what a stunning debut!!! I loved every second I got to spent with Naomi and Dev. Aurora Palit writes with such care and tenderheartedness and these two leads absolutely have my whole heart. I loved the discussions of identity, heritage and culture and can't wait to see what Aurora Palit cooks up for us next! Whatever it is, I'll be having what she's having!

Overall cute story but I think I connected more with the FMC feeling disconnected from her culture bc she doesn't speak the language. I'm not sure there was chemistry but still cute.

This is a delightful fish out of water story. Both Naomi and Dev are trying to find their own way, and chart their own path within cultural and family expectations. Add in a little grumpy/sunshine and this book will keep you smiling and thinking long after you finish reading.
4.5 stars

Read if you like:
🌏 South Asian Culture
🇮🇳 Indian Traditions
🪷 Matchmaking
🔀 Opposites Attract
🛍️ Workplace Romance
🥸 Fake Dating-ish
😘 Hookup to More

For me, the cultural aspects of this story is what really shined through! I loved the look at opposing characters who came from a similar cultural background but grew up very differently with one immersed in the culture, and one that was raised fully away from their culture.

I appreciated the fake-ish dating with hooking up to help the MMC ward off women that his mother was trying to set him up with to marry him off via a match maker.

I also really enjoyed the aspects of the FMC trying to strike it on her own and struggling but still working towards her dream with her company while working on a project for the MMC’s family to give them some forced proximity/interactions with a workplace romance vibe!

Thank you to Berkley for my ARC and PRHA for my gifted audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Fake dating is my jam! I could devour dozens of books with this trope so I love that Aurora Palit tried her own spin on it. I really loved all the discussions about being the "right" kind of South Asian. It was really relatable to see both Dev and Naomi struggling with parental and cultural pressures in different ways. Watching them cope with those pressures and learn to live their lives in ways that felt right for them was really uplifting. My one quibble with this book was with the lying. I love the fake dating trope but I struggle when there is lying or secrets kept between the love interests so that reduced my enjoyment a bit. Despite this I had a pretty good time with this book and I'm so glad I picked it up. I love grumpy characters who are determined to care for their loved ones and Dev definitely fit that character type. It was really sweet to see him find someone to support and care for him too. If you're looking for a fun fake dating/matchmaking romance this could be the one for you!

This was a standout debut by a new Canadian author and I really enjoyed it!

A fake dating, dual POV, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine romance between two South Asian Canadians who meet while they work together to revamp Dev's family cafe and he uses Naomi to ward off his mother's matchmaking schemes. Feelings turn real quickly though and Dev and Naomi have to figure out if a 'real' relationship between them is actually possible.

Spicer than expected and full of cultural traditions and pressures, this is perfect for fans of authors like Farah Heron, Uzma Jalaluddin or Sarah Desai. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I chose this romance because of the setting--second generation immigrants, and how the young generation deal with elder generation expectations and the new setting and its social and cultural rules.

There's a good quote in the middle of the book that kind of sums up why I liked that aspect so much: The heroine's mother has a talk with the heroine, saying, "There's no handbook for immigrants and the generations that follow. I think they did the best they could. They raised me according to what made sense to them. And I did the same for you."

The romance is a grumpy/sunshine romance, and it's perfectly fine, but where the writing really shines, for me, is Naomi's quest to find herself between these conflicting cultural expectations. Even when you seem to belong to one set of people, one can still feel an utter outsider for so many reasons.

Delightful romance book! I loved the premise of this book so much. I like the grumpy male main character, Dev. All the side characters were really well done too. But I really love our female main character, Naomi and everything she was struggling with. There was so much good stuff in here about family, love and struggling to find where you belong. And I loved what I assume is the set up for the next book on the series.

SUNSHINE AND SPICE by Aurora Palit is out in 3 days, which means you should pre-order it right now! I’m obsessed with this book and Aurora’s writing! It’s witty and sexy with so much depth the characters that had me sobbing (usually while laughing!).

Naomi is determined to make her brand consulting company successful, even if that means working with a Bengali family that brings up every confusing, difficult feeling about her lack of connection to her own Bengali heritage. But when it becomes clear she needs a better understanding of the culture to properly support the bazaar, she admits she may need a guide.

