Thanks NetGalley for the preview!!

I really wanted to like this story but it took me such a long time to get started and I never felt invested in the characters. It was just boring to me and was very clunky. I did enjoy the cultural references and food descriptions but the love story component did not deliver.

This isn't a badly written book. It's just not a story for me. I know that A Pho Love Story will resonate deeply with a lot of readers from the Asian diaspora, especially among immigrants. In fact, I highly recommend reading the reviews of Michelle and Lauren.

However, as someone who's been born and raised in Asia, I guess I've reached a point where I crave representation that goes beyond the struggles of being Asian and American. Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of this lens. And that's not a reflection of the author's writing. It's a reflection of where I am mentally and emotionally as a reader seeking characters who look like me and live like me.

Moreover, while I cannot comment on the book as a whole, I will say that I think there's a missed opportunity here. I was really looking forward to the intensity and tension derived from rivals turned lovers. However, the relationship between Linh and Bao is more of a forbidden romance, and I was a bit disappointed that the rivalry is solely between their parents. In fact, Linh and Bao identify their common ground right away and easily bond. This is also partially why my interest immediately declined. I would've loved to see them being ruthlessly competitive, slowly unlearning their biases, and working towards bridging the chasm between their families. But alas, this is not that story.

On a more positive note, A Pho Love Story delves into the trauma experienced by refugees of the Vietnam War, which is a discussion that is very sorely-needed. Undoubtedly, this debut novel brings something meaningful to the YA contemporary genre.

Bao and Linh grew up across the street from each other, working for their family’s respective restaurants; their parents hate each other and have warned them to stay away from the enemy. But when Bao and Linh begin working on a school project together, they realize their connection and want to be together. Will they be able to make a relationship work when they have to hide it from those they love the most?

This was an absolutely adorable book! I loved the immersion into Vietnamese culture, and all the food talk made me hungry every time I picked it up. Both Linh and Bao were wonderful characters. Getting to watch them go from strangers to friends to more than that filled my heart. They both grew so much during the book, Linh especially, and I was proud to see them fight for what they wanted. A Pho Love Story was so much fun and made me tear up a few times. I highly recommend it!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC of A Pho Love Story by Loan Le!

I absolutely adored this little book. It was so fun!! I loved getting immersed in the story and learning about each of the characters. The writing was fantastic as well. I highly recommend if you're looking for a cute rom com to fall into!

Such a sweet YA!! I loved the storyline with this one, and all of the food descriptions had me DROOLING. It was an easy read and a super cute book.

This book was so highly anticipated and I was so excited to read it…. and then I got so bored 30% of the way in. It just felt like nothing was really happening and it was very drawn out.

One of the biggest redeeming qualities was the portrayal of how the Vietnam War affected so many and the pain it brought along with it. But while the representation was amazing, the actual plot line just fell flat. I found myself not caring about either of the characters and almost put the book down for good a handful of times.

Can’t be a horrible 1 star though, because there is some goodness to it. It just wasn’t the book for me.

A Pho Love Story is a cute contemporary romance about Linh Mai and Bao Nguyen who both have parents that run a pho restaurant on the same street. What complicates things the most is that their families are rivals. With this budding romance between the two teens, Linh and Bao must endure facing many obstacles.

Loan Le tackles some topics such as racism and immigration. The novel included a lot of descriptions regarding food that make your mouth water. The novel has dual perspectives. However, I found it hard to differentiate which character is speaking at times. Is it Linh or is it Bao that is speaking? Sometimes that have a similar voice unless I understand the context of what they are talking about. I enjoyed reading about the blossoming friendship that becomes something more between Linh and Bao. Nothing was too forced or rushed between them. Also, the pacing of the book is slow in certain sections compared too others.

Vietnamese culture incorporates the language, the food and the customs within A Pho Love Story. As with many Asian cultures, careers or interest in things like art is not praised. Linh is very passionate about art but it's hard to pursue that path when her family want something more for her. Gaining the acceptance from her family has put a damper to her confidence. Bao, on the other hand, is still in a phase where he is trying to find himself and what he wants in life. Many teenagers don't know what they want to do with their life and Bao reflects that perspective.

A Pho Love Story is modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with a Vietnamese twist. The novel is also a discovery of one's self and a coming-of-age story.

There's so much I loved about Loan Le's A Phở Love Story! Bao and Linh were both compelling and well-developed characters, and I especially loved Bao's journey of discovering what he's good at. Although, in this case, the alternating perspectives made the pacing somewhat slow. Their romance was really sweet though, and I loved the premise of their families running competing phở restaurants. There was a storyline regarding history between their parents that caused such a fierce rivalry between their families, and I wish it had factored into the story sooner because it was so interesting. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of Linh's love for art, and of course, the food! Overall, this book is a lovely addition to the YA contemporary landscape.

