4 Stars

I loved this heroine in all her messy and lying glory. She is flawed but so relatable and I just adored how her own conflict resolved itself thanks to her hard work on fixing the issue. And her love interest? 🥵🔥

Ember may have *lied* on her resume and application to get this accounting job, but who is going to blame her when all of her other applications get rejected thanks to one tiny ethnicity box.... American Indian or Alaska Native. She finally decides that she will claim her white father and put that she is caucasian and see what happens. Oh, and maybe tell a small fib about having finished her accounting program, when really she couldn't finish because her brother effed up and it lost Ember her savings that paid for school. And speaking of school, she ALMOST finished so let's just tell employers that she did. And her reference? Her BFF. WHO HASN"T LIED ON A RESUME AND WHY NOT MAKE IT WORK FOR HER?

Too bad these small lies end up snowballing into one big fiasco that she has to carefully navigate as she falls in love, finally gets ahead financially, and starts paving the way for a brighter future for her and those she loves. But all lies eventually catch up, and Ember's are starting to break through, possibly destroying everything she has worked hard for.

I found Ember to be entirely relatable and I just loved her while also wanting to shake her and be like GIRL NO DON'T. It's like a horror movie, knowing shit is about to hit the fan and there is nothing you can do to stop it. But what I really appreciated was how the author showed us the reality of these lies crashing down around Ember and how she was able to struggle through fixing them. There was accountability and that is often lacking.

But we were here for the romance, and let me tell you.. it's hot. Its somewhat forbidden, it's full of tension, and let's just say we get a steamy "can you fix the copier" hook up. Danuwoa, our swoony MMC, is so hot and dreamy and honestly an all around dirty-talking cinnamon roll of a man.

While handling so many pertinent topics of injustices in the workplace, this book also deftly handles topics of micro-aggressions, racism, prejudice and in the Native American community, not only in Oklahoma, but nationwide. There was plenty of moments of joy and beauty within the Chickasaw and Cherokee communities featured in this story. I appreciated the author inviting us into these moments and teaching us more about them. And I'm sure these communities who are often underrepresented and often left out of romance appreciate the way she so personally featured these communities. Her author's note was enlightening and I appreciate her vulnerability in making this story.

I loved every moment and couldn't get enough and think this would make an excellent Netflix romcom. It was so cinematic and gave me moments of Ugly Betty mixed with The Proposal and Space Cadet.

Indigenous romance by a major publisher? YES, FINALLY! I enjoyed this office, friends to lovers romance (yes, there's also one bed thrown in there). I read this in one day. My one caveat was Ember constantly lying. I get it, it's part of the plot, but girl you are 25! Stop!

All in all I cannot wait for Danica's next book. I need this one to be a movie like today.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this arc of The Truth According to Ember.

Unfortunately, this was not the novel for me. I went into this really loving what I saw from the description and the beautiful cover. The beginning had me hooked but once I got to the 40% mark, I felt myself losing interest and honestly getting annoyed with the lies from the female mc, Ember. I get that's basically what this is about and its her thing to do, but so many of her lies were so unnecessary and I wish she was just more true to herself, rather than be ashamed. But I wont completely fault her, I know she had to do what should could, while dealing with the pressures of life and those around her.

I will say, the banter between her and the male mc, Danuwoa and some of the office workers was a nice touch. I loved the Native American representation and I hope to see more of that in the future in romance novels. Even though this may not have been the story for me, I think so many people will genuinely enjoy it. It gives you an office trope, witty humor and of course romance!

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

This book is freaking fabulous and I loved it. Is Ember a hot mess who could've owned up to her lies far earlier? Yes! But she was scared and insecure and I freaking GET that. And despite that first lie, what was true was that Ember worked her absolute ass off at her job, supported her family, and fell for her hot officemate. And at the end of the book, I felt like Ember really grew out of telling white lies about things she was embarrassed about and went after her goals. Also Danuwoa is sexy as hell and gives peak DADDY energy. Like DAAAAAAAMN. I also really enjoyed the discussion of money and indigenous representation throughout.

Danica Nava, what a debut!

Ember’s story brings a whole new meaning to the term Pretendian! I have been looking forward to this novel since it was announced and was so happy when I was finally approved for an ARC. I read it in two days! Indigenous representation is so important to me and Native main characters are severely lacking in most genres, but it was so refreshing to encounter them in a romantic comedy. I need more! As such, I hold any Native centered media to a higher standard, but Nava did wonderfully!

