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Café Con Lychee
Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet
Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.
Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.
But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?
Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.
Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.
But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2022
291 people are currently reading
20.8k people want to read
About the author
Emery Lee
5 books5,039 followersEmery Lee is an award-winning author based out of Southern California. Find eir books at emeryleebooks.com and emerylee.itch.io
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,536 reviews
August 27, 2021
Popping in here to do the quick author intro and disappear, but if you like:
- M/M interracial romances where both characters are PoC
- Asian (Chinese & Japanese) American and Puerto Rican drinks and pastries
- Soccer gays
- Mutual pining
- Almost kisses
- Complex family dynamics
- Food puns & humor
And, of course,
- Happily Ever Afters
This may just be the book for you! You can find more info and keep up with updates on my website and by subscribing to my newsletter: https://www.emeryleebooks.com/caf%C3%...
I hope you all enjoy the book! And now I'm gonna go chug a boba tea and forget this page exists
- M/M interracial romances where both characters are PoC
- Asian (Chinese & Japanese) American and Puerto Rican drinks and pastries
- Soccer gays
- Mutual pining
- Almost kisses
- Complex family dynamics
- Food puns & humor
And, of course,
- Happily Ever Afters
This may just be the book for you! You can find more info and keep up with updates on my website and by subscribing to my newsletter: https://www.emeryleebooks.com/caf%C3%...
I hope you all enjoy the book! And now I'm gonna go chug a boba tea and forget this page exists
May 15, 2022
This sounded interesting in theory and the beginning of the book seemed promising, but the author's writing style didn't work for me.
The characters are two-dimensional and there's almost no character development throughout the story. The author goes to extremes to show what they are like. For example, Theo is full of anger and he is mean to everyone, to Gabi, to his parents, to his brother and to his friend, even when there's no real basis for him to feel that way. He just does.
When the characters change their mind, it happens suddenly and it doesn't feel natural. One example: Gabi's dad openly dislikes Theo because he is his rival's son, then, in a blink of an eye, he thinks Theo is great because he is excellent at soccer and knows how to cook rice, then he dislikes him again when he learns that he is gay. And so on. I could give similar examples for almost every character in this book.
The parents seemed very passive and incompetent and they showed no support to their children. Up to the very end they didn't lift a finger to do anything to save their businesses. That didn't feel realistic to me. Nor did the the way Gabi and Theo organized everything to help them.
Their friends weren't any better, either. They all came off as very self-centered and there was some conflict with each one of them. It felt forced and overly dramatic, just like the rest of the story.
I haven't mentioned the romance part because it didn't feel like there was any. I didn't feel any chemistry between Gabi and Theo. I think they were more believable as friends. Really good friends, not like the other friendships in this book.
The characters are two-dimensional and there's almost no character development throughout the story. The author goes to extremes to show what they are like. For example, Theo is full of anger and he is mean to everyone, to Gabi, to his parents, to his brother and to his friend, even when there's no real basis for him to feel that way. He just does.
When the characters change their mind, it happens suddenly and it doesn't feel natural. One example: Gabi's dad openly dislikes Theo because he is his rival's son, then, in a blink of an eye, he thinks Theo is great because he is excellent at soccer and knows how to cook rice, then he dislikes him again when he learns that he is gay. And so on. I could give similar examples for almost every character in this book.
The parents seemed very passive and incompetent and they showed no support to their children. Up to the very end they didn't lift a finger to do anything to save their businesses. That didn't feel realistic to me. Nor did the the way Gabi and Theo organized everything to help them.
Their friends weren't any better, either. They all came off as very self-centered and there was some conflict with each one of them. It felt forced and overly dramatic, just like the rest of the story.
I haven't mentioned the romance part because it didn't feel like there was any. I didn't feel any chemistry between Gabi and Theo. I think they were more believable as friends. Really good friends, not like the other friendships in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2023
It's simple. When I hear enemies to lovers, I come running.
Café Con Lychee came at just the right time. Recently I've been on an insatiable contemporary binge. There is something about sitting down to chill with a contemporary romance that just satisfies me. I was really hoping for a well developed, fun romance, and this book delivered the goods.
Theo and Gabi were the most adorable protagonists. I'm so glad that the POV's alternated, as getting inside the heads of both boys was vital for this love story. They start the novel as enemies. Theo seems to hate Gabi a lot more than the other boy hates him, but both are apprehensive of the other. Their enemies dynamic is mostly centred around the fact that their parents own rival businesses, and neither boy really has a tangible reason to hate the other. I didn't mind this as we've all hated people we've never really spoken to, right?
Gabi is incredibly awkward and the perfect contrast to Theo's confidence. I really enjoyed how Theo resisted Gabi's pursuit of friendship, even after agreeing to work together for their mutual benefit. Their relationship felt incredibly tense in the first third of the novel. This definitely felt like a natural choice. Theo was far too confident in expressing his queerness for Gabi to initially handle. I absolutely love enemies to lovers books where just when you think they've made progress, there is yet another set back. It's just such a good way of prolonging the burn. The pacing was mostly well done, and I really appreciated the development of their relationship in such a short book. I do think it could have been a little bit longer, but that was mostly because of how much I enjoyed the story.
Their personalities were really different, and I loved reading their different experiences with being queer. Gabi struggles to open up to his parents. Before you come out, especially when you are young and still developing, you're at a really crucial part of your journey. Any kind of homophobic comment or action can entirely shape your journey. It was really heartbreaking to see Gabi have to navigate all of the homophobic comments his father had made, and how his father's rejection of queerness pushed him deeper into the closet. It was lovely seeing Theo's parents push against their family's culture and accept their son. I loved how Theo began to help Gabi see the beauty in being queer. It was wonderful seeing two queer boys learn to love themselves and each other.
I love stories where other queer people help closeted folk accept their authentic selves. There was a really touching moment where Theo had to face homophobia 'alone'. That really resonated with me because, back when I was a queer teen in school, I always felt more safe and confident in my queerness when I was around other queer people. No one will protect and defend you like your butch lesbian friend. There is such a beauty in the solidarity we can find in our community, and I loved how this book quietly represented that.
I really enjoyed how this book fused two different cultures, and some really important discussions happened as a result. The competing cafe that was putting both of the families out of business was doing a terrible job of representing their cultures, and I loved how by the end of the novel, they fused their differences together to create a greater whole. This story is a celebration of how difference can bring us together, and I really enjoyed how lighthearted it was at times. The representation was superb, and I cannot recommend this enough! This was the perfect mix of meaningful writing and pure enemies to lovers joy!
Thank you so much to Harper360ya and the author for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I post about queer books on: Instagram Twitter TikTok
Café Con Lychee came at just the right time. Recently I've been on an insatiable contemporary binge. There is something about sitting down to chill with a contemporary romance that just satisfies me. I was really hoping for a well developed, fun romance, and this book delivered the goods.
Theo and Gabi were the most adorable protagonists. I'm so glad that the POV's alternated, as getting inside the heads of both boys was vital for this love story. They start the novel as enemies. Theo seems to hate Gabi a lot more than the other boy hates him, but both are apprehensive of the other. Their enemies dynamic is mostly centred around the fact that their parents own rival businesses, and neither boy really has a tangible reason to hate the other. I didn't mind this as we've all hated people we've never really spoken to, right?
Gabi is incredibly awkward and the perfect contrast to Theo's confidence. I really enjoyed how Theo resisted Gabi's pursuit of friendship, even after agreeing to work together for their mutual benefit. Their relationship felt incredibly tense in the first third of the novel. This definitely felt like a natural choice. Theo was far too confident in expressing his queerness for Gabi to initially handle. I absolutely love enemies to lovers books where just when you think they've made progress, there is yet another set back. It's just such a good way of prolonging the burn. The pacing was mostly well done, and I really appreciated the development of their relationship in such a short book. I do think it could have been a little bit longer, but that was mostly because of how much I enjoyed the story.
Their personalities were really different, and I loved reading their different experiences with being queer. Gabi struggles to open up to his parents. Before you come out, especially when you are young and still developing, you're at a really crucial part of your journey. Any kind of homophobic comment or action can entirely shape your journey. It was really heartbreaking to see Gabi have to navigate all of the homophobic comments his father had made, and how his father's rejection of queerness pushed him deeper into the closet. It was lovely seeing Theo's parents push against their family's culture and accept their son. I loved how Theo began to help Gabi see the beauty in being queer. It was wonderful seeing two queer boys learn to love themselves and each other.
I love stories where other queer people help closeted folk accept their authentic selves. There was a really touching moment where Theo had to face homophobia 'alone'. That really resonated with me because, back when I was a queer teen in school, I always felt more safe and confident in my queerness when I was around other queer people. No one will protect and defend you like your butch lesbian friend. There is such a beauty in the solidarity we can find in our community, and I loved how this book quietly represented that.
I really enjoyed how this book fused two different cultures, and some really important discussions happened as a result. The competing cafe that was putting both of the families out of business was doing a terrible job of representing their cultures, and I loved how by the end of the novel, they fused their differences together to create a greater whole. This story is a celebration of how difference can bring us together, and I really enjoyed how lighthearted it was at times. The representation was superb, and I cannot recommend this enough! This was the perfect mix of meaningful writing and pure enemies to lovers joy!
Thank you so much to Harper360ya and the author for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I post about queer books on: Instagram Twitter TikTok
Want to read
October 11, 2021I think I'm beginning to realize that books that have the enemies-to-lovers trope and feature food are kind of my jam and cup of tea?! *lol*
This all combined with an LGBTQ+ rep and an intriguing plot actually sounds like a perfect bookish fast food snack.
Okay, okay, enough of the food puns!
You already know what I mean. XD
So yep, I'm definitely going to read this once it gets out. ;-P
This all combined with an LGBTQ+ rep and an intriguing plot actually sounds like a perfect bookish fast food snack.
Okay, okay, enough of the food puns!
You already know what I mean. XD
So yep, I'm definitely going to read this once it gets out. ;-P
May 13, 2022
My précis: disappointing.
That cover + that blurb had such promise but the words on the inside were woefully inadequate at fulfilling said promise. The premise with the food blending was so cute but even that fell flat and the way they were "making it work" didn't make sense to me.
This author is new to me so I've no idea what they normally write but this enemies-to-lovers YA novel was chockablock with melodramatic antics and not a lot of relationship development. Gabi and Theo are enemies largely due to their parents being restaurant rivals in (what I'm assuming) is a smallish Vermont town. Obviously they fall for each other, though I didn't invest in them as a couple nor do I believe in their longevity which made the ending that much harder to swallow.
Theo is the only gay kid at their high school and the school's best soccer athlete. Whereas Gabi is the closeted one who's great at dancing (specifically ballet) and terrible at soccer.