Dev wants to support his newly-widowed mother… just not enough to pick a bride from her approved list. When the community’s matchmaker starts sending women at him left and right, he’s desperate to run them off. So Naomi poses a deal: she’ll scare away his potential brides by pretending to be his girlfriend if he helps her with his family’s bazaar rebranding.

But as the two work side by side, they start to realize that their feelings may not be as fake as they’d like to believe.

This is pure grumpy/sunshine goodness! Naomi and Deb balance each other out so perfectly. I was desperate for that first kiss (and it did NOT disappoint!). I loved watching Dev come to understand his roll in his family and where his limits are, and I particularly loved Naomi’s journey to understand her own identity and her relationship with it.

I can’t wait to put SUNSHINE AND SPICE on my shelf!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, and Aurora Palit for this ARC!

This book was like a warm hug! I enjoyed the characters, their cultures, and their personalities. They stayed true to themselves while also having some much needed personal development. I especially loved reading about Naomi and Dev’s family lives and the relationships they had with their parents. They weren’t perfect, but they loved each other anyway! Naomi was so bubbly and fun which complimented Dev’s reserved personality. I liked reading about her being so eager to learn about the culture and find her place in it.

Dev and Naomi’s relationship was so sweet. They were just so enthralled with each other but didn’t know what to do about it in the beginning. When they gave into their connection, those were the best scenes! They truly made me smile. I wish we would’ve saw more scenes that were mentioned to us towards the end. It would’ve been nice to see those small acts of service moments that I love so much.

I would recommend this book to a friend and I am interested to read more of this author’s works!

Sunshine and Spice has all the favorite tropes I like to read: fake dating, forced proximity, stormy v. sunny.
I thought Naomi was gutsy to go out on a limb and take her brand to newer heights.
Dev was weary if resisting his parental pressure to have an arranged marriage.
So Naomi and Dev carry on as a couple to fool everyone but they may be the biggest fool as they find a lot of common ground.
I liked knowing the two would probably end up together but with plenty of bumps along the way. I always want the couple to have an HEA especially since they’ve most likely worked hard for it.

4 Stars A cute and fast-paced romance! The main character, Naomi, is disconnected from her South Asian culture and is looked down upon by other Bengalis because she doesn't speak the language or understand other cultural aspects. This was really compelling to read and the most interesting part of the story! The romance was cute, though it felt like the book didn't go as into depth with the romance as it did the FMC's cultural journey. There's a lot of fun in this book, with the family dynamics, jokes, and Desi traditions. Recommend it!

I really liked this book. It was a quick and really fun read. Exactly my cup of tea. And the cover is beautiful!!

It was an original and intriguing read as the FMC is missing relation to her roots and the cultural clash is playing a relevant role.
It's well plotted and enjoyable, a nice and interesting read featuring a couple I liked.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I ended up not finishing this book. Both main characters were extremely unlikable. All the characters are underdeveloped. The beginning of the story didn’t grab me. I won’t be leaving any reviews on platforms.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc.

I am a white person who is white and, while I have an understanding that there are cultural differences in various communities, it is not my lived experience. So I’m very poorly qualified to comment on any of the cultural issues raised in the book. I understood Naomi wanted to be connected to her Bengali heritage and felt excluded from what ought to be her own community. I understood that Dev wanted to have a little more freedom in his life than the strictures expected of him by his mother and aunties. But my understanding is very much that of an outsider looking in. I expect first generation immigrant readers (whether of Indian heritage or not) will relate much better to these aspects of the novel.

I admit I didn’t quite understand why Naomi kept her Bengali heritage from those in the Kelowna South Asian community. One one level, Naomi particularly did not want Gia to know just how little she knew of Bengali customs and practices but on the other, it was obvious she didn’t know much of the culture and she outright said it as well. So I had a bit of a disconnect with the messaging at times. Why Naomi couldn’t tell Dev was also a bit of a mystery to me.

Dev is a bit of a grump and Naomi is more gregarious (without being “sunshine” as such) and her initial attraction to him confused me a little (apart from the physical) as he wasn’t very nice to her at all. Later in the book, Dev does not support her when he really needed to and I had some resentment about that for longer than Naomi did.

