A Pho Love Story

By: Loan Le

Narrated by: Ryan Do, Vyvy Nguyen

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

“Will leave readers swooning.” (PopSugar)

​When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their families’ age-old feud about their competing, neighboring restaurants.

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.

For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.

But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.

Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

©2021 Loan Le. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fluffy Read

That was a cute, fluffy read that sometimes you need it when you just got out of a really heavy book and you need something with no real substance to make you continue reading
In this book we will see some kind of Romeo and Juliette scenario where there are two Vietnamese families who owns rivaling restaurants across the streets from each other, but one day the son of one family Bao and the daughter of the other family Lihn meet when they were young but they get separated until they are in high school, Bao offers his help with their restaurant service one crowded night although its pretty much forbidden for him to do it, then they are paired in an assignment where they have to go on "dates" to review some things, and their love blossoms in between
I liked the relationship progression between both characters since it's not hate to love per se, but it was a really fluffy read and the ending was tightly knit and everything ended so smoothly as a typical romantic YA book, I want more of these books because they give a real good feeling from beginning to end .. no hard issue just a love story in a delicious setting :)
The narrators weren't amazing but they were good enough and I liked how they pronounced Vietnamese sentences accurately

High school romcom

A sweet high school star crossed lovers story about two Vietnamese restaurants, owned by two families who knew each other before they escaped to America. The history is long and complicated, and their children have no idea how deep it runs or why it is so volatile.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, Bao and Lihn understand each other in a way no one else can. They find themselves falling despite all the animosity between their families, with the pressure of senior year pushing them to succeed while balancing it all.

I thought this was a sweet romcom with good representation and handling of all the layers of the life first generation Vietnamese children, their experiences, and their family dynamics.

Should Be Labeled YA

Sometimes I wonder if Romeo and Juliet was the only romantic plot (especially between teen agers) that was ever written and all the others were simply variants.

Not to be too harsh, but the vocabulary, short sentences, and dialogue let me down. After establishing a conflict, the longstanding family problems are solved in a flash and everything is right in the world without angst.

I got bored several times, I’m afraid.

P.S. Asian families don’t have a monopoly on star-crossed lovers or inter-family troubles.

It’s not just about teenage love

Loved the performance!
The romantic part of the story is a bit cheesy but well told.
There is another element: the experiences of immigrants and refugees.

YA foodie romance with Vietnamese-American rep!

This book was amazing. Before I had posted this review I had planned to give it a four. By the end of the book I was so heartbroken, I couldn't not give it a five. It explores the budding romance of two teens who work at rivaling Vietnamese restaurants and were raised to hate each other.

The biggest highlight of the book is the rich Vietnamese American experience as well as touching the surface of a few southEast Asian refugee experiences. The two main characters are both Viet American and have very different views of what their desired futures compared to what their parents want for them.  

Linh is artistic and wants to pursue such but her parents want her to be something practical. Bao is unambitious and learns he loves to write. Both their parents came to the US as refugees due to the wars happening in Southeast Asia at the time. This story was supposed to be about their feuding families and forbidden romance but I found myself super invested in both of their parents stories.

Since both of their parents knew each others families in Vietnam, coming to the US caused a rift based on a family member dying(family secret that I chose not to reveal). They work in opposing Vietnamese restaurants right across the street from each other and have never bridged the gap between their families.

Both Bao's mother and Linh's father had strong accents. I cried a little bit every time they had to bridge through their amazing yet strong accented English. Both their parents had trauma and their livelihoods depended on their restaurants.

As a Black-Latine person, I was surprised at how much similarities I had to their upbringings. As much as I planned to give it a four for the lack of romance I would've liked, the back story of their parents made it hard to.
Sometimes the story feels slow but I understand why the relationship is so slowburn. Great debut with great Vietnamese-American rep!

Sweet

A love story mixed with a love of food and family history. Enjoyed listening to it.

Love meets Pho and history

Easy read with a good story line it kept me intrigued throughout! I would deff recommend to friends.

Beautiful story

This is a wonderful quick read about the lives of two teens who balance their respective cultures and traditions and their American dreams.

A nice story for days that feel dreadful

Romeo and Juliet but make Vietnamese American without all the unnecessary angst and dying.
This is a light and fluffy story that feels familiar and new.

I can finally relate!

This story is so grounded in the reality of the Vietnamese families in Bolsa. The characters could have easily been a relative. i appreciate the Vietnamese dialogue as well.

as for the story, it was believable. i wouldn't call it a comedy. i think it's more on the serious side with some light hearted banter. Also, I am so going to eat banh xeo now. yum!