’s styled in a feathered headdress incites intense public backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation despite her indigenous heritage. Facing cancellation and receiving death threats, her mother sends her to her grandmother's horse ranch in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to lay low until the controversy dies down. The problem is that Avery has never met anyone in her family and she knows nothing about the Muskogee culture her mother was raised in.

As she begins to connect with her culture and family for the first time, she finds herself fiercely drawn to Lucas Iron Eyes, a handsome but surly ranch hand. But they both know that this is just a temporary stop in her high profile celebrity life, making a future together impossible.

This grumpy sunshine romance is set wonderfully in a scenic small western town and offers plenty of laugh out loud moments balanced with tender scenes, and is rounded out with a cast of loveable characters. Readers will fall hard for Nava’s steamy romcom brimming with themes of family, community, belonging, and Native representation.

As a former horse girl, there is a special place in my heart for any romance that features horses, especially when the MMC is great with them! So obviously when I realized Danica wrote a pop princess meets horse ranch cowboy, I was immediately interested.

Pop star Avery Fox makes some pretty big mistakes thanks to bad guidance from her team and her own naiveté and finds herself unceremoniously shipped out to her grandmother’s ranch in Oklahoma to wait out the media storm. I really liked how Danica handled this and showed how complicated it can be for indigenous folks to navigate their own heritage in the modern era when so many aren’t necessarily close to their culture through community for one reason or another. Avery’s mistakes are cringe-worthy, yes, but you quickly see and understand what led to those choices. There’s also some great commentary embedded in her arc on child entertainment stars and how hard they work / what they go through when they’re really just kids.

Needless to say, when she arrives in Oklahoma, Avery is more than a little bit spoiled and lot out of touch with her heritage. Lucas, our resident hot cowboy, is thoroughly unimpressed and doesn’t hold back on letting her know how he feels. Yet as they work together and get to know each other, they also begin to understand each other. The slow burn of the romance perfectly suited the story, and I am ALWAYS going to be a sucker for “oh no we’re caught in a storm we must take shelter together” trope. (That it’s Oklahoma and tornado weather just makes my stormchaser heart a little extra happy!)