Love is a War Song is a fantastic romance novel. It follows Avery Fox, an indigenous pop star who has not grown up within an indigenous community, so when she is asked to do a cover for a magazine with indigenous iconography, she doesn't question it too much. The reaction is immediate to the cover, and she finds herself in the middle of a media storm. To weather the controversy, she heads to her grandma's ranch, where she finally gets the chance to be part of a community and an extended family. She also meets Lucas Iron Eyes, a ranch hand who dislikes her music but with whom she has immediate chemistry.

I loved the found family that we get to see on the ranch, the way that Avery learns about and embraces her roots. Nava's exploration of family and heritage is multilayered and beautiful. There are fantastic, joyous moments and so much love!

The characters are so cute and realistic aside from the pop star twist but hey if Lana Del Rey can marry an alligator hunter i guess anyone can do anything. The pacing was easy to read and relatable. The character's growth arc and development throughout this story is very powerful. The plot ideal but it needed more depth to the enemies to lovers' aspect to support the romance.
The writing was so clear and resonated with the Hanah Montana movie which made me feel Nostalgic!

Perfect if you love:
Gumpy/Sunshine
Banished Pop Star to home
Cowboys/YEEHAW
Forced Proximity
Slow burn


I did read the other novel written by this INDIGENOUS author and I adored it! I think it's important to highlight the indigenous because I love reading about their cultures. It's like when almost everyone watched Yellowstone and couldn't believe some of the cultures and customs that happened in the past. Thank you so much to the author, the publisher Berkley Publishing, and NetGalley for this arc!

Warm-hearted, with an engaging heroine who makes you sit up and take notice, Love is a War Song is a winning new adult romance that shows how hard it can be to stay true to yourself when pressure from others comes falling down on your head. In Nava's excellent new novel, being true to yourself – and to your own values – is the only way out and it helps if you find true love along the way.

Former child star Avery Fox is a now-grown-up pop singer on the rise when she poses for a risqué Rolling Stone cover in a leather bikini and war bonnet. This can be blamed on the encouragement of her momager – who also encouraged her to reclaim her heritage in “ironic fashion” by performing songs like “I Need a Warrior” and has never celebrated Avery’s heritage as a member of the Muscogee Cree tribe – thus Avery’s not at fault for being both sheltered and naive about the backlash that rains down on her head. Suddenly everyone’s questioning her heritage and suggesting she ought to be cancelled for misappropriation. Avery is reeling, and she runs home to Oklahoma, where her estranged grandma Lottie shelters her on her Rez-based ranch.

Here, she meets Lottie’s ranch hand, Lucas Iron Eyes, who is disgusted with everything Avery represents and literally mocks her to her face the second he sees her. He otherwise keeps his head down, works with the ranch’s horses, and tries to stay out of the way. But with Avery, he can’t help himself - they get on like oil and water. In spite of the friction between them, when the ranch comes under threat, the two of them are forced to team up to save it. They agree to an exchange of favors; Lucas will teach Avery about both ranching and her Muscogee roots while Avery will use her notoriety to raise money to save the ranch. Naturally, feelings ensue. But does Avery really belong on the Rez?

I adored Avery and her ways; she is a wonderfully complicated but sardonic narrative force, and I deeply enjoyed spending time with her. She’s not perfect, but she wants to learn and grow and figure out who she is at heart, and the story gives her the space to do so. Her unique narrative voice is a major reason I recommend this book – I loved spending time in her head.

Since she’s the POV character, we only see Lucas through Avery’s eyes, which is sometimes problematic. He comes off as the wise, mature adult to Avery’s completely immature self, and sometimes that can be annoying. If you like smart heroes who love to lead naive heroines through their paces until they grow up, this might not irk you. But I ended up liking him by the end of the book, finding him to be swoon worthy in his passionate declarations of love and wish for a lifetime with Avery. 

