📕 The Truth According to Ember
✏️ Author: Danica Nava
📖 Genre: Romance
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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 as well: 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.

REVIEW

Overall, this book was laugh out loud hilarious, with fun tropey scenes and pop culture references that worked so well in the story. I loved Ember, who is scrappy, down to earth, and relatable. The forbidden workplace romance was well executed with plenty of spicy moments, and the chemistry was off the charts! I adored Danuwoa, who had an instant connection with Ember, especially the way he teased her.

In addition to the romance, the story also focused on Ember’s experience with office politics and racism, as well as her struggles with trying to find a job as a Native American woman. Although Ember feels that she has to lie in order to be successful in her new role, it’s still easy to feel sympathetic based on her situation. Ember also has to deal with challenging family dynamics while trying to handle everything on her own.

The supporting characters are great too. I loved the inclusion of an out and proud bisexual character, and Danuwoa’s little sister was so cute! I fully recommend this book and would love to read more by this author.