The cover is beautiful and what initially caught my interest but the synopsis convinced me that I had to read it. I loved the Native representation and insight into the culture.

Ember Lee Cardinal is a Native American woman struggling to make ends meet. After her 37th rejection, she takes matters into her own hands and gets creative with her qualifications and ethnicity on her resume. If no one wants to hire Native American Ember, then maybe white Ember has a chance.
It’s no surprise when she’s called in for an interview and lands her dream accounting job. Now she just needs to learn how to do the job.
On the day of her interview she meets fellow Native and IT guy, Danuwoa Colson and they immediately hit it off. Problem is, the company has a no-dating policy. What could possibly go wrong?

To be honest, I had a hard time rooting for Ember which made it difficult to fully enjoy this. After getting the job, the lies keep coming and eventually snowball out of her control. I wanted her to succeed but all of her lies were stressing me out. I understood the reasoning for the lies on her resume but after that a lot of it felt unnecessary.

There are some great side characters but Danuwoa and his little sister were my favorite!
I really liked Danuwoa as the love interest - he’s such a sweetheart! I’m all for a workplace romance and the forbidden aspect added to the tension.

Overall, this was a good debut and I’m looking forward to whatever Danica Nava writes next!

The writing in this was beautiful. Ultimately this was not as focused on the romance as I maybe would have expected. The banter and characters were so fun and I really enjoyed them. The main thing that made me struggle with this book was Ember's lies. Which really shouldn't come as any surprise with the title and synopsis. But so many of her lies were completely unnecessary and she specifically kept lying to the love interest long after it was acceptable in my opinion. Adding in their lack of agency due to the no dating policy at work (which is one of my least favorite things) and I was struggling because they really should have been together but couldn't do to other people. I also struggle with family members who don't care about the harm they cause you. Ultimately I would be happy to read more by this author but it would need to be a completely different type of conflict for me to want to pick it up.

I really wanted to love this one but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I knew the story was based on Ember telling a couple lies to get a job. I didn’t realize just how much the lying would continue and on things I didn’t think were necessary. In general that isn’t a favorite trope for me but I wanted to give it a shot. Also - while I know real corporate life can be boring and slow for a story - I felt the way things went for her at work to be so unrealistic and over the top that it was hard to just go along with it. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This one just had me kicking my feet and giggling the entire time! Anytime Danuwoa and Ember interacted, their chemistry had me blushing for them. Their humor and banter is simply everything. However, Ember and her lies were driving me a bit crazy. I definitely feel like it did not need to go that far, but it’s hard to say I can blame her given her childhood and past. In a way I can highly relate to Ember and her avoidance when it comes to asking people for help out of fear it will bother others. I also understand how hard it is to survive and make it far in a world that only seems to try to pull you down because of your ethnicity and race. Hence why I was a little bit unhappy with Danuwoa’s harsh reaction towards everything when he knew just how harsh the work environment was on Ember. I’m just glad all worked out and they came back together in a way befitting the both of them. Overall this was a witty, humorous, and heartwarming story that I think many will be able to relate to. This beautiful book published August 6th so go grab a copy!

Favorite Quote: “Don’t let anyone try to walk all over you or treat you as less than. It took me years to grow a backbone, and that is why people call me the Wicked Witch. I have learned to say no and say it often”

I fell in love with this Indigenous romance and can’t wait for the next one by Danica Nava! I feel like she gave us a glimpse into a world we don’t see enough of. The fact that what Native American’s go through every day is also put into a scene is so seamless with how it’s a peeve that they struggle with. It’s definitely something I want to learn more about outside of what this book has to offer.

Ember is the perfect friend and sister. But she just can’t catch a break. She has always been told to try her best and she will go far but every time she does try; it seems she can’t get far enough. With a new position opening up for an accountant; Ember decides to tell a little lie.
Danuwoa is everything I think we want in the perfect man; attentive, caring, and is willing to help any way he can. He’s definitely my next book boyfriend with his unwavering commitment to helping Ember and keeping her spirits up.

I loved the instant attraction and the meet cute that was so cute and held such a funny memory for the two characters to remember. Ember has steadfast love for her family and friends but doesn’t know how to accept help. She falls into the need to tell small lies to keep her secret from everyone at her new job while also losing herself in the process.

I feel like the experiences she learned along the way in this book is a great touch on how she lives her life and now she matures. It gives all the feels of a lighthearted love story while also diving into deep issues of abandonment and inadequacy. Once Ember realizes she has the help of her Nation and of her family and friends she finds a way to make her own path. I can’t appreciate this book enough. I highly recommend you read this book before the year is up!

Overall, I enjoyed this book! I do often struggle with 1st person writing, especially in a more conversational tone with the reader, but that is absolutely a personal preference, and after a few chapters I got used to it and all was well. Also the lying did stress me out some. I knew the premise was that the MC lied some to get a job (which I had no issue with) but then it snowballed and there were way more lies after that that I wasn't expecting and I was worried for her! I did absolutely get swept up in the drama and the romance! I really liked the relationship between the main characters and felt like they had a really natural build to it. This book did confirm that I personally could not work in an office job, haha!