The story of Bao and Linh and their unlikely romance is adorable. Their parents work at competing Vietnamese Restaurants, and as Bao and Linh secretly get to know each other during the senior year of high school, they learn their family has much more history than they knew. I enjoyed how the Vietnamese history is worked into this teen romance, and I think a lot of 7th graders would love this.

If you're having trouble finding your appetite, then pick this book up because it will have you craving all the PHO-nomenal foods. Goodness. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my face. Y'all this was a super cute read. Two families who are in competition with each other and don't like each other and guess what? Their kids kinda like each other so now what are they going to do? Yes, yes, readers - we've seen this trope a zillion times in YA romance but now we get to see it with Vietnamese representation and I AM HERE FOR IT.

I love seeing *foreign* language represented in a book - even if I can't read it or understand it. And quite frankly, I put ** because it's only foreign to those who don't know it and I'm sure that my Vietnamese friends and readers love seeing it. Plus, you can get the gist of what they're saying by paying attention to the rest of the book. I also listened to this on audio and loved hearing it bounce back and forth - it's like listening to my own Korean side of the family that intersperse Korean with English as they speak. #IYKYK There's a scene where a parent gets nervous ordering due to his accent... and I felt that. My mom has been in the U.S. for over 40 years and still has a thick accent and most of the time when we're out at a restaurant, my father or I will order for her. So yes, there's a multitude of things that I completely related with during this read.

Linh and Bo are such cute characters and I like that there's no instalove but a solid build up into their relationship - even if it was almost a little *too* slow at times... (I just can't be pleased, can I? 🤣) While their parents are fighting, they seem to find common ground almost immediately so we lose the tension of them bumping heads at first. But I digress - at the end of the day we all know where this story is going. I did find it start strong and then kind of fizzle towards the end and all I can do know is go satiate my Pho craving. #brb

This book couldn't have come at a better time! I am doing the PopSugar Challenge for 2021 and needed a book set in a restaurant, enter Pho! I love the idea of the rival restaurants like Romeo and Juliet. I also advise listening to the audio book as the Vietnamese have a wonderful sound that my English speaking self can't replicate. I really want to try more of the food mentioned in the book, as I have limited understanding of the cuisine. The parents owning rival restaurants shows us the worry of aging parents in the restaurant world from long days to hiring replacement for the aging cooks, I hope more will have compassion when eating out at a family owned place. This is a great multiple POV title if you enjoy reading back and forth chapters. OwnVoices title but through the lens of being first generation American. As someone who doesn't know much about the culture or history, this book mentions many parts that I needed to look up which is what a book should encourage the reader to do - learn more. It's a light, sweet romance that's a quick read.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I liked not loved this. It was very detailed and interesting but also felt drawn out. The climax of the story was far into the story, and the ending wasn’t super satisfying. I liked the characters though and enjoyed the plot lines overall.

Two households, both alike in owning Vietnamese restaurants, in SoCal, where we lay our scene. Fortunately, Bảo Nguyễn and Linh Mai are brighter than their Veronan counterparts, although their situation is no less complex: their parents have bad blood that goes far deeper than a culinary rivalry. This is an enjoyable #OwnVoices YA contemporary which will leave you hungry for more.

Bảo and Linh have been told to stay apart, but when a meal promotion at Linh’s restaurant overwhelms the staff, Bảo sneaks over to help. It’s the beginning of a friendship that turns into something more, even though they have to keep it hidden from their feuding families. Linh’s relationship with her parents is already strained, because Linh is passionate about art but her parents want a more stable, secure profession for her. Bảo’s parents, by contrast, support giving him time to find a passion. To Bảo’s surprise, he enjoys writing and editing for the school newspaper - whose meddling editor pairs him up with Linh to do restaurant reviews. Meanwhile, local community gossip inflames the tension between the families when someone spreads a rumor that Linh’s family restaurant has pests, and a visit by an abusive, racist customer sparks Bảo into finding his voice. In the background of all of this is the question: what happened to two families who, back in Vietnam, were so close they were practically related?

I always enjoy a slice-of-life plot, one which follows characters through ordinary events rather than building to a foreshadowed finale. The unpredictability is a highlight here; the book really feels like ‘a year in the life.’ I liked that neither Bảo nor Linh had dated before and are each other’s first kiss - as a socially delayed high-schooler, I’m always happy not to feel like quite so much of a freak.

While secondary characters don’t have major arcs, they existed to me as real people instead of figures to push the plot for others. I appreciated that the parents were different from each other, because in YA developed adults are rare. Speaking of adults, the secondary character of Chef Bryan Le steals every scene he’s in. A hyperactive Vietnamese-American restaurateur, Chef Le embraces the two reviewers who remind him of himself, going as far as to offer Linh her first paid commission.