Ridiculously, over the top, terrible at soccer. Which should have been clue number one that I was headed to what I'm calling DramaLlamaton, VT. I did not book this flight intentionally. Needless to say, Gabi's terrible soccer abilities aren't the only thing that's blown out of proportion to, at times, laughable degrees.
You get the gist. I'll stop now. Suffice to say, everything is über dramatic and on the cusp of apocalyptic 97% of the time. The other 3% both of these "teens" are remarkably insightful and intelligent and can even think rationally! Almost like they're not teens.
This discrepancy I found both odd and frustrating. And before someone comes at me, I understand teen angst. When it's done well I am a HUGE fan of teen angst, but this reads like contrived dramatics manufactured in an effort to try to add depth to characters that backfired and instead caused them all to be both unlikeable and two-dimensional. Nowhere is this more glaringly obvious than Gabi's parents' change of heart not to mention their rationale for their long-standing homophobia which (again, don't come at me I know people are jerks anywhere) but you live in Vermont! Not the bible belt.
So be prepared for an abundance of negativity tonally despite the fact that the most aggressive thing in the whole state of Vermont are Bernie Sanders' mittens and perhaps the sheer number of varietals of apple. Also, be prepared for feelings to change on dime with little to no warning or explanation but most likely tears will be involved. Excuse me, sobbing will probably be involved.
Obviously, this read was not for me but YMMV and I will admit the ending was cutesy so for that reason I'll give it 1.5 Stars but I wouldn't recommend this YA read even though the cover is adorbs.
An ARC was provided by NetGalley. Thank you!
That cover + that blurb had such promise but the words on the inside were woefully inadequate at fulfilling said promise. The premise with the food blending was so cute but even that fell flat and the way they were "making it work" didn't make sense to me.
This author is new to me so I've no idea what they normally write but this enemies-to-lovers YA novel was chockablock with melodramatic antics and not a lot of relationship development. Gabi and Theo are enemies largely due to their parents being restaurant rivals in (what I'm assuming) is a smallish Vermont town. Obviously they fall for each other, though I didn't invest in them as a couple nor do I believe in their longevity which made the ending that much harder to swallow.
Theo is the only gay kid at their high school and the school's best soccer athlete. Whereas Gabi is the closeted one who's great at dancing (specifically ballet) and terrible at soccer.
Ridiculously, over the top, terrible at soccer. Which should have been clue number one that I was headed to what I'm calling DramaLlamaton, VT. I did not book this flight intentionally. Needless to say, Gabi's terrible soccer abilities aren't the only thing that's blown out of proportion to, at times, laughable degrees.
Theo's hatred of Gabi.
Theo's hatred of Theo.
Gabi's hatred of Gabi.
Gabi AND Theo's hatred of all white people.
Gabi's belief that everyone hates him.
Theo's belief that everyone hates him.
Theo's belief that his parents only see him as a disappointment.
Gabi's parents.
Theo's extended family.
You get the gist. I'll stop now. Suffice to say, everything is über dramatic and on the cusp of apocalyptic 97% of the time. The other 3% both of these "teens" are remarkably insightful and intelligent and can even think rationally! Almost like they're not teens.
This discrepancy I found both odd and frustrating. And before someone comes at me, I understand teen angst. When it's done well I am a HUGE fan of teen angst, but this reads like contrived dramatics manufactured in an effort to try to add depth to characters that backfired and instead caused them all to be both unlikeable and two-dimensional. Nowhere is this more glaringly obvious than Gabi's parents' change of heart not to mention their rationale for their long-standing homophobia which (again, don't come at me I know people are jerks anywhere) but you live in Vermont! Not the bible belt.
So be prepared for an abundance of negativity tonally despite the fact that the most aggressive thing in the whole state of Vermont are Bernie Sanders' mittens and perhaps the sheer number of varietals of apple. Also, be prepared for feelings to change on dime with little to no warning or explanation but most likely tears will be involved. Excuse me, sobbing will probably be involved.
Obviously, this read was not for me but YMMV and I will admit the ending was cutesy so for that reason I'll give it 1.5 Stars but I wouldn't recommend this YA read even though the cover is adorbs.
An ARC was provided by NetGalley. Thank you!
May 22, 2022
That one star is me being so damn generous. I wish I could wipe out the last 24 hours of my brain so I can forget I ever read this. What the actual hell was this? I’m about to go on a rant so please bare with me.
Number one this plot? This was so horrendous. This novel was a mashup of fifty thousand plot lines and tropes and not one of them was correct or clicked. We had a ballet and soccer story line. We had a save the bakeries from the new one story line (which we literally see the new one in like one scene and it’s never heard from again). We had a enemies to lovers (LMAO) story line. We had a race to homecoming story line. And not to mention the coming of age accepting yourself story line. This story was ambitious and wanted to be so many things at one all in a book that is 311 pages. And not to mention that again none of these plots or tropes were ever nailed down. The characters were just doing a whole lot of nothing and boom everything is resolved. Also for the love of all that is good in this world STOP SELLING YOUR BOOK AS ENEMIES TO LOVERS WHEN IT IS JUST SOME WERID ONE SIDED DISDAIN.
Number two these characters were atrocious. First of all the parents in this? The most incompetent, stupid, lazy, and bigoted parents. Do nothing to help their situations. Just sighing every other word when their kids rightfully get pissed off with them. Laziest parenting and just down right dumb. The things they said and did were just????? Complete question marks. Everything that came out of their mouth was just horse crap. The friends are honestly the worst people ever. They were so selfish and shallow. Imagine making your friend help you with something you yourself don’t even want to do then get mad when they are focused on trying to help their parents shop not collapse? Like are you dumb? They were so flat and one dimensional and I wanted them to get run over by a truck. And don’t get me started on Theo. He was such an asshole to Gabi for absolutely no reason until like 150 pages when Gabi is like hey I’m gay and Theo’s like oh woah maybe I should? Treat him? Like a human? And then everything’s good for like five chapters then boom weird fight but tells his friend he fell in love with Gabi? HUH?! WHERE?! Gabi is the only redeeming thing about this novel and that’s because I want to protect him. Everyone is so damn nasty to him and the author gives him absolutely nothing to defend himself. Everyone just walks all over him and actually could give two craps about his mental health. I hated every single person but him.
Third and frankly last because I hate talking about this anymore that romance. Where was it? Does anyone have a magnifying glass? Maybe it’s really really really deeply embedded in the pages somewhere because it wasn’t in the actual novel. Again Theo has this odd and frankly concerning hatred for Gabi for a huge portion of the novel and then just like treats him like a human? And has like three almost kiss kinda maybe if you squint moments which still were so ??? And then he’s apparently fallen in love? Lmao? Where ? How ? They were more like good friends then anything.
This was horrible and I wish I could take my wasted time back. Oh and that lovely predictable ending where the parents are like omg my kids are smart we should join our shops because oh our hatred for each other is stupid as hell because our shops are nothing a like 😒 and then Thomas, Theo’s brother, is like hey come to my drag show and end story??!?? This book was too ambitious for the author clearly.
Number one this plot? This was so horrendous. This novel was a mashup of fifty thousand plot lines and tropes and not one of them was correct or clicked. We had a ballet and soccer story line. We had a save the bakeries from the new one story line (which we literally see the new one in like one scene and it’s never heard from again). We had a enemies to lovers (LMAO) story line. We had a race to homecoming story line. And not to mention the coming of age accepting yourself story line. This story was ambitious and wanted to be so many things at one all in a book that is 311 pages. And not to mention that again none of these plots or tropes were ever nailed down. The characters were just doing a whole lot of nothing and boom everything is resolved. Also for the love of all that is good in this world STOP SELLING YOUR BOOK AS ENEMIES TO LOVERS WHEN IT IS JUST SOME WERID ONE SIDED DISDAIN.
Number two these characters were atrocious. First of all the parents in this? The most incompetent, stupid, lazy, and bigoted parents. Do nothing to help their situations. Just sighing every other word when their kids rightfully get pissed off with them. Laziest parenting and just down right dumb. The things they said and did were just????? Complete question marks. Everything that came out of their mouth was just horse crap. The friends are honestly the worst people ever. They were so selfish and shallow. Imagine making your friend help you with something you yourself don’t even want to do then get mad when they are focused on trying to help their parents shop not collapse? Like are you dumb? They were so flat and one dimensional and I wanted them to get run over by a truck. And don’t get me started on Theo. He was such an asshole to Gabi for absolutely no reason until like 150 pages when Gabi is like hey I’m gay and Theo’s like oh woah maybe I should? Treat him? Like a human? And then everything’s good for like five chapters then boom weird fight but tells his friend he fell in love with Gabi? HUH?! WHERE?! Gabi is the only redeeming thing about this novel and that’s because I want to protect him. Everyone is so damn nasty to him and the author gives him absolutely nothing to defend himself. Everyone just walks all over him and actually could give two craps about his mental health. I hated every single person but him.
Third and frankly last because I hate talking about this anymore that romance. Where was it? Does anyone have a magnifying glass? Maybe it’s really really really deeply embedded in the pages somewhere because it wasn’t in the actual novel. Again Theo has this odd and frankly concerning hatred for Gabi for a huge portion of the novel and then just like treats him like a human? And has like three almost kiss kinda maybe if you squint moments which still were so ??? And then he’s apparently fallen in love? Lmao? Where ? How ? They were more like good friends then anything.
This was horrible and I wish I could take my wasted time back. Oh and that lovely predictable ending where the parents are like omg my kids are smart we should join our shops because oh our hatred for each other is stupid as hell because our shops are nothing a like 😒 and then Thomas, Theo’s brother, is like hey come to my drag show and end story??!?? This book was too ambitious for the author clearly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2022
This was everything I could have wanted when I read the synopsis.
Are you shocked that I actually read the synopsis? Because same. But with a cover and premise like that, there was no way I was going to actually forget what the book was about.
“Look, I’ll admit I may not be this place’s target audience, since I’ve never been very fond of anything with the word “fusion” in it, but what the fuck does “world fusion” even mean, and why do they have to parade around some bastardization of my culture, like there aren’t enough people doing that already?”
I was absolutely ready for this storyline. Gay enemies-to-lovers who are forced to work together to save their family’s restaurants? Foods and culture being brought into play? Bubble tea on the damn cover? I lost my shit.
It was exactly what I thought it would be with more. I loved following Theo and Gabi as they struggled with their lives, their goals and their sexualities. I loved the way their relationship developed as the plot progressed.
I honestly thought I would relate more to Theo, mostly because he was Asian and the family disappointment™. And I did relate to him a ton. But for some reason it was easier for me to read from Gabi’s perspective.
“Morning,” I call, and she immediately glances up, like she didn’t actually have anything playing. I tuck a low bow before extending a to-go cup and white paper bag out to her. “Your tostada y café, bitch.”
