Sunshine and Spice is a charming and captivating novel that is brimming with humor, passion, and lively characters. From the very first page, Palit's heartfelt debut delves into the themes of family, acceptance, and love that takes you by surprise, keeping me enthralled throughout. The tale of Naomi and Dev is one that will stay with me long after finishing the book. This is a definite must-read.

There is so much to love in Aurora Palit's debut romance novel. The romance tropes of fake dating and the grumpy-sunshine are done so well in the book, but what made this read so memorable for me is the discussion that Naomi and Dev have in discussing the expectations of being a first gen immigrant child, being estranged to your cultural identity, and the complex family relationships. The book balances the serious moments with slow burn and spicy romance. This is a very easy and charming contemporary romance to read and one that I will definitely be sharing with my library patrons.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an early review copy of the book.

This was such a fun desi romance! I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I definitely didn't expect the main character to be estranged from her culture. This was an exploration into identity, family, and Bengali culture. I really loved the romance, but also the parallel coming of age story of the main character. This book was equal parts contemporary and romance, and the complex plotlines were a refreshing break from the usual "my South Asian parents are so strict" plotline.

Culture, culture, culture! I absolutely love stories that highlight different cultures and showcase non-white romances. I thought this was a good romance novel, but for me I enjoyed the aspects of main character Naomi feeling disconnected from her heritage and dealing with her cultural identity. I feel this is something that is unique in a lot of multicultural stories and Palit executed it wonderfully here. I almost felt like the romance was an afterthought for Naomi's struggle. I think had Palit focused on just a general novel dealing with Naomi's identity struggle, it would have been much more successful. But this is definitely a great starter book for those wanting to jump into the genre of romance.

There were some interesting things about this book, mainly about the diasporic experiences of Indian immigrants and how a child of immigrant parents can feel a little lost and struggle to belong, feeling as though half their existence is mired in the cultural traditions of their country of origin and the other half in their new land. That is a feeling I can relate to very very well. However, my main struggle with this book is that it employs the fake relationship trope and having read a handful of romance novels this year by south asian authors featuring south asian characters, all of whom engaged in fake relationships, I'm beginning to wonder why so many of these books are employing the same trope. They all have characters struggling with parental pressure to marry and have children and honestly, there are other ways for south asian characters to meet and fall in love that do not include their parents pressuring them to settle down to the point that they have to engage in a fake relationship to throw them off track. This cannot be the only trope available to us! Anyway, there were some interesting points made in this book about identity and belonging but the fake relationship stuff was boring and made it hard for me to really care about any of these characters. Also, can we write less toxic parental relationships in these books? Like all these moms are overly nosy busybodies and spend all their free time trying to marry their children off and that feels like such a cliche at this point. (I am Bengali so I do know something about this, I get it, it's an easy low hanging fruit to pluck but let's stop falling into these same typical character archetypes repeatedly).

This was so fun, I raced through it in a day. Naomi Kelly is Bengali-Canadian, but she doesn’t know much about Bengali culture. Her mom got pregnant as a teenager and ran away from her family to raise her kid in Canada, in a small mostly white town where Naomi would be cut off (or protected, depending on who you ask) from her roots. Naomi always wanted to learn more, and as an adult, being hired by a Bengali-Canadian family to revitalize their small Indian imports/convenience store is a tantalizing opportunity for her. She doesn’t want to reveal her whole life to them, but she wants very badly to belong. Meanwhile, the middle son of said family, Dev, is chafing under his mom’s strict, traditional expectations. Dev and Naomi make a secret pact: she’ll help him fend off potential brides and he’ll help her successfully rebrand his mom’s store. This is fast-paced and sweet and really captures Naomi’s yearning as an outsider who wants to be invited in. And it has a mean-girl rival who is more than she seems, which I always love.

Really enjoyed this! Felt like a nice change to learn something about a culture and have a larger plot outside of the romance/spice.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for this ARC - coming this September!