Ember’s story is definitely a slow burn for those needing a romance that builds in a realistic way. I mean seriously, it is a slow burn. Nothing physical or spicy happened until I hit the 62% mark in my Kindle. Everything prior had just been flirtatious with one almost kiss. But this added to the charm. Sadly, it did lend itself to a semi-rushed final act. But everything is so incredibly well written, I forgive Nava for any plot or pacing issues. Nava’s characters are so lifelike. She did exceptionally well writing 3-dimensional characters that bring gravitas to the novel. I wanted these characters to be a part of my own family. All the Indigenous cultural infusion was just icing on the cake as well. Well handled and seamlessly integrated into the story and writing style. I am proud of the representational work that Nava has crafted here!

The only true critique I had of this novel lies with the abundant usage of modern Native tropes that are starting to become stereotypical. If you didn’t know you were reading a novel about Indigenous characters, apparently using “Shitass”, “Skoden”, and chin pointing will surely make it as clear as Creator’s sky. The implication being that all Native people use these idioms, which is not true in the slightest. This is more so a personal peeve of mine as a Native person, and by no means am I claiming the author is doing something wrong.

However, this does toe the line of stereotyping Native people, which ironically, Ember call's out other Native stereotypes several times throughout the novel. While not overtly harmful and most likely not even an issue with the average reader, those of us familiar with Native centered media know that usage of these idioms has increased over the last few years. Mostly in-part thanks to the success of Reservation Dogs on Hulu. My worry is that the more people hear these things, the more they will be used and become a part of Indigenous stereotyping. There are more ways to articulate your character is Indigenous than using slang heard on a tv show.

3.5 ⭐️
The Truth According to Ember is a fun debut novel about Ember, a Native American down on her luck. The story was entertaining and even though it wasn't as polished as I would have liked, the heart of the story was good.

~~What I liked~~
-The plot was interesting, it was easy to read, and the pacing was good. I enjoyed this light-hearted book featuring a Native American FMC. As the author was also indigenous, it was eye opening to see things from a different perspective.
-The characters were well-written. The entire book is from Ember's POV and while she does spend quite a bit of time not being honest, it is obvious why she makes her choices. Danuwoa is a great book BF, even if we don't know a lot about him.
-I really enjoyed Ember's attitude of not giving up throughout the book. She had a lot of things that were standing in her way, but she didn't quit and by the end I was glad she was able to get her HEA.
-That cover! It, along with the blurb, was what had me totally psyched to read this book.

~~What I didn't liked~~
-While the book was easy to read, the writing lacked the polished feel that I was expecting. Stylistically it didn't sit well with me.
-I know it is part of the story, but the amount of lies that Ember tells is staggering. So many that at times I didn't feel bad for what happened to her.
-I felt like we really got to know Ember, but there was so much missing from Danuwoa's story.
-Disclaimer: I have not ever worked in a corporate environment. That said, some of the shenanigans Ember gets into seemed OTT.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining and I'm glad I got my HEA.

This is my first Indigenous romance novel, and it didn’t disappoint! The Truth According to Ember follows the main character, Ember, as she uses a few “white lies” to land a job beyond her professional experience, navigate corporate America, and impress her new heartthrob coworker, Danuwoa.

The Truth According to Ember reminded me of a modern day, Indigenous version of Jane Austen’s infamous Emma. Pure in intention, Ember (like Emma) embarks on a comedy of errors that makes the reader cringe in secondhand embarrassment and laugh out loud at how relatable she is.

Nava does a great job building the story’s tension and using it to propel the reader forward as we question “will they or won’t they?” Nava also excels at depicting the experiences we as Natives have in relation to non-Natives who simply don’t understand (and don’t bother to learn) about their casual racism and cultural misappropriation. I really appreciated the “inside jokes” element to this book that only we as citizens of Indian Country would understand.

Ultimately, this is a fun novel and a perfect summer beach read. Hayu masi to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy. The Truth According to Ember will be published on August 6, 2024.

I DNF’d at 49%.

I wanted to like this book, and did appreciate the native representation. I can understand why Ember lied on her resume to get a job, and I was rooting for her from a professional standpoint. I think I would have really loved Danuwoa if I was able to finish. *Native Daddy🔥 and a cat dad?? Say less!

Ember’s excessive and unnecessary lies are what’s stopping me from enjoying the book, and are the reason why I’m stopping. It’s reached a point where the white lies aren’t even related to helping her keep her job. I somewhat understood lying about her car and where she lived to go with the image of a person who had work experience before this job (ie had a real salary), but why lie about loving cats? Why lie about having a boyfriend because you have a crush on someone in the office? This was really immature to me, and ultimately the problem is probably more that this was too New Adult for me.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for a chance to read an advance copy!

Ember Cardinal has worked her entire life without financial security. When an opportunity presents itself for a new job, she jumps at and while filling out the application clicks the ‘Caucasian’ box…technically it’s not a lie, her father is white and no one has to know.

