theliteraryteapot's Reviews (314)

Oh I loved this one.

A Phở Love Story was such a sweet and light-hearted rom-com and it was exactly what I needed these days. I appreciated Loan Le's simplicity in her writing. Not too descriptive, not too much dialogue. It felt honest. The author also succeeded in combining a cute romance between two teenagers while also focusing on the heavy trauma weighting on the shoulders of two families.

I always love characters who find a passion in an art form. Linh reminded me of Jude from I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson. It feels like you, as the reader, is also immersed in the character's passion. To be honest, I've missed caring and loving a fictional character, it hasn't happened in a while. On the other hand, the two narrative voices kind of felt the same, apart from the main characters different interests. I sometimes forgot which point of vue I was reading.

This book feels like Loan Le wrote an open love letter to Vietnamese culture, to her family, to her community and yes to the food.

Thank you to Torie Jean for the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I would like to preface this review by saying I have endometriosis and this book was a very much anticipated read both for the representation and for the beautiful pink cover.

I enjoyed the writing, especially Evie's internal monologues and the fluidity of the dialogues. I liked the pace, especially after the 50 or 60% mark. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the puns in the chapter titles and I appreciated that the story (mostly) takes place in a place that is not the USA for once (I hate Paris but I'm French so that was really cool). Loved the Audrey Hepburn references too. There were a lot of tropes and I'm not sure the supposed 'ennemies-to-lovers' worked well because it wasn't really mutual, only on Evie's part.

Now, as for the rest, I think I enjoyed almost everything. I felt so seen and I'm thankful for the endometriosis representation Torie Jean gave us.
I really liked the characters. Evie feels very realistic and relatable. She is navigating life while dealing with her illness, her insecurities and her toxic relationship with her mother. The love interest, Liam, is so sweet and supportive! His genuine kindness in taking care of Evie reminded me of my bf. I appreciated the side characters as well (Eli, Liam's father, ...) but I wish Maria had a bit more backstory (the fact that she's swedish and has an almost similar name to my Swedish friend... this book was written for me lol). It's so important to have a good support system without people feeling the need to tell you either things you already know or what you should do to "get better".
I loved the romance! Evie and Liam have a great chemistry in my opinion. They're cute and funny. The slow burn was nice but it kind of made the point when they get together seem a bit rushed. The sex scenes were honestly relatable, that's what living with endometriosis looks like for a lot of us: sex isn't always easy or enjoyable, or even possible at times. Evie feeling jealous because other women gave Liam what she 'couldn't' give him felt so so relatable and I wish the two of them talked more about this aspect (not only about sex with endo but also about the insecurities and comparing to others thing). I appreciate that the author showed what a caring person Liam is and that sex is just a small part of a relationship and definitely not what a relationship can (only) be based on. I hope readers who don't experience endometriosis will be understanding that even if this is a romance book, you're not going to find the hot smut scenes but that doesn't take away the romance developing between the two characters.
I loved loved loved the last part: the conflict then the resolution because I could relate. I always appreciate it when a main character grows and takes care of themselves first before getting into a serious relationship so it won't become unhealthy. I do wish though, when Evie needed to get her shit together first, we'd seen a bit more about her journey of dealing with insecurities and her therapist sessions (but I know the book would have been much longer).

As someone with endometriosis, I'm honestly grateful for the endometriosis representation. The disease was well explained both in showing and telling. It means so much, I could completely relate. I felt so SO seen. Here is a quote that hits home:
"I've had to learn to cope and surrender my energy reserves to ignoring them, since living life in the fetal position isn't an option long-term."
I loved the commentaries too, it made me feel less lonely in certain thoughts and frustrations that I have: "I [...] understand that my pain cannot eradicate theirs; they both exist. But when Clare says she knows exactly how I feel, I can't help but get the sense that it's misplaced empathy. [...]" That whole page spoke to me: "There's no nine-month countdown to relief. [...] It's all pointless pain."
I got a little emotional because we deserve such a good endometriosis representation and we finally got one. And we deserve a partner who's supportive and love everything about us even the chronic illness.

Overall, I definitely loved the book and desperately needed the endometriosis rep. I loved the two main characters and their relationship. Finding Gene Kelly is a sweet, cute romance while tackling a deeper issue such as a chronic illness.