Tag: Danica Nava

Review: Love Is a War Song by Danica Nava

Robin1 Comment

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Acclaimed pop singer Avery Fox’s career has hit a bit of a rough patch. Her Rolling Stone magazine feature that was supposed to launch her to real success has come under fire after she appeared on the cover wearing a feather war bonnet. The outcome of the magazine cover and her subsequent music video has led Avery’s Native American identity to be called into question and serious threats levied against her. Though Avery is Muscogee, she has been raised outside her community by her mom turned manager and has never met anyone else in her family. But in the aftermath of the national outcry over the magazine, Avery is sent to Oklahoma and to the ranch of a grandmother she has never met. Hoping to charm her grandmother and the ranch staff until things calm down, Avery is soon met with the reality of Lucas Iron Eyes, the man who runs Red Fox Ranch and decidedly not a fan of Avery, her music, or anything she represents. In the face of the ranch’s financial situation, Lucas and Avery begrudgingly team up. He’ll help her experience what it means to be Muscogee and she’ll help him save the ranch. Working side by side, Lucas and Avery push past their initial animosity, decidedly ignoring the real connection attempting to put down roots between them.

Danica Nava brings on the music in Love Is a War Song, her sophomore romance, which explores the power in forming community and finding ourselves in unlikely places. Love Is a War Song is a phenomenal follow up to Nava’s debut, The Truth According to Ember, which I eagerly read just a few days prior to starting this novel. Romance blossoming from the mess of the everyday is Danica Nava’s forte and that is made all the more clear in this play on cowboy and celebrity romance. Nava’s protagonists are flawed, a relatable representation of what it really means to be a person still figuring things out in today’s world. Where Ember had me stressed out by the protagonist’s elaborate web of lies, Love Is a War Song reasserts the power in standing in ones history and community. Featuring Indigenous love at the center of her romances, Nava gives voice to necessary perspectives in this genre and breaks apart an often monolithic view of unique Indigenous cultures. Danica Nava is easily one of the best new writers I’ve read within this genre and Love Is a War Song is a summer romance worth basking in.

Love is a War Song is a story all about first and second chances and the fallible nature of first impressions. It’s about building your community and home even when you’ve never had one to begin with. Avery Fox is uniquely placed within this romance, having been raised outside her Indigenous community to a mother who placed all her hopes in Avery’s success. This loss of her family and a greater connection to the Muscogee community is unmistakable as this story begins and it reverberates throughout the narrative as Avery pulls together the pieces of her lost history. This connection to her culture is echoed in the music Avery workshops while in Broken Arrow with help from Lucas. Music can inform who we are and the real music Avery is desperate to give voice to is nothing like the songs she is currently performing on stage. While there is a discernible sadness in knowing that Avery was denied a community in her upbringing, returning to the music gives Avery a chance to honor the one she’s found.

Hate to love fans rejoice because Love Is a War Song brings on the tension and indescribable chemistry between its two leads, Lucas and Avery. The romance that blossoms between Lucas and Avery is profound—stemming from two people who initially met with judgment actively working to unlearn those predisposed beliefs. I love romance in the details and Lucas Iron Eyes understands that to a T. He knows the extended versions of LOTR are superior, considers Avery the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and doesn’t think she’ll choose him. I mean I had to love him after that. Hidden beneath a grumpy facade is a good heart and Lucas is the perfect balance to Avery’s warmth and softheartedness. Additionally, Lucas provides a necessary perspective in having lived life on the reservation alongside her grandmother, Lottie. Avery and Lucas are just so good for each other and I think I teared up a bit at some of these scenes, especially the one where she stands up to his parents. Nava integrates her romance within the larger themes of discovery and forging a new path and I was very moved by where it all ended up.

Danica Nava addresses a host of issues in this romance from the entertainment industry, to cancel culture, and Indigenous stereotypes, and all felt grounded in the story and its place. Alongside the romance, Avery confronts the hurt she caused the greater Indigenous community through her music video and magazine cover while becoming acquainted with her Muscogee community in Broken Arrow. Though she was ignorant of the connections through her music video and never intended harm, Avery acknowledges how her actions had greater consequences. Nava makes sure to draw on a larger critique of the entertainment industry parallel to this— an industry all too happy to capitalize on Avery’s Native American identity while also throwing her to the wolves the second she slipped up. Danica Nava handles this entire situation with nuance and her exploration into these subjects feels both timely and necessary. 

