3.5/5 stars

This is a character driven family drama focusing on a Vietnamese-Canadian family and their nail salon.

The author shines a light on the overlooked community of Vietnamese nail salon workers.

The book is set in Toronto. It features the POVs of all of the family members as they do whatever it takes to try to keep their family nail salon open.

I enjoyed getting to learn about this culture and getting to see more of the immigrant experience. The book definitely shows a great character study on these different people in one family.

I really knew very little about Vietnamese culture or nail salons. So this book was enlightening. I do personally prefer more plot driven stories. I wasn't overly invested in any of the characters. But the story was interesting.

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?”

Mai Nguyen’s parents opened one of the first nail salons in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Knowing that local connection, I knew I had to read this.

I love books that are set in locations that I am familiar with; the Toronto setting of Sunshine Nails is full of street names and places that I could easily picture. Nguyen’s writing is engaging and made for a quick read. She tackles many elements of the immigrant experience in Canada, both the good and the frustrating, like experiencing micro aggressions (the Trans being mistaken for Korean instead of Vietnamese), highlighting the Vietnamese culture through food, parties and beliefs, and working hard. With five perpectives of the Tran family, you can’t help but get to know some character better than others; in the end I wanted more time with Dustin and Jessica than Phil and Debbie, partly due to their sibling interactions. Although sprinkled with humour, the story was more serious than I expected, especially from looking at the cover. Sometimes the four Trans seemed too disconnected from each other which made it hard to see the overarching story.

Sunshine Nails is a story of fulfillment, gentrification, family, money and following your dreams. Although lacking some character connection, it is a powerful look at the failure of the “promised dream” and life for immigrants in Canada. Thank you to Atria Books & Simon and Schuster Canada for the ARC!

Sunshine Nails revolves around a Vietnamese family from Toronto, their community, and their nail salon. The Trans, headed by Phil and Debbie, realized their dream of running a successful nail salon twenty years ago. But as their children, Jessica and Dustin, come of age, things change. With the rising rents brought on by gentrification, the family must make tough choices and examine the state of their lives in order to survive and thrive.

I found Sunshine Nails to be a very interesting read. The prose as well as the marketing makes it seem like a beach read, and in terms of vocabulary and literary merits, it is an easy read. But the characters and the themes are quite the opposite. The characters are complex people filled with contradictions and complicated histories. The themes of the way a family changes as its members age, of the knock-on effects of gentrification, and the ability of people to change at any time of life precipitate in the reader introspection and new realizations.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for some light reading that doesn't necessarily let you off the hook in terms of challenging one's view of the world.

I received an e-galley of Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen from Simon and Schuster Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Throughout reading Sunshine Nails, I kept looking at my own nails, wondering if it was time to get my nails done. It's been years since I've been in a nail salon - I'm the type who somehow ruins my nails before I've even walked out of the salon. But in immersing myself in the world that Mai Nguyen created, I found myself wanting to set foot in a nail salon again. Oh, the drama that ensued in Sunshine Nails.

In this story told from multiple perspectives, we follow a Vietnamese Canadian family as they deal with all the curveballs thrown their way. The daughter is back from the States after she loses her fiance and job. The son continues to live at home as he wants to save money at a job that refuses to pay him for what he's worth. The parents struggle with their place of business with rising rents and a luxurious nail salon opening across the street. The immigrant cousin is not sure how to be grateful as life in Canada is not quite working out as she thought it would. I really liked that this story was told through these multiple perspectives - it gave further insight into each of their motivations and the drama that was ensuing behind the scenes.

I thought that it was a great read about family, sacrifice, and the ways in which those two can go hand in hand. The characters find themselves being pushed into a corner and doing things that they would normally not do - all in the name of family, without realizing that that may be exactly what drives them further apart. I liked how flawed and human and real each character felt because of that.

This was a great read to start my summer vacation - and now to figure out what to do with my weak nails. Perhaps it is time to visit a nail salon.

HAPPY PUB DAY!!!

I love this book so so soooooo much! It is one of the best books I’ve read this year so far. The author has crafted an emotional filled novel that also has humour and wit!! It’s multi POV and I loved getting to be in the head of multiple characters. Right now I’m loving family dynamic novels and this one is the perfect representation of how to do this well! This is a great summer book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing me with an eARC!

Finished my advanced digital copy of Sunshine Nails on the weekend, just in time for its official release today! Such a good book about a family who immigrated from Vietnam to live the Canadian dream. But starting from nothing in a country where you are only valued for your physical labour, and are stereotyped and racially profiled by the majority does not make for an easy life. Especially when not only trying to survive, but to also help loved ones still in their home country. What lengths would you go to to keep your family business alive when a multimillion dollar international company opens directly across the street and starts stealing your clients? The Trans would do almost anything for family and the ones they love, but will it be enough?
I highly recommend Sunshine Nails as the perfect summer read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a book all about family and all the struggles and sacrifices that come with that.

In Sunshine Nails we meet a Vietnamese family who own a nail salon in Toronto. They have been just getting by, but when a multi-million dollar company opens a competing salon across the street, the Tran family does whatever they have to in order to keep Sunshine Nails open.

Along with this main plot line, you have Phil and Debbie’s children, Jessica and Dustin, as well as their niece, Thuy, trying to find their own place both in the family and in the world around them.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and it was so hard to watch this family struggle. The micro aggressions were also incredibly frustrating, and I really liked how the author inserted these very real racist views into the story. Following each character’s arc was fantastic, and I really enjoyed watching them grow and determine what was truly important to them.