Thanks to Berkley for a free copy of The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava which came out on Tuesday! #berkleypartner

This is the first Indigenous romance written by an Indigenous author and I really liked that aspect of learning about some Chickasaw and Cherokee culture while reading The Truth According to Ember. But I really struggled with how much Ember lied. I know the title and blurb kinda mentioned some lying but it was a little too much for me. I understood why she didn't say she's Native American on her job application by all of the other lies made her seem so immature and how much she lied took away from the story for me. Overall it was a quick book and I'd recommend it.

I want to read more from this author and the chapter from her next book looks super cute!

Thank you @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for providing this audiobook for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun read, but not my favorite rom-com. The first part of the story reads more like women’s fiction, as Ember, an indigenous young woman, describes some of her difficulties getting a job, and ultimately makes the decision to lie about her race on a job application. This one lie leads to bigger lies, and soon and Ember starts having a difficult time managing all the untruths.

When Ember meets her handsome co-worker, Danuwoa Colson, they have an instant attraction, but she continues with the lies. When Ember and Danuwoa travel together on a business trip, things get steamy pretty quickly! (Way too steamy for me!) But Ember continues with the lies.

Danuwoa is perfect as the male main character! When he finally discovers Ember’s lies, he is upset, but he eventually forgives her. I personally thought that was a bit unrealistic, given all of her lies!

I enjoyed reading a story written from the perspective of an indigenous main character. I think we need more stories with realistic indigenous characters. I also checked out the audio version. The story is told entirely from Ember’s perspective, and I thought the narrator did a great job with her.

Everyone else in my book discussion group LOVED this one! I just couldn’t get past the lies!

I have a lot of respect for this book, as it’s the first romantic comedy written by a Native author featuring two Native leads. Which… what??? It’s 2024!!! As Danica Nava writes in her authors note, it’s so important to write about indigenous communities in the modern age.

I loved Danuwoa as a hero - he is so fine. Ember, on the flip side, is a hot mess amidst all the lies she catches herself in. It’s understandable why Ember makes the decisions she does in her desperation to find a semblance of sustainability, but there were so many moments where her characterization felt inconsistent and contradictory to something she was doing or saying just a few pages prior.

Truly, there was not one single thing I disliked about this book. It's making news as the first rom-com by an Indigenous author published by a major publisher. Both leads in the book are Indigenous, and their experience and background as such are a critical part of the story. In addition to a lot of humor and a steamy connection between the characters, this looks at the role of higher education and its limiting factors, and racist and classist hiring practices. I loved this one, and I'm hoping for more books by this author ASAP.

I haven't read a romance with a Native American representation before, so I was excited to pick up The Truth According to Ember. There are things I liked about the book and other things that I found disappointing. The cover is gorgeous, and I would buy the book just for the cover. I appreciated the Native American representation. I adored the main hero, Danuwoa, who was a sweetheart. But I was not too fond of Ember. I didn't have a problem with her lying on her resume to get the job because I could understand her reasons. But all her other lies were too much for me. Ember lied about every small thing, which was wholly unnecessary. Danuwoa was too good for her, in my opinion. Because I didn't warm up to Ember, I wasn't invested in the story.

When Ember Lee Cardinal's resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she erases her Native American heritage. Before she can change her mind, she gets an accounting job. Everything seems to be looking up. Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite the no-dating policy at work, they start seeing each other secretly. After a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, her lies begin to grow exponentially. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.

Ember starts off down on her luck, and embellishing her education and work experience gets her a job. With trying so hard to fulfill her duties, she stands out enough for the CEO to tap her for a job her new work friend wanted. Her little lies earlier were more in the realm of slapstick comedy than harmful. They grow more frequent and complicated, and she gets caught up in the little lies about a boyfriend she doesn't have, where she lives, what her family is like, and then as she attempts to hide her relationship. She and Dan grow beyond flirting during a work trip, which is where their first kiss is caught and then used against her in increasingly damaging ways. Ember already was afraid of losing her job and too determined to make it on her own that she doesn't point out the racist comments made or the microaggressions she sees, let alone ask for help, which sends everything tumbling down.

Hidden within this romcom are very real concerns about what it's like to be Native American in modern business. While she and her roommate laugh about it at times, it's very hurtful to have one's heritage used as a joke. She feels bad about that heritage because of her prior failures, which is part of what made it difficult to reach out to her family and community. It's only once she let go of her fears and reached out that she was able to move forward with honesty and her family truly on her side. That's as important to see as it was that she and Dan could have their happily ever after at the end.

This was a cute but realistic contemporary romance. Ember pops off the page authentically - she felt like a real person navigating a contemporary society and workplace. One thing I appreciated was how micro- and macro-aggressions in the workplace were touched upon. Again, it made Ember and the setting of the story feel authentic and resonated so much to me as a reader. Danuwoa was a green flag throughout the story: I like how he supported and challenged Ember in all the right ways. Thank you for publishing this book and further diversifying the romance genre. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Nava writes next!