That is the first lie of many that Ember finds herself stuck in. I usually don’t like books where the whole plot is technically miscommunication and lies but I did thoroughly enjoy this book. Ember could be a bit immature at times but you could clearly see that all she wanted in life is something for herself and for that, I can respect it. I do wish it was dual-pov because Danuwoa was HOT and I wanted to see inside of his mind so I hope the author chooses to do dual-pov later down the road!

I felt like the first half of the book dragged on a bit, but as soon as the spicy scenes hit. Gurlll they HIT 🥵
I was gagged actually when Danuwao started dirty talking and it didn’t help that I was reading in a car and had to stop right before the best part. I lovvveeed those scenes and felt like they were very well written. Hehehe….

I can appreciate the ending when all of her lies came to surface and she didn’t end up with what she wanted. Sometimes I feel like in books like this the MFC doesn’t get many consequences to their actions and Ember did. Maybe I’m a cynic but I just appreciated the realness of it all.

Overall I really did like this book and will totally be purchasing it for myself when it comes out and can’t wait to see what else the author writes! Being able to see more native representation in the rom-com genre is such a cool thing and I hope more books get published with characters like Ember and Danuwoa!♥️

I really enjoyed this debut, and I'm thrilled to see a book by a Native author with Native main characters being published by a major romance imprint. Despite all of lying and the messes her lies got her into (I was STRESSED in the second half of this book), Ember was so easy to root for as a protagonist. I love a workplace romance, and this one between Ember and Danuwoa was excellently done. It was tropey in the best way. I also thought all of the side characters, especially Ember's friends and family, were fleshed out and contributed something to the story as opposed to just being there to move the main plot along. All in all, I'm glad this book exists and I definitely think it's worth picking up!

thank you to the publisher for sending a digital review copy my way via Netgalley!

The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
Release Date: 8/6/24
Format: ebook/audio hybrid
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a cute debut novel by Danica Nava! This book is very lighthearted and has a very comical tone, but still addresses some deeper issues of being an Indigenous and trying to be treated equally or with respect in the US. There are also great themes of the weight of familial responsibility despite being young for both of our main characters which added great depth.

The romance in this novel is adorable and I really loved the MMC Danuwoa especially. His character felt incredibly genuine and real. Our FMC Ember had the best of intentions but her decisions and fibs continued to make me anxious! Despite this, I was constantly rooting for them anyway! There is a little steam in this one but nothing crazy!

If you are looking for a charming and quick read with a good dose of humor, I highly recommend checking this book out! Big thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Ember has big dreams of lviing and working in Okalhoma City, she wants to distance herself from her hometown of Ada. She starts stretching the truth and suddenly everything starts going her way. But lying in hard…especically when you meet and work with the most handsome man you have ever seen.

I absolutely loved this indigenous romance…we need more!!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for a copy. This was on my MUST READ list since the day I saw Danica post about it on twiiter

Thank you @BerkleyRomance #Berkley #BerkleyPartner for the free book and to @PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

When Ember keeps getting passed over in her job search, she decides to lie on her application and resume. She denies her native heritage and pretends to more education and experience than she has.

I knew the general set-up of the book would feature Ember lying. It's even clear from the title. However, I was still taken aback by just how frequently she lied and about how many aspects of her life. It didn't bug me as miscommunication because her love interest, Danuwoa, seemed in on many of the lies. He typically could tell she wasn't honest. But I still cringed as the lies continued. Potentially because of all the dishonesty, she seemed younger and less serious than him, making it tough for me to see them as compatible. But they had good chemistry, and the book was steamy.

The book was beautifully written. I was thrilled to read a book with such good native representation. Ember is part of the Chickasaw tribe, and Danuwoa is Cherokee. The book differentiated them clearly from those who pretend to and appropriate native heritage and culture. And the microaggressions were horrifying while also being completely believable.

The audiobook narrator, Siena East, sounded quite young. That might have contributed to my sense that Ember seemed especially young. That sense lessened when I switched from the audio format.

*3.75

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the Free E-Arc!

I am so happy to see that Native Romances are being written, this is so incredibly important and I only hope that this genre continues to grow and flourish .

This book serves as a great romcom with some of our favorite romance tropes, forbidden romance + office romance.

I think this book is not only a great romcom but one that is also not afraid to be real. Ember, the FMC of this novel experiences several micro and macro aggressions in a work office setting. We see Ember struggle in her work at first and trying to find her own voice but as the book continues we see her confidence grow not only in her work but in her own personal life as well.

Danuwoa, the mmc of this book isn't afraid to love loudly. Which I found really endearing, my favorite thing about his character was how he loved Ember regardless of what anyone said. He truly could see her for who she was and her worth which was so special to see.

