While I liked the story and I loved the Indigenous characters, this book gave me so much anxiety. The whole time I was waiting for everything to fall apart. That, I think, was Danica Nava's intention but it makes the book a more complex than just a romance. I hope that this is marketed correctly and deliberately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this absolute delight of a debut novel.

The Truth According to Ember is a romantic comedy that handles generational trauma and cultural appropriation in a way that I do not think I have seen represented in a Native-told story before. The author remarked "Where are all the native romances?" and I asked the same thing. Nava lays out the story using a single POV (honestly not done often enough in the romance genre) from Ember. The main character has applied for jobs to try and move on up in the world to prove herself. After rejection after rejection, she concludes that maybe it's her on paper that is stopping her from getting where she wants to be. So begins the lies. Ember lies her way into her dream job and then some. Not to mention the literally Native Daddy of her dreams. But at what cost will her lies be? At what point will it be too much? The author mentions at the end of the book that a lot of what Ember went through was actual things she dealt with in her life. Reading this at the end of the book hit me with maximum impact. It's awful and it's real. Big congratulations to Nava on her debut - I can't wait to see what's next.

Themes: forced proximity, happily ever after, he falls first, forbidden romance

This is long overdue in the romance space, but it is thrilling to see a Chickasaw author published by a major publishing house!!!! I’ve never read a romcom between Native characters and I’d like more please!

💜 fresh, funny, and romantic slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, workplace romance (with a very kind and dreamy MMC)
💻  wonderful characters navigating a balance of real-world Indigenous, gendered, and class dynamics with humor, delightful antics, and a HEA
🚙 a funny and sweet story that also touches on the real trauma that indigenous communities face, as well as examples of everyday racist and sexist microaggressions + harmful cultural assimilation

Ember dreams of leaving the de-clogging of bowling alley bathroom toilets behind and becoming an accountant in Oklahoma City! But after her brother skipped bail (demolishing her college savings), the dream of financial stability through education now seems like a distant mirage. After 37 job rejections, Ember decides to …embellish… her resumé and stretch the truth a tad. This little white lie lands her a job in downtown OKC, and she is quickly thrown into a toxic corporate workplace full of hostile, bigoted, cutthroat conditions. To make matters even more complicated… there’s the (devastatingly hot) IT guy, Danuwoa (who is off-limits). How is Ember going to keep up with the web of lies??? When is she going to STOP lying!?

This story had the charm of a sweet YA coming-of-age story but with a couple of steamy scenes full of very adult spice! I loved Ember; she is so strong and relatable, and it was quite a trip to witness her navigate the workplace politics of her first office job (which strongly resembles the sadly all-too-familiar toxic environment that we’ve all been in). Danuwoa was the perfect book boyfriend, even as loveably-frustrating Ember’s fibs snowball into an avalanche.

Pre-order the first OwnVoices Native American romcom to be published by a major publishing house, out August 6!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the representation in this one! It was SO refreshing and I definitely will read more by this author in the future. But sadly the FMC tendency to lie got a bit out of hand and distracted me from the rest of the story. That aside, it was a fun read!

This is definitely a solid debut which puts my rating at a 3.5. The Truth According to Ember is a single POV funny romcom featuring Native American protagonists in Oklahoma. The female main character Ember is stuck in an underpaying job with unfinished college credits. She feels backed into a corner to lie about her ethnic identity, work experience, and college degree on her job applications to be approved for a interview. When she makes it into a corporate job assisting in the accounting department she meets the man of her dreams, Danuwoa. Ember feels overwhelmed though as her amount of lies increase and she can't keep her story straight, but she feels compelled to share her ugly truths with Danuwoa. As Ember wrestles with her flaws and past family trauma, she seeks to find stability and let herself love and be loved by her community.

