fake it until you rebrand it

Naomi Kelly has opened her own business, and she needs a new client fast, or it’s scrambled eggs and ramen for the next month. As a brand consultant, she knows how to take a struggling business and turn it around. But her passion is to help the small, family-run businesses, and in her town in Canada, that means fitting in with the local Bengali community. She’s Indo-Canadian herself, but her mother hasn’t been a part of the Bengali community for a long time, and Naomi grew up without much connection to her Bengali heritage.

She’s gotten a chance to pitch to Gia Mukherjee, and she has to get this right. Gia has been running a bazaar for many years, and it used to be community hub. But then her husband had a stroke, and she had to close the store to help him. Now she wants to build up her business again, but the store is filled with kitschy knickknacks that no one wants to buy. The other stores in the strip mall where she is have changed, and Gia’s needs a whole new plan. Naomi can see that immediately, from the tacky tchotchkes that fill the shelves and the layer of dust over them.

Meanwhile, there is one thing Gia wants more than the rebranding of her bazaar. She wants her son Dev to settle down and get married. She’s even hired a matchmaker, and the matchmaker jumps right in with several women who she thinks would be perfect for Dev. It’s all set. Except for one thing. Dev isn’t interested in getting married, and certainly not to any of the women the matchmaker has found for him. So when he’s at the store and Gia drops by to do some more research for her pitch, Dev takes her for one of the women he’d been set up with and tries to shut her down.

When Dev realizes his mistake, he apologizes. But it gives Naomi an idea. She can pretend to be his girlfriend, scaring off the women the matchmaker will send his way, if he helps her out with the rebranding of the store and helps her fit in better with the Bengali community. And Naomi has a great pitch—to turn the bazaar into a coffeeshop. It will bring the community back to Gia’s and give customers a much-needed cafe. It will take a lot of work to transform it, but Naomi is up for it. And she has to do a good job, to get referrals throughout the community.

But when the fake relationship stars to throw out real sparks, Naomi and Dev find themselves in a difficult position. They need to decide for themselves if their family expectations are more important to them, or if love is.

Sunshine and Spice is a sweet rom com that looks at the way social norms influence us and how love can disrupt the status quo. Aurora Palit’s story of love and family has spice and humor and lots of heart. It’s about finding your own voice in a family and chasing the dreams that mean the most to you.

I really enjoyed Sunshine and Spice. I liked these characters and couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out. I especially liked how they wanted something different than what their families wanted for them, but they found ways to balance their independence with their family obligations. Learning more about Bengali culture was fascinating, and seeing how their relationship played out is just lots of fun.

Egalleys for Sunshine and Spice were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.