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.

I have read several books lately by Indigenous authors and focused on Indigenous characters that were all about murder, addiction, and terror. I love that this is a romcom and shows more of a realistic, normal side of life (although it also shows the reality of the hardships the characters have experienced.)

For personal reasons, I hated the corporate setting. I’ve spent too much of my life in that kind of setting, and though I have been blessed to never be in as nasty a situation as Ember found herself, it was still a little triggering (can we add corporate narcissism to the standard list of content warnings)?

Danuwoa was an awesome book boyfriend and I loved their relationship. Ember could be a little frustrating with her bad choices, but she was also young (25). I would recommend this fun and spicy romcom!

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Truth According to Ember is the slow burn forbidden workplace romance of my dreams. It centers on Ember, a Chickasaw woman whose little white lies are adding up by the minute and her totally off limits coworker, Danuwoa. Importantly, this is a Native American romance, which is something that we shamefully do not see in mainstream media. I want more!

I loved this so much!! The writing is clever and captivating. The story is laugh out loud funny but it is also very heartfelt. The chemistry and banter between Ember and Danuwoa is so well done. I also loved the dynamic between Ember and her best friend and roommate, Joanna. And Walela!! I cannot forget Danuwoa’s younger sister, Walela!

On top of being a swoony romance and a story about self-growth, this book has a lot of important things to say. The story starts with Ember not getting any interviews until she identifies herself as white on her application and throughout Ember and Danuwoa (who everyone at work calls Dan because they cannot be bothered to learn how to pronounce his name) have to regularly deal with microaggressions at their corporate job. You can feel pieces of Danica’s own, very true story throughout this work of fiction, which she briefly shares in her author’s note. A really powerful read in the context of a beautiful love story. One of my favorites of the year!

I don’t know what Danica has planned next (I will buy it, whatever it is) but I am hopeful we get more of these characters with a Joanna and/or Sage (Ember’s brother) book(s)!

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really horrified to learn that this is apparently the first Native American romance that was picked up by a big publisher? If so, shame on the whole institution, because this was really sweet and funny. I will say that I personally got a lot of secondhand anxiety reading about Ember.

The whole premise of the story is that she tells a lie to get her somewhere, and then has to keep lying and it all snowballs. It all gets progressively worse to the point where I got genuinely upset at every single choice she made. But, many a 90's rom-com's meat was this premise, and I guess if this is your jam, you will laugh it off rather than have to walk off in a huff in 97% humidity just to get away from the book like I did.

You see where the story is going, there is a third-act break-up, family drama, a moment of questionable work messaging on Teams (minor spoiler, the romantic interest changes his name to 'Native Daddy' on HIS WORK TEAMS and I SCREAMED out loud ''WHERE IS YOUR HR DEPARTMENT, SIR?") there is representation of the inanity of corporate America, a chunk on imposter syndrome, and plenty of idiotic white men executives. Though I was hoping for a bit of a redemption arc, it's more of a forced slide when Ember finds herself. She has little choice in the matter, since all her lies have come home to roost, and we're back where we started on page 1.

It's a typical rom-com with nothing surprising...But I will say I loved the representation in this, and while the characters weren't my favorite (the poor romantic interest deserves so much better), I loved seeing the family dynamics and the world through Ember's (lying) eyes.

The Truth According to Ember begins in an extremely relatable way as Ember Cardinal is looking for a job. She desperately wants to be an accountant but without a degree and being Native American, no one seems to pay attention to her. On a whim, she decides to throw caution to the wind and apply for a job but identity as white since her father is white.

Ember ends up getting a call from a company about doing an interview. While on the way to the interview, she runs into an incredibly handsome man but then a baby spits up on her. Come to find out that the handsome man is Danuwoa who is the company’s IT guy. It’s clear from the start that Ember and Dan have a connection.

Ember ends up getting hired and quickly gets promoted but it leads to more and more lies. In the meantime, she’s getting closer to Dan. As he starts to get closer to her, Ember continues to lie and things eventually do blow up in her face. While Danica Nava does take us on a ride for a majority of this book, the last 25% really blew me away as she went for it and I feel like most debut authors wouldn’t have done that.

Aside from loving the relationship between Ember and Dan, I adored Ember and Dan’s familial relationships. Dan was incredibly close to his sister and seeing them interact was so fun. On the flip side, Ember was dealing with a strained relationship with her brother and honestly, it was refreshing to see. Ember also had a best friend named Joanna who was more like a sister to her and I just loved seeing their friendship on the page.

The Truth According to Ember was such a fun debut with an incredible romance, loads of great character moments and frankly, has one of my favorite covers of the year. Let the cover convince you to buy and from there, you’ll be in for an even bigger treat.

Quick synopsis:
Ember feels tired. Tired of getting turned down for jobs and tired of bailing out her brother, her dishonesty snowballs when she lies on an application for an accountant position and gets the job.

