Wow, what a good read. As a child of Asian immigrants who came to the US and worked menial jobs before becoming small business openers, I felt seen.

An enjoyable story with colorful characters that you won’t soon forget.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sunshine Nails is a good book.
A family ran business is in crisis when a big corp business moves in across the street and steaks business. This is an all too common occurrence.
The family does pull together, but it brings out both the worst and the best in each of the.
I thought Phil and Debbie had the mist drive, a trait that was latent in their kids, Dustin and Jessica, until much later.
I didn’t condone some of the things they did to try stay afloat.
I admired Debbie the most. She had the grit and tenacity, and in the end, the gumption to do what needed to be done.

Putting this one down for now. I've read about 50 pages and don't like the writing at all. I also skimmed a few pages in the middle and at the end, and I don't think I'll like it much more than my initial impression. However, I'll try to come back to this book when I'm more in the mood.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book centers around a Vietnamese-Canadian family going about their day to day lives, but more specifically it centers on Sunshine Nails, a struggling yet adored nail salon in Toronto owned by the Tran family.

I found this book to be a quick, heartwarming read. I enjoyed the author's writing style. It was easy to read and understand without coming across as juvenile. What I was missing, thought, was an isolated plot.
There is a lot happening in this book. We have POVs from the entire Tran family: Debbie, Phil, Jessica, and Dustin. We get to learn about their separate lives and their lives as one unit. This was great for character building, but it also muddled the plot. Part of me wishes we didn't get separate POVs just so the main plot stood out more, but I also understand why the author chose to write the story this way.
We get to see how an immigrant family struggles on a daily basis, not only with their business but with society's view of them. It made me sad for them. We also got to see gentrification in action and how that hurts small immigrant family-owned businesses. The author did a good job describing that, and I now have a better understanding of how gentrification hurts communities.
Overall, this was a sweet story. It was more character-driven than anything, so if you don't care about having an isolated plot, you'd enjoy this one. It's also fast-paced, has multiple POVs, and a touch of humor.

Thanks to Atria for the copy of this book!

This is a great debut centered around a Vietnamese-Canadian family that owns a nail salon in Toronto. The Tran family is full of drama, and it was fun to experience from multiple points of view. I was pleasantly surprised by the actions of this family and loved following their stories. This sheds light on the immigrant experience while also being funny and lighter. It’s also great on audio if you’re into audiobooks!

3.5 rounded up to 4. Fantastic characters and a great story but a lot of loose ends and people introduced seemingly without a real reason.

Mai Nguyen's debut novel is a wonderful and powerful work. The care and thought put into the characters and story are evident, and I was captivated by the Tran family from the very beginning. Although it took me a few chapters to adjust to the book's multiple perspectives, I found it to be an enjoyable aspect that added complexity and nuance. By exploring different viewpoints, Nguyen effectively highlights the diversity of experiences within underrepresented communities. I applaud Nguyen for taking the novel in unexpected directions that left me audibly gasping and even cackling with joy at the end. While I desired more details on certain characters' backgrounds and motivations, and greater resolution in some areas, overall, this was a splendid read. I eagerly anticipate Nguyen's future works.

Rating: 4.5
The only complaint I have about this book is that the characters were way too forgiving. But maybe that's just because I'm a bitter person.

I love a book that provides a peak into a niche setting and culture. Sunshine Nails did just that. I enjoyed the family dynamics and characters in the story. I did feel that the book was a bit long and dragged in the middle. I would still recommend it as a fun beach read.

Thank you to Mai Nguyen, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐️

I wish I would’ve liked this more. It was hard with so many POVs throughout the story, and I felt like none of the characters were that likable. I understand the struggles of being Asian immigrants but idk, they just felt whiny and ridiculous sometimes. But I thought other aspects of the storyline were really great. I loved the moments they’re with their customers and telling stories, sharing gossip, and providing a safe space for them. I also loved the parts with the rival nail salon, but I just wish that everything was flushed out a little bit more. The ideas of the asian diaspora and gentrification of neighborhoods are SO important, and I wish we saw more of the process to resolution.

If you like character driven family stories this was really good. I truly enjoyed following the Tran families experience as Vietnamese Canadians who struggle to keep their long running family business afloat after a new nail salon opens across the street from them. There was a lot of really good witty humor to be found in the authors writing style and the balance between this and the immigrant experience was really well done. You hear from every member of the family in alternating viewpoints and they’re all relatable in some way. I thought the portrayal of a dysfunctional family was spot on and full of heart as well as really well done as far as showing the intricacies of their unique family dynamic. Overall this was a strong debut and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Synopsis: A Vietnamese Canadian family struggles to keep their family nail salon in business when a competitor moves across the street and their landlord increases their rent by nearly 50%.

