Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"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 resume 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 too: 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."
📚📚📚
It's always nice after having a couple of lackluster reviews to read a book and think "you know, I quite liked this!" I preordered this book after a bookseller I follow on Instagram posted about it, and when it finally came out and I opened the package, I had to read it right away. (Sorry, TBR piles, I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not reading you yet.) The cover and the premise really captivated me, and I read it pretty quickly. Sadly, I did not write this review pretty quickly...I started it, and then I got busy and came back to it like a week and a half later. So...my memory of the finer details of the book are growing hazy, and this won't be a detailed review. Sorry, blame it on the dummies I work with who won't mask after multiple people test positive for COVID, resulting in a rotating cast of way too many staff members being out sick and me getting more work dumped on me as a result.
Anyway, there were some moments that irked me a bit, just because I was like Ember what in the world are you thinking?! But I don't think that was necessarily a bad thing - she was painted into some tough corners, sometimes by her own (frankly at times strange) lies, but others because other people were assholes. She put a lot of pressure on herself to handle things on her own and to avoid being a burden, and while that led to trouble in ways that would have been easily avoided by just talking to someone, it's supremely relatable to be so afraid of inconveniencing someone else that you dig yourself into a hole trying to handle shit on your own.
It's hard to decide what my favorite part of this book was, but it might be Danuwoa's sister. (I would check the book for her name, but I don't have it with me, so...sorry.) She was so sweet and so fiery and just absolutely hilarious, and I adored her. I also thought Ember's aunt was incredibly warm and kind, and her best friend was a very fun character. High fives all around for the excellent character development, even the catty company receptionist who was friendly until something not at all in Ember's control made her turn on her...the detail and realism were top notch.
Uhh...I'm very tired, and I probably should have waited to finish this review, but I didn't want to leave it for even longer. So I'm just going to say, read this book. It's good! A little spicy, so warning if you aren't into that. But that's just a handful of scenes, and it's still a solid story.
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