Thank you so much for the ARC of this novel. It was such a sweet read! It was really cute and satisfying to read. It was very typical high school romance type deal. Very much dealt with things that high schoolers deal with. Especially pressures from family to succeed and do this and that. It was cool that our main character was a guy and that we focused on his perspective! In this type of book, it just worked. And it was really fun! Our cast of characters were all unique and cute, and just had quirks that I adored. They were a lovable bunch. And our heroine? What a fun character to make. She was spicy, she was sassy, super lovable even though she didn't want anyone to think so. It was a really great story about saving this cafe along with forging a path that our main character wanted for himself, even if he didn't know it right away. Very fun time.

I love the cover and plot of the book! I wasn’t able to finish it though for personal reasons but I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Gist
River Langston-Lee (Korean-American) is starting his senior year of high school off strong. After dumping his girlfriend, walking out on his SATs, and quitting his job at his parents’ café, he finds himself in need of a job. Enter Bingsu for Two, a local competitor Korean café staffed with a chaotic mix of personalities. When River takes a job at this failing café, he doesn’t think his life can get much worse. But when he accidentally uploads a video to his public Instagram account with the hashtag #Ihatemyjob, it becomes a viral sensation overnight, launching River, the co-worker-he-can’t-stand Sarang, and the rest of the staff of Bingsu for Two into the spotlight… exactly where River doesn’t want to be.

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What I Enjoyed…
One of the most beautiful things about this book is the characters. While River and Sarang are the main leads, the book has a decent amount of secondary characters who all have their own unique personalities and identities (gay, lesbian, Black, Filipino). Sometimes, books that feature a group of characters and the found family dynamic can feel forced, as if the author is attempting to appeal to a big cross section of readers with “trope” characters. However, Sujin Witherspoon’s characters all feel fleshed out, thoughtful, and, most importantly, needed for the plot and River’s own growth.

The bulk of the book takes place in Sarang’s family café Bingsu for Two, making the reader feel they are also part of the new found family River has discovered at the café.

Witherspoon incorporates several different writing styles. The Instagram videos River films are all scripted like actual screenplays. There are text conversations peppered throughout. And, as River is involved in fandom and social media, there are plenty of nods to online culture such as an AO3 excerpt of a fanfiction someone writes about River and Sarang, Instagram and X postings, and live chats.

Even if the reader is able to see River’s downfall coming, you stay reading because of the shenanigans, the mounting lies, and the personality dynamics that keep the plot fresh and moving forward. River’s struggles are universal: go along with what everyone else wants and expects of him even if it won’t make him happy or attempt to find happiness and purpose despite it possibly also causing pain, hardship, and the disapproval of others? River is relatable to any reader.



Thoughts & Critiques...
This book was so much fun; I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like!

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Other Thing(s)
*A male narrator in a YA contemporary romance book! I feel like there isn’t enough of this in YA.
*Love all the social media tie-ins. There’s an actual AO3 reference in this book.
*I squealed at the Hana Yori Dango reference.


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Final Thoughts
5 stars. Why are you reading this review when you could be reading this amazing book? I honestly can’t recommend this book enough!

While this book was a typical ya romcom, it was sweet and I enjoyed reading it. Nothing groundbreaking, but at least it wasn't boring and sad! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this title, I hope to read more from this author in the future!

River Langston-Lee is having a rough week: dumped by his girlfriend, bombed his SATs, and quit his parents’ cafe in an epic meltdown. Desperate for a new start, he lands a job at Bingsu for Two, a struggling Korean cafe. But his fresh start comes with a catch—Sarang Cho, the short-tempered, goth co-worker who’s as prickly as she is dedicated to saving her family’s business.

When River inadvertently uploads a video of the chaotic cafe crew to his popular fandom account, it goes viral, sparking online fame. To keep the buzz (and customers) flowing, River and Sarang must fake a budding romance, much to the delight of their new Internet fans.

However, things get complicated as River’s family cafe threatens to undermine Bingsu for Two’s success. As his feelings for Sarang deepen and his new life starts to feel like home, River must decide: will he follow the path laid out by his parents or fight for the cafe—and the girl—that has become his sanctuary?

Tropes
🍜Enemies-to-lovers
✨Fake dating
🍜Workplace romance
✨Found family
🍜Opposites attract

The book is sweet and funny, from its characters to its deeply relatable themes of identity and self-discovery, this book is as refreshing as Bingsu. River is charismatic, with messy life and self-deprecating humor. His journey from a directionless teen to someone finding purpose and belonging. Sarang, with her green hair and tough-as-nails attitude, is an equally compelling character. Their opposites-attract chemistry crackles from their first confrontation, and their slow progression from bickering coworkers to something more feels both authentic and deeply satisfying.

The backdrop with its quirky and chaotic energy, adds a unique charm. The cafe feels like a character in its own right, and with the delicious Korean treats.Underneath the humor and romance, the book tackles important themes—family expectations, cultural identity, and the courage to forge your own path.

