*I was given an arc of A Pho Love Story in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Loan Le*

Rating: 3.5

CW: Racism, xenophobia, death and war

A Pho Love Story is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, but a lot less violent. The story follows Bao and Linh whose parents own rival restaurants. Having promised to never speak to each other for the sake of their parents, a chance encounter brings them together.

Hiding their budding relationship from their families and having other secrets of their own, Bao and Linh try to navigate new territory without bringing further fueding and heartbreak to their families.

First things first the food. This book made me so hungry and I now really want to try Vietnamese cuisine. I’m a big sucker for romances that centre around food and this one did not disappoint.

When reading the synopsis I had no idea that Bao and Linh were in high school, I thought they were going to be older. This wasn’t a bad thing of course but it didn’t match up to what I thought the book was going to be like.

I also didn’t realise that this was going to be based on Romeo and Juliet, looking back at the synopsis now it’s extremely clear. So basically this was a nice surprise. I’ve read a few retellings of Romeo and Juliet and this is definitely one of my favourites. It’s a nice and quick read. No violence and a big case of puppy love made A Pho Love Story interesting.

I liked that even though the family are technically warring with each other there is never much real conflict, especially not the physical kind.

The biggest area of conflict in this story is when Bao’s family is dealing with a racist customer. Nothing said is too explicit however the dealing with this issue was handled very well and showed why community is so important.

Although this is quite a fast read the pacing in the first half was pretty slow. You don’t really get to know the main characters properly until the second part of the book. However, this does make sense in terms of the story. Bao had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and Linh was keeping her love for art a secret from her family. It’s only after they form a relationship that they realise who they are.

Speaking of our main characters, I liked the relationship between them. It was very sweet and a good representation of a teen relationship. They both have interesting attributes and quirks, but sometimes their personalities were outshone by the secondary characters. I would have loved more of their best friends Ali and Viet as they both had interesting qualities.

Over the past year, I have come to enjoy alternative perspectives a lot more and even though I did also like it here, it did confuse me at times. I would often lose track of whose chapter I was on as both Bao and Linh read the same. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the writing, just that there was no real difference in voice for either character.

The ongoing mystery of why the families hate each other was fun to see unfold and I liked how every time they thought they were getting somewhere with it another twist would turn up. I won’t mention why they hate each other here, however, although it was somewhat of an interesting reason, it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it was going to be.

I loved all of the parts that included food and getting an insight into the Vietnamese culture, something of which I don’t know very much about. Hearing the stories of how Bao and Linh’s parents fled Vietnam was very heart touching and emotional and provided some of the best parts of this book.

Overall A Pho Love Story was a fun romance based on the forbidden love trope. Although it touches on some very important issues this book is for the most part light-hearted and an all-around entertaining read.

I'm keeping this short, with a pros and cons kind of review but on reading I find that I haven't got a lot to say. A Pho Love Story was an okay read but with an okay story and okay characters but I didn't feel much. I didn't buy into the connection of the main characters at all and there was a lot of convenience at play. They are the cons.

The pros of this read centre around the food, Pho and everything described on the menu. I felt hungry reading this and I will probably crave Vietnamese food until I can find some post-lockdown.

I feel sad that this didn't work for me that well but again, it was okay.

This is the romeo and Juliet retelling you didn't know you needed.
It is such a cute retelling with a Vietnamese background and I loved reading it. It has introduced me to a culture I was ignorant to before and I loved how authentic the author makes it, could have maybe done with footnote translations but that's not overly required.

Will leave a full review on my blog and Goodreads. Thank you for letting me read this!

This book give me all the cute and warm fuzziness and i loved every minute. The budding friendship in theis book was everything! How they both bonded over the pressure from their parents and unknown futures. This was a lovely friends to lovers book that left me feeling very happy.

Even though both characters had a similar upbringing they were both very different characters and had pretty different families which was great to read.

This romance was definately a slow burn and sometimes thats the kind i need to read. The food in this book though was incredible and it was a big mistake reading it on an empty stomach.