Love Is a War Song hits the mark for life affirming romance with just a dash of tropes and nostalgia. With Native American protagonists reaching for love and figuring out life and its plays on cowboy romance and grumpy/sunshine trope, Nava’s romance hits all the marks for a modern love story with such heart. Through Avery’s discovery of her home and life path, Danica Nava emphasizes the power of community and how it is never too late to return to one or build one for the first time. This is another romance only enriched by the ending authors note where Danica Nava delves a little bit more into her research and why she chose to represent the Muscogee Nation in this romance. There’s something about learning more of an author’s research and overall process that really speaks to me and this one is definitely worth the read. Built around misunderstanding but deepened in intimacy and newfound opportunity, Love Is a War Song is exactly the kind of romance I yearn for. Danica Nava leaves her mark with this outstanding romance and I eagerly await what she writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this advance copy to review.

Trigger warnings: addiction

Preorder a Copy – Out 22nd July

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Let’s Talk: Romances to Read and Preorder This Winter

Robin1 Comment

We’re finally out of January (seriously how was this month 84 years long) and because of how long this month was I managed to read 55 books total, twenty of which were romances. The vibes were very much reading away the horrors while trying to curb the chance of an original thought occurring (haha just kidding……unless?) and the result was far too many books and people being concerned for my health and general wellbeing. This is my first roundup of 2025 and I’m refocusing my attentions on delivering my latest favorite romances and speculative fiction at least once a quarter. Seeing as January was a million years long this list was harder than usual to narrow down but without further ado, here are my favorite romances from the beginning of the year. The theme for my January romances was very much second chance so if that’s not your thing I hope to indoctrinate you by the end of this post.

Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt

Second chance romance is the gift that keeps on giving and Tarah Dewitt’s latest is a sparkling and angst-fueled road trip between a former husband and wife who attempt to reconnect six years after their separation on the way back from dropping their son off at college. This journey follows Ellis and Wren on the road to discovery as they try to find themselves outside of their roles as parents and caregivers and decide if they can give their relationship another chance. Dewitt flawlessly navigates the emotional reconciliation after many years apart with her hilarious situations and exceptional dialogue. Left of Forever is quite the emotional read as Dewitt exposes what went wrong in this relationship and builds to a second chance. Ellis not wanting to become a parent again after having to parent to his siblings so young was extremely compelling and tied in with why their relationship ended the way it did. Dewitt places emphasis on communication and opening a dialogue up to compromise as Ellis and Wren unearth the past. Communication has, and always will be sexy, and Dewitt understands that wholeheartedly in this second novel. Pepper mishaps, letters, picnics, and one trip to grasp a love lost, Left of Forever is about love that grows deeper in absence and love refortified in the face of vulnerability and forgiveness. Though much of this takes place outside of Oregon it was so nice to be back with the Spunes crew and I am undoubtedly awaiting more from Dewitt.

Preorder – Out 20th May

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Unromance by Erin Connor

A trope filled journey that pays homage to the romance genre and its readers, Erin Connor’s, Unromance deserves its spot on all the romance TBR’s. A plan to ruin romance for a beloved actor you had a one night stand with while finding inspiration for the massive writers block currently plaguing you? That’s just the chaotic setup I live for. Erin Connor takes all my favorite components about romance into a blender and what emerges is a fascinating study on the genre, its tropes, and a love story for the ages. Connor delivers that classic romance meet cute but flips the script with two leads focused on anything but falling in love. Tale as old as time, as Sawyer and Mason adhere to their pact (rather loosely) while slowly opening up to trust and communication and falling for one another. Unromance is about two people that have made their careers around romance, through writing and acting, rediscovering its power in their own lives. Erin Connor moves through the tropes and genre conventions as fluidly as water, employing them in a beautiful love story intimately connected in friendship and understanding. In a setup seeming to flip the tropes, Connor instead recognizes their force for good within the overarching narrative. Unromance has humor in spades, shaken cynicism, and enough romantic moments —equal parts hot and sweet — to be your next favorite. 

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Wild & Wrangled by Lyla Sage

Anyone up on their cowboy romances knows that the Rebel Blue Ranch series is a tried and true staple. Wild and Wrangled brings this romantic saga to a close with the long awaited second chance love story between beloved Camille Ashwood and Dusty Tucker, her neighbor and childhood love. As a reader who eats, sleeps, and breathes second chance romance I can say with confidence that knowing this book was coming made me more than a bit unhinged. Sage has teased this romance in her previous installments and the crumbs were so delicious I knew this had the potential to be my favorite in the series. Integrating moments from their past as Dusty and Cam flirt with a second chance, Lyla Sage proves just how important first love can be and the support gained through vulnerability. Camille’s desire to please others was painfully relatable but her journey towards doing things just for herself was an important component of this romance arc. Now Dusty Tucker is the textbook definition of pathetically in love and I loved it so much. The years apart only intensified his love for Cam and he comes back ready to be whatever she needs. Dusty and Cam were so soft for one another which only enlivened their chemistry and highlighted why they work so well. The tension was tensioning and the chemistry was chemistrying just the way I liked. With Wild and Wrangled the romance is truly in the details and it’s absolutely Sage’s best work to date.

