Both had family, who had made harrowing journeys to escape Vietnam, and both grew up in their family restaurants. The relationship that developed between Linh and Bao definitely took center stage, and I adore it! They had a lot in common and could related to one another in a way many others couldn't. It was fun, cute, and heartwarming, while also shedding light on many aspects of Vietnamese culture. The mention of food and a love story had me quite interested in this tale, and it didn't disappoint. As their friendship grew, so did the stress of sneaking around, and it was just a matter of time until it all unraveled. Neither had forgotten their brief childhood encounter, and when circumstances brought them together, they recognized a shared connection. I couldn't recommend this enough!īao and Linh had always kept their distance due to their family's pho restaurant rivalry. This also tackles racism and the life of an immigrant, and Bao and Linh struggle being the children of immigrants with such high expectations and responsibilities placed on their shoulders.

The characters were all so memorable and the romance was adorable.

I was lost in this world and could not get enough of this story! And can we talk about the food? Both families own restaurants and this book had me hungry all the time! There was so much food and the atmosphere of this book was just amazing. I did enjoy how their families were forced to confront their issues and also confront what Bao and Linh genuinely wanted from their respective futures.

They were always worrying about their parents and then, of course, things blow up. I think we had a long build up and then didn't really get a lot of them genuinely happy together.

The reason I knocked my rating down half a star is because I wanted just a little more from the romance. Even though Bao and Linh had similar parents who were very strict and had high expectations for their children, they were still very different characters and had pretty different families, which I appreciated. This was more a friends to lovers and they were forced to hang out through a school assignment, which was fun. Their budding friendship was so cute and I loved how they both bonded over the pressure from their parents and the unknown of their futures. This was such a cute YA romance!! I really loved how Bao and Linh haven't talked to each other for their entire lives because of their family feud until Bao approaches Linh outside of her restaurant their senior year when she's having a rough time.

A pho love story book review