This was such an enjoyable read. I went in not quite knowing what to expect, but Danica delivered a heartfelt romance with just enough emotional weight to keep me hooked.

Avery was a compelling main character, and I liked seeing her step away from the spotlight to reconnect with her roots. Lucas had that classic broody energy that worked really well opposite her, and the way their dynamic shifted throughout the book was really satisfying. Their chemistry took a little time to build, but it felt believable and worth the wait.

I also appreciated the way the story explored family, identity, and community without it feeling too heavy. There were some lovely moments, and a few that made me pause and reflect, but overall it was a smooth and easy read.

If you're into slow-burn, small-town romances with thoughtful character growth and a quiet kind of charm, this is one to check out. Solid four stars from me.

‘Love Is A War Song’ by Danica Nava is a fabulous follow-up to my favourite debut romance of 2024 (‘The Truth According To Ember’ - go read it now if you haven’t already!) and introduces us to pop princess Avery Fox, whose star was shining bright until accusations that she appropriated her own Muscogee culture lead to brutal cancellation. To hide from the press and potentially salvage her career, Avery heads to Red Fox Ranch in Oklahoma to stay with her estranged grandmother… where she receives a less-than-warm welcome from ranch hand Lucas Iron Eyes.

This book combines some of my favourite tropes: Enemies-to-lovers! Celebrity romance! Sizzling summer heat! Cowboys! Fake dating! It also explores Muscogee culture through Avery’s eyes and packs an emotional punch by revealing both main characters’ back-stories full of complex family dynamics. My favourite scene, which takes place at Lucas’s house - and in the car afterwards (!) - beautifully demonstrates the heartwarming loyalty and sparkling chemistry that grows between the leads. I also adored Avery’s blossoming friendship forged through music with one of her grandmother’s elderly friends.

Ultimately this story of acceptance, belonging and sensuous slow-burn romance gets 4.5 stars from me. I’m so glad Danica Nava has shared so much of herself with us in her two novels so far, and can’t wait to eagerly consume whatever she writes next!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Headline / Headline Eternal via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

FUNNY, TEAR JERKING, A STORY ABOUT THE POWER OF COMMUNITY AND FORGIVENESS!! AND HANNAH MONTANA MOVIE VIBES THAT I LOVED.

I utterly obsessed with this book. I picked it up and then I didn’t want to put it down. The beautiful exploration of community and learning to not only forgive yourself but also reconcile with the impact of your actions.

LISTEN TO ME! THIS IS THE BOOK OF JULY!!!

This was so good! I loved it from the ver first pages and was obsessed with Avery and Lucas from the moment they met!

I’ve been in a horrible reading slump for some time so it was great to have a book I was dying to go back to as soon as I put it down.

I’m pretty sure this was the first book I’ve ever read with Native American main characters and it was great to learn more about their culture, from life in the ranch to their values.

I loved Avery’s character development. She did so many things she never would have thought of doing and that led her to see her strength and believe in herself more than ever and it was amazing to see her fight for herself and her relationship with Lucas towards the end. After longing for a family for her entire life, finding not only her blood relatives but also the rest of her Muscogee community and Lucas was all she’d ever wanted and I loved that for her.

Lucas was such an amazing guy. He had his struggles growing up but he fought to overcome them and tried every day to do better and give back to those who helped him when he needed it most. Seeing him helplessly fall in love with Avery as he got to know her true self and the way he supported her was heartwarming. I loved them together!

Another thing that I absolutely loved was the message this book sent about making mistakes and how people are allowed to grow and not be defined by the mistakes they’ve made! I think this is such an important message and I loved the way it was approached.

Overall, this was a great romance with great characters and authentic Native American culture representation.

Thanks to Headline Eternal and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review 🥰

3.5 stars

this was such a cute story!!
it's giving Hannah Montana movie vibes but more "adult" ND I love it.
book one was good, and I'm so happy this one is even better.
I liked the growth from both our MCs, and most of all, the indigenous rep was... perfection. I'm so glad now we're able to find books written by indigenous people that are not just based on pain but in love and that highlight their lives.
Overall, this was a fun cowboy grumpy-sunshine romcom, and I can't recommend it enough.

thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pop star Avery Fox and cowboy Lucas Iron Eyes - what a wonderful slow burn romance! Avery comes home to the family range in Broken Arrow Oklahoma after a cultural appropriation snafu, just as her career is taking off. She knows nothing of her heritage or her family. Once there she meets Lucas, a farm hand who has been working for her grandmother for years. It's fish-out-of-water, opposites attract, enemies to lovers. I'd have liked a bit more angst -it's pretty tidy – as well as some more comeuppance for Avery's mother but it's an entertaining romance. Lucas is a honey!