There's more here than just a love story. Avery has plenty of family issues to work through, as she must cope with her mother and grandmother’s estrangement on top of it all. But she emerges as a woman with a fuller understanding of herself, which is what makes Love is a War Song fantastic. It has the right kind of enemies-to-lovers fire; and its coming of age story compels and pleases in a way that makes any lumps and bumps experienced along the way worthwhile.

Miley Cyrus fans rise! This one was made for us. As a huge fan of Hannah Montana growing up, this was definitely giving Hannah Montana: The Movie vibes, while simultaneously highlighting indigenous culture.

Avery Fox is this uprising pop star who gets caught up in a scandal that gets her "canceled" and her next album is now at risk. Her momager ships her off to Oklahoma to reconnect with her indigenous roots, and to prove her Native American heritage to her fans, who are calling her a fraud. The adjustment to this place is definitely rough for her at first, but when she meets Lucas she ends up discovering not just a newfound love of her culture, but a new love blossoming overall.

I thought this story was so cute, and I think Lucas supported Avery so beautifully. The secrets that were uncovered about her family were heartbreaking for her to find out, but I'm glad her and her family started to heal and repair for the better.

🎸 Audiobook Review 🎸

Thank you so much to @prhaudio for my gifted listener copy and to @berkleyromance for my free e-arc of Love is a War Song #prhaudiopartner #berkleypartner

🎧 I listened to this one as an audiobook, and Kyla Garcia did a fantastic job from start to finish. While this would also make a good eyeball read, I found myself fully engrossed in the audio 🎧

This is Danica Nava’s second romance release, and I have to say I enjoyed it so much more than her first book.

🎶 Quick Blurb:

Avery is a Muscogee actress and pop star who finds herself in muddy water after doing a culturally insensitive photo shoot that inaccurately portrays indigenous regalia— she is “cancelled” by the masses and sent to Oklahoma to live with her Grandma on her ranch while the dust settles.

❤️‍🔥 My thoughts:

I really loved Avery and found she was an easy FMC to connect with. I felt her storyline of forging knowledge on her indigenous family history was handled with care. I appreciated seeing how not understanding her own background led her to the missteps she initially made, and it was moving to see her evolve to understand what it all meant to her as an individual and as someone who is a descendant of Muscogee culture. Her growth arc was well paced and engaging.

Along the way as she adjusts to ranch life, we meet Lucas: a full on cowboy that works on the ranch. He is very stoic and needed time to warm up to Avery after his first impressions of her, but he comes to be a true guide and supportive friend to her.

Of course, things begin to evolve romantically between Lucas and Avery, and I felt their development of chemistry was a well paced, swoony slow burn! I think it was beautiful the way they grew to truly see the best in each other and how they went to bat for each other to defend those bests.

This one is lower spice but with a steady increase in steam and heat.

You’ll also not want to skip the author’s note for this story as hearing Nava’s insights on how she came to write this book gave me an even higher appreciation of the story at hand. Representation truly matters!

4.5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

4.5 stars.

I loved Danica Nava's "Love is a War Song" so, so much! Once I started this book, I literally could not stop it; that's how addicting it is. It is an Indigenous romance where an unlikely pair, a celebrity pop singer and a cowboy, are thrust together in close proximity and shake up everything they thought they knew about themselves and about life. Slowly over time, they build a connection and a relationship. They are both characters with baggage and mess that follows their every move, but they learn to accept each other and their flaws, slowly letting down their walls to understand one another. I loved the banter between Avery and Lucas. There is some great enemies-to-lovers vibes going on here! This story also has a wonderful commentary on community, found family, and culture. My only slight critique is that the pacing is slightly uneven in some spots, but it is not so distracting that it took away from my overall enjoyment of the book. Heck, maybe that was on purpose to enhance the slow-burning nature of the story. Overall, I found this to be a fun, romantic, often funny, creative, lovely story that held my attention and was snappily paced!