Preorder a copy – Out 15th April

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Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar

Stuck with your Ex in a hurricane while trying to convince him to sign divorce papers? Yes and yes. Naina Kumar said you can have a bit of angst as a treat and I ate it up like a full course meal. Flirting with Disaster is a ravaging storm contained in one life affirming romance. Married young and separated a year after they first tied the knot, Meena and Nikhil couldn’t get far enough away from each other — or at least Meena couldn’t. Nikhil is still living in their home in Texas ignoring her messages. Seven years later, Meena and Nikhil are brought back together when a hurricane leaves them stuck inside together, but the real storm is everything they have taught themselves to leave behind. Flirting with Disaster is not only an exemplary second chance romance, it’s also retelling the romantic comedy classic, Sweet Home Alabama, with South Asian characters at the helm. The longing and angst jumps out from the start as Nikhil and Meena are forced to cohabitate and confront the past. The conflict at the center of Flirting with Disaster is about wanting better for your partner, but how fraught that can be when you believe wholeheartedly that you aren’t good enough. Life goals changing, especially as one steps outside of parental expectations and reach for new dreams was another compelling theme that Kumar explores as she endeavours to bring Meena and Nikhil back together. If you like your romance heavy on the angst and one that addresses the perils and utterly human reality of miscommunication then give this one a try.

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The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest

Second chance romance but it’s the ‘we accidentally got married in Vegas after not speaking for a decade’ variety, The Partner Plot is a perfect romance of reconnection and flawed choices. Kristina Forest returns to her Greene Sister series in a follow up that focuses on Violet, the middle sibling, as she attempts a faux marriage after waking up in bed in Vegas next to Xavier, her childhood love, with a ring on her finger. Both Xavier and Violet quickly realize their marriage could be mutually beneficial, and agree to lie to their friends and the public until they get what they want from their respective careers. Right off the bat, Forest makes you feel the intense history between Xavier and Violet, the connection drawing them back together even as they tell themselves their marriage is a means to an end. The forced proximity on top of this was, in a word, sublime. I love how Forest modernizes romance tropes and uses them as a tool to expose the past between her two leads. Xavier and Forest have to confront how they’ve changed, but also how they have not, if they want to succeed in their second chance. As these two have led such different lives since their breakup, I wondered how Kristina Forest was going to make it all work but every single moment of this book works to build the foundations for a fresh start. I can’t fully describe how obsessed I am with Forest’s vibrant characters and this romance only had me gearing up to dive into the rest of this incredible series.

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Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

As a self described lover of mess, Meryl Wilsner has always been an author after my own heart. In their sophomore novel, Wilsner takes this notion to the next level. The premise: college senior Cassie Klein hooks up with a beautiful stranger at a bar off campus, never expecting to meet them at breakfast the next day when that stranger is introduced as her friend’s mother. Was the hookup a one off? And if not how will Cassie justify pursuing a relationship with a woman so intimately connected to her personal life. When I first started Mistakes Were Made I had my doubts because the mess was high and I had no idea how Wilsner was going to bring it all together. Luckily, Wilsner knows how to set up the messiest situation ever and expertly work to build upon that initial situation with open communication and intensifying chemistry. Though Cassie and Erin were at vastly different parts of their lives their connection becomes something more and they pursue it as they dodge the one person they have in common. Mistakes Were Made is a hot book and the forbidden romance only heightens this. The tension as Cassie and Erin deny that they have a real relationship was quite funny because they were already so compatible and establishing a life where they could be together. Emboldened by moments of vulnerability that shine through its chaotic start, Mistakes Were Made is everything I love about messy queer romance and my favorite novel from Wilsner so far. More of this immediately.