Overall thoughts:
I loved The Truth According to Ember. As the title hints, Ember constantly stretches the truth. I wasn’t sure going into this book that I’d love the story for that reason. I’m not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, so I worried it might consume the plot. The miscommunication trope is there, but it worked for me. I think Danica Nava’s characterizations made that aspect of the story less of an issue. Ember’s dishonesty is maddening, but her personality is genuine. Danuwoa comes across as a gentle giant who sees through Ember’s facade. Ember and Danuwoa’s backstories captivated me and had me flipping pages rooting for their romance. I couldn’t believe this was a debut. I will be searching for more from Danica Nava.

Recommended to readers who love:
📚 Chickasaw and Cherokee representation & own voices romance
📚 forbidden romance
📚 Katherine Center, Abby Jimenez, Sophie Cousens

Rating: 4.0

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley
for the Digital Review Copy of The Truth According to Ember. All opinions are my own.

Reviews will be posted on IG, Blog and X on pub day.

This was a lot of fun! I was afraid Ember's lies would stress me out - and they did! - but it's because she's such a relatable and easy to like heroine that I was rooting for her the whole time. Danuwoa is also an A+ romance hero, and I loved that this story had authentic Native rep. Looking forward to more books from Nava.

“Learning life’s lessons.”

Desperation makes people do stupid things, especially when you’re young. In this book when life seems completely against her, Ember fights back and lies her way into an executive position at a tech startup. Only the truth eventually finds a way into the light and the real heart of the story is when she finds out what truly matters to her in this solid debut outing.

I enjoyed this fun romance that included some of the issues of just existing as a native american in a start up space. This was closer to 4.5 for me, I wish it had been a little bit shorter but other than that I really enjoyed it and cant wait to read more from this author.

I don't usually go for books that hinge on a main character lying - too much anxiety for my poor nerves! But the charm, warmth, and specificity of this story and these characters won me over. They're complicated, messy, prickly, and real. And the steam is top notch! The book perfectly balances the seriousness of the racism, classism, and microaggressions that Ember and Danuwao encounter with the giddy, electrifying romance blooming between them. Highly recommend!

ARC Review: The Truth According to Ember
Pub Date: August 6, 2024
Thank you to @berkleyromance for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Truth According to Ember by debut author Danica Nava is a romcom following Ember, a Chicksaw woman trying to find her path. She's having trouble finding a job and decides to tell some white lies on her resume and application. And low and behold, she does get an interview! Her white lies continue as she starts succeeding at her job and even finds a potential love interest in the IT guy, Danuwoa.

I loved so much about this book! I thought that the representation of poverty that Ember experiences felt really realistic - she had to drop out of community college to bail her brother out of jail. It's not often that you see a main character in a romance struggle for money in this way and I really appreciated seeing that. I thought the indigenous representation was wonderful to see in a traditionally published book and I truly do think I learned some things.

I liked the relationship between Ember and Danuwoa, even though if it did come a little bit out of nowhere for me. The spice was well done too!

My main issue with this book is totally a *me thing* in that it really stresses me out when characters lie! I spent a good portion of the book just being generally stressed and wondering how it would all work out. I did end up liking the conclusion but I just don't love feeling that way through a lot of the book. There was also some slightly clunky dialogue at times that maybe could have been polished a little more.

All in all, a really strong debut that makes me excited to see what this author will do next!

This is such a great romcom, though it certainly has stakes (and if you get anxious when characters lie/there's miscommunication, buckle up). It's so cool to see an Indigenous couple centered in a trad. published romance, and it's also cool to see a MC who comes from a working-class/non 4-year-college background. The plot is solid and gives great, albeit difficult to read, commentary on white overt and covert racism, while the romance itself is fully swoon-worthy.

This book may be the beginning of rom com books with Indigenous representation and I certainly know it won’t be the end. While this story had me laughing and kicking my feet, it was had strong topics about stereotypes, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, racism, and microaggressions in the workplace. Ember’s character was relatable and endured so many trials both in her family, working, and personal life. I think she is going to be a trailblazer for all the deserving and worthy Indigenous women in romance to come. I think this book is importantly, entertaining, and messy in the best way.

This book had a lot of laugh out loud moments, fueled by Ember's inner dialogue and ever growing lies. I truly enjoyed reading her story and seeing her growth. But the romance with Danuwoa was the best part! He was such a great male love interest. Some of the racism and painting all white men as such, was too heavy handed. Overall, I liked this debut very much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this arc!

I really enjoyed this debut book by Nava. I thought the situations she described were realistic and based on her own experiences.
However, I was very tense as I read because Ember created a fine kettle of fish she had to climb out of due to her fabrications.
I winced as I saw where Ember’s decisions were taking her and felt helpless because I knew what would happen.
What I particularly admired about Ember was her ability to pick herself up and learn from her mistakes.
As for Danuwoa I would engineer lots of computer problems if he was the IT guy!

When her job search doesn’t go well Ember may have padded her resume with some little lies. Also no one needs to know she’s Native so she checks Caucasian on her application. It works! She starts her new office job with the big paycheque and the hot native IT guy and things are starting to look up! But Ember learns all lies catch up with you eventually…

This is a fun, and steamy rom com! Ember is very endearing but also you will be yelling at the pages for her to make better choices! She is very naive in the corporate world and encounters racism and misogyny.

I really liked the side character of Ember’s best friend and the story line with her brother. This is a great debut and I’m excited for more from Danica Nava!