There is a lot to like about Family Recipe! I was really looking forward to reading it and the first 100 of pages or so had me super excited about the characters, stories, plot, everything. And then -- it just fell apart for me. It went on too long. Took too long for a resolution. The final scenes seemed to be imagined for the end of a film -- unrealistic and kind of dopey.

4 out of 5 banh mis <3

What I thought was going to be a sweet family coming of age story was that, and some more, because it was also lowkey a mystery???

Thank you, Carolyn, for creating this fascinating family, with broken backgrounds, and real feelings. I loved that it was narrated by all of the people involved, as we got to see what they were up to instead of hearing it from someone else.

It was beautiful, and while sometimes I didn't know where it was going, I enjoyed all of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC!

Family businesses are interesting. They can range from being amazing and bringing a family even closer to being a toxic environment where they are in a competition likened to a death match. When Duc decides to retire, he creates a competition of sorts for his estranged children. He pits them against each other in some ghastly ways. So many secrets, lies and he just sits back and watches, Lots of characters, subplots and insanity. Interesting, compelling and read. Upped to 4 stars from what would have been a 3.5 rating is half stars were available.

Thank you to Atria and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This is a sweet coming of age story about a family and what really matters. Jude, Jane, Bingo, Paulina and Georgia (all named after the Beatles-which I loved) are provided an opportunity to “win” their inheritance by trying to rehab the family business or get married but end up learning a lot about themselves and their immigrant parents who fought so hard to give them a certain kind of life. In the end, the children and their parents are forced to confront their past and ultimately come together for their future.

The story and overall message was great and timely, Where this book lost me was the pacing and execution. The story is told in likely too many POVs in long chapters that jump timelines. I found it confusing at times and the pacing itself was a struggle to keep me engaged.

Overall, a decent book with a sweet story about family, it just took a long time to get through due to the way it was presented. I would still read another book by this author,

(Actual: 3.75⭐, rounded up) Family saga-centric tales are not ones I tend to gravitate toward right off the bat, but this one caught my eye and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it! While I was initially worried that the quality in pacing would suffer due to how many POVs we follow throughout the course of the novel, and with flashbacks included/interspersed as well.... but I think Huynh did a great job; nowhere did I feel things were too bloated or thinly spread (and if there were such times, consider them insignificant in my eyes, as they did not negatively impact my reading experience at all), and there's strong character development to be found for all of our lovable MCs by the end. This would be a great book club read and I'd definitely recommend it out to others!

This book was a wild ride from start to finish, following the paths of 5 siblings over the course of a year while also dipping into the past to learn the history of their parents’ marriage. At the heart of this book is a fun plot device- a rich and distant Vietnamese father challenges his children to compete for their inheritance- his four daughters must attempt to revive four of his failing sandwich shops while his son must seek a wife. Whoever succeeds will be the sole beneficiary of their father’s will. However, the reality behind this challenge and the truth of their family’s history as they know it is not so simple and every character will learn quite a bit about themselves and their parents by the time the novel ends.

Overall, I found the premise very fun, if a bit zany and unrealistic. The cast of characters was sort of unwieldy but each of them was lovable and flawed in their own ways. The whole thing was quite charming but unfortunately somewhat clumsily executed. I think this book could really have benefited from being pared down a bit, character-wise, so the plot would feel less busy and so the reader could feel more emotionally invested in their stories. Overall, I’m glad I got to enjoy this very original, messy, and heartwarming family story. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing an e-galley of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I loved this book, for the humor, characters, history of an important chapter in our American story. The Tran children are all adults, still missing their mother, Evelyn, who left 20 years before. When their father, Duc, sends each of them letters which describe what they would have to do to get their inheritance, a year of challenges was undertaken by Jude, Jane, Bingo, Paulina and Georgia. Jude was assigned the task of finding a wife and getting married, while each of the daughters was given one of the banh mi stores to restore their success. During that year, they would discover much about themselves, but also the history that formed their Vietnamese parents’ attitudes and actions. I highly recommend this book, which I didn’t want to put down. Thanks to NetGalley for this gem.

Huynh writes about generational trauma and healing in the best way. From bickering siblings to reminiscing parents, Huynh captures all the ugly and beautiful parts of being a family.

She also highlights an important and painful part in Vietnamese diasporic history of persecution and prejudice from fishing towns and the KKK in the south.

Fantastic novel overall.

The Family Recipe offers an intriguing premise about family, inheritance, and legacy, but it falls into a bit of repetitiveness. Duc Tran’s eccentric challenge for his five children to revitalize his sandwich shops feels fresh at first, but as each daughter faces similar struggles with gentrification and personal issues, the story starts to feel a bit predictable. Jude's storyline, centered on whether he should marry for love or money, adds an interesting twist but suffers from the same repetitiveness. While the themes of rediscovering roots and family bonds are strong, the emotional beats don’t always evolve in unexpected ways. It’s an enjoyable read, but the story could have used more variety in its arcs to keep things from feeling too formulaic.
**rounded up from 3.5 stars**

Oooof. I did not finish this one. I found the writing to be very labored, overwrought, and cringy. For example: "It was as if someone did CTRL + C on their mother, and then CTRL + V four times to create exact replicas of one another: dark roots, strong jaws, big doe-eyes, and heart-shaped faces spotted with birthmarks, a near replica of Cassiopeia." Whew!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read this book.

