I had read Huynh's previous book, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, so I was excited to read The Family Recipe.

I guess from the cover, I was expecting a much different book. This is a much heavier and deep book than I was anticipating. Not that that was bad. I was just surprised.

Duc Tan, the owner of Duc's Sandwhich Shop, has decided to retire. He has delivered a missive to each of his five children via his longtime attorney. Jude, the eldest and only son, must marry within a year and each of the four daughter's is assigned a failing Duc's Sandwhich Shop to bring back to life and make profitable. The first to achieve their goal will receive their dad's fortune and the inheritance.

There is much prejudice against the Vietnamese in the United States in the 1980s. I found this part of the story, which I would assume to be true, hard to read at times but thankful for the education.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I did find this enlightening about American Vietnamese.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a funny and smart story. Duc Tran is a man of great fortune, or so he would have you believe. He has one son and four daughters. Enter Mr Huey NGO. Part lawyer, part negotiator, all serving the Tran family. Mr Huey has a big announcement for the Tran kids. The inheritance they have long coveted is dependent on them making a success of a one of the family restaurant locations. They have a year. They each have reasons to succeed against each other. They each have real questions about their father, a mother they don’t really remember and a family born of migration. It’s a perfect bookend to her first book. Happy reading

An interesting read which reminded me a little of a restaurant themed 'Succession.' Siblings believe they have 1 year to earn their place in the will; however, they learn some sordid family secrets along the way.

All families are different, all families have drama. But some families hide it better than others ! Loved the writing and characters!

THE FAMILY RECIPE
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GENRE: Fiction, Historical, Diaspora

Carolyn Huynh returns with her sophomore debut, The Family Recipe about an enstranged Vietnamese family. This book takes the Tran siblings across America to complete against each other in order to “win and receive” their inheritance from their father, founder of Duc’s Sandwiches, in this messy story of identity and the meaning of family. The five Trans siblings, who have not been in the same room over ten years, are forced to confront their family dynamics and who they really are.

Huynh brings to attention the struggles of Vietnamese refugees in area through the eyes of the parents and their journey in America. It really opened my eyes to towards who chose to settled in non-dominant Vietnamese areas and the racism they experienced.

I enjoyed following the family’s journey along with the bit of mystery in intertwined in their stories. As an eldest daughter, I think Jane’s character spoken to me the most as someone who had to act as a third parent to children of an immigrant family. I’ve mentioned this before, but I love the bits of Vietnamese phrases sprinkled throughout the novel. There’s some phrases or words can’t convey the true meaning in English and the sentiment is in the actual Vietnamese phrases - especially in the scene between Georgina and Evelyn. I won’t say more without spoiling it but I felt my heart breaking when Evelyn says those words. It just seems to resonate harder in Vietnamese.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this e-ARC of The Family Recipe. I loved this book as a second-gen Vietnamese American and felt seen through the children’s struggles to fit in America. Please pick up this book when it releases on 4/1/25. I know I will!

Carolyn Huynh has done it again! With her second novel, she has captured in my opinion, not only elements of the Vietnamese culture, but also the incorporation of humor and drama. She begins with many characters, including the lives of five siblings, but how I loved diving into each one of their lives. The storyline was beautifully interwoven between past and present and while my heart was breaking for this dysfunctional family, I also found myself laughing out loud at certain parts of the story. A must read and can’t wait for her book debut!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Vietnamese people were always the last to change but the first to complain.

While this one took me a little while longer to get into than FORTUNES, once I was in, I was in.

I am Vietnamese American. I am from Houston. I know woefully little about the Gulf Coast fishermen that suffered racism and violence from the KKK.

Duc's Sandwiches is a bánh mì (stop spelling it bahn mi - I will find you) institution started in Houston. There are outposts in the other Little Saigons of the US: New Orleans, Philly, and San Jose.

Duc is estranged from his first wife, Evelyn. Evelyn took off one day and has been missing this entire time. His new, younger wife, Connie, gallivants across Asia.

"Nothing is more petty than an angry Vietnamese mother—" "—except for a Vietnamese father"


There is one son and four daughters. Jude, the eldest, has lost his way, like so many other Asian American eldest sons with too much responsibility.