It's lighter than I expected, maybe a bit 'Hannah Montana', but with some terrific cultural touchstones about Native American culture.

Thank you Danica Nava and Headline Eternal for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

this was a cute one, & I enjoyed learning about Avery’s family, culture & heritage alongside her 🥰

thank you PRH Audio for the complementary audiobook & Headline Eternal for the eARC! All opinions are my own.
#PRHAudioPartner #gifted

✦ tropes & stuff:
🌟 popstar x cowboy (both Native)
🐠 fish out of water
💫 dislike to love
🌦 grumpy/sunshine - opposites attract
✨ family + heritage
🐎 ranch life/small town
🐢 slow burn
💜 single 1st person pov

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

🎧 audio+ebook | ⭐️: 4.25 | 🌶️: 2.5 |

I LOVED the first kiss between Avery & Lucas, and the tension between them 😮‍💨 I just wanted MORE… the romance felt like a bit of an afterthought to that storyline, more like self-discovery with a side of romance

I still enjoyed Avery & Lucas’ dynamic in their push-pull of enemies to lovers, how their perspectives shifted as they got to really know each other, and see past their more negative first impressions.

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Kyla Garcia felt perfect for Avery!
I think I would have felt more connected to the story with a male narrator as well, though it was told in single POV.

Loved the fish out of water vibes, but without Avery being a spoiled princess - she has no clue what she's doing but she's always worked hard and continues to do so... I appreciated that both the MCs experienced a lot of growth, because of each other and alongside each other. Avery's growth from proud-but-oblivious to really learning what family and community, especially HER family and community, means. Lucas learning to trust and believe in himself. as well as opening his heart.

Loved the representation of course, Danica Nava is becoming an instant-read for me, no questions asked.

I wish we didn’t live in a world where stories like this felt so rare – where Indigenous Native American voices still feel sidelined in mainstream romance. But that’s exactly why I picked up Love Is a War Song – and I’m so glad I did. Danica Nava gives us a warm, grounded, emotionally layered romance that’s quietly powerful in its representation.

There’s a lovely, nostalgic feel to the book – maybe like Hannah Montana (but I've never watched it!), but still full of that city-girl-meets-country-life charm. It’s refreshing to see the popstar-celebrity trope flipped, with *her* being the famous one for once – and let’s be honest, would a male celeb have faced such brutal backlash for a stylist’s misjudgement? I loved Avery’s determination to prove herself, even if she’s hilariously wary of horses at first. She’s never been afraid of hard work, and once she’s out from under her mumager’s thumb, she starts to blossom – reconnecting with her roots, her identity, and the grandmother she never knew.

Lucas is a bit of a dream – gruff, principled, rooted to the land and culture he’s so proud of. He misjudges Avery at first, but his willingness to help her understand her heritage – and his tendency to lean in and whisper in her ear – had me quietly swooning. This is a slow burn story about finding out who you are away from the spotlight and about learning what it really means to belong. Quietly beautiful and full of heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline Eternal for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

This was such a fun read. I loved seeing Avery find that community she’s craved and be able to see that she can do and be so much more than people have expected from her. I enjoyed the connection between her and Lucas and the way this played out for them.
There are quite a lot of pop culture references and I’m seeing this may be Danica’s style of writing – while not for me I know it won’t be an issue for a lot of people.

I thought this was a nice read! I enjoyed both the characters and the plot. The cultural aspect was very insightful and a beautiful addition to a great love story! Would definitely recommend to those who love cowboy romances!

This book grew on me more and more as I read, but the first part of the book was almost torture for me. I found Avery to be extremely immature, naive and oblivious to the world around her. I couldn’t stand her mom treating her like a job, a pay check.

However I found her optimism and willingness to learn and develop refreshing. Which is why I think the book really picked up. To see the progress she had with all the characters were heartwarming to see!

She went from being a city brat, to someone who had genuine care and understanding from the place she comes from. The feelings she and Lucas slowly but surely developed for each other was inevitable, and grew on me as I read. They both needed support in very different ways.