The book shines with a great cast of characters and intriguing use of existing tropes like forced proximity, etc. A huge standout is Ember's eccentric best friend Joanna. Also, the book strikes a great balance between romcom absurdity and realism. There are a lot of moments that speaks to Indigenous, female, and class experiences that are coupled with the absurdity of great joke or just hilarious circumstances brought on the nature of Ember's lies. This also speaks to the book as two romances - one with Danuwoa and one within Ember herself. Ember has to love herself before she can love Danuwoa. There are a lot of themes and moments that more or less get their moment within this book, but with further iterations of the author's work I believe they will have the opportunity to focus on less and flesh these themes out more regarding parental abandonment, community responsibility, presentation outside of your ethnic community, etc.

There's only a couple things that I struggled with the book - one, I believe this book needs a prologue and two, the propensity of "show telling". The main reason I believe this book needs a prologue is that Ember brings a lot of past trauma to our entry point as readers. When we meet her she has a tumultuous relationship with her brother Sage that occurs before the story begins. Because, we never see the actual moment that leads to Ember and Sage's falling out and how it derailed her career and personal goals, it skews the readers viewpoint of their interactions on the page. Most times I felt that Ember was too harsh with Sage. Many times I felt that there was no love at all in their relationship as siblings up until the epilogue. At times, Joanna or Ember's Auntie would point out her harsh perception of Sage, but she never apologizes or considers the hurt that she's impacting on him even when she reveals that he cannot change her viewpoint until he pays her back (an act that will take a long time/she doesn't think he will able to do at all). I believe seeing and feeling the emotions Ember goes through when Sage betrays her that I will be on the journey with her to trust Sage again. On the note of "show telling" is a trend I see in a lot of debut authors because their intended audience is very broad at the beginning of their career. What I mean by this term is that for example in this book it will show you a bout of misogyny and then explain what misogyny occurred, why it's pervasive, and how the audience should see this interaction. This is only a problem for me is that I'm bringing my own experiences to this book that may have experience these moments the author is explaining, so it comes off redundant. I gave those moments grace for the reasons I previously stated but it does hurt the momentum I had reading the book.

All in all, I love the fun, crazy energy of this book. At moments, I wanted to give Ember a hug and other times just throw a sock in her mouth so she would stop lying. It's been awhile I've read a single POV romance, but I didn't find myself missing the male POV at all. It was refreshing to get a cheesy romcom that had all the stress and tension of real-life problems thrown into the mix. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

Ember and Dans story was cute. A solid rom com if that’s what you’re looking for. Loved the native representation - I could have lived without some of the comments. I love it when the reader is shown the difficulty, and the disparity. It didn’t take away from the story but it would lead my mind to stray at those points.

Ember is tired— tired of her dead-end job at the bowling alley, of being broke, and never getting ahead as a Chickasaw woman. So what does she do? She lies… just a little at first, but as these lies pile up and things start looking up, how can Ember be real (with hot IT off-limits Danuwoa, for instance) if she's built a wall of lies around her?

Emotional, witty and tender, this debut rom-com about a Native American couple is a perfect workplace romance!

I was very interested to read this one, and was definitely hooked by the premise pretty early on. There’s always something so fun in reading about a forbidden workplace romance! This is a pretty strong debut, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Danica Nava does next.

Ember’s voice is so strong throughout this novel, for better or worse. On the one hand, I loved getting such a clear picture so early on about who Ember is and what’s important to her. On the other, there comes a point where she continues making some wild choices that she knows are going to go awry, and she just keeps going. It’s true to character, but it was so frustrating at some points to just watch her acknowledge how it would end poorly and doing it anyway, and when the growth comes it’s all of a sudden as opposed to steady character development. I wanted to see more of Joanna and to see their friendship more, which I think could’ve been exhibited if Ember talked to her about any of these things.

Danuwoa was a great romantic lead, and it was so fun watching him and Ember fall into each other, but this is also where my biggest challenges come in. Ember’s character development I can move past for sure and the challenges I had there didn’t totally take away from the reading for me. What did take me away from the reading was the dialogue. So much of it was so, so cringy and a lot of it was hard to get through. It was often clunky and didn’t feel like how a person would really speak sometimes. The biggest cringe point for me was from one of Ember’s inner thoughts during a spicy scene, where she thinks “I was a Slip ‘n Slide down there.”. I really just couldn’t get past that one.