For all that Dev had his own challenges with the community he was raised in, I did not see him working through his issues with it nearly as much as I saw Naomi learning about and embracing her heritage. I’d have liked to have a little more about how Dev navigated the changes he wanted to make in his life. From the epilogue, it was obvious that some changes were in fact made, but it was also apparent that in other ways he was merely continuing to go along to get along and hide things he thought his mother and aunties may not have understood. I’d have liked to have a little more insight into Gia and her feelings about Naomi. Perhaps that is more on me and being super white though and/or not being great with subtext.

I was happy to read a book which featured a culture not my own and to look up words I was unfamiliar with and refresh my memory of things I knew a little about. The setting was the most attractive thing to me about the book. Ultimately though, I was not entirely sold on the relationship between Dev and Naomi and so my final impression of Sunshine and Spice was pretty mixed.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS

-m/f contemporary romance
-hard one and soft one
-idiots to lovers
-desi rep
-forced proximity
-workplace romance
-great banter

Aurora is a darling writing friend and I was lucky enough to read a very early copy of this. It is incredible to get to read a book that I know is so near and dear to her heart and something she has worked so hard on. Her incredible humor and heart in real life has translated so well on the page in a way only a few of the most talented authors out there can do.

How she juxtaposed Naomi's yearning for community and family with Dev's desire to get away from the traditions that have kept him feeling so trapped, yet both leaned into each other figuring their own path. The family dynamics, the desi traditions, the wisecracks, this is an effortless read that will have you cheering on these two as the stumble through major denial that they are into the other. Stoic, grumpy and hard Dev and softie Naomi were perfect for each other.

I will read anythign Aurora writes and I can't wait to pick up whatever she writes next.

☀️ Book Review 🫚

✔️ Fake Dating
✔️ Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Opposites Attract

What a fun debut romance where the opposites fake date and find chemistry and compatibility!

I also loved the themes of family, culture, belonging and being authentic. Even though I'm not south Asian, I did emigrate at a young age and definitely felt the push/pull of my home culture through parents/family and new culture through school/friends/media. I very much identified with both characters here and their complicated feelings about all those themes.

The romance took a little bit to truly warm up but once they were locked in to each other, it was easy to be invested in them and their HEA. One of my favorite parts in romance is going from where the relationship is safe (it's a secret/no one else knows) to the true test of everyone seeing and weighing in and the drama that ensues. While I know there is an HEA, a big question is always "will they have to defy their fam/friends or will they end up finding support from them". I won't spoil it here but just know, it was very satisfying on that front too.

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

Naomi is a Bengali brand consultant who knows very little about her own culture. Dev is the son of Naomi's newest client, Gia, who is determined to avoid the potential brides his mother is forcing on him. Together, they strike a deal- Naomi will pretend to be Dev's girlfriend and Dev will help her rebrand his mother's bazaar. This is a cute debut romance by Aurora Palit. One of my favorite tropes is fake dating, so this book fell squarely in my wheelhouse. This one also has the grumpy-sunshine trope, which I also really enjoy. I loved the chemistry between Naomi and Dev- their banter is enchanting. I also liked how Palit shows the difference upbringing makes, especially when it comes to culture. This debut was very well done and I will definitely look for more from this author!

Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

I really liked the first 1/3 of this book, but unfortunately, the middle dragged out a lot, and then our MCs got together in a brief chapter that was very confusing. I was expecting a slower burn because of how the book had been going so their first hook-up came out of nowhere and needed to make more sense.

I really liked Dev and Naomi and thought they were good characters whose chemistry was growing, it just wasn't there yet for me when they got together. Their romance felt much more tell than show.

The other plot, putting together the remodel of the Bazaar to Cafe, was interesting as we saw Dev's mother Gia develop agency in her store, but again, much more tell than show.

Overall, this book tried to do too many things and ended up struggling to show us any of them. I simply wanted more from the entirety of this book, and the tropes here just didn't work. I enjoyed the look into Canadian Bengali culture, though, and would be interested in more from this author with better editing.