For me, this was not only a story of first love and family, but also the love of food. And how much culture is wrapped up in the food we grow up preparing and eating.
The amount of times the descriptions of food in this novel made me hungry, I can't even tell anymore.

I enjoyed the fact that the themes of this book went deeper than just experiencing your first romance. That the aspect of family was so entrenched through its entirety.

Overall I think I was a little more invested in getting to see how the relationships between child and parent played out and how conflicts there resolved by the end but I think the romance plotline did add a touch of lightness.

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

This book was a slow but easy and cute read. The whole restaurant rival was kind of dragging. But I did like the story and could understand what was happening.

I liked Bao & Linh they were both such great characters, and so cute.

A Pho Love Story is a modern day (and less dramatic) Romeo and Juliet story centred around food, high school, family rivalry, and being a first generation American. This story is told in the POV's of the main characters who lead similar lives in some ways and drastically different lives in other ways. They both understand what it's like to grow up as a first generation American, helping your parents run their restaurants, and avoid each other at all costs because their families hate one another. But while Bao has no idea what he wants with his life, he understands his parents will be happy with whatever he choose to do, while Linh is on the other end of the scale. She knows EXACTLY what she wants, but her parents don't approve and try to push her in any other direction.

Llike most people I absolutely loved all of the food in this book and the Asian-American culture that was portrayed. I thought that the story was light hearted, cute, and fun. I also enjoy the familial, personal, and relationship. journey that both Bao and Linh go on together and separately.

However, this wasn't a 5 star read the way that I was expecting it to be. I didn't vibe with the writing style, although the story did suck me. I felt that scenes often abruptly stopped and didn't flow. And though I normally like dual POV's it was extremely hard to distinguish which person's POV I was reading in.

So although I definitely recommend this book for the story and the characters, maybe read a page or two first to see if you like the writing style! I will also say that I recently found out there is going to be another book in this world and because I liked the characters so much I will be checking that one out once it's released!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!

I absolutely adored this story. This book tore into my heart in the absolute best way--I could not have rooted so hard for two characters so much!

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and spark and fire. She loves art, and she dreams of making a career of it one day. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including expecting her to work practically full-time at their family’s pho restaurant.

For decades, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh have resolved never to befriend each other, for fear of pushing too far and bringing on undue heartbreak. But when a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao closer, sparks fly . . .

Can Linh and Bao’s love survive in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

A fantastic debut YA novel that I absolutely loved. Great characters and a really easy read

***Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review***

I'll start by saying, I can't as a white person, comment on the representation because its not my lane. What I can say is how much I enjoyed reading from a different perspective, reading about the experiences of Vietnamese imminigrants and their first generation children.

The romance was really cute, I wish it had been a smidge more slow burn but that's more personal preference than anything.

But what I truly enjoyed about this book? The fact that I could picture the movie in my head. I have aphantasia so cannot create visualise things in my head and very few books have actually been able to give me such a vivid experience. The food descriptions were mouth watering and now I really want to try Vietnamese food (don't judge, its basically impossible to find where i live but I will be seeking it out where possible in the future)

Overall, I feel the ending was a bit rushed and that's the main reason for this being a 4 rather than a 5 and I wish there'd been an epilogue just to wrap everything up nicely but overall it was a really good YA fluffy romance which was incredibly enjoyable.

A lovely YA romcom with food, family feuds and fantastic characters.

A Pho Love Story was really cute, with so many interesting elements - from the Vietnamese interspersed throughout, complex family dynamics and the pressure of parental expectations, restaurant reviews, food and art.

I loved the dual narrative aspect. Both characters had distinct voices and individual ways of looking at the world.

A foodie romance meets Romeo and Juliet that will give you a strong craving for Vietnamese food.

A Pho Love Story is such a cute story, about two rival pho restaurants where we meet Bao and Linh who fall into a star crossed lover style relationship. It was a fun, light romance told through dual perspectives. The family dynamics were so entertaining to read about but by the 90% mark I was past ready to know what the feud was all about.

I loved the inclusion of Vietnamese writing and really appreciated the insights into Vietnamese culture and history. Particularly the impact colonisation has on families that leads to the immigration experience. I definitely recommend it for YA fans.