Where Nava’s writing really shines is when Ember is feeling particularly strong emotions. Those come across so well on the page, and I found myself wanting to punch Gary and Mr. Stevenson right along with Ember feeling filled with anger at the white men she is forced to deal with. The shining star moment is when Ember puts a coworker in their place towards the end. These moments are also the ones where we get the full depth of Ember’s character and her feelings about the world trying to squash her Native identity.

Overall, the plot was fun and I love a good love story, but I’m more excited to see how Danica Nava grows as a writer and to see what she does next. 3.5⭐️

4.5 rounded to 5 stars

This is an enjoyable and well done contemporary romantic comedy. It was the first romance novel I’ve read with two Native American main characters, which, sadly, will probably be the case for a lot of readers, given the under-representation of native groups in contemporary romance novels.

This book is a love story at its core, and Dan and Ember’s Native American backgrounds deepen that story.

I was frustrated with Ember at points because she told SO many lies. While this is a key part of the plot and character development, it started to feel outlandish.

Overall, Danica Nava wrote a sweet, low angst contemporary workplace rom com. I definitely recommend it as both a delightful rom com and a much needed and refreshing look inside some of today’s Native American communities.

i am so similar to ember because i am also a compulsive liar but also a good person. the truth according to ember was a truly amazing and ingrained a lot of indigenous culture while also existing in a colonized world, and on top of that add in an amazing romance. from what i've heard this is the first trad published romance novel with two indigenous main characters. i'm really excited for everything that is to come from danica nava!!

This was pretty darn delightful. Ember was kind of a hot mess but she also had a really good heart. And Danuwoa, well he was a dreamboat and I loved every moment with him. The two of them had great chemistry right from their first meeting and I adored the sweetness between them. There was a lot going on in the third act but I thought it was all handled well. At the end of the day I was really rooting for Ember and Danuwoa and loved seeing them get their HEA.

What an amazing romcom!! We need more!!! This had me smiling, kicking my feet, and squealing. I love Embers character and her sense of humor. The characters were easy to like and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone!

We’ve all told some white lies in our lives to help us get where we need to go. Ember Cardinal is a Native American women living in Oklahoma. All she wants in this life is to be able to finish school and become an accountant. In reality, things are starting to feel hopeless. She's constantly stuck in survival mode, working at the local bowling alley just to make a living and save money to go to school. When her brother causes her to lose all her school savings, she decides that she can't continue to live that life. When Ember decides to tell a white lie to land her dream job, the lies continue and become harder to keep track of. They all seem harmless until she risks her new job and losing someone that has come to mean so much to her.

I LOVE this book. It is so funny, romantic, and heartwarming. Ember is hilarious, I love that she cares so much about those around her and she’s really just trying to make it in this world. I love the representation of indigenous Native American groups. It was such a great book. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Danica Nava for the opportunity to read this book!

Some good, but mostly bad.

Indigenous representation is cool, and it's so cool to hear that this is the first book published by a large publisher by an Indigenous author. What I really liked was also how Ember being Indigenous doesn't mean an automatic entry into the job industry. I think, quite often, nowadays people think that there's an advantage to being BIPOC, when in reality the minority groups are still at a disadvantage. Ember's lie about being Caucasian (cause she is, but only half) wasn't something that bothered me and instead something I could sympathize with. It's something done for the sake of passing, for the sake of having an advantage and not being looked down upon. I also liked Danuwoa enough to have a good impression of him. He's proud, but also vulnerable; his personality contradicted with Ember's but in a good way. I loved their opposite dynamics, different personality types, and differences in how each one approaches their own personal struggles.

That being said, I was not a fan of Ember in the slightest, and when the main character is difficult to connect with or root for, my enjoyment is minimal. I couldn't help but get so much second hand embarrassment for how she acted, for her constant lying, with no remorse to what she was doing and saying. Her attitude felt childish at times as well, making me think she was younger than she actually was. The dialogue and inner monologue did not help, as I think it made it worse with how Ember was not willing to change how she was acting (not until the end, at least, which makes sense considering the third act conflict). Some of the lying she did was too out of hand, unnecessary, and was just done out of her sake, for her benefit, without any thought about who else it would affect. I wasn't able to connect with her and found her annoying, childish, and unavailable. It's as if she needed to get her life together first and settled, and then worry about other people or things in her life. Instead it was as if everything was just coming together at her once and she only focused on what she wanted. I also think she lacked character development. It was as if she took a full 360, from being manipulated and giving in to the toxic workplace environment so suddenly feeling like she has had enough. This would be great and all had we seen this transition being done, meaning we would see this development slowly unfold, watching her slowly take in hear surroundings and slowly realize how bad it is.