I loved them both. Theo was such a sarcastic asshole in the best way and I loved the angst he always had under the surface of his perspective. He was passionate and determined and very relatably an Asian kid, and the way his storyline progressed in terms of his family just connected with me so deeply.
Gabi, meanwhile, was so sensitive and awkward and yet understandable. I fell in love with his struggles and how he only ever wanted to try to please everyone else. He was the perfectionist only child, and that is also my position in the family, even though that usually turns into Family Disappointment pretty quickly.
“And everyone loves being practical and making big adult decisions I’m not allowed to weigh in on, like being sixteen means I can’t have any say or opinion on my own life. Like I’m a prop getting tossed around until some adult decides to hit the stop button.”
Preach.
This book went so much into the struggle of being a teenager, especially of being a child of immigrants. I am both of those things and let me tell you, this was such a perfect representation of how those things work. The mindset, the events, the culture. Everything was done so well.
It addressed racism and stereotypes, the struggle to fit in, and how things work within families - estranged relatives and how it feels to live somewhere that isn’t quite home because your parents are from there, but should be home because you were born there.
“As much as I hate working at the place, the shop is still important to my family. It’s our legacy, the one thing we’ve laid down permanent roots with. We don’t have all that intergenerational wealth white people take for granted and shit. The shop, our recipes, the relationships we’ve built with customers—that’s all my family has.”
“When I was a kid, I thought my parents were everything - my heroes, my role models. But now they’re just the people keeping my prison doors locked.
Or maybe they’re both, and that’s what makes things so hard.”
The only complaint I have is that there could have been more of the food representation. The way cultures were represented was so perfect, and I loved all the mentions of tradition and food and how all those things play together, but I was a bit disappointed that the cooking aspect wasn’t bigger??
Like, it was very major, since both the main characters work in their family restaurants, but other than some mentions of croquettes and bubble tea, I didn’t get a lot of the involvement. When you have that much gorgeous food artwork on the front cover, I would expect something similar from the pages.
I think the strongest part of this book was the way it addressed identity, particularly in terms of queerness. Theo was out and proud about it, but also had to deal with shit for it. Meanwhile Gabi was closeted and had no way of coming out.
The way this book explored how they both came to terms with their sexuality and everything that came with those things was just…ugh. Yes. I want moments like these if I ever figure out what my own sexuality is.
“I want to be a dancer…I started taking lessons, but I can’t tell my parents. They think dancing is for girls.”
Theo laughs at that. “You can’t confine a whole sport to one gender and then insist everyone’s straight.”
Honestly, the romance was just so fun. I loved how both the boys had such a tenuous, awkward relationship at the beginning - an enemies-to-lovers romance, but only one-sided, because Theo hated Gabi and Gabi was just generally intimidated by Theo.
The main rivalry came from their parents’ restaurants and the competition between them, but the awkward exchanges at school were so funny and perfect at the beginning in contrast to their feelings.
“It’s entirely possible that I’m just being dramatic, but when I glance at Clara, she has this look like she feels bad for him, and it just pisses me off more. Like, yeah, I cry when I watch those sad puppy videos too, but Gabriel’s not actually a puppy abandoned by his owner. He’s an upper-middle-class Vermont kid whose parents’ business beats ours like ten months out of twelve. It’s not my fault that emotionally, he’s about as stable as a cheap Styrofoam cup.”
I loved the way they got to know each other. It was so confidential in this way that made me envy the trust they had in each other. Their relationship development was adorable.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes gay romances, diverse representation, coming-of-age, romcoms, and general fun food-referencing contemporaries. In other words, exactly the kind of palate cleanser I needed.
“Theo turns to me and grabs my hand. “You spend so much time worrying about what other people want you to be that you never have time to be yourself. Sure, I care what people think, but I’m not gonna let it define me. I’m a screwup, and I’m proud.”
“You’re not a screwup,” I say, my voice soft. “You’re iconic.”
Are you shocked that I actually read the synopsis? Because same. But with a cover and premise like that, there was no way I was going to actually forget what the book was about.
“Look, I’ll admit I may not be this place’s target audience, since I’ve never been very fond of anything with the word “fusion” in it, but what the fuck does “world fusion” even mean, and why do they have to parade around some bastardization of my culture, like there aren’t enough people doing that already?”
I was absolutely ready for this storyline. Gay enemies-to-lovers who are forced to work together to save their family’s restaurants? Foods and culture being brought into play? Bubble tea on the damn cover? I lost my shit.
It was exactly what I thought it would be with more. I loved following Theo and Gabi as they struggled with their lives, their goals and their sexualities. I loved the way their relationship developed as the plot progressed.
I honestly thought I would relate more to Theo, mostly because he was Asian and the family disappointment™. And I did relate to him a ton. But for some reason it was easier for me to read from Gabi’s perspective.
“Morning,” I call, and she immediately glances up, like she didn’t actually have anything playing. I tuck a low bow before extending a to-go cup and white paper bag out to her. “Your tostada y café, bitch.”
I loved them both. Theo was such a sarcastic asshole in the best way and I loved the angst he always had under the surface of his perspective. He was passionate and determined and very relatably an Asian kid, and the way his storyline progressed in terms of his family just connected with me so deeply.
Gabi, meanwhile, was so sensitive and awkward and yet understandable. I fell in love with his struggles and how he only ever wanted to try to please everyone else. He was the perfectionist only child, and that is also my position in the family, even though that usually turns into Family Disappointment pretty quickly.
“And everyone loves being practical and making big adult decisions I’m not allowed to weigh in on, like being sixteen means I can’t have any say or opinion on my own life. Like I’m a prop getting tossed around until some adult decides to hit the stop button.”
Preach.
This book went so much into the struggle of being a teenager, especially of being a child of immigrants. I am both of those things and let me tell you, this was such a perfect representation of how those things work. The mindset, the events, the culture. Everything was done so well.
It addressed racism and stereotypes, the struggle to fit in, and how things work within families - estranged relatives and how it feels to live somewhere that isn’t quite home because your parents are from there, but should be home because you were born there.
“As much as I hate working at the place, the shop is still important to my family. It’s our legacy, the one thing we’ve laid down permanent roots with. We don’t have all that intergenerational wealth white people take for granted and shit. The shop, our recipes, the relationships we’ve built with customers—that’s all my family has.”
“When I was a kid, I thought my parents were everything - my heroes, my role models. But now they’re just the people keeping my prison doors locked.
Or maybe they’re both, and that’s what makes things so hard.”
The only complaint I have is that there could have been more of the food representation. The way cultures were represented was so perfect, and I loved all the mentions of tradition and food and how all those things play together, but I was a bit disappointed that the cooking aspect wasn’t bigger??
Like, it was very major, since both the main characters work in their family restaurants, but other than some mentions of croquettes and bubble tea, I didn’t get a lot of the involvement. When you have that much gorgeous food artwork on the front cover, I would expect something similar from the pages.
I think the strongest part of this book was the way it addressed identity, particularly in terms of queerness. Theo was out and proud about it, but also had to deal with shit for it. Meanwhile Gabi was closeted and had no way of coming out.
The way this book explored how they both came to terms with their sexuality and everything that came with those things was just…ugh. Yes. I want moments like these if I ever figure out what my own sexuality is.
“I want to be a dancer…I started taking lessons, but I can’t tell my parents. They think dancing is for girls.”
Theo laughs at that. “You can’t confine a whole sport to one gender and then insist everyone’s straight.”
Honestly, the romance was just so fun. I loved how both the boys had such a tenuous, awkward relationship at the beginning - an enemies-to-lovers romance, but only one-sided, because Theo hated Gabi and Gabi was just generally intimidated by Theo.
The main rivalry came from their parents’ restaurants and the competition between them, but the awkward exchanges at school were so funny and perfect at the beginning in contrast to their feelings.
“It’s entirely possible that I’m just being dramatic, but when I glance at Clara, she has this look like she feels bad for him, and it just pisses me off more. Like, yeah, I cry when I watch those sad puppy videos too, but Gabriel’s not actually a puppy abandoned by his owner. He’s an upper-middle-class Vermont kid whose parents’ business beats ours like ten months out of twelve. It’s not my fault that emotionally, he’s about as stable as a cheap Styrofoam cup.”
I loved the way they got to know each other. It was so confidential in this way that made me envy the trust they had in each other. Their relationship development was adorable.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes gay romances, diverse representation, coming-of-age, romcoms, and general fun food-referencing contemporaries. In other words, exactly the kind of palate cleanser I needed.
“Theo turns to me and grabs my hand. “You spend so much time worrying about what other people want you to be that you never have time to be yourself. Sure, I care what people think, but I’m not gonna let it define me. I’m a screwup, and I’m proud.”
“You’re not a screwup,” I say, my voice soft. “You’re iconic.”
May 2, 2022
Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for providing an ARC of Café Con Lychee in exchange for an honest review.
Full review will be shared when the book is released on May 10th :)
⇢Café Con Lychee in under 15 words
- Rivals to lovers but with FOOD
- Representation, obviously
- The best combination of laughs and tears
⇢Thoughts
This book was SUPER fun. Rivals to lovers? Where both characters are trying to save their respective family businesses? Such a fun premise. The beginning of the book was fantastic, but I will say that the ending lowered my rating slightly. It felt like things wrapped up a little fast!
A criticism that I saw for this book was that it focused too much on negativity and more serious topics, and while I understand that perspective, I have to completely disagree. I think that the discussions of coming out and facing homophobia were incredibly necessary. See, I enjoy most YA contemporary romances. But what makes them really stick with me are those types of things. The stories that may be harder to swallow, but that are so rewarding, and super important to hear. I mean, this book made me cry. That doesn’t happen that often so GO READ THIS.
Also, I just want to mention that this is my first book by Emery Lee, and WOW eir writing appeals to me in a way that I didn’t expect? You know how sometimes you enjoy the story but just can’t get into the writing? It was the opposite with this book, the writing was just exactly what I wanted. On my way to read his other books LOL.
⇢Description
Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet.
Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.
Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.
But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?
my carrd ❦
BOOKISH PRODUCTS: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦
BOOKMARKS, BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK ETC: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦
Full review will be shared when the book is released on May 10th :)
⇢Café Con Lychee in under 15 words
- Rivals to lovers but with FOOD
- Representation, obviously
- The best combination of laughs and tears
⇢Thoughts
This book was SUPER fun. Rivals to lovers? Where both characters are trying to save their respective family businesses? Such a fun premise. The beginning of the book was fantastic, but I will say that the ending lowered my rating slightly. It felt like things wrapped up a little fast!
A criticism that I saw for this book was that it focused too much on negativity and more serious topics, and while I understand that perspective, I have to completely disagree. I think that the discussions of coming out and facing homophobia were incredibly necessary. See, I enjoy most YA contemporary romances. But what makes them really stick with me are those types of things. The stories that may be harder to swallow, but that are so rewarding, and super important to hear. I mean, this book made me cry. That doesn’t happen that often so GO READ THIS.
