SUNSHINE AND SPICE by Aurora Palit

 

Naomi Kelly is desperate to make her brand consulting business a success. When she lands a life-changing contract to rebrand the Mukherjee family’s bazaar, she knows that this is the chance she is looking for. She cannot afford any mistakes. But as the unplanned baby of a free-spirited Bengali mother, Naomi knows she is already starting at a disadvantage. Her lack of cultural roots represents everything Gia, the Mukherjee matriarch, disdains.

Dev Mukherjee knows that his mother wants nothing more than for him to get married, so much so that she hires a matchmaker without his permission. But Dev is determined to do whatever it takes to avoid ending up in a cold, loveless marriage. When a potential match assumes Naomi is his girlfriend, a perfect plan forms: Naomi and Dev will fake date. In exchange for keeping potential matches at bay, Dev will teach Naomi about her Bengali culture.

But as Naomi and Dev bond over traditional dancing that neither of them are good at, couples cooking classes, and the family business rebrand, they find that their fake relationship is becoming very real. As the line between their plan and future begins to blur, they must decide if they’re willing to risk everything for a lie that’s become true.

A first generation Bengali-Canadian, Aurora Palit grew up in rural Alberta, where she was always the only South Asian student in her class. Her love of reading began at age four but it wasn’t until high school—when she wandered into the romance section of a bookstore—that she realized happily-ever-afters are her jam. 

Flash forward [an undisclosed number of] years and Aurora is now writing those stories with her own unique brand of humor, perspective, and belief that people of color deserve love stories too. 

During her time pursuing a master's degree in English literature, Aurora was drawn to discourses on diaspora and identity, racism, and multi-generational immigrant experiences; topics she now explores in her writing. When she’s not testing her characters’ patience,

Aurora is raising small humans, roasting her spouse, prowling for chocolate, and dancing for all that she’s worth. She also spends her days adulting as a communications professional for a not for profit organization.