Thank you to NetGalley, Danica Nava, and Berkley Publishing Group for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

3.5 stars. This was really promising and I read it in two days. I think if the FMC's inner thoughts are fleshed out/edited a bit (more in depth, less repetition, more of her back story), this would be a solid 4 stars. Even with the first person POV and no POV for the MMC. I appreciated the nuanced take on cancel culture. Great food for thought there. Both main characters were well drawn as were the side characters and I really liked the found family and actual family aspects.

Love is a War Song was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 and I loved it so much! This Pop Star x Cowboy Indigenous romance is full of love, redemption, family, reconnection and even a Twilight reference (iykyk 😹)!

As an Indigenous reader, seeing Indigenous stories on the shelves never gets old! I loved The Truth According to Ember & Love is a War Song so much and can’t wait to see what Danica Nava has in store for us next!

Thank you so much to Berkley for sending a copy my way!

This one just didn’t work for me. I don’t love reading about cancel culture and to be fair she deserved to be cancelled. I liked the country aspect but didn’t super love any of the characters to make this one memorable.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an e-arc for my honest thoughts.

4.5 out of 5 stars

I felt like I was reading the Hannah Montana movie and I enjoyed every second of it.

I thought this story was so good! I loved that Avery was able to connect to her heritage and find a place for herself. This story is probably even more of a story of Avery falling in love with herself and her family. The relationship with Lucas felt so natural and real. I thought this story was very well done and Danica Nava did an excellent job writing this cowboy x popstar romance. This was written so well and I really loved Avery and Lottie throughout the whole thing.

Closed Door Mods: Chapter 21,22

This is how a cowboy romance is done👏👏👏

Popstar Avery Fox is cancelled after a Rolling Stone cover is published with her wearing a feather warbonnet. The public believes she stole a false Muscogee identity. She is sent to live off-grid in Oklahoma with her estranged grandmother on a horse ranch. It turns out life in Oklahoma was just what she needed, a daily routine with genuine people and connections, and learning more about her mysterious family history. Not to mention interacting with Lucas Iron Eyes, a grumpy cowboy and ranch hand since he was 16 years old.

This book gave major Hannah Montana vibes and I had a great time with it. Avery asked Lucas to teach her "how to be Indian" in exchange for Avery to be an angel investor in his business venture to open up a youth rehabilitation horse ranch, and those were some of my favorite moments. The situations Avery would get them into, such as forced proximity in a tornado bunker as the sirens were going off were a delight. The community always being there to support each other was really special. All in all, this was a great cowboy romance with an indigenous twist.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free book!

Avery Fox is a pop star who made a mistake and now people are calling her a fake Native American. In order to get out of the limelight until the hate dies down and also to properly connect to her roots, she goes to stay at her grandma Lottie's horse ranch in Oklahoma. Avery isn't used to working outside, but things are made even harder when her grandma's ranch hand Lucas keeps giving her the third degree. Lucas doesn't like what he thinks Avery stands for, but he's forced to work closely with her. They decide to form a truce and try to get along for the sake of the Red Fox Ranch. Lottie is having some money issues and won't let anyone help her, but Lucas and Avery agree to come up with a secret plan. Avery will raise the funds to save the ranch, and Lucas will show Avery what it really means to be Indian. Along the way they find out that they work well together.

I enjoyed the swoony moments between Lucas and Avery. I also enjoyed all the pop culture references, with the exception of one. I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a sweet romance or enjoys the grumpy/sunshine trope!

If you like cowboy romances or small town romances or romances in general…don’t sleep on “Love is a War Song” by @danica_nava. Thanks for @berkleyromance, I got to read this early and to say I loved it is an understatement. This book was the perfect fish out of water, small town love story with a healthy dose of finding yourself and returning to your roots, and the most beautiful Native representation in a category that is usually lacking in that area.

Lucas and Avery are the perfect opposites attract story. At the start, Avery is at the height of her pop career but quickly sees her downfalls when she decides to lean into her heritage (but really ends up appropriating it). Her character arc was so beautiful to me - she has to come to terms with what she wants and who she is.

