WOW. I loved this so much. I loved the romance, but also the personal growth and familial subplots. This was so enjoyable. I can't wait to see how this author continues to evolve.

It took me a minute to get into this one because I couldn't figure out the vibes of our two MC's. But once things started flowing I was caught up! Lucas was so sweet and protective and Avery was so delightful and kind. I do wish we got to dive deeper into things: her background, her relationship with her mom/grandma etc. And the ending felt a bit rushed too. But other than that, this was so cute and I love the representation we got!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC!

3.75/5⭐️

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title, but unfortunately it didn’t quite capture my interest. While the premise was promising, I found it difficult to stay engaged. That said, I’m sure it will find its audience with readers who connect more strongly with the writing style or pacing.

Love is a War Song 🤠🐎🎸🎤
1 ⭐️- DNF

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the chance to read this advanced copy! #berkley #berkleypartner
I was really excited for this book, and it was one of my most anticipated romance reads of the summer. I saw some reviews from other readers and I was instantly intrigued by the storyline!

This book is comparable to a Native American romance book version of The Hannah Montana Movie. Pop star needs a break from the spotlight, so she goes to spend the summer at a farm and meets a cute cowboy.

I’ll start with saying that I am incredibly picky about western romances. They have to be done in a certain way to hold my interest, and Love is a War Song didn’t do that for me. In addition to the setting not holding my interest, I also didn’t feel a connection to the FMC at all.

I love the diversity and inclusion that this book brings to the genre as a BIPOC reader. I think that it has really great potential to be a five-star read for lots of other readers, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me unfortunately.

I'm new to romance and this book was the perfect introduction! Not only were the relationships (romantic and platonic) brilliantly written, but I loved the way it handled topics like identity, belonging, and cultural representation. Danica's writing style made every conversation and miscommunication feel so natural. I also related deeply to both Avery and Lucas - Avery because she felt like she wasn't "enough" for her community, and Lucas because he wasn't seen for who he was and what he liked. This is one of my new favorite books and I plan to read it again and again!

I loved the conversations this book raised about what it means to be Indigenous and how systems can attempt to profit off of stolen aspects of marginalized communities. Watching the barriers that Avery faces as an Indigenous pop star was painfully realistic and I'm so glad this book exists so we can talk about it more. I personally had a hard time with the beginning of this book because it deals with things that are tricky for me (like guilt-tripping, critical parents and a lot of second hand embarrassment). As someone who made the incredibly difficult decision to go no contact with my mother this past year, the shitty parental behavior felt too close to home. The last half of the book was absolutely adorable. Lucas is a sweetheart and it was heartwarming to watch him and Avery staunchly support each other after they both had been overlooked and underappreciated. If you loved the Hannah Montana movie then this is the book for you!

I adored this grumpy x sunshine, fish out of water, celeb singer x cowboy romance!! Avery Fox is a Native American actress turned singer from the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma who gets #cancelled after wearing a war bonnet on the cover of a magazine. The ensuing fallout causes a huge scandal and results in lots of questions around her 'Native' identity and whether she's 'Indian' enough.

To try to ride out the shame Avery gets sent to spend time on her estranged grandmother's ranch in order to reconnect with family and her heritage and along the way finds herself falling for Lucas, the dyslexic ranch hand who works for her grandmother and is trying to turn the struggling ranch into a to horse therapy program to help youth work through mental health and trauma.

I loved the plot, the characters, the setting and especially the narrator. Avery is a spunky, funny FMC and she goes on a really great journey of personal growth. The story has a lot of emotional depth, great neurodiversity and addiction/sobriety rep (Lucas) and the chemistry between the leads was sizzling. Highly, highly recommended!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC. Nava's sophomore romance novel featuring Indigenous main characters was chef's kiss and I can't wait for more!! There aren't enough contemporary love stories out there by and about Indigenous main characters and I'm loving seeing that change one book at a time.

Read This Book If…you love a runaway pop star!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Genre: cowboy romance
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 1-2 explicit scenes
Setting: small town Oklahoma
POV: single, 1st person, past tense
Tropes: celebrity, forbidden, one horse, found family, hurt/comfort, fake dating(ish), “good girl”

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book even more than her debut!!

