Reviews

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

ivesreads's review against another edition

3.0

3.75 ⭐️ I love this for how nostalgic it is of the food and growing up Vietnamese American. The Romeo and Juliet aspect of rivaling restaurants and the history of the two families was interesting. I thought moments with the two main characters were cute, but nothing too noteworthy even in dual POV. I wish there was more depth to both characters and I also felt this was quite long of a story that maybe didn't need to be 400 pages. Still enjoyed so much of the moments in Vietnamese and while I didn't understand all it, I got the context of it.

hrhronnie's review against another edition

5.0

this was such a sweet retelling of romeo and juliet. bao and linh are both so talented and adorable and i loved all of the secondary characters as well! also i LOVED the descriptions of all of the food, vietnamese is one of my favorite cuisines and this made me super hungry, i’ll need to get pho this weekend!!

churameru's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sarahkeute's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

libraryofdreaming's review against another edition

4.0

This was cute!

hyuneybear's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sarahboudereads's review against another edition

4.0

This book willl always have a special place in my heart. I am also the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, but I'm from the second generation. I never really grew up with the language and the stories of the past have been long forgotten for some - too difficult to tell, maybe. The only thing I got from my heritage was the food. I didn't know the dishes' names but boy, did I get to eat them for every occasion. So thank you Loan Le, thank you for making me closer to this part of myself.
I read A Pho Love Story in its French translation, to honour my grandparents who came to France in the fifties.

For them, who left a part of themselves in Vietnam when they had to leave, to try to discover who they were in France.

stephsfrancis's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

vampire_burrito's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Today went well. I want to paint us just like this.

I know that this isn't going to be a book that sticks with me, but I did have a good time reading it. The writing was solid, I enjoyed the characters even if I did wish that they were a little more fleshed out and I appreciated the focus on family. This is marketed as a romance, and technically the romance is the driving factor behind the whole story but I think that the two main characters families and their relationship with them are just as important and given the same amount of time and focus. 

bookish_4life's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0