Format: Paperback
Published: August 6th, 2024
Age: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4/5 Stars
I really enjoyed this and can see why this book is so beloved, though please, Publishing Industry, give us more indigenous representation! It was a lot harder than I expected finding a book for this prompt and although it feels like romance is getting more diverse, this is absolutely an area where it’s lacking.
So – Ember. Ember is a Chickasaw woman who is searching for an accounting job, and after constant rejections, she makes a few changes to her resume, including getting creative with her qualifications and experiences, and answering the ethnicity question as white instead of Native American. It works, and Ember lands her dream job, but as she enters the corporate world and meets fellow Native Danuwoa Colson, she finds herself creating lie after lie to protect herself and her new relationship with Danuwoa. When they’re caught during a work trip, Ember finds herself trapped, blackmailed into doing things she’s pretty sure she shouldn’t be doing. Coming clean risks her new job, her newfound financial stability, and her relationship with Danuwoa. But as the lies grow to be too much, Ember has some decisions to make.
Firstly, I loved Ember’s character. She’s really funny and determined, and she just makes mistake after mistake. In completely understandable ways – you can see how she gets herself into these messes, but she’s stuck in a place that doesn’t value her and is actively working to keep her out. There are moments where slightly different choices would have made for different, better outcomes, and times where I found myself frustrated at her, but everything still makes sense for the character and her situation.
Her relationship with Danuwoa was really sweet, and because she’s not been in an office environment before, there’s a lot of unspoken rules she’s just not aware of. It made her as a character really endearing, and made me wish someone would take her under their wing. Ember’s biggest flaw is that she struggles to ask for help – she’s used to being the person who helps others, even to her own detriment, but through the novel we really get to see her grow.
Nava has written a really lovely book, about community and finding your place, and it was wonderful to spend this time with Ember, Danuwoa and the rest of the cast. And if you’ve worked in office environments, there’s so much relatable stuff here, from the office creep to that team of “bros” to being a new person in this world and finding your feet. I definitely recommend this one and look forward to reading Nava’s other book, Love is a War Song.
Reading Challenge
Romance Readers Diversity Challenge 2025 ❤️
Prompt: A book with Indigenous representation
Progress: 10/12 + 2 Bonus
Unwrapping Words 