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casserole_cg's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
themes:
- forbidden romance
- work romance
- forced proximity (one bed)
- third act breakup
- racism and interconnectedness of poverty
vibe of the book:
cute, cozy, easy read. high drama. these white men are racist af but ember gets them back. good fluffy romance.
- forbidden romance
- work romance
- forced proximity (one bed)
- third act breakup
- racism and interconnectedness of poverty
vibe of the book:
cute, cozy, easy read. high drama. these white men are racist af but ember gets them back. good fluffy romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was so funny. I enjoyed the author's voice and look forward to more from her. I've never read any romance novels with non-stereotypical depictions of native romantic leads, and I've only heard of a few others, so I'm glad this exists.
Ember was a little annoying as a character because of all her lies, many of which were completely unnecessary, but I understand that part of her character growth was realizing how unnecessary those lies were. Donoa on the other hand seems to have absolutely no flaws, which is fun to fantasize about, but obviously stretches credulity. Unlike some other romance novels, this book only tells the story from the point of view of one of the romantic leads. I wonder if there would be more character development if the chapters alternated between perspectives.
Ember was a little annoying as a character because of all her lies, many of which were completely unnecessary, but I understand that part of her character growth was realizing how unnecessary those lies were. Donoa on the other hand seems to have absolutely no flaws, which is fun to fantasize about, but obviously stretches credulity. Unlike some other romance novels, this book only tells the story from the point of view of one of the romantic leads. I wonder if there would be more character development if the chapters alternated between perspectives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
binevolentbookworm's review against another edition
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
if you don't mind messy, mostly unlikeable women who are just trying to make it in the world (think '01 Bridget Jones in all her glory) then you might just gobble this one up, however if the entire premise of a book relies on bending and breaking truths is not for you, just go ahead and skip this one.
Ember states her lies are not pathological in the beginning of the story, but lemme tell ya, the sheer number of tall tales by 60% is giving pathological! compulsive! and raised my blood pressure, making it extremely difficult to enjoy this book as much as i thought i would.
Ember's personality often reads more like a YA lead than an adult in a contemporary romance. she is supposed to be the one (out of all her family and friends) who is getting her life together, though her immaturity in almost all situations, makes that a hard sell.
that said, why is it that men written by women are just so... *shakes fist* much better! i mostly loved the sexy, hot IT man, Danuwoa, and the fact that he from the get seemed to have caught a whiff of Ember’s bullshit, and still makes an effort to move past the barriers (lies) she's built to get to the real her had me swooning. his compassion mixed with incessant teasing is exactly what was needed to find balance in their story.
finally, i am flabbergasted that there was not a single scene in which D asks “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” followed by E: “no, but you can turn me on” - a true missed opportunity!!!!!!!!
Nava does include a lot of truths in this book (despite Ember’s defining characteristic being deceitful) about Native people, especially women, and their experiences in the U.S. her authors note at the end really sold me on the importance of this story, even if the premise wasn’t entirely for me. i think Nava has established herself as a bright new voice in romance, and i’m excited to read her next release and see how she’s grown.
p.s. biphobia:
i did struggle with the depiction of Ember’s best friend, whose main character traits were being an artist who is overly loud when she’s drunk and overly sexual, having a constant rotation of partners. though not malicious in intent, the delivery was still harmful in its representation of bi characters.
Ember states her lies are not pathological in the beginning of the story, but lemme tell ya, the sheer number of tall tales by 60% is giving pathological! compulsive! and raised my blood pressure, making it extremely difficult to enjoy this book as much as i thought i would.
Ember's personality often reads more like a YA lead than an adult in a contemporary romance. she is supposed to be the one (out of all her family and friends) who is getting her life together, though her immaturity in almost all situations, makes that a hard sell.
that said, why is it that men written by women are just so... *shakes fist* much better! i mostly loved the sexy, hot IT man, Danuwoa, and the fact that he from the get seemed to have caught a whiff of Ember’s bullshit, and still makes an effort to move past the barriers (lies) she's built to get to the real her had me swooning. his compassion mixed with incessant teasing is exactly what was needed to find balance in their story.
finally, i am flabbergasted that there was not a single scene in which D asks “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” followed by E: “no, but you can turn me on” - a true missed opportunity!!!!!!!!
