We follow our main characters Bao Nguyen+ Linh Mai who are both Vietnamese-American teenagers working at their families’ Pho restaurants. For years, the two restaurants have been rivals with each other because of secrets from the past. But what will happen when Bao and Linh have to work together on an assignment for their school’s newspaper?

This book was so cute + pho-nomenal!! I really enjoyed the relationship between Bao + Linh! I also enjoyed the discussions of what they would be pursuing in college. I also really LOVED the setting + it made me hungry the whole time will reading!

I would def recommend this to everyone wanting a cute Romeo + Juliet inspired romance story!!

I enjoyed this story of a first love of Vietnamese teens whose families are feuding (think Romeo and Juliet without the tragic ending). In the novel, the author refers to Vietnamese food and culture, the expectations of Vietnamese parents, as well as the path two teens take to fulfil their desire for a career they feel passionate about. I enjoyed this diverse read and snapshot into a culture that is different from my own.

4.5* stars.

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le was definitely the light contemporary romance I needed to lighten my mood and relax during these tough times.

During this story we follow two rival Vietnamese families who have been attempting to best each other for years in a competition between Pho restaurants. We meet Linh, the youngest daughter of the Mai family, and an aspiring artist desperate to fulfill her parent's wishes. Along with Bao Nguyen, the son of the rival family, who is ultimately still searching for his path in life. Through it all, we are given a different outlook on a Romeo and Juliet romance blooming between the two children.

I personally absolutely adore enemies to lovers. While this story wasn't it exactly, it most definitely had a sprinkle of rivals-to-lovers, along with a dash of friend's to lovers. This unique plot, along with the enticing Vietnamese culture and history between both families, I couldn't put the book down.

On top of that, I loved both characters. Bao, his relationship with his family and his uncovered passion for writing absolutely killed me. Linh, her love for painting but her unwillingness to burden her family even more definitely resonated with my foreign heritage.

While I would've loved more to have happened between Ali and Viet, I won't press my luck. Ultimately, a great read!

4.5⭐️

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, Loan Le, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT A FUN STORY!!!! This was my first Vietnamese-centred story and I loved it! It is essentially a modern-day retelling of Romeo and Juliet and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are so unique from each other, but at the same time very similar. The drive we tend to see in Asian cultures can be viewed in this story, as well as the want to do what makes your parents happy. It is told from both Bao and Linh’s perspectives and it’s fun to see both sides of the story!

This book drives home the message of being true to yourself, openly communicating what you want/how you feel/etc with loved ones, and that you can’t always help who you fall in love with.

Recommended to those who enjoy Romeo and Juliet retellings, fans of Asian culture and stories, and of course fans of YA books!

Recieved an ARC in exchange for a review. A Pho Love Story is pho-nomenal! Such a cute take on the enemies to friends to lovers trope in which our two protagonists work at rival pho restaurants who's parents are bitter rivals. I loved Linh, the way she talks about art and the passion you know she feels was one of my favorite things about this book. Bao was awkward and goofy sometimes but he felt like a real teenager. Overall, a really cute story. Thank you for allowing me to read it, I enjoyed it immensly.

I enjoyed this book however it was a difficult read for me personally with the different language and dialect that was emerged in the story. It was excellent to have this culture properly represented in fictional literary however for me I struggled with sticking to this story for that reason.

Wowowow this was super cute! I liked the relationships between the characters-both the friendships/family and the romance. I found the pace of the book to be a bit to slow in the middle. It could have benefitted from being a little shorter. Also the dual POVs were just about the same scenes but from either of theirs (Bao’s and Linh’s) perspective. Which personally wasn’t interesting to me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of A Pho Love Story!

I received an early e-arc copy of A Pho Love Story by Loan Le from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was more than a cute romance between two teens from rival pho shops, it covers many themes such as immigration, cultural identity, familial expectations and pressure, and how art, writing, and food can help people come together.
Both Bao's and Linh's family escaped from Vietnam and came to the US, and now own rival pho shops that are across the street from each other, so there is a little Romeo and Juliet vibe between them.
The friendships and relationships in this book felt real and were so supportive, and there was a lot of good communication between friends and romantic interests, in my opinion. The romance was also so cute and pure.
I would recommend A Pho Love Story to anyone who liked When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon and maybe With the Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo, it was a solid story with good writing and Own Voices Vietnamese rep as the author is from Vietnam. I give it 3 out of 5 stars, I really liked the romance and the themes that were discussed but there were some slow points.

This book was a very easy read and it didn’t go on for longer than it should have (which I really appreciate in a book). The characters were unique, the writing was fresh and descriptive and the ending was amazing. It didn’t feel rushed and everything happened at the right times. It was also really fun to learn more about Vietnamese culture, but also really good to see immigrant families as the main focus since I don’t see a lot of that in books. My two main problems were a) I had really mixed feelings about Lihn and b) I felt like some of the reactions the characters gave to different situations were unnecessary and confusing at times. I’m really picky with characters and Lihn wasn’t my favourite but she wasn’t the worst.
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Overall, this was a sweet, slow and fast-paced story at the same time that I really enjoyed!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of A Pho Love Story in exchange for an honest review.

Plotwise, this was really cute. Bao and Linh have grown up extremely aware of their parents intense feud, working at rival restaurants across the street from each other. When the two form an unlikely bond, they work together to navigate love, secrecy, and unravelling the family secrets that started the feud in the first place.

This book felt a lot longer than it actually was and I think a lot of that came down to Bao and Linh's perspectives sounding way too similar to really this being a dual perspective story. It made the middle section really drag since it was less plot heavy meaning it had a lot of small relationship scenes that we'd hear two almost identical protagonists reflect on from their points of view. As a personal preference thing, I'm not a huge fan of retellings/inspired-by stories going "wow this is just like _____" so the pair going "omg Romeo and Juliet" felt really heavy-handed and hurt the nuance of the story.

Other than pacing and a few personal nitpicks, this was a really fun, cute romance.