Author: Danica Nava
Year published: 2024
Category: Adult fiction (romance)
Pages: 384 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (OK, CA)
Summary: 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: This novel's rating on Goodreads is under 4.0 but I had been hearing good things about it so I read it anyway. I am glad that I did.
If you have read much of this blog at all, you know that I like reading books from which I learn something. Not the traditional facts, but about people, cultures, history, and countries that are not my own. This book did that for me in a heartfelt story. Danuwoa and Ember are Native American and the book is peppered with phrases in Cherokee and Chickasaw. The author also weaves in beliefs and attitudes of both groups and what it's like to live as a Native American in the United States. The sense of family and community comes through most strongly.
It turns out much of the book's "background" is based on the author's experiences of education and looking for jobs and that when she, like Ember, checked white instead of Native American on job applications, she finally got a job. While there are achingly honest bits in this book, there is a lot of fun and romance, family and friends, which all combine to a really good read.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet Author--N
- Alphabet Title--T
- Cover Lovers--A piece of jewelry (earring)
- Diversity--Native American author and characters
- Literary Escapes--Oklahoma
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