Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks for an early copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. I loved this book and read it in one sitting. I loved the storyline and the characters and thought they had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

I loved “A Bánh Mì For Two”! It was such a sweet story. I related a lot to Lan as someone who also blogs and who also is dealing with grief because of my dad. While Lan is working through the loss of her father, I am dealing with my dad losing his mind to dementia. It has affected my desire to write in a similar way to Lan and I felt so much kinship with her.

I loved the discovery the characters go through in their own ways throughout the story. The discovery of each other. The discovery of deeper understanding of their families and culture. The discovery of who they are and what they want for themselves in the future.

Vivi getting a better understanding of her family was bittersweet. I felt that generational trauma echo with her especially having to go behind her families back to go on the trip in the first place. It was good for her to discover the foods and culture her family had kept from her, but it also showed the deep strife with her family.

All in all, it was awesome to learn some bits about Vietnamese culture through this story. I also thought the sapphic romance was so adorable. This one is a great book to pick up for anyone who enjoys YA romances.

A heartwarming story of first love, food, and family.

It's nearly fate for Lan and Vivi to meet and fall in love. They both have family in Sài Gòn and cross paths through Lan's food blog, where she writes about her love for her city and the people and food that bring everyone together. Vivi, a Vietnamese American student who is obsessed with the blog and hopes to one day meet the author behind the posts, finds herself face to face with Lan when she stumbles upon Lan's lost notebook, connecting the dots to her favorite blog. Once they meet, sparks fly, and as they explore the city together, they come to terms with their family histories in Sài Gòn: of Vivi's mother's family that she left behind to move to America, and of Lan's family's grief after the death of her father. Lan wants to travel to broaden the scope of her writing and explore the world beyond her family's food stall, and Vivi wants to understand the truth about why her mother has never spoken about her extended family still living in Sài Gòn. With strong chemistry between the two leads, and the rich backdrop of Sài Gòn and the deliciously described food that brings these two young women together, Nguyen crafts a heartwarming story of first love and finding connections between the people, places, and food they love the most.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this ARC.

This was delightful, plenty of romance, good food and real life issues and diaspora. Balanced beautifully and packs a punch in a relatively short amount of pages. I wish there’d been more books like this when I was a teenager.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. A Bánh Mì for Two is cute sapphic romance that follows Vietnamese-American exchange student Vivi, and bánh mi street vendor Lan, as they navigate different family tensions and their complicated relationship to the city of Sài Gòn. There were several plots in this book, but I thought the strongest was Vivi's search for her maternal family, when the book delved into the toll of the Việt Nam War, and explored the reasons that Vietnamese families might've stayed in or fled from the country. Other than that, this was a typical YA romance, though I did appreciate the vibrant descriptions of Sài Gòn--it's clear how much the characters, and subsequently the author, love the city. I'm also so glad that publishers are releasing more books set outside the U.S. I'm excited to see what else this author has in store!

I feel bad DNFing this because it’s very cute. I just keep getting progressively more annoyed at how unlikely it is. Vivi goes to Saigon and IMMEDIATELY runs into the food blogger she idolizes, Lan. And so far Vivi has shown photos of her long lost family to two random shop owners Lan knows and both the owners know the family. Aren’t there like 10 million people in Saigon?

This is one of the first not fantasy romance books I've read, and I loved it! It was so charming and wholesome, my little heart is swooning.

I can't stop awww-ing about this book... Lots of yummy food, family history, self discovery, and romance... It was a quick and charming read... It made me want to travel to Vietnam to eat...

*A Bánh Mì for Two* feels like a love letter to Saigon and a hug for children of immigrants who struggle to find a place where they truly belong. The heart of the book lies in the two main characters, Vivi and Lan, whose individual qualities really made this story stand out. Vivi's bravery and determination were inspiring, while Lan's strength was admirable. The way they complemented each other so perfectly was incredibly sweet.

The third-act breakup was a bit predictable from the moment they met, but given that this is a short and sweet YA story, I wasn’t too upset by it. The Vietnam setting was another highlight for me. I loved experiencing the city through the eyes of both someone who has never been and someone who has known nothing else. Each perspective was distinct, and it has even inspired me to look at my own surroundings with a fresh perspective.