“I was surviving before I met you. Now I’m living.”

Thank you so much for the early arc NetGalley and Headline!

• 2.5 🌟
The whole escalation of this relationship feels super sonic on her side. We just need a few more moments between those two. A little bit more one on one.
It didn't quite come together for me. I enjoyed her first release more than this one.

4.25⭐. Thank you NetGalley & Headline for the ARC.

Before I get into their romance, I have to commend Danica Nava for getting me to fall in love with both the main protagonists Avery & Lucas individually. Avery's growth was heartwarming to read. At the heart of it, she's a sheltered young woman whose dreams are being exploited for profit and her career is being controlled by the very people she trusted to know best on how to guide her. Her own mother doesn't even prioritise teaching her about her cultural heritage and traditions. So of course she's naive about pandering to the white gaze in a misguided belief that that's how to break the ceiling into proper Native representation in the music industry. Of course she's going to struggle with the culture shock when she is left to live with her grandmother on a literal horse farm, coming as an LA girl.

But what saves Avery from being an Insufferable Pampered MC is that outside of the very normal reaction of being discomforted with the smelliness of the farm (her first time at one too!) and having to adjust not having a phone, she doesn't whine about being expected to do chores. When she was still nervous about doing tasks related to horses, there was no objection to being tasked to other menial work like cleaning out the attic or cooking. It helped that Nava made it a point to acknowledge that even being a singer isn't all easy breezy. Avery is USED to hard work, just a different kind. Performing is the hard work she's disciplined at; taking hours and hours of practice to attain perfection while balancing singing and choreography. Avery might not be doing backbreaking work under the sun all the time, but she has a great work ethic and takes her profession seriously. She's not frivolous about her chosen career, even if it's not in the artistic direction of her choice.

And there's Lucas, who has so much to swoon over. How about the fact that he had the courage to leave behind a privileged, cushy life because of his parents' toxic mentality? Or that he's a nerd who would name a horse after the one that Aragon from Lord of the Rings rode? Or that ultimately, he values and supports Avery's music dreams and wouldn't want her to give that all up just for him? He's exactly the kind of Book Boyfriend I want in my romances. Even as his dynamic with Avery started out rocky, it's a green flag that he reeled back his attitude and acknowledged when his condescension towards Avery being unused to farm life was really uncalled for. Regardless of his grievances with her naively offensive behavior as a popstar, Lucas came to put that aside and take the chance to get to know her better as a person. And that even as a pop star, she has her own shackles that she wants to break free from.

I really enjoyed the two's chemistry and how they bounced off each other. Aside from the romance, the novel's emphasis on family & community—and how Avery yearns to have both after her entire life being deprived of it—was wonderfully incorporated. The ending was great, showing that she can still keep her popstar dreams and not have to give up both the blood and chosen family she's come to care for.

some a beautiful, moving and sexy romance. full of hope, kindness, support and tender moments. and also full of sass, emotional depths and so much fun!
this was an awesome book and i sat, i sat sat sat until i finished because it just gave me all the feels and i wanted to keep soaking that up.
i hate the fact it still needs to be a thing, or a thing i have to mention or think about but for now im so glad of the representation in this book. im actively trying to do better on this front. and makes me cringe inwardly that i still have to sit here and acknowledged it. but for where we are right now im simply glad more are coming into these spaces where before they just weren't.
Avery needs an escape. i reset. shes a singer with a scandal going on right now and cant take what is being done to her name and her life. she never intended for what she did to be met with so much disdain. it landed really badly. and her community are hurt and retaliating with force.
so to her grandmothers place she goes. but she will have to put herself through a whole other kind of gruelling work in this place. not least trying to live alongside one of her grandmothers ranch workers Lucas. is he yet another person that cant stand her and wants her gone?
Lucas doesn't want anything to do with her. he knows people like her. hes offended by people like her. and so the two immediately clash.
but what progresses between them is far different and far more than either could have dared imagine or hope for going in. getting to witness these two's connection was pure delightful. because Lucas, LUCAS its not fair for you to be her hero and our hero too! The way he really comes to care for her and support and protect her. and also on the flip side how Avery becomes his shout out person too. yes, yes i swooned hard for these two and there story. and it was all told in the pace it deserved and the pace that kept us reading and reading and not regretting a second of doing so.
i love how Danica gives these characters real lives, real depth, real bounce from the pages descriptions and lives, we get to know them, get to care for them. so by the end i was all in and really did care how they would end up. plus learning more and leaning into the parts of Avery and her heritage was a perfect addition to the detailing.
perfect for what i could have wanted from this book going in. loved it.