I did enjoy this book but there were a couple things that didn't really hit the mark for me, mostly revolving around Ember and her lying habit. She would sometimes lie over the tiniest things such as loving cats when in reality she has a cat allergy and not a fan of them at all. Ember even expresses confusion behind lying about the smallest of things which to me didn't really make sense.

I understand that all human are flawed and sometimes we use white lies to hide things about ourselves that we are insecure about. But Ember's lying thru the book was a bit of a anxiety inducing reaction on my end. (This does get cleared up in the end and talked about which is a win of sorts).

regardless of that, I do believe this to be a good book and def one worth reading!

I chose this book solely on the cover and the fact it was about a Native American couple written by a. Active American author. I haven’t read an Indigenous RomCom before (more like fantasy, YA, and literary fiction). This is the author’s debut and it was a decent but not perfect first novel. I adored the Native American representation, language, and the references to micro aggressions as well as blatant racism. I felt the book was trying to do too much at once and could have been more focused. And as someone with extreme anxiety, I had great difficulty with parts of the storyline. I didn’t quite feel the romance between the main characters. That said, I adored the character growth and it was satisfying to get to a happy ending.

This is a cute and fun rom com from from a debut author. Some of the physical humor didn’t appeal to me, but I’m sure other readers will enjoy it..

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️ I loved this so much and I couldn’t put this one down! Did I have major anxiety and some second hand embarrassment any time Ember lied? 100%. But I was on the edge of my seat and had to know what happened next. There was so much humor and little things between Ember and Joanna had me laughing so much and I found myself relating to their antics a lot.

Anyways, the chemistry and teasing between Ember and Danuwoa was EVERYTHING. I’d click on scam emails if it meant he would be the one to fix my computer 🥴 I love a good forbidden workplace romance and couldn’t stop giggling over them.

This is full of banter and tension, but also focuses on societal issues in the work field and every day life for the indigenous community. I am so excited for this one to come out in August and can’t wait for more people to pick this one up! Such a beautiful, tender and witty debut from Danica Nava and I highly recommend this one!! Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book.... THIS BOOK! I loved it from the start! This is the first romance I've read with an Indigenous main character and it was worth the wait. The banter and language was relatable and enjoyable for the entire book. Danica Nava made Ember modern but relatable to readers that are Indigenous or not. Ember is super interesting from the start with her feelings of "not being successful" and needing to create big change in a world that doesn't really make it easy. By adding some white lies to her resume, Ember quickly lands herself in a coveted role at her new job. Add in the forbidden co-worker romance and this book had me sold. The tension between Ember and Danuwoa is beautifully written- you will not be disappointed! I'd like to say that this book reads like a rom-com. LOTS of romance and comedy. It's also a very fast read because of how enjoyable it is. There are some cringey parts, but that's mostly secondhand embarrassment. In the end I found myself laughing (and blushing) more than I have in awhile. I really hope this turns into a series or that Danica Nava writes more books because we need more of this representation in romance literature and she has done a fantastic job! #NetGalley #NetGalleyARC #ARC #IndigenousAuthors #IndigenousRomance

Workplace romance/friends-to-lovers story of an Indigenous woman working her first corporate job at a tech startup with a very, very attractive IT co-worker. When the lies she told to get her role start to pile up, though, the truth becomes harder and harder to escape. While the lies were a central part of the character and plot arc, the repeated unnecessary small lies did start to grate after a while. Interesting peek at corporate culture for a twenty-something new hire and wonderful to see an Indigenous romance character written by an Indigenous writer!

Thank you to Berkley, for the free copy for review.

From the very first page, I was completely hooked. Ember is such a captivating character - hilarious and with a good heart, despite her consistent tendency to lie. I found myself invested in the progression of her lies, watching them evolve from harmless white lies into something much more complex and difficult to come back from. It had me pondering the nuances of dishonesty, the conundrum of when it might be "okay" to bend the truth.

The office romance between Ember and Danuwoa was another highlight for me. There's a palpable chemistry between them, although I have to admit that some of their dialogue did come across as a bit corny at times.

At its core, this book tackles some really heavy themes - family, racism, societal stereotypes, both in the workplace and beyond. Yet it manages to balance those weightier elements with a healthy dose of humor and a genuinely heartfelt love story. It's a delicate balance that the author pulls off remarkably well.

Overall, I found this to be a captivating, multi-layered read that kept me engaged from start to finish. Ember is such a vividly drawn protagonist, and watching her navigate the complexities of her relationships and personal struggles was truly immersive. I'd recommend this book to anyone who appreciates character-driven narratives that aren't afraid to tackle tough subject matter with both humor and heart.