Also, I just want to mention that this is my first book by Emery Lee, and WOW eir writing appeals to me in a way that I didn’t expect? You know how sometimes you enjoy the story but just can’t get into the writing? It was the opposite with this book, the writing was just exactly what I wanted. On my way to read his other books LOL.
⇢Description
Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet.
Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.
Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.
But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
my carrd ❦
BOOKISH PRODUCTS: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦
BOOKMARKS, BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK ETC: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦
October 3, 2023
"I like your parents. They're nice."
He raises an eyebrow. "Is that your request to trade?"
I smile but shake my head. "No. I mean, I love my parents, even if - "
"Even if they can't love you," he says.
But it doesn't sound like an accusation or even a question. It sounds like resignation and familiarity, like somehow, despite being from totally different worlds, he understands exactly what I mean.
"My parents love me," I say, my voice finally agreeing with me.
And Theo nods, but his eyes look kind of far away. "Conditionally, though, right? Like as long as you keep doing what they ask, they love you." 35%
The most surprising thing to me when I opened this book was that it was about assholes. As in, every character in this book is an asshole. I can't really think of any exceptions.
I was surprised because this book was so widely labeled "cute," "very cute" and "so cute!" So I was baffled to see it populated by pretty much shitty people. I mean, not murderers nor rapists nor sociopaths, but you know... jerks.
That's okay, I understand a lot of people in the LGBTQIA+ arena are tired of writing about 'good' and 'perfect' LGBTQIA+ characters. They want to write flawed protagonists. Fine. But personally, as a reader, I prefer kind folk. I understand that this is preference, but I just want to warn readers in case they think this is like Heartstopper: Volume One or something. It's not.
OK, moving on.
BASIC PLOT:
Theo's parents run an Asian café. It sells stuff like bao, milk tea, boba, etc. His mom is Chinese and his dad is Japanese. He is gay. Openly gay. Everyone from his parents to the kids at school know he's gay. He's 16.
He has an older brother at college and he thinks his parents favor this brother. He doesn't have a college fund, he has an ADHD diagnosis, and he's very good at soccer - which his parents don't care about at all.
Theo is the biggest asshole in the book and also someone who is consumed with bitterness, rage, and self-hatred. He hates himself and he hates other people. He lashes himself and he lashes out at other people. It's often ugly. He has low self-esteem.
It really was absurd of me to think that the one thing standing in the way of me and a successful future was the lack of a college fund. My grades suck, and I suck, and even if I got as far away from Vermont as possible, it wouldn't be enough to fix all the broken parts of me that make me ruin everything I touch. 73%
His parents' café is technically owned by Uncle Greg, his mom's brother who treats her like shit, for both marrying a non-Chinese and having a gay son. He "pays" Theo's parents by letting them live above the store. Big shades of Front Desk, if you've read that.
Theo has been stealing his parents tips for years (like I said, asshole) but suddenly thinks he needs to help his parents make more money to appease Uncle Greg so he starts an underground food delivery service.
Gabi's parents own a Puerto Rican café. They hate the Moris, the owners of the Asian café. The Moris hate them back. Each set of parents says horrible things about the other set... because they're assholes.
Gabi's father is a huge homophobe and gay-hater. Gabi's gay but is obviously unable to come out. He loves dance but his father forbid him to take it. He takes secret ballet classes at the school. He's terrified of being outed. He is on the soccer team even though he hates it and is terrible at it in order to maintain his straight façade.
He's shocked to find out his parents are thinking of selling the café. He loves the café and wanted to inherit it and run it. He needs to find a way to generate extra income and prove to his parents that they should keep the place open. He finds out Theo is illicitly selling food on campus. You know where this is going.
Etc. etc. etc. there are lots of side plots too, but that his the main gist of it.
....
So. Where to start.
Is this a romance?
Well, it's a romance in that Theo and Gabi are going to end up dating/involved because it's an enemies-to-lovers trope. It says as much in the book description, I don't consider this a spoiler. The boys DO have passion together and you DO feel like they could be attracted to each other. It wasn't like Ride with Me where I was seriously questioning the couple getting together.
But if you are looking for any kind of sexual content, it's not here. I think Theo licks Gabi's arm at one point? Other than that, pretty much nothing. They dance together. Don't expect any sex... I don't even remember any kissing, although I could be wrong. It's possible they kissed and I just forgot about it.
I'm not interested in m/m sex, it just doesn't grab me at all, but I wanted to put this in the review in case anyone was looking for steam. This isn't a book that is going to describe physical encounters. Look elsewhere for sex scenes. This book will not satisfy you if that is what you are seeking.
What else is it besides a romance?
A lot of things. Mainly focusing on parents. Both Gabi and Theo have huge, huge issues with their parents and a lot of the book is about struggling against your parents' expectations.
Sure, Theo's parents accept he is gay. I think Lee probably did this because having two sets of parents being dead-set against a gay son would be too repetitive. E had to make one set of parents accepting. It was a stretch. His Chinese and Japanese parents seem pretty traditional, but I will go along with it to avoid a boring plotline.
But even though Theo's parents accept him as gay, there are a lot of things they reject him for. He feels like the reject son, the unloved one, the disappointment of the family. His grades are bad, he has ADHD, his parents didn't bother setting up a college fund for him, and they nag him and expect him to be obedient and polite. They don't care about his opinions on things, it's their way y punto.
Then we have Gabi, whose father isn't just quietly anti-gay, he's very vocally anti-gay, gay-bashing (not physically), spewing hatred and making everyone in the family adhere to strict gender roles they can't step out of. His requirements for straight men are quite frankly ridiculous. They include not talking much, never showing sad emotions, not hanging out with girls etc. etc.
"Besides," my dad says, and for one blissful second, I'm relieved that he isn't forcing me to speak, until he says, "It's good you're hanging out with a boy for once. We don't want people getting the wrong impression."
My mom nods, but there's fury building in my chest, and before I can stop myself, I'm saying, "Wrong impression about what?"
"Ay, relax, Gabi," my mom says, "We're just saying that when you spend all your time talking to girls, people start to think things."
"Who cares what they think?" I say. "Why does it matter?" I don't know why my voice sounds so angry. Usually, I'm good at keeping quiet whenever my parents say ignorant stuff, but something about the way they're speaking really has my blood boiling.
Finally, my dad sighs and says, "I just think you've worked really hard to build your reputation. You have good grades, you're on the Homecoming Committee, you play soccer - If people get the wrong idea about you - "
"What idea?" I say. "That I hang out with girls? That's a bad thing?"
"Ay, cariño, we just don't want people thinking you're gay, okay?" my mom says, and my blood runs cold. 62%
Needless to say Gabi is a ball of anxiety because he IS gay, and he's living with a person who hates gay people. His mom doesn't talk much but it's implied she just follows her husband's lead and wouldn't ever stand against him. Not a safe or fun environment for poor Gabi.
I really think this is the main crux of the book - my opening quote. How to get along with your parents until you can move out ASAP when you graduate HS. Even though Theo and Gabi start out on the wrong foot, they really have a lot in common. I think even for non-queer readers, this "vs. the parents" plotline will really resonate. There are a LOT of ways your parents can let you down, make you feel worthless, make you feel like a disappointment (besides being queer) and I think this is a great uniting point for the book and readers of the book. Most people know what it's like to butt heads with their parents, even if it maybe isn't to the extreme of Gabi's situation. Many, many children (grown, young, whatever) feel that their parents' love in conditional. Often with good reason.
When I was a kid, my parents were everything - my heroes, my role models. But now they're just the people keeping my prison doors locked.
Or maybe they're both, and that's what makes things so hard. 54%
You do get emotionally invested in the kids vs. parents arc.
There are many side plots involving Gabi and Theo's asshole friends doing asshole stuff and generally being assholes, but none are important enough to mention here.
TL;DR Read if:
- You don't mind books where everyone is an asshole.
- You like YA romances (this is m/m) but don't need sex scenes or any sexual content.
- You like food-centric plots. Good book to read while drinking a milk tea.
- You feel passionate about young people fighting against the confines their parents create for them. You enjoy books about teenagers on a journey of standing up for themselves against their mean parents who 'just don't get it.'
- You like happy endings. The book is sealed with a picture perfect, shining, happy, every-single-thing-is-resolved-now ending. VERY UNREALISTIC, but I understand Lee wanting to create a book where things can resolve beautifully. So fine. But everything, every single plot is tied up with a pretty bow.
How can I ever feel comfortable being me when I'm the thing my parents hate the most? 31%
CONTENT
- No drinking, smoking, nor drugs that I remember.
- No sex. Theo DOES have a friend who is in a sexually active relationship with a girl his age, whom his friend talks about "getting laid" with, but nothing is shown or described and the MCs certainly aren't having sex.
- But tons of bad language and bad attitude (as you can imagine in a world populated solely by jerks). Theo is particularly rough. Callous talk about selling nudes (not that he does so), callous talk about his brother leaving home to "fuck white girls," etc. etc. He's not the only one, almost all characters say pretty offensive things in here. Like I said, not a lot of kindness to be found. Everyone is kind of harsh and angry.
Wasn't sure exactly how to rate this. IMO the writing is a 4/5 but the plot is only a 3/5.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK:
He raises an eyebrow. "Is that your request to trade?"
I smile but shake my head. "No. I mean, I love my parents, even if - "
"Even if they can't love you," he says.
But it doesn't sound like an accusation or even a question. It sounds like resignation and familiarity, like somehow, despite being from totally different worlds, he understands exactly what I mean.
"My parents love me," I say, my voice finally agreeing with me.
And Theo nods, but his eyes look kind of far away. "Conditionally, though, right? Like as long as you keep doing what they ask, they love you." 35%
The most surprising thing to me when I opened this book was that it was about assholes. As in, every character in this book is an asshole. I can't really think of any exceptions.
I was surprised because this book was so widely labeled "cute," "very cute" and "so cute!" So I was baffled to see it populated by pretty much shitty people. I mean, not murderers nor rapists nor sociopaths, but you know... jerks.
That's okay, I understand a lot of people in the LGBTQIA+ arena are tired of writing about 'good' and 'perfect' LGBTQIA+ characters. They want to write flawed protagonists. Fine. But personally, as a reader, I prefer kind folk. I understand that this is preference, but I just want to warn readers in case they think this is like Heartstopper: Volume One or something. It's not.
OK, moving on.
BASIC PLOT:
Theo's parents run an Asian café. It sells stuff like bao, milk tea, boba, etc. His mom is Chinese and his dad is Japanese. He is gay. Openly gay. Everyone from his parents to the kids at school know he's gay. He's 16.