Perfect for anyone who loves a side of cultural depth with their romance, this book is as delightful as a perfectly crafted bingsu.✨

What a fun read!
You can always get me to read a book if it has food in it and the unique setting of two Korean cafés battling it out was a lot of fun.
I loved the friendship group in this one and the fact that we get to see this story through a male POV. I feel like that is very unique in the YA age range.
Couldn’t get enough of this book.
(And it made me look up the nearest Bingsu café - which is sadly still rare here in Germany, but I FOUND ONE in Hamburg that I will visit very soon!)

"Her love turned me brave enough to ask the question, and the answer all along has been her."

River Lee and Sarang Cho have my heart, and I’ll forever scream that!

The story starts with River having the worst day of his life—walking out of his SATs, breaking up with his girlfriend, and quitting his job at Café Gong. Fortunately, he gets another job courtesy of his best friend. There’s one catch: his co-worker, Sarang, is the girl he encountered at the café when he quit his job. To make things more interesting, the café belongs to Sarang’s family.

Sarang. This woman is literally the definition of a huge softie on the inside, but I’ll never understand why she was so rude to River during their first interaction. As time goes by, it becomes clear how much she truly cares for the people around her and her family’s business. Hands down to her for being so willing to sacrifice her dreams just so her sister could pursue hers.

River. It’s heartbreaking how misunderstood his character is. He doesn’t know what to do with his life, and the pressure from his parents just makes everything harder for him. Give him a break—he’s only 17! He’s not supposed to have everything figured out.

I truly enjoyed how this story focused on River’s journey to find himself rather than solely on their romance. I believe many teenagers and even adults can relate to River’s struggles. Living a life trying not to be a disappointment is hard because you’re sacrificing yourself for others’ validation. What also made it so good was the found family and the relationship between River and Sarang.

Overall, this book was such a good read, and I definitely would’ve finished it quicker if I didn’t have school responsibilities. The main characters were so cute, and I love them so much, including all their friends. The found family in this book made everything feel so special.

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book so much! I instantly felt so immersed into this story and it played out like the teen rom-com of my dreams. Add in all the kpop references and all of the food and it was pure perfection. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Please give this one a go if you also love:
•Fake dating
•Grumpy FMCs
•Scavenger hunts
•AO3
•Evil exes
•Seattle😍

Thank you so much to Union Square and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for this ARC!

TO be completely honest, the first 15-20% of this book was a bit difficult to get through. It felt really chaotic and all over the place. When the story finally sorted itself out, it was so sweet. A great enemies to lovers, new-age young romance centered around bingsu/coffee, social media, friendship, and family. I rarely ever read books from the MMC's pov that is not duel perspective, but this was a nice change.

I would've eaten this book up back in middle/high school days. Now as an adult, this was a sweet story.

This book was so chaotic, with so many problems that River knowingly gets into, and with a colourful cast of characters that adds so much zest to the book. Bingsu for Two was genuinely a fun read. From the witty and amusing first person narration (the titles of the chapters were literally gold), to the unconventional characters and their misunderstandings (don't worry, they get cleared up as soon as they arise)— Bingsu for Two was like a whole package of punchy YA fun.

Manse March #2

Frankly, I would've loved this in my youth. And before you tell bitter, jaded old me to stop reading YA, every now and again, one surprises me. That's not to say I didn't like this. I liked the idea of it. The title? The art? How Seattle coded it is?

I hate how often enemies-to-lovers is used to sell a book. River and Sarang (kind of a cringe name imo) aren't enemies. They're just kids that semi-dislike each other. River is an annoying little hybrid. Maybe not little. He's actually quite tall. And Sarang is quite small. I love a height difference. And an Asian American goth girl. Speaking as a former one. Sort of. Or was I more of an emo kid?

Anyway. River's parents own a chain of so-so coffee shops. He starts the story off co-managing one with his ex-girlfriend, who he has broken up with offscreen. Not sure why this is offscreen, as so much of the plot revolves around setting the scene, play-style, and AO3-style fanfic. No, really. This is also very fanfic coded.

River and Sarang meet when she and a friend pop into one of River's parents' coffee shops, the one he manages. Shit goes down. It's filmed, because why not? And then blasted all over social media, because Gen Z has no chill. Not that millennials have chill. Actually, no one has chill. Is chill. I can't English.

So people start shipping River/Sarang. Sarang happens to be part of the family that owns Bingsu for Two, a small Korean American coffee shop in slight competition with River's parents'. After the shipping fiasco, and other things, River ends up working there. They fake date for social media, to drive business to this small shop. It works, because the youth are sluts for social media. Actually, I'm not a youth, but I'm also a slut for social media.

Where was I going with this? Ah, yes. So while jaded old me didn't have the best time, she still had a good time. There will definitely be a market for this. Asian American? Gen Z? Been to Seattle? Like coffee? And drama? This may be for you. This probably is for you. Go read it.

Book pairing: FRANKLY IN LOVE

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon!

This was a fun, fresh YA romance about two teens trying to save a cafe—and using their viral romance to do so! Delightful voice, page-turning pacing, and satisfying character arcs.