3.5 stars

This a lovely YA romance book that had me drooling throughout because of the incredible dishes mentioned!
Bao and Linh are very interesting characters and I loved learning more about their family dynamics but I can’t say I was completely gripped by their relationship.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book. This was a fun, cute read that i read at the perfect time. It can be described as a coming of age story for people who love food. Honestly there were times in the book where i was bored and i did skim read but overall it was enjoyable and i will be purchasing a physical copy of this book.

When I read this book was recommended for fans of “When Dimple met Rishi” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” I immediately knew I had to read it.
This book is adorable! I loved everything about it, the story, the characters and oh my goodness the food. Do not read this book on an empty stomach! It will make you hungry, you have been warned.
The book follows Bao and Linh who have avoided each other for years despite the fact both their families run Pho restaurants across from each other. This is a very Romeo and Juliet star crossed lovers book but it’s so cute!

Make sure you read this book, it’s the perfect summer read and I can’t wait to read more from Loan Le

Synopsis: Both Bảo and Linh’s parents run Vietnamese restaurants - right across the street from each other, and in such fierce competition that the two teenagers have never been allowed by their parents to befriend each other. After Bảo offers Linh help and they end up working on a school newspaper assignment together, their relationship grows, and they start to question if there’s more to the feud between the two families.
•••
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Four stars, in the context that this is a YA book. It was really cute, entertaining and had fab Vietnamese rep, including a lot of background relating to the Vietnamese war and life as an immigrant in the US. A few things bugged me:
- How the story gets so caught up in Linh “lying” to everyone, when she just hid some stuff from her parents… and that seems like a very normal teenager-y thing to do, not something that she should be having a crisis over?
- The idea that engineering is an AWFUL career path for a girl who loves art… can we kill that cliche pls.
- Bảo’s article he writes near the end for the newspaper… wasn’t… that good? And yet it somehow is like a massive plot-changer?

Overall I really liked the characters, thought it was light-hearted and an easy-read that I got through quickly, even when it covered some important coming-of-age topics and themes around war and related trauma. Plus all the Vietnamese food involved is amazing and had me drooling most of the time! Think I might cook phở for dinner…

A Pho Love story is the perfect cute, romeo-juliette type coming of age love story for food enthusiasts. Loan Le’s writing was beautiful and conveyed the emotions of the book and the problems the characters were facing perfectly. From the switching povs, I developed a fondness for both Linh and Bao, however my only problem was that I didn’t feel much for their actual relationship - which was slightly disappointing. However, this was still a very cute and moving book and would definitely be an easy beach read for the over the summer!

A Pho Love Story includes:
-Vietnamese-American mcs
-Friends to lovers
-Romeo and Juliet retelling
-ya romance

Linh and Boa are two Vietnamese teens who come from feuding families. Both their parents own restaurants right across from each other and they've kept their distance, however Ling and Boa end up working together on a school assignment hence spending more time together.

This was such as adorable ya romance. Linh has a passion for art and knows her parents will be disappointed in her choice of career, whereas Bao doesn't know what he wants to do yet. I enjoyed how they both bonded over the pressure from their parents and being children of immigrant parents. I was really immersed in the culture and reading about Linh’s love for art was written so beautifully.

I also appreciated how we see a lot of both their parents as many ya romances don't really include much about them. This book also, deals with topics such as loss of a loved one and racism so proceed with caution if these topics are triggering.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I'm a sucker for books that talk about food and I was craving all the food they mentioned while reading and there was a lot. Loan Lee also recently announced there will be a companion novel which I can't wait to read. If this sounds like your type of book it comes out on June 24th. MY only critique for this book was that it was unnecessarily long and it didn't need to be.

I loved the premise of ‘A Pho Love Story’, however, I felt that the execution could have been better.

While the descriptions of Vietnamese culture and the pressures of being a second-generation Vietnamese immigrant were enthralling and clearly were very personal to the author, overall, I struggled to connect to the story, primarily due to the writing style.