He has an older brother at college and he thinks his parents favor this brother. He doesn't have a college fund, he has an ADHD diagnosis, and he's very good at soccer - which his parents don't care about at all.
Theo is the biggest asshole in the book and also someone who is consumed with bitterness, rage, and self-hatred. He hates himself and he hates other people. He lashes himself and he lashes out at other people. It's often ugly. He has low self-esteem.
It really was absurd of me to think that the one thing standing in the way of me and a successful future was the lack of a college fund. My grades suck, and I suck, and even if I got as far away from Vermont as possible, it wouldn't be enough to fix all the broken parts of me that make me ruin everything I touch. 73%
His parents' café is technically owned by Uncle Greg, his mom's brother who treats her like shit, for both marrying a non-Chinese and having a gay son. He "pays" Theo's parents by letting them live above the store. Big shades of Front Desk, if you've read that.
Theo has been stealing his parents tips for years (like I said, asshole) but suddenly thinks he needs to help his parents make more money to appease Uncle Greg so he starts an underground food delivery service.
Gabi's parents own a Puerto Rican café. They hate the Moris, the owners of the Asian café. The Moris hate them back. Each set of parents says horrible things about the other set... because they're assholes.
Gabi's father is a huge homophobe and gay-hater. Gabi's gay but is obviously unable to come out. He loves dance but his father forbid him to take it. He takes secret ballet classes at the school. He's terrified of being outed. He is on the soccer team even though he hates it and is terrible at it in order to maintain his straight façade.
He's shocked to find out his parents are thinking of selling the café. He loves the café and wanted to inherit it and run it. He needs to find a way to generate extra income and prove to his parents that they should keep the place open. He finds out Theo is illicitly selling food on campus. You know where this is going.
Etc. etc. etc. there are lots of side plots too, but that his the main gist of it.
....
So. Where to start.
Is this a romance?
Well, it's a romance in that Theo and Gabi are going to end up dating/involved because it's an enemies-to-lovers trope. It says as much in the book description, I don't consider this a spoiler. The boys DO have passion together and you DO feel like they could be attracted to each other. It wasn't like Ride with Me where I was seriously questioning the couple getting together.
But if you are looking for any kind of sexual content, it's not here. I think Theo licks Gabi's arm at one point? Other than that, pretty much nothing. They dance together. Don't expect any sex... I don't even remember any kissing, although I could be wrong. It's possible they kissed and I just forgot about it.
I'm not interested in m/m sex, it just doesn't grab me at all, but I wanted to put this in the review in case anyone was looking for steam. This isn't a book that is going to describe physical encounters. Look elsewhere for sex scenes. This book will not satisfy you if that is what you are seeking.
What else is it besides a romance?
A lot of things. Mainly focusing on parents. Both Gabi and Theo have huge, huge issues with their parents and a lot of the book is about struggling against your parents' expectations.
Sure, Theo's parents accept he is gay. I think Lee probably did this because having two sets of parents being dead-set against a gay son would be too repetitive. E had to make one set of parents accepting. It was a stretch. His Chinese and Japanese parents seem pretty traditional, but I will go along with it to avoid a boring plotline.
But even though Theo's parents accept him as gay, there are a lot of things they reject him for. He feels like the reject son, the unloved one, the disappointment of the family. His grades are bad, he has ADHD, his parents didn't bother setting up a college fund for him, and they nag him and expect him to be obedient and polite. They don't care about his opinions on things, it's their way y punto.
Then we have Gabi, whose father isn't just quietly anti-gay, he's very vocally anti-gay, gay-bashing (not physically), spewing hatred and making everyone in the family adhere to strict gender roles they can't step out of. His requirements for straight men are quite frankly ridiculous. They include not talking much, never showing sad emotions, not hanging out with girls etc. etc.
"Besides," my dad says, and for one blissful second, I'm relieved that he isn't forcing me to speak, until he says, "It's good you're hanging out with a boy for once. We don't want people getting the wrong impression."
My mom nods, but there's fury building in my chest, and before I can stop myself, I'm saying, "Wrong impression about what?"
"Ay, relax, Gabi," my mom says, "We're just saying that when you spend all your time talking to girls, people start to think things."
"Who cares what they think?" I say. "Why does it matter?" I don't know why my voice sounds so angry. Usually, I'm good at keeping quiet whenever my parents say ignorant stuff, but something about the way they're speaking really has my blood boiling.
Finally, my dad sighs and says, "I just think you've worked really hard to build your reputation. You have good grades, you're on the Homecoming Committee, you play soccer - If people get the wrong idea about you - "
"What idea?" I say. "That I hang out with girls? That's a bad thing?"
"Ay, cariño, we just don't want people thinking you're gay, okay?" my mom says, and my blood runs cold. 62%
Needless to say Gabi is a ball of anxiety because he IS gay, and he's living with a person who hates gay people. His mom doesn't talk much but it's implied she just follows her husband's lead and wouldn't ever stand against him. Not a safe or fun environment for poor Gabi.
I really think this is the main crux of the book - my opening quote. How to get along with your parents until you can move out ASAP when you graduate HS. Even though Theo and Gabi start out on the wrong foot, they really have a lot in common. I think even for non-queer readers, this "vs. the parents" plotline will really resonate. There are a LOT of ways your parents can let you down, make you feel worthless, make you feel like a disappointment (besides being queer) and I think this is a great uniting point for the book and readers of the book. Most people know what it's like to butt heads with their parents, even if it maybe isn't to the extreme of Gabi's situation. Many, many children (grown, young, whatever) feel that their parents' love in conditional. Often with good reason.
When I was a kid, my parents were everything - my heroes, my role models. But now they're just the people keeping my prison doors locked.
Or maybe they're both, and that's what makes things so hard. 54%
You do get emotionally invested in the kids vs. parents arc.
There are many side plots involving Gabi and Theo's asshole friends doing asshole stuff and generally being assholes, but none are important enough to mention here.
TL;DR Read if:
- You don't mind books where everyone is an asshole.
- You like YA romances (this is m/m) but don't need sex scenes or any sexual content.
- You like food-centric plots. Good book to read while drinking a milk tea.
- You feel passionate about young people fighting against the confines their parents create for them. You enjoy books about teenagers on a journey of standing up for themselves against their mean parents who 'just don't get it.'
- You like happy endings. The book is sealed with a picture perfect, shining, happy, every-single-thing-is-resolved-now ending. VERY UNREALISTIC, but I understand Lee wanting to create a book where things can resolve beautifully. So fine. But everything, every single plot is tied up with a pretty bow.
How can I ever feel comfortable being me when I'm the thing my parents hate the most? 31%
CONTENT
- No drinking, smoking, nor drugs that I remember.
- No sex. Theo DOES have a friend who is in a sexually active relationship with a girl his age, whom his friend talks about "getting laid" with, but nothing is shown or described and the MCs certainly aren't having sex.
- But tons of bad language and bad attitude (as you can imagine in a world populated solely by jerks). Theo is particularly rough. Callous talk about selling nudes (not that he does so), callous talk about his brother leaving home to "fuck white girls," etc. etc. He's not the only one, almost all characters say pretty offensive things in here. Like I said, not a lot of kindness to be found. Everyone is kind of harsh and angry.
Wasn't sure exactly how to rate this. IMO the writing is a 4/5 but the plot is only a 3/5.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK:
July 17, 2022
“you spend so much time worrying about what other people want you to be that you never have time to be yourself. sure, i care what people think, but i’m not gonna let it define me. i’m a screwup, and i’m proud.”
when a new fusion café threatens to put theo’s parents’ asian american cafe & gabi’s parents’ puerto rican bakery out of business, theo reluctantly works with gabi to sell photo-worthy food at school to save both businesses. but hey maybe they can make something sweet out of a bitter rivalry?
cafe con lychee stuck with me for a long time. reviews usually follow soon after finishing a book or my thoughts will slip away. its been a whole month since reading cafe con lychee & its still easy to talk to about, still so fresh.
it was immensely relatable to see theo identify gabi like “ah you, you’re my nemesis now” and then proceed to get personally offended by everything he does. like him, i am now good friends with a bunch of people i initially disliked (because i, too, can be a petty bitch). to loathe someone, & then be forced to work together. to receive the gift of truly learning about someone & having your feelings shift from unwitting endearment to a full blown affection for them.
i love how we have also largely reclaimed messy kids; taking it from something somewhat negative & turning it into a term of endearment & acknowledgement.
theo & gabi can be a little judgemental, difficult, & lash out. sometimes they think the universe revolves around them but honestly? who hasn’t? being a teenager is Hard; being a queer teenager of color is harder. i think we often overlook the trials of our teens, a time of trying to figure out how you are & sometimes being afraid of who you see.
so theo & gabi are messy, but beyond that they are so willing to make space for both that goodness & angst to coexist, to make space for others, to protect one another, & to each other go at their own pace, even if it’s different than theirs.
messy kids, gotta love them.
___
this was so much fun?!? ACTUALLY A BANGER
July 22, 2022
When I finished this all I felt was rage. At everyone who reviewed this book with 3 or less stars because what the hell? This was a good, stand alone, cute, gay book with, here it comes, P O C MAIN CHARACTERS. It’s so funny to me that you guys rate the shittiest books with white (preferably straight) main characters with 5 stars and act as if it show stopping and shit on a book with two poc queer main characters. It’s odd don’t you think?
Of course this book wasn’t perfect the characters were a bit too intens here and there but honestly it was cute and exactly what I was looking for: a nice YA novel about two queer poc boys who at first hate one another.
I was just so happy to finally read a book that isn’t about two annoying white gays with their white gay problems but about two people of colour who face different issues. I was so happy that I could feel represented too you know. But goodreads clearly prefers the white books over queer books with people of colour.
I hope you guys realise how hurtful it is to see books with poc main characters constantly getting dragged over the tiniest details on goodreads.
AND MAYBE I’m over reacting you know. Maybe it’s all in my head but I loved this book and I felt seen and represented and that’s what matters the most.
5 stars <3
Of course this book wasn’t perfect the characters were a bit too intens here and there but honestly it was cute and exactly what I was looking for: a nice YA novel about two queer poc boys who at first hate one another.
I was just so happy to finally read a book that isn’t about two annoying white gays with their white gay problems but about two people of colour who face different issues. I was so happy that I could feel represented too you know. But goodreads clearly prefers the white books over queer books with people of colour.
I hope you guys realise how hurtful it is to see books with poc main characters constantly getting dragged over the tiniest details on goodreads.
AND MAYBE I’m over reacting you know. Maybe it’s all in my head but I loved this book and I felt seen and represented and that’s what matters the most.
5 stars <3
January 17, 2024
arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
Far too much going on and not quite what it was marketed as. Did not enjoy.