That said, I did find myself a bit bored at times. Vivi's quest to locate her mom’s family— with nothing but decades-old photographs in a city of 10 million— felt a little too easy. Throughout the book, Vivi spends nearly all her time with Lan, and we don’t really see her interacting with the best friend she came with or forming connections with other students. I honestly kept forgetting she was supposed to be there for school. There were also moments that seemed more focused on vibes (like the rainstorm motorbike scene) rather than further developing the characters. Those could’ve been better spent exploring their personalities or deepening their relationships.

Overall, *A Bánh Mì for Two* offers a heartfelt and immersive journey, but its pacing and character exploration left me wanting a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received this book through a giveaway hosted by Fierce Reads.

What a lovely queer romance! I loved reading about the developing romance between Vivi and Lan. I also liked hearing about both characters’ family relationships and how those changed.

The cutest 😭♥️♥️♥️ Love them so baddddd. Don’t really read YA romance but had to give this a try and I’m so glad I did. They’re everything to me

This cute little book was so good! It had so much information about Saigon and Vietnam. The descriptions of the food in the street stalls made me hungry just reading about them. I enjoyed the relationships between the family members and the girls in the book. It was fun to see how Lan and Vivi's relationship grew and progressed and the effect it had on those around them and in their families. I loved learning about Vietnamese history and landmarks in Saigon and District 2. I would really enjoy a book 2, I'd love to know what happens next!

I DNF'd this 20% in.
I couldn't get over all the forced coincidences and the characters' cookie cutter personalities.

This was an adorable book about two people from different worlds coming together. It is dripping with familial drama and expectations.

This is by far the cutes book I've read all year! I love the setting in Sai Gon, Viet Nam and I loved Lan and Vivi's relationship so much!

When the world feels like it's too much, you just want to read a book that feels like a hug. A Banh Mi for Two was that book for me. I loved exploring Saigon with these characters and it reminded me of my own study abroad experience.

Representation: Sapphic MCs, large portion set in Sài Gòn. One MC is Vietnamese, the other is Vietnamese-American

Rating: 4/5 An adorable story about two girls connecting through food and the blog that one of them writes, I really enjoyed learning more about Sài Gòn through the eyes of both a local and a visitor who has ancestry there. I kept shaking my head at the audacity of Vivi to lie to her parents and go to Sài Gòn rather than Singapore, but I would be frustrated by the lack of answers and knowledge about my parents’ past too. I liked that the feelings between Vivi and Lan developed slowly over time and wasn’t insta-love, even though they’re teenagers. I especially loved the parts when Lan was showing her city to Vivi, helping her learn more about her heritage and finding her family. I also like how supportive Vivi was of the blog and business run by Lan, very encouraging despite having no real stakes in what happens to them. This was a wonderful story about family, ancestry/heritage, and support.

This was the sweetest and most cozy romance story I have read in awhile. Nguyen manages to make Lan and Vivi have the best vacation ever while reconnecting with their culture. It is just a heartwarming story with some heartfelt moments.

A sweet, fluff-lined story of finding yourself in Saigon, starring a food blogger Saigon-native and a Vietnamese-American study abroad student trying to trace her family's roots. This book will make you hungry and eager to take your own trip to Vietnam.

I had trouble connecting with the characters and believing in the flames of their budding romance (thus, the three star rating) but I admit I might just not have been in the mood for a lighthearted story. This book manages to diligently tackle the very real, very hard to sit with reality of post-war Vietnam while not sacrificing the overall cheerful vibe of the book, which deserves commendation. That's a difficult balance to strike and this book does just that.

A perfectly detailed and cheerful read for YA romance devotees or anyone looking for a heartfelt YA contemporary centered around family and food.

3.5/5 This book was so sweet and romantic. I loved reading about Vietnamese food and how deeply connected Lan and Vivi felt to their cultures. Family conflict is biiiig in this book and I feel like it was handled with care. I think this is perfect for queer/sapphic young adult readers!