I found the writing a little choppy and abrupt, and felt that overall it was somewhat basic (even for a YA novel). Additionally, the two narrators’ voices were very similar, and sometimes it was hard to distinguish between them.

Overall, ‘A Pho Love Story’ was a quick read, but I was somewhat disappointed that the book did not live up to my expectations (based on the premise).

(Full review to be posted later to Goodreads)

This book was the most delicious and perfect cup of hot chocolate ever. It was sweet, tasty and yummy :)
The author has an amazing writing style and I loved reading her book (I just learned that there is a sequel coming soon so I am now super excited for that!). There was amazing sense of fluidity and the plot never stopped. Her descriptions were beautiful and I loved how the book came to life. There were so many amazing and beautiful characters and I loved every single one. I loved and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Vietnamese culture and I loved all the phrases included throughout.

Linh and Bao were absolutely stunning characters and I fell in love with both of them. When this book is released (next Thursday!!!) I suggest everyone buys it because seriously - IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been in the mood for fluffy contemporary and this modern-day spin on Romeo and Juliet really did it for me. I enjoyed the rivalry between the two families and the fact that the two main characters were sort of unaware of how this began was interesting and totally pulled me in as I wanted to know where the families' hatred came from. I found the two main characters Bao and Linh were fun to follow, I felt that they were fully fleshed out and had relatable storylines for us to follow along to. The mentioning of food throughout this made me so hungry while reading which is the best type of book in my opinion. I cannot speak for the representation in this book however I enjoyed seeing the glimpse of culture throughout this book however I would have to read some own voices reviews to see if this is accurate or not.
I found the pacing in this book to be super quick and I flew through the novel, I found that the short chapters really aided with the pacing in the story overall.
This was fun and faced paced and I would definitely read more from Loan Le in the future.
4 out of 5 stars

This is such a cute, romantic story, perfect for the summer. Think rivals to lovers, family secrets and tonnes of good food. Really, make sure to have snacks at the ready because the food descriptions are to die for in this book. If being totally honest I didn't really know much about Vietnamese culture or cuisine so there was a lot of googling of different terms which really only made me more hungry and now I am desperate to find a restaurant near me where I can try all the dishes in this book.
The characters were sweet and lovable and their individual journeys of them finding themselves was so lovely to see. The family drama definitely added to the stakes, however I did find some of the plot twists a little bit predictable.
The pacing was a little bit slower in the first half however by the second half I couldn't put it down. The plot was straight forward but enjoyable and there were some really enjoyable scenes that were just perfect moments in themselves.
A really heartwarming read.

Charming YA romcom with depth ideal for food lovers.
Full review on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Eu10lD8gzPE

What I really cherished about 'A Phờ Love Story' was that it spoke volumes to me. My parents were refugees in the Vietnam war and for ages, I was trying to figure what it meant to me. I wasn't Vietnamese enough but I wasn't Chinese enough too and it just never felt like I fit in either of the boxes. Unlike the protagonists in this book, it took me a while to properly appreciate their journey and sacrifices to get to where we are today and I think this book is such a sweet reminder of that. Seeing Linh and Bao conflicted with the careers that they want to pursue vs not wanting to disappoint their parents is a story that I, as an immigrants' child, know all too well. I think this book does such a great reflection of growing up a first generation Vietnamese in a western country. Aside from the heavy stuff, it was so good to read a book with Vietnamese references in it (what is a family household without 'Paris By Night'? Though I'm more with 'Van Son' tbh) and phrases. I was never taught Vietnamese growing up but picked it up from listening to my family speak it all the time so you won't believe how happy I was to be able to read and understand some of those lines. I wanted to cry. And then the food! The one thing I'm proud about my Vietnamese heritage is the food. If I ever thought I would read about bánh xèo, bánh patê sô and chè when I was younger, I would have bawled. So this was pretty momentous for me.

But besides all the Vietnamese references, I think this is a cute YA fic that has a lot of drama (we're talking family ties etc). I didn't think it was amazing looking from just a YA fic basis but I do think the cultural setting really pushes it forwards and makes it stand out.

Overall, 'A Phờ Love Story' is an adorable contemporary YA book that is culturally very rich