Overall this book was lovely read and i coudnt reccommend it enough.

I love it when I stumble on one of those YA romances that just put butterflies in your stomach and 'A Pho Love Story' was definitely one of those. Think modern day Romeo and Juliet but without all the death - my cup of tea. It was also written from the perspective of two second generation immigrants from Vietnam which was really interesting and not one I have read a lot. You get to see how that impacts their parents as well as their own lives.

This is a gorgeous debut, YA romance. I sat reading with a smile on my face and massive food cravings.

Honestly, Loan Le describes the sense of comfort and togetherness that sharing a good meal with family can mean and it felt masochistic to keep reading it and then make my lonely lockdown self some cereal.

The two protagonists of this novel, Bao and Linh, are the children of rival restaurant families. They are both the children of Vietnamese immigrants to the US and they are both increasingly drawn to creative careers.

They figure out they have a fair bit in common and through the help of two wonderfully meddling best friends they start to review restaurants together for their school newspaper.

It is adorable, it is sweet and a great coming of age story. Through the medium of a YA romance, the author manages to discuss race, immigration, long held secrets and the power of words, gossip and discrimination.

Brilliant, and I'll be looking forward to more from this author!

A quick cute read.
There is certainly a slow burn romance, which makes a nice change from insta-love. However, I did feel like the build up of the relationship could of had more pay off. I would of loved to see more of them together because I became very invested.
Overall, a perfect read - just don't read on an empty stomach!

Cute and sweet. I thought that this one will wow me, but it didn't. Just cute. This was a 3.5 stars for me.

Charming & sweet, A Pho Love Story is sure to be a 2021 favourite with romance readers. Will appeal to fans of Roselle Lim and Helen Hoang

While I don't usually read contemporary fiction, I saw the cover of this and had to give it a shot and I am so glad I did.
A wonderful tale of two Vietnamese children bought up to hate the other by their warring parents. But their shared experiences and desire to break free pull them together and allow them to ferret out their parent's reasons for hatred.
Its basically Romeo and Juliet in Vietnamese but without the bloodshed.
I loved it, even though I had to have Google translate on while I read it as there were a lot of passages in Vietnamese. It was well worth the effort.

A Pho Love Story is a contemporary, YA retelling of Romeo and Juliet following the children of rival restaurants, Linh and Bao. I think one of my new favourite sub-sub-genres is Romeo and Juliet retellings; this one in particular has the perfect amount of unrequited cuteness, hidden romance and family pressure. The relationships between the kids and their parents felt so true, it felt reminiscent of my own experiences and the experiences of those around me.

I absolutely adore the romance between Linh and Bao, from the first glance across the road to the final page, I was so swept away by their relationship. In addition to this, they felt and spoke like real teenagers experiencing their first relationships. I also loved Ali and Viet and their additions to the Linh-Bao relationship experiences. My only wish was that we could spend some more time with Linh and Bao on their newspaper adventures; the scene with them in the restaurant pretending to be fancy journalists was one of my favourites!

If you are a contemporary fan, particularly a fan of Elizabeth Acevado or Sandhya Menon's Of Curses and Kisses, I would highly recommend that you check out A Pho Love Story. Also don't read this on an empty stomach because you will require some kind of snack IMMEDIATELY!

I am completely in love with this book, and I am eagerly awaiting whatever Loan Le might write next!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a YA contemporary romance about Bao and Linh, whose families own rival pho restaurants. Despite going to the same school and having been friends as young children, Bao and Linh don't see much of each other until a newspaper project throws them together.

One of the first things that struck me about this book how well written it is. The descriptions really draw you into the world and the funny moments and heart-warming scenes are pitched just right. The pacing is very slow early on, which almost made me put this down for a bit, but I persevered and found that things become more exciting and captivating in the second half of the story.

I didn't feel like I really knew Linh or Bao until the second half either, but I think that's because their personalities and character nuances are layered and built upon chapter by chapter, rather than being given to us in the first few chapters.

