Lavash at First Sight

Sparks fly between two women pitted against each other in this delectable new romantic comedy by Taleen Voskuni, author of Sorry, Bro.Twenty-seven year old Nazeli ‘Ellie’ Gregorian likes the prestige of her tech marketing job but hates her ex-boyfriend. Who dumped her. At work. So when Ellie’s lovingly overbearing parents plead with her to attend PakCon – a food packaging conference in Chicago – to help promote their company and vie to win the conference’s Superstars award (landing them a free Superbowl ad), she’s eager for the delicious distraction.Within minutes at the conference, she meets witty, devil-may-care Vanya Simonian, who is verbally sparring with a man to attend a VIP event. But their meet-cute is cut short when Ellie’s parents recognize Vanya as the daughter of their greatest rivals, whose mission is to whiten and package Armenian food for the American health-food crowd.Now sworn as enemies, Ellie and Vanya must play to win the Superstars award by the week’s end while keeping their growing feelings from their parents’ suspicions, all while dodging the poison barbs their parents keep flinging at each other.

As I read [Sorry, Bro], I kept cackling out loud and I would often pause to describe to my husband what was happening – or try to, anyway – I sometimes couldn't because I would be laughing so hard. But underneath the humour is such an important story of love between two women and the journey to rediscovering Armenian culture and heritage, Vibrant and heartfelt queer rom-com, Sorry Bro explores bisexuality, culture and self-discovery through moments that will make you laugh out loud. This new writer brings a fresh take on self-identity, with a story that will capture both your heart and sense of humour, Sorry, Bro is a lushly scented courtyard of a book, and a wonderful place to spend time - full of rich sensory details, complicated but loving relationships, warmth and humor, and a lot of fun. Voskuni’s descriptions and characters are immersive and vivid, and I loved spending time with them, Voskuni debuts with a bighearted queer rom-com uniquely inflected with Armenian American culture . . . it’s easy to invest in the characters and the Armenian American cultural details add charm. This is a treat

Taleen Voskuni is an Armenian-American writer who grew up in the Bay Area diaspora surrounded by a rich Armenian community and her ebullient, loving family. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in English and currently lives in San Francisco, working in tech. Other than a newfound obsession with writing romcoms, she spends her free time cultivating her kids, her garden and her dark chocolate addiction. Sorry, Bro is her first published novel.

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