This was such a cute read! I enjoyed the representation in Sunshine and Spice as we can always use more South Asain representation in romance!
Naomi and Dev were so cute from the beginning. I enjoyed the parts of their romance story as well as the insights to how the viewed their culture and their individual struggles with identity, acceptance, and belonging.
I viewed this as a light summer read. I do wish that Dev's character had a little more background development but I was still hooked- I love a good fake dating trope!
This book has a grumpy (but cute) mmc and a powerhouse of an fmc!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

📣 a fantastic contemporary that I flew through bc reading it was effortless & wonderful

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what was your last 5 ⭐️ read? This was one of mine!

Sunshine & Spice by Aurora Palit is a delight of a book, a stellar romance that has all of the components to make a reader swoon, get heart squeezes, & feel that emotional richness that indicates a well-rounded story.

Leads Naomi & Dev had my heart. Both are Indo-Canadian & both feel a lack of comfort to some degree with the expectations placed upon them (even as Naomi is particularly aware of also how lovely it would be to have been raised as part of that community—to feel an unqualified sense of “belonging” in it—from the beginning.)

Naomi’s insecurities & Dev’s struggle to respect his mother even as she doesn’t always acknowledge the validity of his own wishes, form the backbone to the eventual conflict headed their way, even as they begin working together & form a fake dating arrangement.

Beyond the richly developed stories for each character & that finely wrought sense of conflict are adorable characters I loved so much. Dev is a prince among men—a grumpy nice boy who blushes at times—& Naomi is a considerate powerhouse I would love to be BFF with. The way that she gives their eventual fight her all—not immediately giving up on them—but then ultimately takes for herself is a stunner!

I adored this one & you will too!

5 ⭐️. Out 09/10.

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs, which include grief.

[ID: Jess holds the ebook in front of a slate blue & aqua mural with yellow, pink, & red flowers on it.]

As a brand manager starting her own business, Naomi needs this newest project to go well. She hopes that she is South Asian enough to make a connection with the South Asian client, Gia, and to convince her she is the right one for the job. Gia’s son, Dev, is helping with reinventing their neighborhood bazaar. When Dev proposes to Naomi that she help him ward off potential marriage prospects sent from the matchmaker his mother has hired, she figures it wouldn’t hurt to have him on her side for the project. Things heat up between the two as they go from fake dating to a real connection.

I really enjoyed this one! Aurora Palit has a great writing style and I was impressed by this debut novel.

Naomi was a character with a complex identity. Her mother was Bengali yet Naomi was not raised in a culturally Bengali household. This created a sense of not belonging to the Bengali community for Naomi and she also did not feel fully Canadian. Naomi felt defensive of her lack of experience and exposure to Bengali culture. She wanted to learn more about Bengali culture but was too ashamed to admit that she knew very little. Her HEA with Dev included her integration into his family and finding her roots with them. It was a very sweet end to the story.

This story was a bit of a slow burn that led to some intimate scenes that were really steamy. Naomi and Dev had great chemistry!

Pick this one up for a sweet story featuring two South Asian Canadian characters with lots of food, family and fun.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

As a first generation South Asian Canadian it was so great to read something that I can understand from all perspectives even if I don’t relate to all the experiences. The storyline (and light dusting of 🌶️) was fun and easy to read, but the character development and subsequent discussion within the plot is just as wonderful.

This definitely reads like a Bollywood movie, especially at the end. It reminded me of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani for some reason.

I will say though that I wish the storyline surrounding the matchmaker Veera Aunty’s prospective partners was different. I didn’t really like the way the women working with the matchmaker were written almost to be desperate.

Overall, cute beach read or weekend read.

Thank you to the author and publishers for the ARC in return for an honest review

Sunshine and Spice
By: Aurora Palit

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Romance
Pub Date: September 1”, 2024

This book is for all the immigrants, and it does not matter how long ago the family immigrated…
Ever felt you’re not good enough? Not brown enough to be considered part of your culture and not white enough to be part of society? Even though this book is not really about identity, the main character, Naomi, has been called an oreo and she doesn’t want to take it anymore. To protect herself, she doesn’t reveal her exact background, but when she gets a client things changes.

Naomi’s client is a Bengali woman, who is trying to rebrand their family store at the Bazaar. The concern is that Naomi might not be the best person, even though she’s brown, she isn’t Bengali, so she might not have the best view on what fits. But Naomi is actually Bengali…
This story is about how people should be accepted the way they are, and community and family can come together for “love”, no matter how difficult acceptance can be.