Linh wants to become an artist, but her parents don't know about her art and want her to go into a scientific field. Bao doesn't know what he wants to do in the future (we love to see YA normalising this), but begins to realise that he enjoys writing and might like to do it for a career.

Without a doubt, my favourite character of this story was Chef Le. He owns a restaurant that Bao and Linh end up spending a lot of time in, and I absolutely loved his exuberance, passion, and zest for...well, everything. Some of the funniest moments in the story came from him and I found myself looking forward to his scenes more and more.

I wasn't sure if this was going to be rivals-to-lovers going into the story, but it's definitely more of a forbidden romance. Linh and Bao start to date in secret, keeping it a secret from their parents because they know that their families' rivalry will conspire to keep them apart. And their parents will be mad.

The rival families gave me Romeo and Juliet vibes and at one point either Bao or Linh (I can't remember who says the line) makes a direct reference to their families being like the Capulets and Montagues and their secret dating being like Romeo and Juliet's, which I really enjoyed.

Discussions of Vietnamese culture, food, and history, and Asian American diaspora make up a large part of this novel and were really insightful to read. I liked the Loan Le shows the progression of food, family, and history conspiring to keep Bao and Linh apart in the beginning, but eventually these become the things that bring them closer together.

Overall this was a heart-warming story about first-love, family, and community. Loan Le's writing is great and I'm excited to see what they publish next.

Trigger warnings for racism, xenophobia, cultural appropriation, drowning, discussions of a past death in the family.

A Pho Love Story - Loan Le

In fair Vietnamese restaurants where we lay our scene...
This is without doubt one of the best YA romances I've read in a long time, not only was it super cute, but it focused on the strength of the main characters as individuals as well as a team, which cleverly subverts the whole Romeo and Juliet thing that the book has going on.

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. Not ideal.
If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.
For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.
But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.
Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

While this is a great book for those who love an engaging romance, it is not so great for anyone trying to watch their calorie intake. I was legit so hungry the entire time I was reading this, the food was just as much a character as Linh, Bao and their warring families.

It actually makes me super sad that I've never eaten Vietnamese food and even sadder that there doesn't appear to be a Vietnamese restaurant near me.

Anyway, if you're a sucker for a star crossed romance with each character having autonomy and their own lives outside of their cute relationship then this is a story you are going to fo'sho love.
Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

When I requested this, I thought it'd be a cute romance featuring two teens who's families are adversaries. Whilst it does feature a romance, the story also goes much deeper into community, expectations, family dynamics, refugees, being the child of an immigrant, guilt and history.

There is a dual POV alternating between Linh and Bao and I love them both so much. They're both absolute cinnamon roll sweethearts, and they're so cute together.

Both sets of parents own competing Vietnamese restaurants on the same street and so the two have been forbidden to speak to each other all their lives. One night when Bao is closing the restaurant, he sees Linh looking extremely stressed and running our of her restaurant. On an impulse he's goes over to see what's wrong. He ends up helping at the restaurant - hidden from Linh's Mẹ (mum) who's in the kitchen, and the two become friends.

As the two become closer they are forced to confront what they want from their lives. Linh is a talented artist but her family don't think it's a viable career, whereas Bao doesn't have any direction at all. They also start to delve into how and why their parents became enemies.

There is a lot of Viet language in this book, as well as Viet food and it made me soo hungry. I also really loved how involved both the families were in the Viet community and seeing how that affected where they bought food, the customer bases and the 'favours' that could be traded. I also learnt a lot of Vietnam culture and history.

CW: war, racism, refugees

3.5 STARS

I really liked the first half but then it started to feel like it was dragging.
The romance was really cute and I loved the cultural and food aspect!

A Pho Love Story is an endearing and cute novel filled with mouth-watering food descriptions that will definitely make you hungry whilst reading it. It follows a forbidden romance between Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai whose families own rival restaurants and have a bitter feud against each other.