The runaway pop star meets grumpy cowboy was such a fun dynamic! These two had so much chemistry and I loved their journey.

There’s a big focus on family and community in this book, as well as what it truly means to be Native. There are some complex family dynamics to overcome, as well as discussions of dyslexia and addiction.

Overall, I found this to be a sweet and steamy read that needs to be on everyone’s summer TBR. I was so sad to see the author’s post that this has not been picked up by any of the big booksellers - that needs to change!!

Memorable Quote: “Love is a war song, a battle cry. Something to fight for.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

Loved the concept, loved the Indigenous representation, loved the cowboy aesthetic, and will continue reading and promoting this author's books bc I want more like it. But the book as a whole didn’t hit for me as much as I thought/hoped it would. After having a similar experience with her debut, I think I don’t mesh well with Danica Nava’s writing style. Yet. It’s all personal preference, but I think she just needs more practice as a writer, more time to hone her craft, get away from telling instead of showing, make the dialogue and the internal monologue smoother. I also have a hunch that she’d thrive a lot more in 3rd POV instead of 1st.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
3⭐️

A heartfelt story of healing, heritage, and horses—with a romance that doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Love Is a War Song offers a sweet, emotional journey as protagonist Avery reconnects with her roots on a rural ranch, learning more about her family, culture, and herself through music and hard work. The ranch life is charming, the horses are lovable, and the comedic moments bring warmth.

While the romance between Avery and Lucas promises sparks, it often feels more like lust than lasting love. Their connection lacks the emotional depth some readers may crave. Avery’s character arc is thoughtful, but her choices at the end may not land with everyone.

Perfect for readers drawn to stories of personal growth and country charm, but may leave romance lovers wanting more.

This was a good read and I loved the plot and setting a lot! We have the fmc that’s an indigenous American that was a child actor turned semi popular singer. After people find out that she isn’t enrolled in any tribe she gets cancelled, her label wants to drop her and most people turn against her. In attempts to fix things her momager sends her to their estranged grandmother’s ranch where she meets the mmc and gets closer to her heritage.

I loved seeing representation in these indigenous American ranchers, the fmc grandmother runs a ranch and I felt transported to the close knit community with the horses, found family and everyone being together. At first we see the fmc struggle with life ln the ranch and transitioning after living this pop star life. I loved seeing her get more comfortable with both her extended family and found family and also become her own person. The romance was cute and built slowly as the main characters spent more time with each other on the ranch. A cowboy and pop star is always a good combination. There’s some steam but the story was my favorite part. Thanks to Berkley for this arc for an honest review.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the free book!

Love is a War Song is a small-town, cowboy romance— one of the few cowboy romances out there with Native American main characters despite the loooong history of non-white cowboys in the United States, not that you'd know it based on the aggressively white cowboy romances that are so popular these days.

Avery Fox is a sheltered heroine, y'all. So sheltered that she doesn't think dancing around in a slutty approximation of Native American clothing in her music video and posing similarly attired for a Rolling Stones cover PLUS a feathered headdress is *problematic* despite being of Native American descent, because enough people around her fed her the bullshit that this is about "empowering" Native American women.

This was a little hard to find believable, but fine. We've all liked *problematic* people who are varying degrees of problematic, so it feels like Avery is redeeming herself before the reader's eyes as you get deeper into the book, just the way she redeems herself to her fanbase by the end of the story.

The thing about being canceled— I appreciate that the book got the cyclical nature of celebrities being canceled until they aren't, and more realistically, celebrities often don't.... fix their mistakes entirely before they're "un-canceled". Avery does end up understanding the culture and acknowledging her mistakes by the end of the book, but that's just the beginning.