I didn't feel anything for the romance. Once again, I think Ember was unavailable, and I think her feelings were mostly based off physical attraction for Danuwoa and now much on the emotional side. The forbidden aspect of being coworkers and having feelings for each other felt irrelevant, hardly plausible, as if the author didn't really know what side to take the story in. There wasn't any tension, and most of it was mostly physical, which didn't help the lack of chemistry I was feeling.

All in all, there is potential but it all fell so flat for me, everything was dull, and the characters were not really likable, the romance was lacking, and everything from the writing, to the plot, to the lack of development had no spark.

I love a good rom-com that doesn't shy away from discussing real life issues, and I feel that this book did it well. It balanced the humour and the more serious topics well.

Ember was a bit of chaotic for me. I have never had to worry about whether or not my ethnicity would be a factor in me not getting a job, so I can't know what I would do when faced with her situation. So I can definitely understand why she initially listed her ethnicity as Caucasian instead of Native on her job application! However, the anxiety she put me through with all her unnecessary lies and fibs was too much. I just kept shaking my head, thinking to myself.. "how in the hell will you sustain this long-term and keep all these lies straight?!"

Danuwoa is literal perfection. He is strong, steady and kind.

If it weren't for Ember making increasingly chaotic choices, I might have loved this more.. but it just felt a little unbelievable that she could lie herself into her job so easily (in terms of qualifications not her ethnicity) and the anxiety it all gave me was too much.

Honestly, there is no way she could have taught herself everything she did with just a few internet searches. I work admin in an accounting firm, and it's definitely not that easy..

overall though, I loved the story. I loved the discussions on racial inequity and racism, not just in the work place, but in every aspect of life.

and I just loved the sweet romance.

I can't believe this was a debut either!!

Ember is trying to get some stability in her life. Tired of working in a run-down bowling alley for poverty wages, she aspires to get a salaried job in an office. But when her applications keep getting ignored, she gets creative and lies about her educational attainment and ethnicity. Her strategy proves successful- when she submits an application that identifies herself as white rather than Native, and claiming she possesses an accounting degree -she promptly gets her dream job.

But now Ember can’t stop lying, not even when she meets the hot IT guy at the office, Danuwoa who she immediately falls for. Danuwoa seems to like her despite all her lies, but romantic relationships violate company policy, and Ember can’t risk losing her job and the security it affords her.

Struggling to keep up with corporate culture, forced to endure racist microagressions, and denying her growing love for Danuwoa proves to be challenging. The challenge becomes insurmountable when Ember falls victim to a blackmailer who exploits her dishonesty.

With relatable storylines about identity, family, and self-worth, and endearing characters, this steamy romcom is a strong debut and a must-have for Romance collections of all sizes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and the author for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Truth According to Ember follows a young Native American woman struggling to find her feet after a familial betrayal. A series of rejections for office jobs leads her to a drastic decision - she lies on her resume, checking the “white” ethnicity box and claiming that she has completed her degree. At the same time, she meets Danuwoa, the man of her dreams. Juggling her big and small lies while trying to build a relationship proves to be very difficult!

I absolutely flew through this book! Ember’s choices were frustrating at times, but all too relatable. Her perspective as a Native American woman living in Oklahoma is so needed in the romance space. I was also pleasantly surprised by how deep this book went into issues of family dynamics and micro (and macro)-aggressions. I would actually say the romance came second to the personal growth of the main character, which was unexpected but not unwelcome!

I really enjoyed this debut and can’t wait to see what this author puts out next!