Reading this book, I really appreciated how much love the author poured into detailing the food that was mentioned throughout. You could smell the aroma of the dishes and taste the textures of the food being described - it really solidified the restaurant and homely setting this book portrayed and helped to create a really lovely atmosphere and reading experience.

This book provided a lot of commentary on Vietnamese immigration and reflected thoughtfully on the shared traumas experienced by refugees of the Vietnam War. This was a interesting coming of age story that explored children of immigrants setting out to understand their own family's stories as well as trying to pursue their aspirations and follow their own path away from their parents' expectations.

There was a really strong sense of community in this book. One of my favourite elements of this book was reading about all of the blood, sweat and tears that goes into running a family restaurant, and I loved seeing how this lifestyle shaped the lives of the children of these owners. Whilst this story was about rivalry, there was also a really strong sense of community in this book which was lovely.

I have a few issues with this book that ultimately knocked its rating down for me. This book used dual first person POV to explore Linh and Bao's side of the story, however these POV felt too similar at times which unfortunately made them feel quite ineffective. It made it harder to connect with the characters and at times I found myself confused over whose perspective I was reading because they were too similar. I wish these perspectives were more different as I feel like it would make the main characters more likeable and memorable as individuals. Secondly the book was just took long. It became repetitive and monotonous, which made certain parts of the book drag and caused the pacing to feel off. Finally this is just a personal preference but I wish the romance in this book was more of a rivals-to-lovers romance - the romance happened pretty quickly without much tension between the characters so it would have been nice to have more tension there (however I'm sure that many people will enjoy the sweetness of the romance).

Overall this was a sweet, coming of age romance that highlighted some really important issues. Just be prepared to have a huge urge to eat Vietnamese food after reading this!

Such a sweet story about the secret relationship of Bao and Linh whose parents own rival restaurants. Really enjoyed this book, an easy spring/summer read for anyone who loves romance and food

It's time to admit defeat. I started reading this sometime in January and I'm still only on 30%. It just isn't working for me, and it feels way too long.

3 stars

A Pho Love Story tells the tale of Bao and Linh, two teens whose parents own rival restaurants specialising in pho. After having studiously avoided each other for years, they reconnect after a chance encounter.

I should preface this review by saying that YA is not usually my prefered genre, however the premise of the book sounded so intriguing, I did not hesitate in requesting an ARC. This is a tricky review to write, as I wanted to love this book way more than I actually did.

What I expected: simmering tensions where sparks fly, rivalries, a Romeo and Juliet style story about a star-crossed romance, and tons of delicious descriptions of pho.

What I got: a rather luke-warm story about two ordinary teens with familial issues that seemed to drag, and lots of incredible decriptions of food.

More than anything, this book made me hungry. There were some sweet moments between these rather relatable teens, and while this book definitely wasn't badly written, there was just something lacking overall for me.

If you're a fan of YA novels with a host relatable characters, featuring a perspective on the Asian-American experience and lots of fantastic descriptions of food, then this could be a read for you.

The story follows Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai, two Vietnamese- American teenagers and sworn enemies mostly because of their families’ restaurant rivalry. They’ve spent years avoiding one another until a chance encounters brings them both together.

What starts as friendship soon develops into stronger feelings but,Bao and Linh know their parents would never approve.

A Contemporary and humorous take on Romeo and Juliet (without the tragic ending), a coming of age story of first loves,feuding families and a complicated past. Amongst the humour and romance,Loan Le also manages to highlight important issues such as racism and the long term impact war can have on refugees,even decades later.

I really enjoyed the dynamics between Bao and Linh but as the story progressed I found myself more invested in their parents and the history of their family feud. The racist incident was so heartbreaking but how the characters eventually dealt with it was moving and, I admit- made me tear up a little.There were times that the pacing was slow and dragged a little but,overall it was a really enjoyable read.

I also just wanted to thank Simon & Schuster UK and Net Galley for the e-ARC.