Far too much going on and not quite what it was marketed as. Did not enjoy.
August 18, 2023
CW: homophobia, bullying
It is beyond me how books like this are still written in 2021. I could write a page-long rant about all the things I disliked, but I'm not in the mood today. I wasted too much time on this anyway.
What I will say is, that I am SICK and TIRED of gay teens being miserable, having bigoted parents and falling in love with horrible people (hi, Theo).
Theo is one of the worst characters I have ever encountered. He is mean to everyone around him for no good reason. He is also straight up BULLYING Gabi for the majority of the book... how was I supposed to root for their relationship?
Every single character was super unlikeable and I did not care for any of them. The only thing I liked about this book was the writing style and the cover (so gorgeous!)
I did not enjoy Emery Lee's debut and this one was even worse. I will not pick up any more of eir books.
It is beyond me how books like this are still written in 2021. I could write a page-long rant about all the things I disliked, but I'm not in the mood today. I wasted too much time on this anyway.
What I will say is, that I am SICK and TIRED of gay teens being miserable, having bigoted parents and falling in love with horrible people (hi, Theo).
Theo is one of the worst characters I have ever encountered. He is mean to everyone around him for no good reason. He is also straight up BULLYING Gabi for the majority of the book... how was I supposed to root for their relationship?
Every single character was super unlikeable and I did not care for any of them. The only thing I liked about this book was the writing style and the cover (so gorgeous!)
I did not enjoy Emery Lee's debut and this one was even worse. I will not pick up any more of eir books.
June 24, 2022
Loved the ADHD and anxiety rep in this
May 12, 2022
A very frustrating and underwhelming book.
The blurb and the cover suggests it is a cute and sweet story, with baked goods, a rivalry and a whomesome romace. Nope. I can't recall another book in which so many characters are utterly unlikeable.
The parents?
Terrible, all four of them. From needlessly strict, bossy and condescending to downright bigoted, treating their kids like property or free labor, with zero care about their emotional state. And the sloppy redemption arc in the last part of the book doesn't really correct anything.
Gabi's friend Meli?
Obsessed with something trivial, acting as if her friends are her employees, with the emotional capacity of a teaspoon and a very selfish definition of "being supportive".
The main characters themselves? Theo is acting like a jerk to everyone. He is rude, dismissive and hostile for the better park of the book. Gabi needs therapy, he is semi-depressed, has terrible friends, doesn't stand up to his family even when they cross multiple red lines.
On top of that:
-the romance was very dry. There were no sparks, no butterfulies, no real connection. I never felt the characters falling in love.
-the author has no idea how football (soccer for Americans) works. There are no "points". If you can't kick the ball, you aren't in a high school team (not even in an elementary school team). You don't shoot with your toes.
-I really didn't like the term white girl being used as a scorn. And I'd usually just consider it an unlucky moment from the author, but this author uses this sort of expressions in this exact manner on social media. Not impressed.
The plot was also barely believable, a school where students can just waltz in and out of every class in the pretext of organizing a party (this Homecoming event)?
The only thing done right was Gabi's coming-out journey, and the presence of Justin. And an enemies-to-allies/friends storyline between Theo and Gabi (because the romance element was lackluster). Everything else is...messy.
The blurb and the cover suggests it is a cute and sweet story, with baked goods, a rivalry and a whomesome romace. Nope. I can't recall another book in which so many characters are utterly unlikeable.
The parents?
Terrible, all four of them. From needlessly strict, bossy and condescending to downright bigoted, treating their kids like property or free labor, with zero care about their emotional state. And the sloppy redemption arc in the last part of the book doesn't really correct anything.
Gabi's friend Meli?
Obsessed with something trivial, acting as if her friends are her employees, with the emotional capacity of a teaspoon and a very selfish definition of "being supportive".
The main characters themselves? Theo is acting like a jerk to everyone. He is rude, dismissive and hostile for the better park of the book. Gabi needs therapy, he is semi-depressed, has terrible friends, doesn't stand up to his family even when they cross multiple red lines.
On top of that:
-the romance was very dry. There were no sparks, no butterfulies, no real connection. I never felt the characters falling in love.
-the author has no idea how football (soccer for Americans) works. There are no "points". If you can't kick the ball, you aren't in a high school team (not even in an elementary school team). You don't shoot with your toes.
-I really didn't like the term white girl being used as a scorn. And I'd usually just consider it an unlucky moment from the author, but this author uses this sort of expressions in this exact manner on social media. Not impressed.
The plot was also barely believable, a school where students can just waltz in and out of every class in the pretext of organizing a party (this Homecoming event)?
The only thing done right was Gabi's coming-out journey, and the presence of Justin. And an enemies-to-allies/friends storyline between Theo and Gabi (because the romance element was lackluster). Everything else is...messy.
February 17, 2023
Gabi and Theo (well, mostly Theo) are sworn enemies thanks to their families owning competing bakeries. When both stores start to experience financial trouble, the boys have to put aside their differences to help their parents. Both Gabi and Theo feel a duty to their families, but also feel like deep disappointments to them--Theo, because he's gay and not the best student; Gabi, because he's secretly gay and not the star athlete his parents want. Gabi and Theo start selling food to their classmates to help.
This is a really cute, queer enemies to lovers story. It's a fast read (clocked in at 2.5 hours) too! I think Gabi might be one of the sweetest characters I've ever read about; he's just adorable. It took me a bit to warm up to Theo: I know this trope requires some "enemies," but Theo's early hatred of Gabi seemed almost too visceral and irrational for me.
I loved how CAFE deftly dealt with being gay, the fears of coming out, and the difficulty of not being accepted by one's friends and family. Neither Theo nor Gabi feel safe or appreciated, at times, with their families and the book can be really bittersweet and touching.
A lot of the problems in CAFE seemed to wrap up a little too easily for me, but overall this was a really sweet romance that covered difficult topics very well, while still being witty and fun! 4 stars.
This is a really cute, queer enemies to lovers story. It's a fast read (clocked in at 2.5 hours) too! I think Gabi might be one of the sweetest characters I've ever read about; he's just adorable. It took me a bit to warm up to Theo: I know this trope requires some "enemies," but Theo's early hatred of Gabi seemed almost too visceral and irrational for me.
I loved how CAFE deftly dealt with being gay, the fears of coming out, and the difficulty of not being accepted by one's friends and family. Neither Theo nor Gabi feel safe or appreciated, at times, with their families and the book can be really bittersweet and touching.
A lot of the problems in CAFE seemed to wrap up a little too easily for me, but overall this was a really sweet romance that covered difficult topics very well, while still being witty and fun! 4 stars.
August 29, 2022
compliments to the author, because it takes extreme talent to incorporate soccer, dancing, baking, business owning, and school committees into your book without doing research on a single one of those topics.
this book was not the most egregious thing i've ever read in my life, but i have read some pretty terrible shit, so. that's not saying much. where do i begin?
1. the characters are awful
- theo is a grade A douchebag for most of the book. being in his perspective was terrible - his hatred for everyone and everything was often unjustified and completely un-endearing. it was especially unfair how aggressively he hated gabi for, like, existing while being bad at soccer. also every conversation with his ~awful~ parents basically went like:
someone: hi theo
theo: ugh *eyeroll* whatever
someone: you're so disrespectful!
theo: GOD you guys just hate me because i'm not my brother! i'm not perfect okay! you expect too much from me!
- gabi is such a fucking doormat. i get it, you're shy, you're scared. i Get It. but the level of self hatred and self blame gabi had even in situations where the other person was clearly in the wrong was exhausting. and i didn't understand what he could possibly see in theo, considering how shitty he was to him for so long in the beginning of the book (and for years before that, we're told.) one sided enemies to lovers is not cute, it's just bullying, ya know?
- meli , gabi's best friend, is just an asshole. she only exists to scream at gabi over a project she supposedly doesn't actually care about, offer absolutely no moral support about anything ever, and then half ass an apology at the end, because that makes everything better.
- the parents ... you could basically replace theo and gabi's parents with stick figures and get the same effect. they do nothing for their supposedly dying businesses, nothing for their kids, and nothing for the plot besides yell at their (admittedly annoying, at least it theo's case) kids for being teenagers, and hate each other. like. y'all are small local businesses offering completely different products, why do you hate each other...? and each others' kids? never mind the racist comments they made about the other that went 100% unaddressed.
- justin , theo's best friend, i didn't actually think was that bad, but it felt like the author wanted to make him a little more complex than a side character, and then forgot to follow through, so any time worrying about him felt wasted.
2. the plot is weak as fuck, and riddled with plot holes
- the premise of the story is that gabi and theo's parents' businesses are dying out because of a new fusion cafe that offers a sort of merger of their two cultures - gabi's being a caribbean bakery/cafe and theo's being an asian one. in addition, theo's parents are facing pressure from his shitty uncle, who is an insanely one dimensional villain who owns both the shop and the apartments above it in which theo's family lives. meanwhile, gabi's parents received an offer to sell that they think is too good to pass up.
to combat this, theo and gabi decide to make extra money on the side to give to their parents so their businesses won't go under. thus begins an insane amount of plot holes that no amount of suspended disbelief could patch up.
plot hole A: the boys sell things at school (which is apparently illegal) by creating a website from scratch, overnight, and pulling people from class on "homecoming business", which the teachers all accept without a literal lick of suspicion. apparently they are also never needed in class, since they seem to spend nearly all day every day delivering food?
plot hole B: they also make and store the food at school, which no one notices until one day they do, because apparently if a teacher is not in a classroom, no other faculty or personnel ever walks by and sees or smells anything???
plot hole C: the parents have no suspicions about how they are coming into extra cash. they believe the boys are running "deliveries" - even though the concept of them working together implies fusing their businesses, which they are strictly against, and they have no online/mobile business model that supports deliveries - and yet they think nothing of the fact that none of their usual stock is missing to supply these deliveries. (this is in fact because the boys are making up their own shit, which the parents never clue in on, until surprise, apparently they do.)
plot hole D: this all started because of a fusion bakery, but after one scene where the boys (separately) scope out the competition, it is literally never seen or heard from again. somehow by the time corny, disney-style ending rolls around (more on that later), the fusion cafe doesn't even need mentioning. it's like the problem never existed in the first place.
plot hole E: at the end of the book, theo's parents decide to stick it to the uncle and tell him the shop is his problem, but he is literally their landlord, so couldn't he just evict them...? and then where would they be?
there's probably more that i'm forgetting, but let's move on.
