The Truth According to Ember
Danica Nava
A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava. Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is). Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they’re caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.
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0Vibes Indigenous FMC& MC Office Romance Sweet Hero Take Charge Heroine Secret Relationship Forced Proximity 9.97/10 What Worked for Me Characters-10 I loved Ember and Danuwoa! I thought both as a couple, and as individuals they were fantastic. While Ember didn’t make the greatest choices at the start of the story, she recovered as quick as she could. Both Ember and Dan had their own issues they were dealing with, but they had a common thread in taking care of their younger siblings which I loved. The supporting characters like Joanna, Ruthie, Phoebe, and Walela were great as well. I loved how much growth these two characters had. Writing-10 When I started this, I wasn’t expecting it to be as fun and funny as it was. I loved the lighter moments in this, especially where Ember and Dan were forming a relationship. There were also so many important conversations and topics discussed in this. Danica Nava really has a way of pulling the reader in, and not letting go until the end. Plot-9.7 While yes this was a romance, I also loved the journey of self acceptance Ember had over the course of the story. I loved seeing her at a low at the start, and then rising up to be the person she knew she could be. I loved the story of family obligations, and doing what she wanted. I loved the slow burn of the romance in this.
0DNF @ 11%
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Netgalley, and PRH Audio for providing advanced copies of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
This was one of my most anticipated romances of the year and couldn't wait to fall in love with it. Unfortunately this plot just didn't work for me the way I'd hoped.
First - I did try this via audio for the first 5% and definitely do not recommend going down that route. The narrator was very stilted and every conversation was clunky and awkward. It just didn't flow the way a normal conversation would.
So I switched to the physical copy which I did prefer.
But while I was looking for a workplace romance with some secrets, instead this was heroine who just kept lying. Often unnecessarily. It made me so anxious and uncomfortable that I just couldn't get behind routing for her.
It also seemed like the focus of the story was going to be far more on her career journey, with the romance as a side plot. Which is just not what I was looking for from this.
While this was a miss, I am still very curious to see what this author does next. If you love miscommunication and secrets, this romance might work fantastically for you! It's just not my own personal romance preference.
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