Her dynamic with Lucas had me gagged from the start. He is grumpy and hard-shelled and closed off to Avery. He likes her but doesn’t want to because he wants to see her as the vapid pop star she appears to be. But, naturally, their time together makes it impossible for them to stay apart.

Danica is one of the few Native voices writing romance (traditionally published, any way) these days. She has taken a genre that has seen its share of books in the last few years and brought a unique voice and perspective to it. She’s made cowboy romance feel fresh and new with this book.

The exploration of what it means to come home and to find yourself is so important, now more than ever. The way Native peoples have been portrayed in media has historically been less than positive, and the more Danica (and others like her) tell these types of stories, the better off we all are.

And, if it’s not enough to have a perfectly executed (tender, sweet, funny, hopeful) romance set in Oklahoma, know that Lucas is the swooniest MC ever (man would literally stay in a barn overnight with Avery to keep her safe even as he “doesn’t like her”).

I am irrevocably in love with these two and this book, which is a top read of the year HANDS DOWN!

At it's heart, Love Is A War Song is about finding community. Romantic love isn't the cure all for life's problems; and we see that in Avery's story. She's thrust into a life she never expected, without all the creature comforts she's used to. As a pop star she's surrounded by people and pulled in a million different directions, but she's so alone. Nobody in her life is willing to listen to what she has to say. And of course, when push comes to shove the industry is all too willing to throw her aside after their own choices lead to her being cancelled. She's pawned of on the grandma she's never met and expected to wait around for any news.

There she meets Lucas Iron Eyes (quite possibly the hottest cowboy to ever exist) ranch hand-extraordinaire and her own #1 hater. We know they'll end up together, but it's the journey there that won me over. Avery goes from a ditsy (/lovingly), down on her luck pop star with no idea who she is or where she comes from to someone who's less afraid to fight for what she wants out of life. I love her arc (and not just because I love Hannah Montana-esque fish out of water stories). It's funny and heartwarming and angsty. If you've ever struggled to find out where you belong I think this one's for you.

As for the romance, listen I cried when these two finally kissed. I knew the fight for their relationship wasn't over. There was still work to be done and hearts to be won. These two go from a deeply rooted hatred to defending each other's honors. There's passion but there's also concern. They'll ride out the toughest storms for each other. I can't wait for Danica Nava's next book. I might even reread this one just to hear the audiobook.

I truly appreciate the way Danica Nava can show the growth of her characters in the span of a single book, because Avery, from the first page to the last, went from absolutely clueless to being a powerhouse. Such a great story.

Thank you Berkley Romance for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

I am so excited to talk about this book. I read and enjoyed the author’s debut last year and I am here to confirm that there is no sophomore slump. I think this book surpassed her debut for me and I am so excited to continue reading Nava’s work!

Tropes:

famous person/normal person

grumpy/sunshine

fish out of water

small town

cowboy romance

Synopsis:

“Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stone in a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native American singer has turned her into a social pariah and dubbed her a fake. With threats coming from every direction and her career at a standstill, she escapes to her estranged grandmother Lottie’s ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery—not only does she have to work in the blazing summer heat to earn her keep, but the man who runs Lottie’s horse ranch despises her and wants her gone.Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was sixteen years old. He has lived by three rules to keep himself out of trouble: 1) preserve the culture, 2) respect the horses, and 3) stick to himself. When he is tasked with picking up Lottie’s granddaughter at the bus station, the last person he expected to see is the Avery Fox. Lucas can’t stand what she represents, but when he’s forced to work with her on the ranch, he can’t get her out of his sight—or his head. He reminds himself to keep to his rules, especially after he finds out the ranch is under threat of being shut down.It’s clear Avery doesn’t belong here, but they form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. It’s purely transactional, absolutely no horsing around…but where’s the fun in that?” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Concept/Premise—When I saw the author comp this to an adult version of The Hannah Montana movie, I immediately added it to my TBR. I love the fish out of water trope and love a famous person/normal person trope too!

The Characters—Something about a ranch and all the sweet, warm characters that work there will always get me. I thought the group was really well rounded and I looked forward to spending time with them.