3. the author knew nothing about what e was putting in eir story, and it showed
a. the story involves two bakeries, and yet we see no baking.we are told about baking several times, but we are given literally zero specifics about how anything is made. we are given a few names of pastries and drinks, and the rest of the time, it's generally just referred to as "orders."
b. the boys play soccer. gabi is painfully, unrealistically bad at it, but still, they both technically play soccer. we see multiple practices - including one on one sessions with the boys - and a game, and yet almost no soccer is explicitly shown, ever. the most we see is gabi trying (and usually failing) to kick a ball. that's it. the literal first thing you learn at six years old or whenever you pick up the sport, and apparently the only thing the author thinks soccer entails.
c. gabi (and later theo) dance, but we see no routine. not even, like, a pirouette or something. i think maybe there's a reference to a plié, but that's all. we're just told a bunch of mumbo jumbo about the ~themes~ of the pieces, and we are told about a few practice sessions. the end.
d. the parents own businesses. that is a thing that the story relies on. and yet, aside from theo counting money at the end of the night one time, and being told the parents are at the shop, nothing about running the business is ever shown, or even really touched upon. finances are referenced but never really delved into. neither family seems to have any employees outside of their children, who are at school and extracurricular too much to really be helpful in any way. gabi's parents postpone selling the store for an entire month because apparently business agreements don't mean anything. the shops are just completely lifeless, like a 2D background of a cartoon, so it made it difficult to care about them at all.
e. homecoming and homecoming committee. once again, we are told a lot about the committee. we are told that there are meetings, that meli is screaming about having "so much to do" before the dance, and that there are a few specific roles that people are assigned. but nothing more. i have no idea how many people are on the committee outside of gabi, meli, and one other named character. i have no idea what the point of the meetings were, other than to showcase meli being a dictating asshole. and when it came time for the dance, the committee apparently had nothing to do, because we don't see a single thing about getting the dance set up. in fact, we barely see the dance at all. the boys show up, dance for 2 seconds, and dip. within two paragraphs the dance is over. like, what?
4. everything was so cheesy
guess what, the bad people aren't so bad after all! except the uncle, who is allowed to remain the sole one-dimensional villain. everyone else sees the error of their ways and apologizes. the boys get together despite little to no chemistry. gabi overcomes his fear of being outed by outing himself to the entire school in one fell swoop, to literal applause. the shops get saved by - who could have guessed? - the parents realizing they are more than their differences, and deciding to merge into one collective bakery. how will this combat the competition of the fusion bakery, since all they did was effectively copy them? we don't know. we don't care! everything is hunky dory in disneyland. any nuance we possibly could have incorporated into the story is either negated by the character swinging aggressively in the other direction, or by beating the reader over the goddamn head with it.
and maybe this wouldn't have been the worst ending in the world if it didn't come with everything else on top of it all, but as it stands, it was just bland icing on the world's lamest, cheapest cake.
this book was not the most egregious thing i've ever read in my life, but i have read some pretty terrible shit, so. that's not saying much. where do i begin?
1. the characters are awful
- theo is a grade A douchebag for most of the book. being in his perspective was terrible - his hatred for everyone and everything was often unjustified and completely un-endearing. it was especially unfair how aggressively he hated gabi for, like, existing while being bad at soccer. also every conversation with his ~awful~ parents basically went like:
someone: hi theo
theo: ugh *eyeroll* whatever
someone: you're so disrespectful!
theo: GOD you guys just hate me because i'm not my brother! i'm not perfect okay! you expect too much from me!
- gabi is such a fucking doormat. i get it, you're shy, you're scared. i Get It. but the level of self hatred and self blame gabi had even in situations where the other person was clearly in the wrong was exhausting. and i didn't understand what he could possibly see in theo, considering how shitty he was to him for so long in the beginning of the book (and for years before that, we're told.) one sided enemies to lovers is not cute, it's just bullying, ya know?
- meli , gabi's best friend, is just an asshole. she only exists to scream at gabi over a project she supposedly doesn't actually care about, offer absolutely no moral support about anything ever, and then half ass an apology at the end, because that makes everything better.
- the parents ... you could basically replace theo and gabi's parents with stick figures and get the same effect. they do nothing for their supposedly dying businesses, nothing for their kids, and nothing for the plot besides yell at their (admittedly annoying, at least it theo's case) kids for being teenagers, and hate each other. like. y'all are small local businesses offering completely different products, why do you hate each other...? and each others' kids? never mind the racist comments they made about the other that went 100% unaddressed.
- justin , theo's best friend, i didn't actually think was that bad, but it felt like the author wanted to make him a little more complex than a side character, and then forgot to follow through, so any time worrying about him felt wasted.
2. the plot is weak as fuck, and riddled with plot holes
- the premise of the story is that gabi and theo's parents' businesses are dying out because of a new fusion cafe that offers a sort of merger of their two cultures - gabi's being a caribbean bakery/cafe and theo's being an asian one. in addition, theo's parents are facing pressure from his shitty uncle, who is an insanely one dimensional villain who owns both the shop and the apartments above it in which theo's family lives. meanwhile, gabi's parents received an offer to sell that they think is too good to pass up.
to combat this, theo and gabi decide to make extra money on the side to give to their parents so their businesses won't go under. thus begins an insane amount of plot holes that no amount of suspended disbelief could patch up.
plot hole A: the boys sell things at school (which is apparently illegal) by creating a website from scratch, overnight, and pulling people from class on "homecoming business", which the teachers all accept without a literal lick of suspicion. apparently they are also never needed in class, since they seem to spend nearly all day every day delivering food?
plot hole B: they also make and store the food at school, which no one notices until one day they do, because apparently if a teacher is not in a classroom, no other faculty or personnel ever walks by and sees or smells anything???
plot hole C: the parents have no suspicions about how they are coming into extra cash. they believe the boys are running "deliveries" - even though the concept of them working together implies fusing their businesses, which they are strictly against, and they have no online/mobile business model that supports deliveries - and yet they think nothing of the fact that none of their usual stock is missing to supply these deliveries. (this is in fact because the boys are making up their own shit, which the parents never clue in on, until surprise, apparently they do.)
plot hole D: this all started because of a fusion bakery, but after one scene where the boys (separately) scope out the competition, it is literally never seen or heard from again. somehow by the time corny, disney-style ending rolls around (more on that later), the fusion cafe doesn't even need mentioning. it's like the problem never existed in the first place.
plot hole E: at the end of the book, theo's parents decide to stick it to the uncle and tell him the shop is his problem, but he is literally their landlord, so couldn't he just evict them...? and then where would they be?
there's probably more that i'm forgetting, but let's move on.
3. the author knew nothing about what e was putting in eir story, and it showed
a. the story involves two bakeries, and yet we see no baking.we are told about baking several times, but we are given literally zero specifics about how anything is made. we are given a few names of pastries and drinks, and the rest of the time, it's generally just referred to as "orders."
b. the boys play soccer. gabi is painfully, unrealistically bad at it, but still, they both technically play soccer. we see multiple practices - including one on one sessions with the boys - and a game, and yet almost no soccer is explicitly shown, ever. the most we see is gabi trying (and usually failing) to kick a ball. that's it. the literal first thing you learn at six years old or whenever you pick up the sport, and apparently the only thing the author thinks soccer entails.
c. gabi (and later theo) dance, but we see no routine. not even, like, a pirouette or something. i think maybe there's a reference to a plié, but that's all. we're just told a bunch of mumbo jumbo about the ~themes~ of the pieces, and we are told about a few practice sessions. the end.
d. the parents own businesses. that is a thing that the story relies on. and yet, aside from theo counting money at the end of the night one time, and being told the parents are at the shop, nothing about running the business is ever shown, or even really touched upon. finances are referenced but never really delved into. neither family seems to have any employees outside of their children, who are at school and extracurricular too much to really be helpful in any way. gabi's parents postpone selling the store for an entire month because apparently business agreements don't mean anything. the shops are just completely lifeless, like a 2D background of a cartoon, so it made it difficult to care about them at all.
e. homecoming and homecoming committee. once again, we are told a lot about the committee. we are told that there are meetings, that meli is screaming about having "so much to do" before the dance, and that there are a few specific roles that people are assigned. but nothing more. i have no idea how many people are on the committee outside of gabi, meli, and one other named character. i have no idea what the point of the meetings were, other than to showcase meli being a dictating asshole. and when it came time for the dance, the committee apparently had nothing to do, because we don't see a single thing about getting the dance set up. in fact, we barely see the dance at all. the boys show up, dance for 2 seconds, and dip. within two paragraphs the dance is over. like, what?
4. everything was so cheesy
guess what, the bad people aren't so bad after all! except the uncle, who is allowed to remain the sole one-dimensional villain. everyone else sees the error of their ways and apologizes. the boys get together despite little to no chemistry. gabi overcomes his fear of being outed by outing himself to the entire school in one fell swoop, to literal applause. the shops get saved by - who could have guessed? - the parents realizing they are more than their differences, and deciding to merge into one collective bakery. how will this combat the competition of the fusion bakery, since all they did was effectively copy them? we don't know. we don't care! everything is hunky dory in disneyland. any nuance we possibly could have incorporated into the story is either negated by the character swinging aggressively in the other direction, or by beating the reader over the goddamn head with it.
and maybe this wouldn't have been the worst ending in the world if it didn't come with everything else on top of it all, but as it stands, it was just bland icing on the world's lamest, cheapest cake.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2022
Man, this book bummed me out a bit. The premise is great and this definitely needs to be on your list if you like enemies-to-lovers books that focus on the enemies part.
But there's just a lot of negativity in here (obviously for a lot of good reasons) and I wish there would have been a bit more light moments to balance out all the negative shit these two protags have to deal with on a daily basis (from their families, their peers, their so-called friends, their own internalized issues etc.). I kept having to set down the book because it made me sad, frustrated, annoyed..which shows it's great storytelling on Lee's part but you definitely need to be in the right headspace to read this one.
But there's just a lot of negativity in here (obviously for a lot of good reasons) and I wish there would have been a bit more light moments to balance out all the negative shit these two protags have to deal with on a daily basis (from their families, their peers, their so-called friends, their own internalized issues etc.). I kept having to set down the book because it made me sad, frustrated, annoyed..which shows it's great storytelling on Lee's part but you definitely need to be in the right headspace to read this one.
May 3, 2022
TW: homophobia, casual racism
I wasn’t really a fan of Meet Cute Diary, but I wanted to give this author another shot because this sounded good
Unfortunately, it was not 😅 An issue I had with MCD was that the main character was annoying and self absorbed and awful, so I hoped Cafe Con Lychee wouldn’t be like that
The book is told from two POVs and Theo was the absolute worst. Theo was just flat out mean to everyone for most of the book. Like, not just to Gabi, but to his own parents, to his best friend, to his brother. I wanted to slap this kid
Gabi, on the other hand, I liked! Though his shitty taste in friends is questionable 😅 Meli was unlikable from the first interaction for me, but when things start getting really rude, we’re supposed to believe she’s ‘just stressed over homecoming and usually not like this!' And Vivi also does a crappy thing (but it was an accident!! It just slipped out when I was trying to hurt her because she hurt me!!🙄)
The book is being promoted as YA romance but the romance is so dry and there’s zero chemistry. Theo is a massive jerk and I don’t see much, if any, growth from him throughout the book.
