Book Review: The Truth According to Ember
You ever try to talk about a book you read in a coherent fashion, and realize that anything you’re about to say is going to either come out garbled, or else just not convey the depths of how and why you enjoyed it as much as you did? That’s how I feel writing this. I read a lot of books, but I think it’s safe to say Danica Nava’s The Truth According to Ember is a contender for one of my favorite reads of the year.
The story follows Ember, who tells a little white lie or two to get her foot in the door as an accountant at a startup in Oklahoma City. There, she meets Danuwoa, the handsome IT guy, and the two hit it off right away. But the lies keep adding up as Ember does her best to avoid being caught for the…embellishments she made to her resume, and to avoid the higher-ups finding out she and Danuwoa are not exactly sticking to the company’s “no dating” policy.
While the idea of a character sustaining a lie (or several) throughout a book can get frustrating in general, Nava avoids this by making it clear exactly what is at stake for Ember if she tells the truth - or at least what Ember believes is at stake. You understand as a reader why she feels the way she does, and why she’s trying so hard to stop things from spiralling out of control, and to keep the truth from coming out. What matters is when push comes to shove, Ember is refreshingly direct with people, further driving home for the reader why she feels the way she does.
As far as love interests go, Danuwoa is the type of sweet, cinnamon roll man that the best book boyfriends are made of. Kind, funny, hot, but like Ember, he also stands his ground when it really matters. Though we don’t ever get his point of view, there’s never any doubt in how he feels about Ember. Their chemistry is some of the best I’ve read recently, with an organic friends-to-lovers buildup, and enough steamy moments that I actually broke into a sweat at one point over a single line of dialogue.
It’s also wonderful to have a traditionally published romance by a Native American author about Native American characters, even if it’s shocking that this is the first of its kind, all the way in the year 2024. OK maybe it’s less shocking than it is disappointing, but I am glad we have it now. There’s so much to be said for how it shows the different ways Ember and Danuwoa experience the world as Native Americans, and the way cultural and social elements are woven in throughout, unflinchingly, and without over-explaining things (Google is, after all, free).
The Truth According to Ember is a delightful debut novel, and I eagerly anticipate whatever Danica Nava puts out next. She’s made a loyal reader out of me.
The Truth According to Ember is out on August 6. Special thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy for review purposes.