Chaotic. "Bingsu for Two" was chaotic. This book definitely has some genuine laugh out loud moments. There are also parts that are pretty cute. At the 75% mark is where it just went downhill for me. Drama. Pure drama. I feel like this will be a hit with the kids. Gosh, it's making me feel so old. I'm just trying to remember if I was this messy as a teen. Maybe I am just out of touch with the young adult genre. YA is such an interesting category. Sometimes you'll find a great book that would be decent enough for any age to enjoy. Other times (most of the time for me) you feel like, "What am I even doing here?". Maybe it's just me. Haha

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

✨ Bingsu For Two by Sujin Witherspoon✨

Shut the front door - Bingsu for Two is so espresso-ly cute!! I was immediately drawn into this adorable cover (can we talk about how good it is?!?) and stayed for the coming of age + coffee fueled + enemies to lovers romance! We follow River & Sarang as they brew up delicious beverages, navigate their impending adulthood, find their own way, manage their newfound social media fame, form friendships and discover something beautiful.

✨ Enemies to Lovers
☕️ Korean Cafe
✨ Social Media Vlogging
☕️ Coming of Age
✨ Family & Friendship
☕️ Coffee, Coffee & More Coffee
✨ Finding Yourself

Bingsu for Two was such a fun read and a fantastic debut by Sujin Witherspoon! I’m so excited to see what they have up their sleeve for their next book!

Thank you so much TBR & Beyond Tours & Union Sq for sending a copy my way!

What makes this book sooo good was just the dynamic between all the characters. It honestly shows a very realistic coffee shop setting which I was impressed by, and all the things that can go right and wrong working with a bunch of friends. Cause you know when you’re young, you don’t take things too seriously and don’t necessarily have to work (that) hard. But when their shop goes viral and they have customers lining up all the way down the street, it’s time to move to ass!!!

I loved Sarang’s strong personality, she’s cold and protective of her family. She’s sceptical of River and doesn’t trust him. I wish we got to see move of how she gradually came out of her shell. River on other hand, seems fun and bubbly on the outside but he’s really having a hard time. He felt like an outcast in his own family, but eventually found a place where he belonged.

The social media side of the story was a lot of fun too! When their video goes viral, they jumped on the trends quickly and continued to gain such a big following by turning their cafe into a personality.

I was really impressed with this one, as I was smiling and giggling the whole time. Also I LOVE books from the male’s POV (he fell first and HARD hehehe) 🫣 there were a lot of heartfelt and tender moments too, especially when it comes to reconciling with family.

This is a delightful read for fans of witty banter, found family, and enemies-to-lovers romance, who will adore the charming and humorous exploration of identity, community, and the power of love and acceptance in the vibrant world of a quirky Korean cafe.

this was such a cute read. loved the banters, fake dating, and found family. even though the characters were still in high school, their personality and mindset are mature for their age, i really like the character growth and development in this book.

Since I am a confessed lover of all things Korean, I jumped at the chance to review this. And Bingsu is one of my favorite desserts from my favorite Korean BBQ place Yummy’s! (The mango is the best!)

The book begins with River having an extremely bad day that gets worse and worse. He has his “life planned out” and I love that he decided he’d had enough and wanted to go his own way. River’s journey was my favorite! There are so many tropes I adore in this book. Enemies/rivals to lovers is a big one and workplace fake dating.

Sarang (사랑, yes I did those characters myself!) and River have some great banter. I highlighted line after line. Mix in some really funny moments and you’ve got a great YA romcom. (And I love the shoutout to BTS, Felix and some other Kpop groups.) The chapter headings were fun too.

I appreciate the Korean throughout the book. (I am learning, so this was fun for me.) It’s a book full of quirky, enduring characters, and I enjoyed the one POV of River. I enjoyed the way the videos are written into the book and how they brought them together as a group. River is flawed and has a lot he’s taking on. I felt the ending fit the story well.

I received a NetGalley link and a paperback from the publisher. All views are my own. There is a lot of language I didn’t think was necessary.

River and Sarang had a not-so-cute-meet on the day he quit his parents cafe. Their dislike grew tenfold when River joined Bingsu for Two (cafe) where she was the co-manager.

River liked his new job though. It was a family run business that hadn’t become a corporate chain unlike his parents cafe, Cafe Gong.

Bingsu for Two took off after River accidentally posted a video of him being trained by Sarang on his fandom account. It made them famous overnight and also boosted their business, which was previously doing bad thanks to Cafe Gong.

River capitalised on the situation and started catering to the cafe’s online audience. Sadly for him and Sarang, the netizens ate up their interactions more than what the cafe had to offer. They started fake dating to help out the cafe. They still couldn’t stand each other, but pretending to be in love started to blur the line between hate and love.

Although I’m not a fan of reading about social media in fiction, it suited this story well. Sometimes, like Sarang’s cafe, the algorithm could be a boon to small business on the internet. But it could also be their bane as people were quick to jump to conclusions.

Altogether, Bingsu For Two lived up to my expectations. It’s been a while since I laughed reading a romance novel but this one had me giggling and kicking up my feet in the air. It was very k-drama coded in the climax but it also brought out the slow-burn, dislike-to-love trope in a cute way. Definitely recommend it. It’s going straight up my list of favourite reads of the year.


Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and TBR and Beyond Tours for the DRC of the book!