I need this book to be opted as a series or film trilogy. I love reading books with representation that parallels me and I have never felt more seen than I did reading this book. For all 5 Tran siblings I felt like they all had facets of me, my heart ached for their individual tribulations and I was unbelievably heartbroken for Evelyn. This took my emotions all over the place and made me miss my Ba Nho.

Thank you Atria Books for my #gifted copy of The Family Recipe! #AtriaPartner #atriabooks #TheFamilyRecipe #CarolynHuynh

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐲𝐧𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝟒★

Carolyn Huynh’s sophomore novel, The Family Recipe, did not disappoint! This family dramedy about estranged siblings featured so many layers and was so rich with its complex characters. I loved the focus on finding your own roots and the focus on family and culture. Huynh did such a great job blending humor and heart and mixing in history. I knew nothing about the conflicts the Vietnamese fishermen faced in Texas with the KKK, but since reading this book, I have researched more about it and have learned so much more. I really enjoyed this book and found Huynh to be a delightful storyteller!

🥪Complex Characters
🥪Estranged Siblings
🥪Family Secrets
🥪Multiple POVs
🥪Vietnamese Culture & Traditions

Posted on Goodreads on April 4, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around April 4, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on April 4, 2025
**-will post on designated date

Duc came to America as a refugee from Vietnam and was determined to succeed. Years later, he owns a chain of Vietnamese sandwich shops, has five grown children, a missing first wife, and a second, somewhat absent and self-absorbed, wife. He's viewed by his community as an example of rags to riches success, but he's currently MIA and estranged from most of the kids. The premise of the book is Duc's hair brained scheme to possibly save the businesses and bring his kids together.
The siblings are also estranged from each other but come together to learn about Duc's plan. They're all given an assignment and the successful one will inherit Duc's full estate. But will they?
Stories of each of the siblings alternate with chapters about Duc's early years after arriving in the US, meeting Huey (his right hand man to this day) and their lives in a number of places, including Seadrift, Texas. This location was especially interesting because the story also then focused on Huey's involvement in the real life lawsuit of Vietnamese fishermen against the KKK.
Story-wise, and geographically, the book is all over the map, from California, to Philadelphia, New Orleans, Texas and Vietnam. Most of the characters are emotionally stunted and evidence of generational trauma is clear in all of the siblings. The Family Recipe went a little off the rails at the end, but overall, was an interesting novel about family relationships, racism, and the Vietnamese culture.
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read The Family Recipe. I was given a complimentary copy of the book and opinions expressed are completely my own.

This book just wasn’t for me. It is kind of corny and repetitive. I normally like slice of life stories but this one was so draggy and overwrought with sappy emotion.

I really enjoyed this messy family story, as well as the tragic historical background attached to it. I wish maybe there were less siblings, so there was more time and story to get develop an attachment.

Such a good family drama!! Really enjoyed this one and the author is now an auto buy for me. Highly recommend

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC!

OMG! I always get excited when there is a new Carolyn Huynh book. I fell in love with the stories Carolyn has written, and this is no exception. I knew it was a great story from the beginning, amd this took me not long to finish it. I can't wait for her next book!

I love a family drama. Give me a solid cast of characters and some family secrets, and I am in. The Family Recipe absolutely delivered on that, but it was also so much more. It was an exploitation of generational trauma and the Vietnamese diaspora. It explored the American dream and the all too real and ugly sides of America that often face immigrants and refugees. It looked at motherhood and familial relationships but also examined those within the context of being the child of immigrants. And though I’ve made it sound heavy, there are also moments of levity and humor. Huynh’s characters are beautifully developed (I just wanted to hug Georgia any time she was on the page), and I really enjoyed all of the different perspectives we were given, both in past and present.

I 100% recommend picking this one up. I’m so glad I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

A talented writer has the unique ability to draw you into a story and its characters, even when you’re initially reluctant to connect with them. With The Family Recipe, Carolyn has proven her depth and range as a storyteller. While The Fortunes of Jaded Women focused on the Vietnamese women’s stories and giving them a voice, The Family Recipe provides readers with some chapters from the male perspective while still putting the women mostly at the forefront. Here, Carolyn cleverly opts to change things up by using a third-person narrator for all the characters’ chapters in The Family Recipe except for Evelyn’s aka the matriarch. Historically, older Vietnamese women have been overlooked and/or silenced, so it is especially significant that Evelyn is the only character in The Family Recipe who is allowed to narrate her story directly to us, the readers. In books with multiple perspectives, you’d often find that you resonate with some characters more than others. For me, as an eldest daughter, I related so hard to Jane, while Jude was my least favourite character. Although every character was flawed and messy, I felt the least amount of sympathy for Jude, so much so that I took considerable satisfaction in seeing him get his much-deserved comeuppance. In light of that, it was still impressive to see the appreciation for the fact that when the eldest daughter joins forces with the only son, they create a formidable and nearly invincible duo.

Those familiar with Carolyn’s first novel will find that the Tran family easily rivals the Duong women in terms of chaotic family dynamics, miscommunication, and misunderstandings. The Family Recipe is bursting with so much for just one book! The present-day dysfunction of a modern family inheritance battle, the historical clash between the Vietnamese Americans and the Gulf Coast fishermen who were backed by the KKK, along with a looming mystery, could easily become a messy narrative when combined and in the wrong authour's hands. Fortunately, Carolyn manages to create a well-paced, compelling book that subverts expectations and manages to avoid the usual cliches that would have led to an overtly saccharine book. Unfortunately, though, once again I’m left wanting more of these characters after I’ve finished reading.