I also found the whole food delivery during school thing unrealistic af. Like how did the teachers not notice multiple kids getting pulled out of class ‘to discuss homecoming’ and then returning minutes later with food and/or drinks?!
So yeah, Yikes, I guess this author is really not for me 😬 However, I can see lots of people enjoying this, so don’t let me scare you away. I’ll definitely be passing on my copy to someone else who will hopefully find this more enjoyable than I did
Thank you to HCCFrenzy for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
I wasn’t really a fan of Meet Cute Diary, but I wanted to give this author another shot because this sounded good
Unfortunately, it was not 😅 An issue I had with MCD was that the main character was annoying and self absorbed and awful, so I hoped Cafe Con Lychee wouldn’t be like that
The book is told from two POVs and Theo was the absolute worst. Theo was just flat out mean to everyone for most of the book. Like, not just to Gabi, but to his own parents, to his best friend, to his brother. I wanted to slap this kid
Gabi, on the other hand, I liked! Though his shitty taste in friends is questionable 😅 Meli was unlikable from the first interaction for me, but when things start getting really rude, we’re supposed to believe she’s ‘just stressed over homecoming and usually not like this!' And Vivi also does a crappy thing (but it was an accident!! It just slipped out when I was trying to hurt her because she hurt me!!🙄)
The book is being promoted as YA romance but the romance is so dry and there’s zero chemistry. Theo is a massive jerk and I don’t see much, if any, growth from him throughout the book.
I also found the whole food delivery during school thing unrealistic af. Like how did the teachers not notice multiple kids getting pulled out of class ‘to discuss homecoming’ and then returning minutes later with food and/or drinks?!
So yeah, Yikes, I guess this author is really not for me 😬 However, I can see lots of people enjoying this, so don’t let me scare you away. I’ll definitely be passing on my copy to someone else who will hopefully find this more enjoyable than I did
Thank you to HCCFrenzy for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
June 6, 2022
Really nice Queer YA novel with enemies (although it was one sided but) to lovers rivals set in high school.
It was so entertaining and i couldn’t stop smiling. I liked the characters, even tho there wasnt any crazy character development because the book is short, which tbh could be a little bit longer to take time to develop their relationship and their personalities.
Theo was SOO MEAN sometimes I was like:
Omg he could be best friends with Regina George for SURE
Overall I liked the story very much, totally recommend
It was so entertaining and i couldn’t stop smiling. I liked the characters, even tho there wasnt any crazy character development because the book is short, which tbh could be a little bit longer to take time to develop their relationship and their personalities.
Theo was SOO MEAN sometimes I was like:
Omg he could be best friends with Regina George for SURE
Overall I liked the story very much, totally recommend
June 2, 2022
i loved this sO MUCH!!!
December 24, 2023
2.25, maybe
(update 2023, it’s 1 star)
It was so aggressively, violently mediocre. So predictable, we all knew what was going to happen at the end, what the climax and the “things fall apart moment” was going to be. I was bored out of my mind, and so completely aware that I was reading individual words on a page—I couldn’t picture anything.
Theo and Gabi had literally zero chemistry. The way their relationship developed made no sense, in my opinion. And I would forget whose perspective I was reading from because they both had the exact same voice, it was impossible to tell which pov I was reading.
Also, their friend dynamics made no sense. What they would get mad about… and how their fights happened?? I could not keep up with Justin’s mood changes about how much he loves Theo and then hates him and never wants to speak to him again, then how much he loves him. Meli was so annoying, but Gabi was honestly kind of the worst to her?? Like I did not feel bad for that man for getting completely scolded he deserved it. They both seem so toxic and like they actually hate each other.
And I hate the coming out to everyone and living happily ever after ending. Gabi was not ready to come out, and it’s so blatantly obvious that he’s pretty much forced into it because he’s guilty?? I guess. I felt so bad for him, and the homophobia was also so ever-present and really disgusting. And obviously homophobia is a real thing and should be talked about, but this felt so over the top and started to really take away from the story when it’s shown so much and is almost justified. Really did not enjoy that aspect.
To give something more positive about this book, though, was that I did like how Theo’s family dynamics developed. They all sort of healed together and really made an effort to work things out. I was a bit teary eyed when Thomas and Theo finally talked, and when Theo’s dad lent his suit jacket to Gabi.
But yeah, did not enjoy this one—and honestly, would not recommend it.
(update 2023, it’s 1 star)
It was so aggressively, violently mediocre. So predictable, we all knew what was going to happen at the end, what the climax and the “things fall apart moment” was going to be. I was bored out of my mind, and so completely aware that I was reading individual words on a page—I couldn’t picture anything.
Theo and Gabi had literally zero chemistry. The way their relationship developed made no sense, in my opinion. And I would forget whose perspective I was reading from because they both had the exact same voice, it was impossible to tell which pov I was reading.
Also, their friend dynamics made no sense. What they would get mad about… and how their fights happened?? I could not keep up with Justin’s mood changes about how much he loves Theo and then hates him and never wants to speak to him again, then how much he loves him. Meli was so annoying, but Gabi was honestly kind of the worst to her?? Like I did not feel bad for that man for getting completely scolded he deserved it. They both seem so toxic and like they actually hate each other.
And I hate the coming out to everyone and living happily ever after ending. Gabi was not ready to come out, and it’s so blatantly obvious that he’s pretty much forced into it because he’s guilty?? I guess. I felt so bad for him, and the homophobia was also so ever-present and really disgusting. And obviously homophobia is a real thing and should be talked about, but this felt so over the top and started to really take away from the story when it’s shown so much and is almost justified. Really did not enjoy that aspect.
To give something more positive about this book, though, was that I did like how Theo’s family dynamics developed. They all sort of healed together and really made an effort to work things out. I was a bit teary eyed when Thomas and Theo finally talked, and when Theo’s dad lent his suit jacket to Gabi.
But yeah, did not enjoy this one—and honestly, would not recommend it.
July 8, 2022
4⭐️
•to było tak urocze! poznawanie jest historii sprawiło mi takie ciepełko na serduszku!
•Gabi daje mi takie sunshine energy, a Theo grumpy guy 😅😅 ale no aaaaa!! IT WAS CUTE OKAY! I LIVE FOR THEM!
•pomimo że jest to jednotomówka wiem że zapadnie mi ona w pamięć i będę ją polecać!!!!
•przeurocza książka, fajna na lato… jedyny problem to że jestem głodna!
•tw: h0mof0bia
•to było tak urocze! poznawanie jest historii sprawiło mi takie ciepełko na serduszku!
•Gabi daje mi takie sunshine energy, a Theo grumpy guy 😅😅 ale no aaaaa!! IT WAS CUTE OKAY! I LIVE FOR THEM!
•pomimo że jest to jednotomówka wiem że zapadnie mi ona w pamięć i będę ją polecać!!!!
•przeurocza książka, fajna na lato… jedyny problem to że jestem głodna!
•tw: h0mof0bia
March 24, 2023
came for the cover, stayed for the book 🥹💛
May 12, 2022
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!
I haven’t been reading much YA or contemporary lately, but this enemies to lovers fusion food queer rom-com definitely caught my eye enough to take a chance. And if you’re looking for a fun, food-filled rom-com that will make you hungry, then you’ve come to the right place … enemies to lovers, though, not so much.
Our two protagonists are Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno, the sons of two rival businesses. Theo is hot-headed and the star soccer player; Gabriel is anxious and sticks to the sidelines. They’re polar opposites in every way, but forced to work together to save their family businesses. I liked both of them well enough — they’re both two sixteen year olds being crafty out of desperation and familial pressure, which I could empathize with.
Even though the romance is advertised as enemies to lovers, it’s really a one-sided dislike to lovers, so I found that aspect really underwhelming. I liked the slow burn, though, and that we saw their relationship to each other change (even if it felt faster than it should have been). I also liked the coming of age part with both boys finding themselves getting to know more about each other.
If you’re looking for a fun queer rom-com, Café con Lychee is definitely something to look forwards to.
I haven’t been reading much YA or contemporary lately, but this enemies to lovers fusion food queer rom-com definitely caught my eye enough to take a chance. And if you’re looking for a fun, food-filled rom-com that will make you hungry, then you’ve come to the right place … enemies to lovers, though, not so much.
Our two protagonists are Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno, the sons of two rival businesses. Theo is hot-headed and the star soccer player; Gabriel is anxious and sticks to the sidelines. They’re polar opposites in every way, but forced to work together to save their family businesses. I liked both of them well enough — they’re both two sixteen year olds being crafty out of desperation and familial pressure, which I could empathize with.
Even though the romance is advertised as enemies to lovers, it’s really a one-sided dislike to lovers, so I found that aspect really underwhelming. I liked the slow burn, though, and that we saw their relationship to each other change (even if it felt faster than it should have been). I also liked the coming of age part with both boys finding themselves getting to know more about each other.
If you’re looking for a fun queer rom-com, Café con Lychee is definitely something to look forwards to.
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June 10, 2022
This book has my whole heart.
What a delight each sentence was, and the way Lee weaved the plotlines was just *chef's kiss*
A Romeo & Romeo storyline that comes together to bring enemies together against gentrification and whyte appropriation. A coming out and coming of age book all about family and friends and finding yourself.
Full RTC.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review, but ended up listening to the audiobook from my library (highly recommend the audiobook!)
What a delight each sentence was, and the way Lee weaved the plotlines was just *chef's kiss*
A Romeo & Romeo storyline that comes together to bring enemies together against gentrification and whyte appropriation. A coming out and coming of age book all about family and friends and finding yourself.
Full RTC.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review, but ended up listening to the audiobook from my library (highly recommend the audiobook!)
June 23, 2022
SO CUTE. SO FUN.
It's got enemies to lovers, a foodie rivalry, adorable protagonists, explorations of sexuality and coming out from two differing perspectives, complex family dynamics, pining and so much delicious food. Funny, heartwarming, moving and utterly adorable, this is a trope filled (in a super fun, rom-com movie way), sweet and fun read and one I highly enjoyed.
TW: homophobia, racism
It's got enemies to lovers, a foodie rivalry, adorable protagonists, explorations of sexuality and coming out from two differing perspectives, complex family dynamics, pining and so much delicious food. Funny, heartwarming, moving and utterly adorable, this is a trope filled (in a super fun, rom-com movie way), sweet and fun read and one I highly enjoyed.
TW: homophobia, racism
May 10, 2022
The way this book made me cry on a plane 🥺, I’m fine, everything’s fine, haha, loool.
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