Thanks netgalley for the review copy.

AHHHH give me a fake dating trope any and every day I love it all. Also being a biracial woman I love reading stories about different cultures and learning more about other folks customs. This was a beautiful story woven with the rich indian culture. I loved this so much.

Sunshine and Spice is a well written romance with the added bonus of being incredibly discussable. The themes within make it a great choice for book clubs. Beautiful debut.

Naomi Kelly's mother never taught her anything about their Bengali heritage. When Naomi secures a job rebranding
the Mukherjee family bazaar, her lack of connection to her roots imperils the job.
Dev Mukherjee has grown up steeped in all the cultural traditions and wishes to pursue a career that he loves
and not the expected of him. His mother is determined to find him a wife and hires a matchmaker .
The two join forces - Dev will instruct Naomi in the culture and traditions she needs to complete the job successfully
while she protects him from prospective brides.
Expectations and breaking the mold
#SunshineandSpice #Berkley #NetGalley

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the ARC of this book! I enjoyed every moment of it and felt like the author did a great job describing the Indian culture in a way that is relatable to anyone. The main characters felt very relatable and real and I was truly rooting for them despite some of the hardships working against them. I would definitely recommend this book and will look out for others by this author in the future.

Naomi is a brand consultant who gets hired to transform a store for a well known Indian Family. She is also of Indian descent but has next to no knowledge about her culture. Her mother left it all behind when she became pregnant as a teenager and her life took a different direction. Naomi feels like she doesn't belong in her culture as a result and is searching for meaning and belonging. When she gets hired by Gia, the store's owner, she meets Gia's son, Dev. In contrast to Naomi, Dev feels suffocated by his culture and the expectations it puts on his life. When his mom hires a matchmaker for him, Naomi and Dev strike up a deal. She will be his fake girlfriend to help fend off potential matches and he will help for with the plans for the store. They develop a friendship and then a relationship and it's super fun to read. Their match is a fun one and feels well suited. This was just such a sweet book and I loved it so much! A good read for people who like romance and also enjoy fake dating and slow burn. The details about finding meaning in life and how culture or lack thereof affects a person were quite interesting as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing a DRC of this title.

I really enjoyed this one! The end might've been a smidge rushed for me, but I still had a great time reading about Naomi's quest to connect with her heritage and her growing relationship with Dev. I was so impressed that this was a debut! Will definitely look forward to recommending this one to my patrons and to reading whatever Palit writes next. 4.5 stars/5.

This was an okay read, it was cute and very fast-paced. This book is unique because it follows the fmc who is Bengali but is disconnected from her south asian culture. In the book, she is often looked down on by other Bengalis because she doesn't speak the language and isn't familiar with the cultural aspects. I thought that part of this book was actually the most compelling and interesting. The romance was cute and steamy it just felt like there wasn't a lot of depth to it. Overall I would recommend this especially if you like a grumpy mmc and Desi/southeast asian romance.

Sunshine and Spice is a decent romance with a decent plot, it sets itself apart from the seeming multitude of recent first generation Indian-American romances by featuring a main character who is of Indian descent but not raised in the Indian community. When she gets a rebranding contract for a business owned by a south Asian woman, she is confident in her professional abilities but struggles for acceptance culturally. Naomi teams up with the owner’s son on the rebranding project. While she wishes she had more of a cultural connection, he feels smothered by the family and culture he loves. The author does a good job identifying and discussing some of the many issues surrounding ethnicity, family, identity, community, culture and self-realization. I enjoyed the book and liked that it made me think about some topics in ways I had not previously.

This might be my new favorite romance novel! As an Indo-Guyanese reader, the depictions of culture in this novel were so refreshing. Naomi's struggle to find her place reflected so much of my own feelings that at times it was difficult to read. I actually teared up during the climax of the story (which takes place in the rain in true Bollywood dramatic fashion). Dev's reluctance to stray from familial norms was also super relatable to me. It's rare that I see myself reflected in both leads but that was the case with this novel. I loved watching these two bond and develop a friendship before ultimately falling in love. It felt natural which was a nice change of pace from the insta-love I'm used to. Highly recommend this one!