If you’re looking for a book to add to your summer reading list, definitely check this one out!

I enjoyed this one; bonus points for being Canadian! I really rooted for the family to find their voices and appreciated their strong loyalty. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

As it appeared on my Goodreads

I think this book has a really interesting premise. The Tran family are Vietnamese refugees who have worked hard to establish their nail salon business in Toronto. At the start of this book there is a lot of upheaval. Jessica (the daughter) has fled Los Angeles after losing her job and having her relationship fall apart. The Tran nail salon is also in crisis, a shiny new nail salon has just opened across the street providing unwelcome competition.

I enjoyed the setting, especially the location and culture. This is a well written book. However, my dislike of several main characters especially Jessica and her father Phil hampered my enjoyment. I feel like a few more moments of humor or lightheartedness would have balanced out the drama nicely. In my opinion the colourful fun looking book cover was a mismatch for the complex family drama and tale of gentrification within.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

3.5 stars

Told from the points of view of five Vietnamese-Canadian family members. Each shows a side of the immigrant experience in trying to build a life for themselves in Canada though owning a low-budget nail salon whose existence is threatened when a high-end nail salon chain opens across the street. It was interesting to learn about the nail industry and Vietnamese culture.

The story looks at cultural differences between immigrant parents and their Canadian-born children, the gentrification of the Toronto neighborhood in which they live, resiliency, and the lengths they are prepared to go to hold onto their dream when life doesn’t seem to be going their way. This was an interesting look into an immigrant family’s life in Toronto but I found the plot slowed down in the middle. Overall, an enjoyable quick/easy to read novel that could have delved into each character more - there were so many, that it was hard to really relate to any one in particular.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the arc!
Out: July 4, 2023

3.5/5 ⭐️

About:
• Vietnamese-Canadian culture
• Reality of the nail industry
• Gentrification

Read this if you're into:
• Multiple povs (five)
• Successful immigrant stories
• Family drama

As someone who lives in Toronto and loves getting mani pedi, this book called me by my first name.

A nice addition to one's AAPI list too!

This was a different departure on what I normally read but I'm not mad about it!

This was a story told in alternating POV's and really made me think about the effects of gentrification, how far one would go for family (even if some decisions were questionable), immigration and traditions among the different generations.

I genuinely loved reading about the Tran family and this was a great debut novel.

This book was so much fun! It has heart, compelling characters, and an interesting plot. Stories set in Toronto are always a special treat for me and Sunshine Nails is no exception.

4 Stars.

As someone who loves Kim’s Convience, reading this book’s description and seeing that fans of the tv show will love this book, I was super excited to read it. Sunshine Nails summary positions itself as “tender & funny” and although I knew it wouldn’t be all rainbows as butterflies as it reflects on the families struggle with gentrification and racism. It’s definitely a more serious book then it makes itself out to be.

I *think* the humour might supposed to be coming from how the family further tangles themselves into trouble (gambling, loan sharks, blackmail and stealing) but instead of being amused, I just wanted to stop reading.

It’s not a bad book, it’s well written, it’s just I went in with different expectations to what the book was going to be about and was disappointed. The ending was nice though.

This was a great debut novel and I enjoyed reading about the Tran Family. I loved the descriptions of food and the family gatherings. There was a lot going on and at times it felt like maybe too much. However, i did appreciate the story and the characters. This book made me think a lot about gentrification and about

The perfect novel to curl up with over a weekend (like I did)! It was a pleasure to read every page. I am usually challenged by mulit-POV books, but Nguyen seamlessly weaves together the five characters in this book. Phil stressed me out, Debbie made me laugh, I was cheering for Jessica and encourage by Thuy. Dustin, well, he made the right moves. Such a great story illustrating the immigrant experience, family dynamics, and the challenges (and rewards!) of running a business. Solid 4.5 stars.

Felt like the nail salon version of Kim’s Convenience and I’m obsessed. I was hooked from the beginning and I couldn’t put the book down!!
Will recommend this to anyone who asks!

3.5 rounded up

This story is about a Vietnamese Canadian family who own a nail salon in Toronto. Things go sideways when their landlord jacks up their rent and a multimillion dollar chain salon opens across the road.

It’s a cute, general fiction book told in all the family members’ POV. And how far each person will go to try to save the family business. It was okay for me, nothing extravagant.


Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a DRC. Sunshine Nails is available July 4.

As a Torontonian who is of Vietnamese descent and has relatives that own nail salons, I was excited when I first learned about the existence of Mai Nguyen’s Sunshine Nails! It made my heart happy because it was set in Toronto because not only is it another Vietnamese story being published but a Vietnamese Canadian one which isn’t as common as most Vietnamese diaspora books are American.

Sunshine Nails is a multi-point of view novel that follows three generations of the Tran family. We have Phil and Debbie Tran the head of the family who came from Vietnam as refugees and started their own nail salon, then we have their grown up kids Jessica and Dustin who are both dealing with personal and professional issues and the finally we have Thuy, a teenaged cousin who was brought over to Canada to help the Trans run their salon. The short chapters that rotate between the perspectives of each of the five Trans allow readers to better understand the individual struggles and where each of the characters is coming from...

Read the rest of my review at the link attached.

2.8*

I really liked how this book was laid out and getting to see different POV’s across the different generations of the family. However, I felt the first half of the book was paced a little too slow to really pull me in. Decent read nevertheless

Thanks NetGalley.