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zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Super cute!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Homophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
robinks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I missed Roque’s voice 🥲 This is a classic Romeo & Juliet story combined with enemies-to-lovers, both of which I am not a fan of. The cultural bits that were included resonated, but I worry about kids outside of the cultures represented using them to stereotype others. I also did not like how Gabi’s parents rationalized their homophobia, and Theo’s emotional development was a bit unbelievable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
arturo_luzen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying
bookishchef's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I certainly enjoyed it. Even if I thought some plot points felt a little contrived.
It was a really cute story and I related to Theo a lot. His friendship with Justin felt real and his relationship with his brother was so interesting to me (as someone who, in many ways, is more like Thomas instead of Theo).
Gabi's friends didn't get the same treatment though. Vivi didn't have much personality at all. And Mel was just being a bitch throughout the entire book. She was such a shit friend to Gabi? She just kept expecting more, kept expecting him to give up all of his time to help her with her homecoming stuff that he didn't even want to be involved with. She didn't ask him how he was doing once. Even though she knew his parents were homophobic and their shop was closing (this is literally in the blurb, so don't @ me about spoilers)
So yeah, a bit annoyed with Gabi's lack of nice friends.
And with the way the narrators pronounced "lychee".
And some other stuff that I'll talk about below the spoiler line.
Also let's not get it twisted: cafe con lychee sounds super gross. And I say that as a massive coffee and lychee lover.
☕☕☕
Bit disappointed that we don't find out what Theo is going to do after high school. He says it's likely he won't get into college. So, now what?
Also felt like many of the subplots came out of nowhere and went nowhere.
Vivi falling for Gabi, I can maybe understand. Since Gabi is our POV character and he just didn't notice it, so neither did the reader.
But Lady getting a new job? Gabi not being able to do ballet? That shit gets dropped halfway through. And although his parents are combating their homophobia now, does that mean they'll suddenly let him do ballet?
It was a really cute story and I related to Theo a lot. His friendship with Justin felt real and his relationship with his brother was so interesting to me (as someone who, in many ways, is more like Thomas instead of Theo).
Gabi's friends didn't get the same treatment though. Vivi didn't have much personality at all. And Mel was just being a bitch throughout the entire book. She was such a shit friend to Gabi? She just kept expecting more, kept expecting him to give up all of his time to help her with her homecoming stuff that he didn't even want to be involved with. She didn't ask him how he was doing once. Even though she knew his parents were homophobic and their shop was closing (this is literally in the blurb, so don't @ me about spoilers)
So yeah, a bit annoyed with Gabi's lack of nice friends.
And with the way the narrators pronounced "lychee".
And some other stuff that I'll talk about below the spoiler line.
Also let's not get it twisted: cafe con lychee sounds super gross. And I say that as a massive coffee and lychee lover.
☕☕☕
Bit disappointed that we don't find out what Theo is going to do after high school. He says it's likely he won't get into college. So, now what?
Also felt like many of the subplots came out of nowhere and went nowhere.
Vivi falling for Gabi, I can maybe understand. Since Gabi is our POV character and he just didn't notice it, so neither did the reader.
But Lady getting a new job? Gabi not being able to do ballet? That shit gets dropped halfway through. And although his parents are combating their homophobia now, does that mean they'll suddenly let him do ballet?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying, Racism, and Outing
The racism is not geared towards the main characters. Instead, it's geared towards the father of one of the main characters. It is only mentioned in passing, but it is there.paigem4rrie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying and Medical content
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
oh. oh this book is simply not the best </3 like its fine, dont get me wrong, but thats mostly because of the writing. i do enjoy emery lees writing, but the way e does plots and characterization...it leaves much to be desired. for instance, the plot for this book doesnt make much sense, and doesnt even play into the story all that much. why are a Puerto Rican bakery and Asian American café competing for customers in the first place??? thats never talked abt more than just mentioning that theyre both ethnic places which...is a bit of a stretch, in my opinion. and the whole competition thing is also not a strong point either because we come into these stories when BOTH places are starting to fail so the spirit of whatever competition there should be simply doesnt exist. the talk of tropes is also...well. they arent executed well at all. the biggest one is the 'enemies to lovers' trope but...theyre never really enemies. like...at all. gabi never really hates or even dislikes theo which makes it all very weak. and sure you could argue that theyre somewhat enemies because of the parents businesses, but its just not strong enough. it really isnt.
the supporting cast is also annoying. none of them are all that likeable and some are downright horrible. i dislike gabis parents the most (for obvious reasons) and most everyone else are just...there. justin is fine even if he doesnt really do anything, and vivi is alright, but meli is irritating. overall, not a lot of good characters!!!
oh, and just something that bugged me is that theo's parents didnt even know who gabi was when they went to pick theo up when he sprained his wrist. like...their families supposedly have this rivalry between each other because of the businesses, but they dont even know who their rivals son is...? that made no sense to me at all. shouldnt they have at least seen him ONCE?? very strange
i do appreciate what this book is trying to do, i do!!! and its a very good thing because we need books like this for teen readers today, but it would be so much better if this book was executed better.
the supporting cast is also annoying. none of them are all that likeable and some are downright horrible. i dislike gabis parents the most (for obvious reasons) and most everyone else are just...there. justin is fine even if he doesnt really do anything, and vivi is alright, but meli is irritating. overall, not a lot of good characters!!!
oh, and just something that bugged me is that theo's parents didnt even know who gabi was when they went to pick theo up when he sprained his wrist. like...their families supposedly have this rivalry between each other because of the businesses, but they dont even know who their rivals son is...? that made no sense to me at all. shouldnt they have at least seen him ONCE?? very strange
i do appreciate what this book is trying to do, i do!!! and its a very good thing because we need books like this for teen readers today, but it would be so much better if this book was executed better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racism, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pey333's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i think i may be outgrowing the YA romance genre unfortunately—this was just too juvenile for me. like the climax being homecoming… stop. and lots of angst which isn't my cup of tea. but if you're looking for a great YA queer love story with football/soccer/rugby, Heartstopper!! that said, i do appreciate the diversity because i recently wrote in a review (for Chef's Kiss) that "i am tired of reading queer romances about skinny/ripped white men."
cover design is easily five stars.
cover design is easily five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
literacybirds's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book has me speechless, 100000000/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying
fanboyriot's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was absolutely adorable. The rivals to lovers trope is always a favorite of mine and this book did that so nicely. I loved the characters so much, having the switching POV and seeing a different perspective was really well done as well. It was a lighthearted and fun read, the angst was really light, and the humor was great. I seriously loved this book so much, highly recommend reading it!!
Cafés
Lighthearted
Happy Ending
Rivals to Lovers
Good Friendships
Cafés
Lighthearted
Happy Ending
Rivals to Lovers
Good Friendships
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Cursing and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Bullying