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.

In A Pho Love Story, author Loan Le tells the story of Bao and Linh, two teenagers from families with competing pho restaurants. As Bao and Linh become friends, and maybe something more, they have to navigate rival families, complicated family histories, and their own insecurities.

There are a few things I love, on a personal level, about A Pho Love Story. It is set in Westminster, California, close to where I grew up. The picture Le paints of the city, known for its bustling Vietnamese population, is loving and accurate -- the way she describes the grocery stores, the food, the sounds and smells, leaves no question that this book is deeply rooted in a real, beloved, location.

Bao and Linh are both the children of immigrants -- their parents all fled from Vietnam under harrowing, sometimes deadly, circumstances. American teenagers with Asian refugee parents is a story I have lived, and seeing it represented on the page is a special experience.

That being said, the book overall fell flat for me. The characters feel one-dimensional and oddly similar -- it was difficult to tell Bao and Linh's parents apart, and although they mentioned their respective best friend's personalities and interests, the two characters also came across as oddly alike. Bao and Linh themselves were not particularly interesting character, and a contemporary romance that is over 400 pages, compelling characters are surely a must.

One of the biggest issues with the book was the tendency of Le to set up what seemed like interest, conflict-filled moments, and then to simply let them slip away. Early in the book, Linh's teacher tells her about an art exhibit that is happening nearby for one night only. Linh, whose emotional drama in the book drives mostly from her desire to be an artist conflicting with her parents' wishes for her to find a more financially stable career, wants to go to the event, but it is the same night as a big sale at their family restaurant, and her parents expect her to work. This feels like the set up for several chapters worth of content -- instead, the event passes by quickly and with a lot less fanfare that one might expect. Similarly, a chapter later, Bao is anxious about getting home in time from work -- his parents have already texted asking where he is, and he asks his best friend to make an excuse up for him to be ten minutes late. Instead, Bao is hours late coming home, surely setting up drama with his parents -- except this drama never materializes. This happens again and again, with the possible conflict moments half developed and then dropped, while certain emotional beats are repeated again and again.

Overall, it is a wholly inoffensive book, but it is a book with few redeeming qualities. One thing is certain however -- read this book with a big steaming bowl of pho next to you, because otherwise you will spend your entire read craving it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the ARC!