It’s clear that the author is an expert in restaurant life (whether personally or by meticulous research, I don’t know). We can see the difference between Chef Le’s “culinary” kitchen, a well-oiled machine, and the more haphazard family kitchens of the Mai and Nguyễn families, where kids nap in the rice storage room. We understand the precarious finances and the details of food production (what time you have to show up for prep, and the patter of Spanish, English, and Vietnamese spoken in the kitchen). A scene where Linh and her parents visit an Americanized Vietnamese restaurant, where the white waiter can’t even understand their pronunciation of the Vietnamese dishes on the menu, is particularly good.

At least, I think it was Linh’s family, and not Bảo’s. See, the book is narrated in the first person, with Bảo and Linh alternating chapters, but unfortunately, their voices are completely indistinguishable. I’d frequently be several pages deep in one of Linh’s chapters when someone would call her Bảo, and I’d realize I’d mixed up the narrators again. The external clues aren’t enough because they live in the same settings (restaurant, school), have overlapping friends, and even call their parents by the same names (Mẹ and Ba). So you have a teen who grew up in a restaurant conducting research with their parents, Mẹ and Ba, and… I have no idea who it was.

We learn early on that there is a secret origin to the enmity between the two families, and while everybody around Bảo and Linh knows it, nobody will tell them what it is. I was torn between feeling sympathetic (‘Of course it’s hard for the characters to ask their parents about this’) and feeling skeptical (‘These people aren’t talking because the plot isn’t ready for us to all know it yet.’) The ultimate answer is effective but a bit pat. I also couldn’t make the timetable line up. One character references a TV show that aired from 2011-2019, so at the earliest, these high school seniors were born in the mid 1990s. However, Linh’s aunt was old enough to be engaged before the fall of Saigon, which puts the parents’ generation in their 40s in the 1990s. I think the author wrote from her own experience, but is two decades older than her characters. The setting should just have been pushed back, or the characters made older (I actually would have preferred this book as a living-at-home New Adult college story, where Linh is trying to conceal her major and Bảo is struggling with being undeclared).

Despite these issues, I kept turning the pages for several reasons. I wanted to know about the family backstory. I enjoyed following Bảo’s growth as a writer (which was more interesting than Linh’s always-a-genius art arc). I liked reading about day-to-day life and the dynamics of Little Saigon, such as the neighborhood celebration of Tết, a detail of someone opening a restaurant named after Hồ Chí Minh in a neighborhood of South Vietnamese refugees, and the pride the entire community takes in Bảo’s anti-racist op-ed. The descriptions of the food are mouthwatering, which is always a weakness of mine, and I liked the use of Vietnamese in the dialogue (even when I ended up googling because the narrative didn’t make the meaning clear), and the realistic English errors that occur when that language is spoken by non-native speakers.

Overall, A Pho Love Story rises above standard YA fare. But while I’d say it’s a must-have for libraries and classrooms, it’s not a must-read for adults fans of YA.

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Not quite a Romeo and Juliet story, but we do find love developing between a boy and girl from families who have a history of competing against each other. Parental expectations also weigh heavy, especially when art is not viewed as a sustainable career choice.

A Pho Love Story was a delightful and delicious debut from Loan Le.

The Mai and Nguyen family have been rivals since what it seems like, forever. Naturally, the parents forbade Bao and Linh to speak or lest even glance at each other. However, the heart doesn’t follow any rules. When Bao glimpses a distraught Linh in an alley, he can’t resist and offers to lend a helping hand. As they talk, they realize they have more in common than they think and the only reason they are ‘rivals’ are because of their parents.

A couple of Romeo & Juliet references pop up and yes, we have feuding families and the kids who are attracted but forced to see each other behind their families’ backs…But, fear not, for this is not a story of starstruck lovers.

Besides feuding family restaurants, there are some delicious mentions of food such as bánh xèo, canh chuarise, cha giò, etc. that will make you regret reading the book on an empty stomach(yes, I am talking about myself). And that’s not all this book’s about.

Both Bao and Linh are in their last year of high school and being children of Asian immigrants, they have the added pressure of measuring up to their parent's view of what ‘successful’ looks like. As immigrants, we have all heard this mantra of having to be twice as good as everything. On top of that, our parents imagine homelessness in our future if we mention careers in the Arts. These pressures on top of working at the restaurant, keeping their friendship a secret becomes too unbearable for both Linh and Bao.

The author also allows us a glimpse at the trauma of the Vietnamese war(Fall of Saigon) refugees and on top of that how ‘welcoming’ white & land of the free America treats them. The discussions of immigration, racism, culture appropriation, residual war trauma set A Pho Love Story apart from its most of fellow YA contemporaries.

Overall, I would recommend A Pho Love Story if you love young adult contemporaries that have cute moments, mouth-watering food, and also deals with familial trauma among other heavy topics.