4.5 stars, arc review. If you’re looking for a cowboy romance with themes of finding a sense of belonging through their heritage, family and friends this would be perfect for you.

The character development between Avery and her grandmother Lottie took a while however you could really see the growth of their relationship and portrayed a realistic relationship between two people who barely know each other. I also loved the friendship between Lottie and Bessie and how open Bessie was to letting Avery in.

Lucas was the grumpy mmc who when he got over the stereotype he placed on avery actually wasn’t so grumpy after all. It was nice to see them both open up to each other and find solace in their company. I also really enjoyed their teamwork and how they worked with each other for a particular plot point.

The whole book was just a throw back to my childhood watching the flicka movies and the writing was perfect.

My favourite quote:
‘I never needed this laminated card to belong. I was right where I needed to be, with the people who claimed me, and I claimed them back.

This book felt like reading a grown up Disney movie and I loved that. It was VERY inspired by the Hannah Montana movie, but I really didn’t mind that. It was cute and fluffy and I liked the representation.
However it went a bit downhill for me in the second half, because it started to drag and the conversations felt a bit off (also that Twilight quote, lol). Also the writing in general felt a bit clunky at times and sometimes there were phrases repeated multiple times in one paragraph. I guess this was due to me reading an ARC of this story and it might be edited better in the final version.

The first half was torture, but I soldiered on, and it was worth it, because I actually kinda liked the second half. (After Lucas had an unexpected — and rather miraculous — personality transplant.)

Avery is a pop star in trouble, Lucas is a grumpy cowboy. They’re an unlikely pair, but obviously — for some reason (probably because he’s “the most handsome man she’s ever seen”) — they get together.

I like grumpy-sunshine as much as the next girl, but under one condition: the grumpy hero cannot be mean to the heroine. Rude-people-to-lovers is my personal pet peeve, and Lucas was truly awful. The only thing he had going for him was his looks — and that’s not enough, sorry not sorry.

Lucas’s manners aside, it was a cute story that finally found its heart in the second half. I appreciated the own-voices representation and the author’s clear intent to challenge harmful Native stereotypes. I liked the small-town community and the found family vibe (except the grandma — she was problematic, but we’re not unpacking that today), and it made sense that a girl from Hollywood would fall for that.

The romance also picked up in the second half (when Lucas started acting less like a walking red flag and more like a book boyfriend), so all in all, I ended up not hating the book. Yaay!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Avery Fox is proud to be a Native American pop star, moving on from child star acting and feeling like she's providing representation. But, cut off from her community and spending time only with her mother, having worked hard to get where she is but also living in a bubble where all decisions are made for her, she suddenly discovers how woefully lacking her knowledge is of her own culture when she's allowed to make a massive and public misstep. Sent away to live with her estranged grandmother, Avery is put through the wringer by Nava as she makes every amusing and not-so-amusing mistake in the book, but she's prepared to learn and make proper, not just shallow, social media, amends and this is helped by attractive farm hand Lucas, unimpressed by her fame but slowly impressed by her grit.

Of course I loved the community aspect in the small town and Avery's struggles are believable and her dilemmas real. Will she be able to save the farm and help Lucas set up a therapy centre to help kids like he was himself? Well, probably not: what should they do? I did love the details of (almost) being on the Graham Norton Show when it was time to make her big choice!

I was impressed that Nava went to the lengths of researching a therapeutic horse farm to get the details correct, even though that doesn't appear massively in the book; she also explains why she made the family from a different Indigenous group to her own, because of the logical sense for the story, although obviously people from Global Majority and Indigenous communities shouldn't have to explain themselves and this kind of reassurance should be standard.

Blog review published on 3 July 2025: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/07/03/two-novel-reviews-bolu-babalola-sweet-heat-and-danica-nava-love-is-a-war-song/

If you loved the Hannah Montana movie, and are looking for a grown up version with great Native American representation then you'll love this. A popstar not knowing her roots heading to her family hometown of Broken Arrow Oklahoma after a scandal, and falling in love with a cowboy hat wearing local, whilst also learning about her heritage. chefs kiss