workplace romance | Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Truth According to Ember
Author: Danica Nava
Narrators: Siena East
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: August 6, 2024
Print length: 343 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 8 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.

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 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.

The Truth According to Ember generated a lot of buzz in 2024, notably for being one of the lone examples of a rom-com written by a Native American author and with indigenous characters in the lead roles, rather than being relegated to secondary/supporting character status.

This story of a woman resorting lies to change her life has a lot of charm and a nice flow, but very questionable choices and actions drag it down and make it hard to truly root for the main character.

Ember works a dead end job at a bowling alley, lost the money she’d been saving toward her education when her brother skipped out on bail, and keeps getting rejected from every job she applies to. She’s taken accounting classes at the community college and dreams of becoming an accountant, but can’t seem to get her foot in the door. Fed up, she pads her resume with a degree she hasn’t earned and work experience that she doesn’t actually have, and ends up getting not just an interview, but a job.

Hired as an accounting assistant for a tech company, Ember is elated about finally breaking into the corporate world. Once she starts getting her paychecks, she fully intends to continue taking classes and getting the degree she claims to have. Meanwhile, she’s a quick learner — she doesn’t actually know how to do most of the work her job entails, but after quickly googling how to use QuickBooks, she’s on her way.

Complicating things at the office is the super hot IT guy — a gorgeous man named Danuwoa (who allows himself to be called Dan in the office, since no one seems capable of learning his actual name). Ember is smitten, and and the feeling seems to be mutual, but since the company has a strict no dating policy, he’s off-limits… or is he?

As Ember and Donuwoa begin secretly seeing each other and Ember gets a surprise promotion into an interim role as executive assistant to the CEO, the lies she’s told are a ticking timebomb. If the truth comes out, she’ll imperil not only her own job, but Donuwoa’s as well.

I should pause here to stay that because of my “day job” — I work in HR — this book made my brain hurt in so many ways. When she lies on her resume and lies about her job skills, I wanted to scream. But also, during her interview, the HR rep not only asks non-work questions but also basically comments on how hot Donuwoa is when he walks by. Just, no. No, no, no.

So clearly, I am not the best person to assess this book. There is quite a bit to enjoy, especially the observations on racism and sexism in the workplace, even when the worst offenders believe themselves (and declare themselves) to be “woke”. The vibe between Ember and Donuwoa is flirty and sexy, and they have great chemistry. Donuwoa is almost too perfect, kind, caring, understanding, and an amazing big brother to his sister Walela, who herself is all kinds of awesome.

I appreciated Ember finally coming to certain realizations about looking to community for support and not having to do everything on her own. Obviously, she also learns some major lessons about honesty, in her work life and in her relationships, once her lies catch up with her and blow up in her face.

Still, the workplace lies and poor judgement (like hooking up in a supply closet) made it hard for me to enjoy the book as a whole, and when Ember’s lies spread to not being up front with Donuwoa about what’s happening, I lost most of my sympathy for Ember.

I’m glad I gave The Truth According to Ember a try, and did appreciate many aspects of the setting, the challenges faced by the characters, and the dynamics between Ember and her friends and family, as well as her connection with Donuwoa. However, the problematic issues repeatedly took me out of the story and prevented me from fully feeling immersed.

[Note to self: Maybe HR professionals just shouldn’t read books about workplace romances… ]

Title: With Love, From Cold World
Author: Alicia Thompson
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: August 1. 2023
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction/romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher, via NetGalley
Rating:

She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn’t on it–yet somehow he’s become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.

Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that’s always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it’s ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it’s a fun place to work, even if “fun” isn’t exactly Lauren’s middle name.

Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World–whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn’t know how to enjoy herself, he’s surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn’t serious about anything, she’s surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.

As Lauren and Asa work to save their beloved wintery spot, they realize the real attraction might be the heat generating between them.

In With Love, From Cold World, workplace tension between a pair of opposites hides a chemistry that pulls an unlikely couple together. Lauren is the buttoned-up bookkeeper who likes to keep her head down, focus on her spreadsheets, and — just for fun — do her to-do list items in random order. Asa is the free-spirited, blue-haired, tattooed jack-of-all trades who seemingly does a little of everything at Cold World, has no interest in moving up to a management position, and is ardently devoted to hosting Secret Santa exchanges every year.

Asa also seems to take an odd pleasure in teasingly calling Lauren a robot and trying to wind her up, which she SO doesn’t appreciate. And Lauren fears that she’s made a lifelong enemy due to a gaffe at her very first company holiday part, during which she suggested that Secret Santa was ultimately a waste of money (gasp!).

When Lauren and Asa are tasked by Cold World’s owner to come up with ideas for how to reenergize Cold World and increase revenues, they initially focus on competition rather than collaboration, but as circumstances force them together over and over, their enemy status shows signs of thawing and turning into something more.

There’s really a lot to enjoy about With Love, From Cold World. For starters, Cold World itself! The idea of a Florida attraction where visitors get to ice skate and play in the snow (in summer!) really does sound delightful.

Lauren and Asa themselves are both deeper than they initially appear to be. At first glance, they seem to fit very specific romance tropes — she’s the nerdy, uptight woman hiding her inner fire (and who’s much more beautiful than she realizes); he’s the daring, unconstrained artistic sort who believes in taking chances. They unlock something in each other and reveal their true selves…

And yes, that’s true here, but there’s more going on as well. Lauren was raised in the foster care system from a young age, and while she lucked out in having a kinder foster parent than many others she knew, she still grew up without the support or love of a family. She finds security in her orderly life, and is deeply afraid of opening herself up to rejection if she dares to start truly connecting with others.

Asa was kicked out of his family home after a parishioner sent his pastor father a photo of Asa kissing a boy. At age eighteen, Asa was on his own, cut off from family and support, but found a place to belong at Cold World. No wonder he’s still there ten years later — this is a place where he’s found acceptance, feels valued, and has created a found family for himself.

Lauren and Asa are a slow burn, and they constantly get in their own way when it comes to recognizing their connection and pursuing a relationship. Lauren in particular has a hard time communicating, and her difficulty with trust and defensiveness, creating barriers rather than risking being hurt, threatens to sink their relationship before it really has a chance to develop.

I enjoyed seeing each of them work through the obstacles keeping them apart and start to think about how to take the next steps in their own lives, as well as together. The Cold World setting is quite fun (if a little corny), and the dynamic of the larger friend group is really entertaining as well.

With Love, From Cold World is the second novel by Alicia Thompson, following last year’s Love in the Time of Serial Killers. After enjoying both of these books, I’m eager to see what she writes next!