Book Review | Café con Lychee

From the author of Meet Cute Diary comes a delectable rom-com that’s brimming with zest and a sprinkle of sweetness. A must-read for fans of Casey McQuiston and Julian Winters.

Theo Mori and Gabriel Moreno have always been at odds. Their parents own rival businesses-an Asian American cafe and a Puerto Rican bakery-and Gabi’s lack of coordination has cost their soccer team too many games to count.

Stuck in the closet and scared to pursue his own dreams, Gabi sees his parents’ shop as his future. Stuck under the weight of his parents’ expectations, Theo’s best shot at leaving Vermont means first ensuring his parents’ livelihood is secure. 

So when a new fusion cafe threatens both shops, Theo and Gabi realize an unfortunate truth-they can only achieve their goals by working together to cook up an underground bakery operation and win back their customers. But can they put aside their differences long enough to save their parents’ shops or will the new feelings between them boil over?

Thank you to Harper360YA for providing me with a proof copy of Café con Lychee to read and review.

I don’t typically read many contemporary YAs, unless there is something that particularly draws me in. In this novel’s case it was a combination of a queer romance, and 2 rivals from cafes that made me convinced I would love it! I am so excited to share that I absolutely loved this novel as much as I hoped I would.

In Café con Lychee we meet Theo and Gabi, who’s parents run competing cafes in a small town. When a new fusion cafe opens in town and starts to take their customers, Theo and Gabi have to work together to try and get their parents’ customers back. As they start to work together they begin to develop a friendship, and maybe something more?…

I loved this novel! Both Theo and Gabi were really likeable main characters. I think Lee got the teenage characters voices perfectly. They have all the worries that teens have, and I thought the characters were very teenage-like. Both Theo and Gabi overthink things, and have a tendency to jump very quickly to conclusions.I thought they were both very well developed characters, and Lee captured the teenage voice perfectly.

The relationship between the two boys starts off slowly, Theo really doesn’t like Gabi at the beginning, and it was really sweet to see Theo change his mind as he got to know Gabi, and to see Gabi come out of his shell around Theo. I love both of them!

The family relationships in the novel are very complex, I think it’s important we have these family dynamics represented in YA. Gabi’s family are homophobic, and made him feel that he couldn’t be open around them about his sexuality. This is the case for many teens, so it’s important representation for them. Although the relationship between Gabi and his parents does change towards the end of the novel, I’m really glad that it doesn’t just get magically resolved. I think that would’ve felt cheap to me, and unrealistic.

The wider cast of young people in the novel are very interesting, and all come fully developed into the story. Although I enjoyed the full cast of the novel, I only really loved Theo and Gabi, I didn’t really find myself attached to any of the others. Though I didn’t mind this because I was only really reading it for them main romance anyway!

I really loved the food element to this novel. I have a particular soft spot for YA novels with heavy food elements! The talk of boba tea actually made me go out and buy one because I was craving one so badly! The talk of buns and teas definitely increased my enjoyment of the novel!

Overall I really enjoyed Café con Lychee, its a wonderful YA romance. I think this is a perfect summer read, with 2 lovely leads who are impossible not to fall in love with! If you enjoy Becky Albertalli or With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo.

Pre-order from Bookshop.org or Waterstones

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