A Pho Love Story

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.

This was definitely a cute love story. The author even suggested it is similar to the tale of Romeo and Juliet, with the families of the two main characters being rivals. This was a quick read and I'm glad i picked it up.

2.5, but closer to a 3 than a 2 i think.

i wanted to give this book a higher rating because i think we need more books based on vietnamese folks, but i couldn't get into it. it definitely seems like it was written towards YA folks but did not feel YA. i also found myself wishing that more vietnamese terms and customs were better explained. bao and linh had an instalove going on, and i didn't particularly like linh. when in linh's perspective, bao seemed like a completely different person from when you were actually in his head. their families were also pretty hard to distinguish from each other.

This was a fun easy read. I loved the character development, both Linh and Bao grew as people in ways that felt realistic. I loved the happy ending. It was just what I needed. If you are looking for a light happy read, pick this one up.

A Pho Love Story is a story about lost family, hurt, and grief masquerading as a romance story between two teenagers from warring restaurant families. The novel digs a bit deeper than I expected it to, to my pleasant surprise. Read the full review on my blog when it is posted :)