Title: The Truth According to Ember
Author: Danica Nava
Pub. Date: August 6th 2024
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Indigenous
Format: eARC
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 358
GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | LIBRO.FM | AMAZON
☆☆ARC PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW☆☆
Debut author Danica Nava introduces us to Ember Lee Cardinal, a Chickasaw woman who is down on her luck and feeling like it’s time to do things a little differently. Thirty seven job rejections won’t deter her, she’s on a mission to get out of working at the local bowling alley where everybody knows your name but scrubbing toilets is not endgame. Ember has taken some accounting courses but she hasn’t finished any of them and isn’t certified in the field. This however, doesn’t stop her from applying to her dream accounting job in the Park Avenue area of Oklahoma City. Ember employs some creativity while applying for this position by changing her race, for this job she is white Ember who is further along with her accounting experience and qualifications. Ember’s resumé is selected for an interview and before she knows it, she has snagged a corporate job as an accounting assistant. She decides to go for it and improvise along the way but also continue the lie and then lie some more, she’s actually pretty good at it until she crosses paths with the IT guy Danuwoa Colson. A fellow Native American working for the same company, Danuwoa is beautiful to look at. He isn’t hiding his race but in their flirting he’s kind of letting on that her lies don’t add up, at least not to him but he’s game to play along.
Was this a little stressful at times to read? yea just a bit but in a fun and for some may be a bit unrealistic. Although it may not seem like something that happens, Ember’s situation is not at all unheard of. I’ve been on the receiving end of rejection in a room full of white hopeful interviewees while being the only Latinx applicant. To say or think that racism and prejudices don’t rear their ugly heads during the interviewing of applicants is unreal. I found it more unlikely to not have been caught earlier but Ember is quick thinking and resourceful, she was killing it in this new role. Ethically she should’ve completed her courses but I gave her kudos all the way for using what she had learned up until that point and super exceeding expectations. At her new workplace we see Ember navigate microagressions aimed at some of her co-workers from different ethnic backgrounds. She isn’t above checking the higher ups for their racist remarks and for that alone I loved Ember. I rounded up from a 3.5 to 4 stars simply because although I enjoyed my time watching Ember wiggle her way out of tough moments where her lies came dangerously close to being uncovered, it was perhaps too much time. There is a no-dating policy at work but that doesn’t stop them from gravitating towards one another. Dan provided a different perspective by openly embracing his race and not really caring if it made others uncomfortable. I wanted more time spent between Ember and Danuwoa, especially since Dan didn’t judge her for how she got her foot in the door. If anything he seemed entertained by her scheming 😂 which hey! we love a King who loves you for you! I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Danica Nava 💜
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