e-Audio, 07:28:45
Narrated by: Carolina Do and VyVy Nguyen
Release Date: August 20, 2024
Published by: Macmillan Audio
Read from: August 14-16, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this e-audio from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Grief, Death of a parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury Detail
For Readers Interested In: 2SLGBTQ+, Contemp Romance, Dual POV, Family Diversity, Foodie Favorite, Sparkly Covers, Own Voices, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Vietnamese and Vietnamese American), Realistic Fiction, Romance, Set Outside the US, YAIn this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families’ histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.
In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father but has stopped updating since his passing.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.
When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I have been waiting to read this for so long. I am a sucker for pretty covers, and as soon as I saw this one and then learned it was about food, I KNEW this was basically written for me lol No for real, this had all the makings of a Nikki book and I called it as soon as I heard about it.
Ok so the romance was so cute! Their meet cute was adorable and I always love the secret identity thing. In this one it’s over a blog that serves as so many people’s guide to getting food around Vietnam. (As a fellow blogger I thought this was so cool!) I thought it was the cutest thing that brought the two of them together. It was a lot more emotional than I was expecting, but I loved it all the same.
I really just wanted to hug Lan. I knew she was taking care of her mom, but I felt so sad for her. I could tell she didn’t give herself time to grieve. She took his passing hard and got up for work with her mom every day. She was so strong, but I was upset with her because she needed more. And then there was Vivi who also deserved more. Her mother wouldn’t tell her anything about her history. It clearly stemmed from a bad situation, but it wasn’t something that Vivi was willing to let go of. She deserved to know where she came from and more about her history. I thought she was also so strong. I can’t believe these were two teens. They were stronger than me as an adult lol And yes, I understand that this may be the product of their cultures. (I am not Vietnamese, so I won’t speak on that, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say I was sad for both of these girls and I admired their strength)
Watching the two of them fall for each other had to be my favorite part tho. I loved the different foods they tried together, and I loved the apprehension that Lan had when Vivi told her that her parents didn’t know where she was. I loved that they helped each other with the things most important to them, like the family part and the food blogging contest. It felt like they were doing so much, but still found love in each other. And that was how I knew it was real. I did wish they had a little more time together at the end tho. It was a slow burn, but they were so cute as they were flirting, but they were never official. I wanted to see more of them official, to celebrate with them.
This was a super cute book that I knew I was going to love. I don’t think there was one bad thing about this book. The narrators were amazing, the story was super cute, and the theme of family and love throughout the book were amazing. Definitely a book that I knew was going to love. I hope that y’all pick this up and y’all like it too!
Overall, I give this