This book read to me like a new adult romance— not because Avery is 23 and Lucas is 27, but their initial enmity feels exaggerated considering they barely know each other before they're at each other's throats. I get the author was going for a grumpy/sunshine and opposites-attract vibe (she did mention the Hannah Montana movie as partial inspo), but their bickering felt quite immature at times. Still, the two of them fall for each other over horse wrangling and farm chores, all while Avery learns about the culture from him and her grandma Lottie, and adjusts to small-town life in the heart of Muscogee Nation— I do think the setting was one of the high points of the book. It was immersive and lovingly described and you really feel this sense of awe, if you're not from the area or the culture, that this too is America.

The sex:

I think the other part of why this felt new adultish to me is the single sex scene— it was on-page but less explicit and more flowery and dialogue-based (Lucas gave TRAGICALLY romantic monologue during) as it went on.

Overall:

I appreciate Danica Nava putting a Native American cowboy romance out there— you barely see romances with NA rep, let alone ones with hot cowboys out there. While the romance wasn't quite my speed, I would still recommend this to anyone looking for a slow-burn, fairly low-heat romance.

Rating: 3.75/5
Heat Level: 3/5
Pub Date: July 22nd

What happens when a popstar meets a cowboy? A couple horses get saved. (🎵Save a horse, ride a cowboy!🎵)

My romantic heart was so full with this book. Such an unbelievable premise made cute by the words of Danica Nava. The romance was good, but the representation was amazing too! Danica was clearly well educated on Native American culture and the tribes represented in the story. It was so interesting to read about being registered and just getting to know new cultural elements that I was completely ignorant to. Intent does not equal impact, and regardless of being apart of the culture you can still learn. This FMC had some tough lessons to learn, but Danica still made it fun while giving It Takes Too ranch high jinks.

this one was very cute and gave a good look at native culture. I love books that represent BIPOC readers and this one is very romantic

This is a fresh addition to the popular western cowboy books so popular right now. The entire stickball tooth scene really did give me a good laugh. So glad to read a rom com that is actually very funny. Thanks so much to @berkleypub @berkleyromance or @acebookspub for the free book!

As someone who lived in Oklahoma City for a few years and I've had the pleasure of meeting this author when her debut came out, I was very excited for Love Is a War Song! This romance was a pleasure to read. I enjoyed Avery's character growth and the chemistry between her and Lucas. Being able to follow along with Avery as she learned more about her culture and uncovered her family history was my favorite part of the book. There was even an occurrence of me laughing out loud in my office when she loses a veneer. I will definitely have a soft spot for Lucas and Avery for a long time, they're freaking precious together and I truly enjoyed reading their story!

Thank you to Berkley Romance, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

I devoured this book in one sitting and already cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy to reread it. Love is a War Song takes the nostalgia of movies like the Hannah Montana movie and Flicka and updates that fish-out-of-water storyline for modern times. It is so refreshing to read a rom-com (and a cowboy one specifically) that stars Native characters from the perspective of a Native author. The romance itself is sweet and genuine, and I was totally smitten with these characters. But more than that, I loved Avery's journey to connect with her culture, roots, and family for the first time as an adult. I think that's a struggle we don't see represented enough in books, and it was treated with a perfect degree of tenderness and care. I can't remember the last time I stayed up reading late into the night to finish a book, but this one had me giddy and anxious to see how things turned out. As someone who doesn't typically read a lot of romance, I can't wait to read anything and everything Danica Nava publishes.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-arc for review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company for an early access copy of this book.

I really liked the premise of this book and how it had a different idea than a “normal cowboy romance.” I really liked the exploration of Avery with her culture and not only finding love on the ranch but also learning more about her Indigenous heritage.

This was a very sweet, cute book that I think lots of people will enjoy!

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO FREAKING MUCH!!! Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for a free advanced copy of this book. I ate it up! This story was more than a romance, it was about finding who you are and where you belong and where you come from. The romance did help though Lucas was fine af and I love him with all my heart. YAY SEXY COWBOYS!!!!!

I loved Danicas first book and this one was just as good. I love her perspective and writing about Native Americans, a group that doesn’t have enough representation in romance. I thought Avery and Lucas were so fun together. They had hot chemistry and I loved them working together to save the ranch and how Avery got to learn more about her history and culture.