What a fun book! I loved Ember right away and connected with her and her desire and drive to work hard to support her dreams. She has always felt like she needed to take care of everyone else and is feeling dejected about her career prospects in a way that is so visceral and relatable. Even though she made some very naive mistakes at her job and in her personal life, she is young and learning and you cannot help but root for her to figure everything out. There was constant fun banter that had me laughing and the romance was steammmmy. I loved how confident Danuwoa was in himself without being annoying like the other men in the book. Poor Ember was faced with so many though things to juggle and I so appreciated that she owned up to her mistakes while simultaneously sticking up for herself. Reading about how Ember felt that being Chickasaw was holding her back and the disgusting way people just threw around casual racism was horrible and made me want to hug her and fight for her. That aspect was so powerful and beautifully presented by the author and I'm glad this book became what it did after reading the author's note.

I both read and listened to the audiobook, and while I enjoyed the audiobook I think I would recommend the print version.

A GREAT DEBUT!!! Wow. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Beautifully written.both main characters were so lovable. A true joy to read. I highly recommend this book.

3.5 stars rounded up

Y'all this book stressed me the hell out!! There's a lot that's great about it, but some of Embers choices and lies she told had me about dying. The Truth According to Ember is a contemporary rom-com with indigenous main characters from less than privileged backgrounds, trying to find success in the corporate world while dealing with microagressions. Oh and unexpectedly falling for each other despite policies against dating in the office!

Ember is smart and ambitious, but her education was cut short by having to provide for her family. And saying she's indigenous on applications isn't getting her any interviews. So she decides to lie- a few accounting classes are fudged into a degree and she says she's Caucasian. Which she partly is, so is it really a lie??? And it works! She gets an accounting job after faking her way through the interview process, only to meet the very hot indigenous IT guy...

I love what this book is trying to do- centering characters who are indigenous and didn't grow up in wealthy families with easy access to education, trying to build a future in a challenging environment. I'm not the only reviewer to say this, but while the romance is a significant part of the plot, even more of it is spent exploring Embers experiences navigating this new job. And as someone who is much more of an anxiety prone rule follower, it was difficult to read some of the choices she made and things she got caught up in. But your mileage on that may vary. I'm glad this book exists and hope to see more from the author in the future! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I am always on the hunt for diverse rom-coms, so when this title popped up during a publisher preview, I had to read it. I quickly fell in love with Ember (her pop-culture references were spot-on) and cheered on her efforts to build a better life for herself - all while worrying for the moment the shit, inevitably, hit the fan. Danuwoa was swoon-worthy from the start, and the tension between our leads was perfectly pitched. The cast of secondary characters were fleshed out and interesting, especially Ember's support system. All-in-all, this was a fun, heartfelt romance I devoured and will most definitely return to as a comfort read again and again.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley romance for the e-Arc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I really enjoyed this debut romance. The mcs were easy to connect with and the story moved along at a great pace.

4.5/5☆

Three cheers for the first Indigenous romance from a major publisher! Thank you Berkley for sending a copy my way. #BerkleyPartner

Read if you 🩷:
• 💻 Workplace Romances
• 🌳 Found Family and Community
• 💜 Native American Representation
• 🦎 Lucky (But Ugly) Lizards


Unlike Ember, I have to be honest and admit that I have mixed feelings about this one. Danuwoa is the ULTIMATE book boyfriend. He’s a cat parent, his younger sister’s caretaker, and he’s flirtatious to no end. Plus, the man has a spine when it comes to the major conflict of the story! All in all, he’s the total package, and I would never want to get on his bad side. 💕

What I didn’t love so much was Ember and her constant lying. It got to the point that all of her fibs gave me anxiety the entire time I was reading! I went in thinking the only lie would be that she wasn’t mentioning her Native heritage on her job applications, but without spoiling too much, it’s a lot more than just that omission. If you like tension and the fear of getting caught, these scenes will be more for you than for me, but my little nervous heart could barely take it! 😅

💜 What kept me going was Danica Nava’s down-to-earth and detailed writing style. It truly feels like being in Ember’s head the entire time! Even without the author’s note near the end, it’s clear she pulled from her own personal experiences.

The truth, according to this reader, is that even with destructive pathological lying, there’s a lot of love, community, and passion in Nava’s debut novel. I hope this is just the first of many more romance novels from major publishers featuring Indigenous leads! 🥰

I am so happy to see a Native romcom and was so excited to read this book.

The Truth According to Ember follows a young Chickasaw woman, Ember, who after being consistently rejected from jobs, decides to embellish her resume to give herself a chance to change her life. And in Ember's desperation to hold onto the dream future she has for herself, she finds herself adding additional white lies. Enter Danuwoa - the handsome IT guy at her new company who is also Native American. The attraction is instantaneous and the plot goes from there.

The core of this book is so great - a woman trying to change her life and a cute romance. But there are some things that just fall short for me. 1) The dialogue often felt stunted and simple in a way that didn't feel natural and 2) the romance feels a little bit too instantaneous. When the conflict arises and Ember and Danuwoa are talking through it, you realize that there are strong declarations but so much they don't know about each other. It felt slightly too unrealistic.

That being said, I am hoping this book brings more major publishers to publish Native stories and I was happy I had the opportunity to read it. I think the issues I had with the book are things that Danica can tackle in her next book!!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!