A review by claudcloud
Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.5

This only gets this high of a rating because I feel like the rep and diversity in it is wonderful, I enjoyed our two main characters, and it genuinely made me tear up when Theo's parents finally acknowledge all of the effort he's put in and tell him they're proud of him (hahahah we love parental issues!! 🙃)

That being said... the rest of the book was predictably basic, and I don't get why enemies to lovers is even a comp for it. Gabi's parents were just horrendous, and the very short, very rushed moment of finally realizing how wrong they are that they get right at the end of the novel doesn't feel like enough for me. I didn't really care about any of the side characters either, and their development was just lacking.

It's a cute story that I would definitely recommend for someone much younger, and I definitely believe that this book is super important for queer kids who need and deserve to see themselves in literature, which is also why I'm rating it this high - but YA is starting to become very hit-and-miss for me. I'm just not really the target demographic anymore, and that's ok!