e-Audio, 10:00:30
Narrated by: Carolina Ðo, David Lee Huynh, Quyen Ngo, Vyvy Nguyen, & Trieu Tran
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: July 16-17, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM
TW: Cheating, Racism, Alcoholism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Racial Slurs, Suicidal Thoughts
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, General Fiction, Romance, Multiple POV, Family, Pride, Set Outside the US, POC on the cover, POC MC, AdultA tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women.
Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.
Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?
Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I have to admit, when I first saw this book’s title I was expecting a super funny rom-com. The cover solidified it. But again, I never read the synopsis, so I had no idea what this was about. I just wanted it because of the cover and the promise of a BIPOC story. And lo and behold, that’s not what this book was about at all lol But even still, it’s so much more than before.
I don’t read a lot of General Fiction, but when I do, it’s something like this. As a character driven reader I was so into the lives of everyone. I’m usually scared when there is more than 2 POVs, but this one was ok to me and that was surprising. No one character was under-developed even with everything else that was happening. Even though there was so many POVs, they all came together at the end of the story. I didn’t feel like anything was lost either. It all tied in together.
The plot was just ok. I wasn’t bored or anything, but I also wasn’t blown away. I felt like some things were done well, like the immigrant experience, but I had to remember that it was set in Canada and not the USA. I also liked that even though this was titled Sunshine Nails, it was hardly about nails, but mostly about the shop itself. It showed that even tho this was set in Canada, gentrification happens in other places outside the US too.
Everyone had their own problems, but the main problem is the new salon coming in to the neighborhood and stealing their clients. There’s a gambler, a daughter with no job, a son with a stalled job, and so much more. But no one wants to talk to the other. Too much pride. It was fun to see them finally come together and fix their problems themselves. Well kind of.
Although this isn’t a romance I hope y’all give this a shot. It’s like a tv show I couldn’t stop watching. Idk, everything felt so real. This isn’t my normal book, but I enjoyed it. I hope you all do too.
Overall, I give this
