You ever try to talk about a book you read in a coherent fashion, and realize that anything you’re about to say is going to either come out garbled, or else just not convey the depths of how and why you enjoyed it as much as you did? That’s how I feel writing this. I read a lot of books, but I think it’s safe to say Danica Nava’s The Truth According to Ember is a contender for one of my favorite reads of the year.

The story follows Ember, who tells a little white lie or two to get her foot in the door as an accountant at a startup in Oklahoma City. There, she meets Danuwoa, the handsome IT guy, and the two hit it off right away. But the lies keep adding up as Ember does her best to avoid being caught for the…embellishments she made to her resume, and to avoid the higher-ups finding out she and Danuwoa are not exactly sticking to the company’s “no dating” policy.

While the idea of a character sustaining a lie (or several) throughout a book can get frustrating in general, Nava avoids this by making it clear exactly what is at stake for Ember if she tells the truth - or at least what Ember believes is at stake. You understand as a reader why she feels the way she does, and why she’s trying so hard to stop things from spiralling out of control, and to keep the truth from coming out. What matters is when push comes to shove, Ember is refreshingly direct with people, further driving home for the reader why she feels the way she does.

As far as love interests go, Danuwoa is the type of sweet, cinnamon roll man that the best book boyfriends are made of. Kind, funny, hot, but like Ember, he also stands his ground when it really matters. Though we don’t ever get his point of view, there’s never any doubt in how he feels about Ember. Their chemistry is some of the best I’ve read recently, with an organic friends-to-lovers buildup, and enough steamy moments that I actually broke into a sweat at one point over a single line of dialogue.

It’s also wonderful to have a traditionally published romance by a Native American author about Native American characters, even if it’s shocking that this is the first of its kind, all the way in the year 2024. OK maybe it’s less shocking than it is disappointing, but I am glad we have it now. There’s so much to be said for how it shows the different ways Ember and Danuwoa experience the world as Native Americans, and the way cultural and social elements are woven in throughout, unflinchingly, and without over-explaining things (Google is, after all, free).

The Truth According to Ember is a delightful debut novel, and I eagerly anticipate whatever Danica Nava puts out next. She’s made a loyal reader out of me.

The Truth According to Ember is out on August 6. Special thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy for review purposes.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. It's seemed like a good romance, but I lost interest after reading 20% of it.
It had more to do with me realizing that I don't really like romance novels then the book being bad (which it wasn't).

I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves the romance genre.
The characters were great, the story and dialogue believable and the writing was good.
I did get a little annoyed by the main character, Ember, lying in situations where I feel would have been fine to just be honest instead.
Also, the whole office/accounting theme isn't really my cup of tea, which was probably one of the reasons that I stopped reading the book.

However, I have to say that it's refreshing to read (and see) an Indigenous novel in the romance genre. It is the main reason for which I wanted to read it, and I look forward to finding more light Indigenous novels like that in the future!

(Since I didn't finish this book, I would have preferred not to give a star rating but since I have to, I gave a 2.5 stars rating, however, like I said previously, I would definitely recommend this book to any romance reader.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I liked this book, but I had some mixed feelings about it. I really enjoyed Ember and Danuwoa’s chemistry and connection. They had something special and I wanted more of them. This book felt a smidge leaning towards women’s because it felt a bit more focused on Ember’s experiences and journey with work and family. That’s not to say the story wasn’t good, but the parts about the job felt like there were unnecessary details. Those spaces could have been filled with more scenes building romance.

I could not get on board with the constant lying. I understand why she lied at first to get the job, but all the other ones after that? It made her feel immature, in my opinion. And then the giving in when she was being blackmailed - I wanted to shake her.

This was enjoyable and I want to read more by this author. Getting to read a romance about indigenous characters is something I want more of.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

I enjoyed this book, but I agree with some of the other reviewers that since this novel is being marketed as a rom-com, the romance took a back burner to Ember's character growth. While I enjoyed watching her character develop, it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

I want to start out by saying that while this didn't work for me as a romance, Nava does an amazing job weaving micro aggressions and difficulties of being Native (and the joys of it too!). And if this was just marketed as a book about Ember's journey, I think this would have been a more enjoyable reading experience for me. But it's marketed as a rom-com and the "rom" in that equation wasn't there for me. The single POV really didn’t work in the romance’s favor. It worked as a women’s fiction story with only Ember’s POV. But I felt like we needed Danuwoa’s POV to sell the romance to me.

Danuwoa is a sweetheart and he made a great MC...but we know next to nothing about him. His backstory is vague and he doesn't have much of a personality. He’s sweet! He’s kind! But that’s about it. There’s not a lot of fleshing out on characterization in her. Mostly because I think Nava would get going in a really interesting story aspect and then drop it completely.

Plus, Nava’s writing is okay and I didn’t judge it too harshly because this is a debut. But the writing was kind of awkward at times. There was a lot breaking the fourth wall that I thought was weirdly placed. And, while I appreciate Nava taking the time to combat stereotypes and her dedication to clearing up misunderstandings about indigenous peoples, a lot of it was thrown in at random and had nothing to do with the story? Like throwaway lines that weren’t relevant and were only there to say “this misconception is wrong”. It felt so out of place. Probably because I wanted less of that and more expansion on the characters themselves.

Which…I liked Ember! I think she’s funny and I felt such compassion for her because she’s a little lost on her journey. But the lying was (I think) supposed to be a funny bit and just got tired after awhile. The Big Lies about her heritage and experience were great. But the little white lies for no reason stopped being funny and quirky pretty quickly into the story and I don’t feel like we ever really got a reason *why* she lied about nonsensical things. Or maybe I just missed it because I was so frustrated? Not sure.

I appreciate what Nava was doing here and I do think Ember’s journey of self discovery is worth reading. I just don’t think this is really a romance. More…gen fic with a romance sub plot.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I didn’t like the fmc, like at all. Everything felt very immature and the dialogue was also vague and overall boring.

What a perfect read! I loved Ember and Danuwoa (oh Danuwoa, what a hottie!) and seeing how they'd end up together. Ember has to grow a lot in this book and it was so satisfying watching her learn from her mistakes. I loved the workplace romance and how each character was well rounded and developed.

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.

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!!!