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Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura

Jo Segura’s Temple of Swoon is the perfect fix for anyone that likes their romance heavy on the action and adventure. Writing in the shadow of Indiana Jones and The Mummy, Segura follows up her debut, Raiders of the Lost Heart with a brand new romance adventure. Dr. Miriam Jacobs never expected to be leading an expedition to uncover the legendary City of the Moon in the Amazon, especially not without the aid of her mentor, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Add in the handsome and effortlessly charming journalist Rafael Monfils occupying her thoughts and a dash of sabotage and Miriam is unconvinced she will ever succeed in uncovering this city of legend. Now that I have read two novels by Segura it’s evident her talent for humorous, swoony romance that delivers on the action and a satisfying commentary on archeological pursuit. There are so many components raised in this sophomore novel and all were handled with the correct amount of attention and care. Now Rafe and Mariam were giving that classic action adventure couple and their interactions had me laughing one moment and then blushing the next. Miriam working to overcome her insecurities and raise hell was by far my favorite part of this novel. I also really enjoyed the references to Segura’s former novel and seeing how they connected to this one. Sexy times in the rainforest while a dangerous group works to sabotage your mission? What could go wrong.

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Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Danica Nava is a relatively new to me author but I now need every book written by her on my desk immediately. Love is a War Song, her sophomore novel, follows Avery Fox, a Native American pop singer who flees to the ranch of the grandmother she’s never met after coming under fire for an insensitive photoshoot and music video. Avery has never met anyone in her family after being raised alone by her mother, but this vacation from the public eye provides her the chance to learn her family history and Muscogee identity. Unfortunately, there’s Lucas Iron Eyes, the man in charge of her grandmother’s ranch and the one person who cannot stand her or her music. Love is a War Song is a romance all about second chances and the fallible nature of first impressions. It’s about building your community and home even when you’ve never had one to begin with. The romance that blossoms between Lucas and Avery is truly heartfelt —stemming from two people who initially met with judgment actively working to unlearn those predisposed beliefs. Alongside the romance, Avery confronts the hurt she caused the greater indigenous community through her music video and magazine cover while becoming acquainted with the Muscogee community in Broken Arrow. Danica Nava addresses a host of issues in this romance from the entertainment industry, to cancel culture, and indigenous stereotypes, and all felt grounded in the story and its place. Danica Nava leaves her mark with this outstanding romance and and I eagerly await what she writes next.

Preorder a copy – out 22nd July

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Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan

Hate to love workplace romances aren’t anything new, but Amy Buchanan proves there are perspectives missing from this type of story in her debut novel, Let’s Call a Truce. When she started a new job after the passing of her husband, Juliana never expected to gain an enemy on her first day of work. Ben, unfairly attractive and rude, decided to complain not so privately about her leaving early due to an emergency with her two young daughters, and it did not go over well. It’s been two years since then and Juliana and Ben still cannot get through a simple conversation, but beneath their feud lies something else – something Juliana doesn’t dare interrogate. Let’s Call a Truce is a workplace romance surrounding horrific first impressions and a feud long gone astray. Exploring grief, single parenting, and returning to work after raising kids at home, Buchanan attempts a lot, but what emerges is a flawless, well rounded romance. Though they got off on the wrong foot, I could clearly feel Juliana’s frustration with Ben and how that spiralled into years of petty interactions and pointed remarks. It also led to a palpable chemistry which Buchanan builds upon over the course of this novel. The revelation of Ben’s background only served to make this feud more well-founded and the tension all the more delicious. Let’s Call a Truce has the perfect balance of hatred and simmering heat to make me entirely obsessed and I am all but begging for more from Amy Buchanan.

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Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez

Librarian Angela Gutierrez has a penchant for going viral, something her superiors are none too happy about. When she openly admits online that she’s never been kissed, while also sharing her asexual identity, the video goes viral and Angela becomes determined to achieve her first kiss at all costs. Her bold idea: a scavenger hunt across the city where the winner gets her first kiss, but she’ll have to enlist the help of Krystal Ramirez, a gorgeous out of her league bartender to pull it off. Now that I have read two romances from Gabriella Gamez the overarching vision for this series is clear, but this second novel could not be more different from her first. Kiss Me, Maybe is a romance intimately intertwined with sexuality, identity, and the societal pressures to perform against an arbitrary list of experiences. Main character Angela, has found comfort in her identity but her lack of romantic experience has led her to feel behind and out of touch in her own life. Gamez calls attention to this desire to know oneself but also the pitfalls in putting too much pressure on these goals. As she develops the romance, Gamez further explores the ace spectrum and Angela’s developing sense of identity. I appreciated the attention paid to the diverse experiences under the ace spectrum through Angela’s desire to find a label that best fits herself. That and the relationship between growing up queer and these “all important” experiences really served to ground the story. Kiss Me, Maybe is a layered romance that achieves much within the friends to lovers narrative, and I loved every second of it.

Preorder a copy – Out 6th May

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