The Romance—I heart Lucas Iron Eyes and his grumpy self!

What Didn’t Work for Me:

Nothing! I really liked this book and it’s going to be one I recommend often for Summer reading.

Character Authenticity: 4.5 Spice Rating: 1.5/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Content Warnings:

cultural appropriation, bullying, racism,

Actual Rating 3.5

The characters are well written, with strong characterization while still falling into familiar tropes. I enjoyed this, as well as how seamlessly the family dynamics and cultural elements were incorporated throughout the book. There was some good character growth as well, which is always a plus. I also really liked the ranch setting. The author did a great job incorporating rural life, and I enjoyed the scenes with Avery trying to learn to cook.

This work is classified as an Adult romance, but it honestly felt quite YA to me. I think this was particularly due to the characters (Avery felt like a 16-year-old to me) and the overall tone of the read. This wasn’t a bad thing in this case, it’s just worth noting.

Overall, if you enjoy romances with great representation, a solid setting, and interesting themes, you’ll probably enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was public enemy number one.

Love is a War Song was about a Disney childstar actress trying to grow into becoming a pop star but getting wrapped up in a media frenzy when she showcases her Muscogee heritage in an ignorant way on the cover of Rolling Stone. If you're a fan of Hannah Montana vibes, then you'd probably enjoy this more than I did, it read and came across in a young way to me that I had trouble getting into.

We were in on the joke. Taking back this Native maiden stereotype. Reclaiming it. But it backfired, because of my ignorance. It wasn’t powerful. It was problematic.

Avery's only ever known her mother, who's also her manager, for family. She's constantly being pushed by her mom and has no real idea about her Native American heritage. When she dresses in a war bonnet for Rolling Stone, social media goes into a frenzy condemning and arguing if she has a right to wear it. When it looks like her new record deal could be in danger, her mom decides that she should go escape to Avery's grandmother's ranch in Oklahoma. There, the story has Avery trying to learn about her family, being a fish out of water, and arguing and getting turned on by a cowboy on the ranch, Lucas.

Under these stars, I wasn’t disgraced singer Avery Fox. Right now, I was just a girl (with terrible insomnia) free to do whatever I wanted.

This was told from Avery's point-of-view and for the first half, I honestly felt like I knew more about her Golden Goose shoes than Lucas. The second half we get Avery inserting herself into Lucas' family drama by pretending to be his girlfriend and going to a family dinner with him. Readers finally learn some about him, he comes from money but has disappointed his father by “only” becoming a ranch hand, and had addiction problems in the past but he's now clean and sober. Their relationship was a lot of Lucas eye-rolling at Avery because he doesn't like how she utilizes her Native American heritage in her celebrity persona and how helpless and naive she is on the ranch, Avery likes to poke at him because he comes off stuffy to her, but there's always the looking at each other's lips factor. There were some rom-com moments ran through for lighter moments and Avery wanting desperately for her grandmother to talk to her about not only her immediate family history but also cultural for some emotional pings.

Love is a war song, a battle cry. Something to fight for. And I would fight for us.

Between fish out of water scenes, Avery does slowly start to learn not only about her culture but about herself, and a big event comes up where Avery had to decide if she wanted to continue on the same path or make an effort to live a more true life. I was looking for more emotional depth while this had a lighter, younger, vibe to it, so a different audience, the aforementioned Hannah Montana fans, would more than likely end up enjoying this more.

It's cowboy summer and I am here for it! Danica Nava's second novel is for fans of Hannah Montana and cowboy romances! I really enjoyed the Native representation. The story was spicy and fun and I think this is the perfect beach read!

I love this author! The world needs indigenous representation in cowboy romance! I really liked how we have a "canceled" singer that has to move back to her grandmother (that she doesn't know) and is able to discover her roots, herself and find community. Lucas was such a swoony cowboy love interest and he really brought Avery out of her shell. The ending was one of those 90's rom com big endings that gives you all the warm fuzzy feelings! If you enjoy romcoms this is a must read!