Thoughts: I decided to listen to this book, and the full cast really helped the story come alive. Immigrant/refugee stories are important, and I enjoyed the Vietnamese-Candian representation. This story also explores topics including gentrification, complex family dynamics, community, and the struggles of owning a small business. This story had all of the ingredients for a potential five star read; however, it lacked a bit of *something,* which resulted in a lower rating. I was a big fan of Olga Dies Dreaming, and I am not sure that this quite lived up to being comparable. Still, an enjoyable debut!


Thank you to Atria & SS Audio for my gifted ARC/ALC

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have been running Sunshine Nails, a family nail salon in Toronto for over 20 years. But when a multimillion-dollar nail salon chain opens up across the street from them and their landlord is jacking up the rent, the Tran's livelihood is threatened and they are willing to do anything to stay afloat.

The novel is told from multiple POVs from each of the Tran members—Debbie, Phil, Jessica, Dustin and Thuy. We follow each of their journeys and struggle as Vietnamese refugees, children of immigrants, and newly sponsored immigrant respectively. I appreciated the range of perspectives provided as they showed different lived experiences and cultural understanding. What made the Trans loveable was their devoted love and loyalty to one another despite all that came their way. There were aspects in each of them that I saw myself and/ or my family in—and it hits even closer to home as a Canadian also living in Toronto. It got messy at times and misjudgements were made but, I couldn't help but feel empathy for them. The Trans are a prime example of "bad choices don't equate to bad people."

With all that said though, I wasn't able to connect with the characters as deeply as I wanted to. While I enjoy stories with multiple POVs, the characters didn't feel fully flushed out to me and it felt that we had just barely scratched the surface of getting to know them before the novel ended. I also craved tougher conversations between the children and Debbie and Phil but those conversations also seemed to be easily glazed over. I am aware this is marketed as lighthearted but with the topics of gentrification and immigration present; I think it could've gone just a bit deeper.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.

"Sunshine Nails" by Mai Nguyen is a contemporary fiction debut novel about the lives of a Vietnamese Canadian family and their nail salon. I loved this novel and would enthusiastically recommend it to fans of family stories full of humor and heart.

I was invested in each of the character's storylines early on and feel this is such an important story which covers the topics of immigration, gentrification, expectations, and family. Perfect for reading during a mani/pedi from a locally owned salon :)

This was such a delightful family drama!

Short Synopsis:
The Trans are a Vietnamese Canadian family who one a nail salon. When a big competitor moves in across the street, chaos happens.

My Thoughts:
I went into this book blind and was so pleasantly surprised. It was funny and charming and heartwarming. And it’s one of the better family dramas I’ve read in awhile.

I did a mix of physical book and audio, and both were great. The audio had a full cast narration and really brought the book to life.

Read if You Like:
💅 Nail salons
💅 Family dramas
💅 Immigration stories
💅 Multiple POVs
💅 Drama and chaos

A very sweet novel about a Vietnamese family fighting to save their nail salon, but it wasn't necessarily my type of novel. I wished we dug a bit deeper into each character - spreading it around to several made it hard to fully understand their interiority.

I really liked the characters in this book. I love a book that can flawlessly go from one character to the next each chapter to complete the story from all views. This is a quick read that is funny and a little sad all at the same time.

I have to admit the book didn't end how I thought it would, but I still liked the ending and how the author wrapped up the story.

A horrible Yelp review of the longstanding Sunshine Nails salon catapults owner Debbie Tran and her family into disarray. Mai Nguyen’s sharp debut novel unpacks the struggles of immigrants through the lens of Vietnamese nail technicians with tenderness and a warmly humorous heart.

After coming to Canada as Vietnamese refugees, Debbie and Phil have worked tirelessly to make a comfortable life for them and their family. They one Sunshine Nails, which has been fairly successful until a fancy chain salon moves in across the street. When their landlord decides to up their rent by 50%, both Phil and Debbie takes drastic measures to find a way to make the money. Those decisions would break their family though and they must decide which is more important, the salon, or their family.

As you can see, I love nail polish, and doing my nails, and all the beauty that comes from a fresh mani! I spent my high school years with acrylics, and now I prefer to do my own, but I have been an avid visitor of nail salons forever. I absolutely adored the funny, witty, and sometimes a bit off their rocker characters I this book! I enjoyed the family drama, and the fight against the fancy salon across the street. I found the issue of the children and their jobs to be so relatable and I think we have all felt that way in our working lives. Overall, this book was really fun and I fully enjoyed every second.