Firstborn Vietnamese sons truly are the worst


The daughters are named for the Beatles, sort of. Jane is the second oldest, fled Houston for LA, and has the responsibility of a third parent to the rest of the kids. Bingo, queer, has anger issues inherited from her father that she doesn't like to talk about. Paulina, beautiful, has an ex that she has never quite gotten over. Georgia is the typical youngest child. She doesn't speak any Vietnamese and acts very wide-eyed about the world.

there they were, the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse


In FORTUNES, it was Priscilla's character that attacked me from page one, IYKYK. Here, it's Jane. While that one came on more gradually, it still hurt.

She had a set of skills that only the eldest Asian daughter could wield: Her Vietnamese was better and she knew how to talk to old people.


Duc has disappeared. Not like Evelyn, but he's gone. The family lawyer, Huey, who they call Uncle, but who is not their Uncle (so Viet, so Asian, so immigrant), calls the kids together to talk about winning their inheritance. The girls are to be given a failing store. They are to turn it around in the span of a year. Jude's task is to get married. Whichever one of them succeeds first, wins the entire inheritance. Or do they?

Who'd ever trust a Vietnamese lawyer to actually file paperwork? She should have gone with her white lawyer.


Each of their siblings goes on a journey. Not just the journey to save their stores, or get married. There are relationship journeys. Familial journeys. Life journeys, am I right?

There was just something so sexy about being with someone from the same background and how they didn't even question putting Maggi on everything.


There's a culmination when the siblings travel to Vietnam to confront Duc. Remember Georgia's Vietnamese is nearly non-existent. She has never been. I didn't connect that much with her (oldest daughter here), but everything she felt upon landing in Vietnam for the first time was everything I felt about making the same trip.

Meanwhile, Georgia took everything in, her eyes enchanted, enthralled by the prospect of finally seeing the motherland, the country that was embedded deep in her DNA—a history that flowed through her veins, a living, invisible organism that she knew nothing about, but somehow it was the reason for why she was standing there now.


Carolyn visited Houston to get a true feel of the city, and it shows. The sights. The smells. The heat. I felt it all.

The smell of lemongrass, Old Bay seasoning, and fish sauce hit the siblings all at once, and they all breathed in the familiar, comforting scent. The coalescent beauty of a Viet-Cajun seafood boil was the magnum opus of the American South.


My favorite part about the Philly chapters was learning that locals call bánh mì Viet hoagies. Confirmed with a Viet Am friend from the city. Still laughing. I'm easily amused.

Since I'm on my preaching journey, why won't people pay more for immigrant food? I actually kind of hate the word immigrant. (We were all immigrants, unless you're actually indigenous. If so, say hi.) I hate the word ethnic.

It angered her all her life that immigrant food had to be cheap. Tacos, pupusas, dumplings, phở, gyros, kimchi, pad thai . . . she could keep going. These were all foods worthy of double digits.


I'll be taking my physical ARC to Houston during the holidays, so stay tuned for my bookstagram review. I want to do it justice. If you see me taking another picture at Riêu Cua, no you didn't.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books

I knew from the first chapter that this book was for me. Loved every minute of this novel. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a fun book! it covered the 5 siblings who were playing an inheritance game their father left behind. 4 out of the 5 will take over one of his restaurants and try to save it, while the 5th one has to get married. it was entertaining and sneaky, and full of some turns I did not expect. I like that it took the characters to their roots.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

THE FAMILY RECIPE follows the Tran siblings as they embark on their eccentric father's inheritance game. Each of them are assigned one location of their father's banh mi franchise and they have a year to save the business, with the exception of Jude. As the only son, Jude's task is to get married.

Underneath the scheming and petty remarks is a fractured family that doesn't know how to move past painful parts of their past. I love how the historical chapters of the book were written with care and empathy, adding depth to even the most hilariously absurd scenes.

I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy stories about complicated family dynamics and stories that explore the experiences of first-generation Vietnamese Americans trying to create a new life in the U.S.

I rarely have time to read stories about dads and daughters. This book was spot on for uncovering a father's relationships with his daughters. The writing impressed me, and I found the book interesting. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.