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kristinshires's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
such a cute romance and i LOVE FAMILY DRAMA!!!
littlewitchreading's review against another edition
3.0
This was cute but should have been about 100 pages shorter. All the drama happened in the last little chunk which felt weird and disjointed. Wouldn’t read it again, it was just okay.
itsmejacs's review against another edition
4.0
The book was good, but it did take me a while to get into it. In my opinion the last quarter of the book was the juiciest.
jihyo's review against another edition
4.0
did not expect a silly little ya novel to make me cry but here we are. bao and linh were one of the first het couples in a long time that actually made me root for them - their dialogue was cute and all the characters were interesting to follow, even if some of the development was a little rushed / contrived
shelfexplanatory's review against another edition
3.0
A PHỞ LOVE STORY by Loan Le is a YA rom-com about two Vietnamese-American teens, Linh Mai and Bảo Nguyễn, whose families own competing phở restaurants in California's Little Saigon.
If you can, I recommend having some Vietnamese food nearby while reading this book because it will make you HUNGRY! Every food that was mentioned gave me cravings. People tend to default to phở and bánh mì when thinking about Viet food, so it was wonderful to see APLS highlight so many of the other great dishes (& desserts!) that are out there. If you haven't branched outside of phở before, you should remediate that ASAP!
Although this is a rom-com, I really enjoyed the family drama plotline. I couldn't stop reading when Linh and Bảo started to unravel the history behind their family feud. The theme of growing to understand your family through their past is a not uncommon in diasporic Vietnamese lit, but it's something that I don't tire of because it is so entwined with Viet-Am identity. At one point, a character talks about how he has questions that he wishes he had asked his mother before she died, because now he doesn't have that chance anymore. This really struck a chord with me and is something that I'll be thinking about for a while.
A PHỞ LOVE STORY is out now! Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours for having me on the #APhoLoveStory tour and Simon Teen for sending me an ARC!
If you can, I recommend having some Vietnamese food nearby while reading this book because it will make you HUNGRY! Every food that was mentioned gave me cravings. People tend to default to phở and bánh mì when thinking about Viet food, so it was wonderful to see APLS highlight so many of the other great dishes (& desserts!) that are out there. If you haven't branched outside of phở before, you should remediate that ASAP!
Although this is a rom-com, I really enjoyed the family drama plotline. I couldn't stop reading when Linh and Bảo started to unravel the history behind their family feud. The theme of growing to understand your family through their past is a not uncommon in diasporic Vietnamese lit, but it's something that I don't tire of because it is so entwined with Viet-Am identity. At one point, a character talks about how he has questions that he wishes he had asked his mother before she died, because now he doesn't have that chance anymore. This really struck a chord with me and is something that I'll be thinking about for a while.
A PHỞ LOVE STORY is out now! Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tours for having me on the #APhoLoveStory tour and Simon Teen for sending me an ARC!
tuabaxl's review against another edition
3.0
Cute but honestly mostly appreciate it for the Vietnamese cultural resonance.
emi0610's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In short: I don’t really have anything to add or complain about?
At first I thought damn 400 pages this is gonna be rough, since I’m not really a romance book enjoyer.
Well thank god the romance is literally the b storyline here!
This book was cute, fun, unserious, and a nice quick read actually.
Yes at times it is cheesy but it is teenagers in „puppy love“, it can be and should be. I love the way the rivalry was portrayed, yes at times it was just ?????? But that is exactly how these long ass family feuds are.
At first I thought damn 400 pages this is gonna be rough, since I’m not really a romance book enjoyer.
Well thank god the romance is literally the b storyline here!
This book was cute, fun, unserious, and a nice quick read actually.
Yes at times it is cheesy but it is teenagers in „puppy love“, it can be and should be. I love the way the rivalry was portrayed, yes at times it was just ?????? But that is exactly how these long ass family feuds are.
mirareadsbooksforfun's review against another edition
3.0
As time passes I realize more and more that I am not that interested in reading a Romeo and Juliet retelling or inspired novel. I just don't think it's my cup of tea.
Otherwise I really liked this pleasant and sweet novel and I probably will be reading the companion book too. I really liked being immersed in this interesting cast of characters and this beautiful culture.
But I have to say that the male protagonist(Bao) was not my type of character. Listen I didn't hate the guy, far from it, I was just not that invested in his developments and his whereabouts in general. In my opinion, Linh was way more of an interesting character.
Otherwise I really liked this pleasant and sweet novel and I probably will be reading the companion book too. I really liked being immersed in this interesting cast of characters and this beautiful culture.
But I have to say that the male protagonist(Bao) was not my type of character. Listen I didn't hate the guy, far from it, I was just not that invested in his developments and his whereabouts in general. In my opinion, Linh was way more of an interesting character.