I love forbidden romance so I was immediately drawn to the premise of The Truth According to Ember. And when I realized I had never read a Native American romance, I knew I had to read this one. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Great story, great romance, great spice. Add it to your bookshelves or request it from your library immediately.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Truth According to Ember follows Ember, a Chickasaw woman who, despite life beating her down again and again, is determined to make a place for herself in the world. A place with stability, financial security, and peace. However, when one white lie snowballs into an avalanche, she finds herself buried. With a new job, an off-limits office smoke show named Danuwoa, and too many lies to track, Ember must learn how to find herself amidst the person she presents to the world, and the person she actually is.

I was so pleasantly surprised with this book. The premise sounded fun, as I am one to love an office romance, but this was so much more than that. It is a story that touches on systemic racism, sexism, familial healing, and childhood traumas. Between layers of humor and love there were poignant moments of grief and heartache and anger, and all of it felt so well done. The author truly did a beautiful job with Ember's character- her emotions were palpable, and the introspections she provided felt so real. There were very real parts of her childhood- poverty, parental separation, and addiction especially - that hit rather closely to home, and Danica presented them in a way that felt healing, and for that I thank her.

Amidst the heavier themes, there was so much humor to this book. I was actually laughing out loud while reading, and watching the friendship, and then subsequent relationship, evolve between Ember and Danuwoa was so precious. Their moments of joking together, of ragging on each other, made their attraction for each other that much more believable. The chemistry between them was absolutely there, and the whole time I was rooting for them to find their happy ending.

AND THE SPICE. Wowwww, Danica certainly knows how to write some steamy scenes to make you blush. Danuwoa is ultimate book boyfriend material and I was most definitely swooning over his dirty mouth and giving attitude. I mean, he is certainly not one to leave his partner wanting, and we love to see it.

The ending felt so perfect to me, and seeing Ember finally find her path, with her community and family beside her, was a beautiful way to wrap it up. Oh, and the POS white finance bro getting his was a definite plus, too.
Overall, this was an amazing read and I CANNOT wait for more from this author. She made me laugh, cry, swoon, and race to the finish so I could see these little babes happy and in love. I highly recommend if you are looking for a romance to make you feel ALL the feels.

A much needed #OwnVoices Indigenous love story and a love letter to romcoms.

Summary:
Ember is DONE plunging bowling alley toilets.

Losing her college savings when her brother skipped bail, Ember's modest dreams of becoming an accountant have never seemed farther. She needs an education to get a stable job, but needs money to get career training; there's no winning. After 37 rejected job applications, she decides to embellish her resume... just a little bit!

When her little white lie lands Ember an accounting position at Technix, it seems like a dream come true. Ember is good at her job, and quickly gains notice from upper management. But the corporate environment is hostile, bigoted, and cutthroat; Ember has never felt like more of an outsider. Her situation is further complicated when she starts to fall for hot IT guy Danuwoa--especially since Technix forbids relationships with coworkers. As one fib turns into many, Ember finds it harder and harder to keep up with all her lies.

Review:
I am not typically a romcom lover, but this book drew me in and I really enjoyed it!

Though there is the dreaded third-act breakup and at times I wanted to scream at my book "STOP LYING!!!" I thought The Truth According to Ember was a really well executed romcom and endearing story.

Danica Nava writes in her Author's Note about how her own experiences inspired the novel--the bias Native Americans face in hiring, the significant impact social privilege has in determining who stays financially wealthy and who must fight to even get a foot in the door, the nastiness and hostility people of marginalized backgrounds must then endure in the workplace to keep those jobs.

The Truth According to Ember is enjoyable in the way that good, classic, memorable romcoms should be, yet also an important book. The first half of the novel truly shines. Nava's writing is exceptionally funny, yet Ember's story also reflects the real trauma and challenges Indigenous communities face (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, chronic illness, access to resources and opportunities, cultural appropriation). And while Ember's actions are sometimes incredibly frustrating, it's so significant to have a romance where an Indigenous woman can just be messy and have a happy ending.

Tropes and Details:
-Chickasaw and Cherokee representation
-OwnVoices
-forbidden romance
-workplace romance
-romcom
-secret identity
-third act breakup

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.