Nava does include a lot of truths in this book (despite Ember’s defining characteristic being deceitful) about Native people, especially women, and their experiences in the U.S. her authors note at the end really sold me on the importance of this story, even if the premise wasn’t entirely for me. i think Nava has established herself as a bright new voice in romance, and i’m excited to read her next release and see how she’s grown.
p.s. biphobia:
i did struggle with the depiction of Ember’s best friend, whose main character traits were being an artist who is overly loud when she’s drunk and overly sexual, having a constant rotation of partners. though not malicious in intent, the delivery was still harmful in its representation of bi characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
Minor: Biphobia and Death of parent
missladysky's review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism
skye_era_books's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved this book and cannot wait to read more by this author. This is the first traditionally published Native rom-com!! Everyone deserves representation in all forms, even in silly rom-coms. Danuwoa is an angel and I loved his sister as well. Ember did piss me off a lot throughout the book though (even though that was kinda the point with her lying lol). Like Danuwoa said at the end, it wasn’t that she lied to get her job — that I wholeheartedly understand and agree with — it was continuing to lie to him about the silliest things like being allergic to his cat and lying to her coworkers that she had a boyfriend. Those little lies got annoying really quick.
Besides that, I think this was a fantastic story about a young woman getting herself into the accounting field by any means necessary and finding love.
Danica is hilarious and it really shines through the page. I also love that the FMC was sort of based on Danica’s experience getting into the workforce — she too is mixed race and finally just put “Caucasian” on job applications to finally receive a call back. I hate that so many people have to go through that, but glad that people now have that representation built into a romance book.
Besides that, I think this was a fantastic story about a young woman getting herself into the accounting field by any means necessary and finding love.
Danica is hilarious and it really shines through the page. I also love that the FMC was sort of based on Danica’s experience getting into the workforce — she too is mixed race and finally just put “Caucasian” on job applications to finally receive a call back. I hate that so many people have to go through that, but glad that people now have that representation built into a romance book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism
roseleebooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This contemporary romcom was sweet and exactly what I was hoping for it to be.
The setup was great, workplace drama believable, and the romance kept me reading.
I appreciated the character growth that Ember goes through and was rooting for her even when she made mistakes.
My only (mild) criticism is that I was wishing for more scenes with Ember and Danuwoa in the first half of the book. Their interactions were well written and I wanted more of them together. There's some small time jumps that prevent us from seeing more day to day interactions.
Overall a really great read and I can't wait to read more from Danica Nava.
The setup was great, workplace drama believable, and the romance kept me reading.
I appreciated the character growth that Ember goes through and was rooting for her even when she made mistakes.
My only (mild) criticism is that I was wishing for more scenes with Ember and Danuwoa in the first half of the book. Their interactions were well written and I wanted more of them together. There's some small time jumps that prevent us from seeing more day to day interactions.
Overall a really great read and I can't wait to read more from Danica Nava.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
booksalacarte's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5⭐️3🌶️
Contemporary Romance
Own Voices Author
Workplace Romance
Forbidden Romance
First person POV
Indigenous MC’s
🏳️🌈 Side Character
Disabled side character
The plot of the book highlights heavier themes throughout from racism/micro aggressions, sexism, corporate nepotism, feminine hyper awareness, complicated family ties, historical oppression and common generation issues among the native population. There is something of a lived experience in the pages of this book, and you can feel it. I respect this author and that this is an OwnVoices story.
With so much being packed into the plot lines of this book, it’s no wonder that the main character feels locked in a mentality that makes her seem immature or naive when it comes to certain aspects. Her lies and constant anxiety was giving me major secondhand anxiety that made this story harder for me, personally, to enjoy.
The MMC is depicted as the perfect man… I was always waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. We didn’t get to know him as a person other than the hot IT guy, which was a real disservice to his potential.
I hope that more indigenous authors make contemporary rom-coms. I enjoyed reading!
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Alcohol