Loan Le's debut YA novel, A Pho Love Story, is a modern day retelling of Romeo & Juliet, the OG love story of warring families. However, A Pho Love Story has one thing going for it that Romeo & Juliet did not - its pages are steeped in delicious food and rich Vietnamese culture. A Pho Love Story is a solid, enjoyable addition to the YA romcom market and can be enjoyed by both teen and adult readers alike.

Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai's families are at war. Bao and Linh, both children of Vietnamese immigrants who escaped their communist home country and came to America in the 80s, work in their parents' neighboring pho restaurants. Amid serving heartwarming, soul-filling, delicious Vietnamese food to their California community, Bao and Linh's families are also serving up a healthy dose of competition behind the scenes. Bao and Linh don't know why their parents hate each other, which makes things even more difficult when Bao and Linh become friends ... and maybe even something a little bit more? Can they keep their relationship a secret from their families? And what will happen if the truth comes out?

First and foremost, A Pho Love Story is a richly detailed novel about the strength and bonds of family. The representation of Vietnam culture in this book shines and gives readers a detailed look into the Vietnamese immigrant experience, the importance of family and loyalty in the culture, and the role that food plays in the lives of its people. I learned so much about Vietnamese culture through this book, which made this reading experience educational, as well as enjoyable.

Then, of course, there is the "love" in A Pho Love Story. The relationship between Bao and Linh slowly builds throughout the course of this novel, and is portrayed in a realistic, relatable manner. Furthermore, A Pho Love Story explores the teens' struggles to follow their own path as they leave high school versus pursuing the dreams that their parents have for them. Many young adults will be able to see themselves in Bao and Linh and connect with them on their journey.

In all, A Pho Love Story serves up much to be enjoyed and comes recommended to readers who love touching books about family, friends, and food.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon Schuster for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

“I find refuge in art, escaping thoughts like this, to regain control when life throws another obstacle my way. When I work, magic happens; for a few hours at a time, the world just slips away.”

In this loose Vietnamese take on the classic tale of “Romeo and Juliet”, the Mai and the Nguyen family have been rivals since forever.

Bao Nguyen and Linh Mai have been forbidden to speak to each other their whole lives, but when Bao comes across Linh in an alley one day, his curiosity gets the best of him.
They both soon realize that they have so many things in common and they wonder why they’ve never connected before, but despite them knowing they can’t ever be together they fall head over heels for each other..

Can they find love in the midst of a family who have been at odds for so many years?

“When I paint, there’s always a moment where I just know that I’m finally finished. The colors and textures come together to depict a feeling of rightness.”

My Thoughts:
I loved seeing the creativity between the two main protagonists with Bao’s exploring new places to write his school newspaper articles as well as Linh’s drawings and paintings with the descriptions we got while she was painting!

I will say at some points it did seem like it dragged a bit, but I think in the end the story redeemed itself.

P.S. don’t read this book on a empty stomach HAHA!
There were so many descriptions of AMAZING sounding foods and recipes that just made me hungry!

This was a fun romeo and juliet retelling. I love the first generation representation as I can relate with the immigrant experience.

Loan was an amazing guest. I really loved chatting with her on the podcast. See attached link.

Another modern day Romeo and Juliet but with a twist, the families come together in the end. The two families have a grudge from long ago in China. Bao and Linh want to be together and try to unravel what has happened in the past. Linh seeks to do the "forbidden" art as a career. That and lying has caused a great gap with her parents. Bao also finds himself, want to be a writer. Good clean story. Very truthful how life really flows.

A Pho Love Story tells of the lives of two Vietnamese-American high school students, a boy named Bao and a girl, Lin. They attend school together and each, coincidentally, works in their respective parents' Vietnamese restaurant, which are located directly across the street from each other. There is not only fierce competition between the two restaurants; there is also very bad blood between the families stemming from their days in Vietnam, such that Bao and Lin have essentially been trained to ignore and even think badly of one another.

Each of the two characters dream of a career path that is different than the plans that their parents have for them: Bao wants to be a writer and Lin, a visual artist. Once the two become acquainted and end up as boyfriend and girlfriend, issues begin to crop up, mainly related to family pressures, and the two attempt to stay together as they investigate why each family is so consumed with hate for the other.

I enjoyed the liberal use of Vietnamese in the story (without translation) and the manner in which Vietnamese culture is centered; also, the food descriptions are fantastic. The struggles faced by the families seem to be authentic, as are the rigid expectations parents placed on the youth by their parents, which resemble those that I typically saw in my Vietnamese-American students. The resultant love story is cute, although not unique.

I found the book to be too long; it dragged in parts and I kept wishing for something interesting to hurry up and happen. I really wanted to like A Pho Love Story..I wanted to love this book, especially because there are not many books about Vietnamese youth who live in the US. However, as a YA book, I believe that it would be enjoyed by students of the same age group as Bao and Lin.