This is the author's second book, and in my opinion it is much improved over the first one (which I also loved). The writing seems much more structured, and even with all of the POVs it flows very well. I always love stories revolving around immigrant families and food, and adding a big family secret to it always ups the stakes! This story was no different, there were so many similarities between the Trans and my family that I could have been reading about my own cousins. Some of the characters aren't very likeable but that's how things are in real life as well!

Overall a very solid and enjoyable read.

This book was interesting, but I didn' t enojy it as much as the author's debut novel. The pacing seemed somewhat off. There were multiple different plot lines that didn't really seem to go anywhere. The first two-thirds of book felt slow, and then there seemed to be a rush to finish in a way that didn't really seem to tie everything together. The mystery of the mother's character was unmasked, but I didn't feel connected enough to any of the characters to care.

Having married into a Vietnamese family and enjoyed my fair share of Bellaire-sourced bánh mì, I had high hopes for this book. The family drama does deliver, but the characters are too negative for me to continue reading. If you don't mind that and enjoy reading about the legacy of refugees trying to achieve the American Dream, then I recommend this book to you. Carolyn Huynh captures the complex emotions the Vietnamese faced upon arriving in the US, plus what it was like for the next generation to grow up in poverty yet achieve prosperity over time.

Special thanks to the Publisher, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

For me, the best thing about this book was learning more about how the Vietnamese refugees lived in America both in the near past and the present. I wish the author would have had more details about this rather than more about the characters. The characters were all unlikable, but since they were representing a traumatized and dysfunctional family, that kind of makes sense. And they do seem to slowly be going towards redemption.
It's the kind of story that could have been written about any ethnic group so, yes... the details of the Vietnamese culture really were the best part. I also liked how we traveled to all of the different cities and the fact that it was a mystery of sorts. But could such a thing really happen? Did it happen? I will be watching for the next book from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My three stars is really 3.5 or even 3.75.

Duc Tran, the founder of the national Vietnamese chain Duc’s Sandwiches, is retiring. In order for his five estranged children to get their inheritance, they must revive failing shops in Little Saigon locations. As for his firstborn son, he needs to get married within a year.

The inheritance game is what propels the plot and the mystery behind one character's disappearance makes the narrative juicy. I love the concept of family business plus there's something precious about immigrant food - one follows the Tran siblings, their interactions a cacophony of chaos. Huynh is gifted at crafting messy characters, whose authenticity overshadows even the unlikable nature. In this inheritance scheme, they need to find themselves again while searching for a purpose together.

Jumping between past/present and different POVs, I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of the story in which one dives into Duc's past and understands the motives behind his actions. Huynh covers legacy, generational trauma, racism, abandonment, diasporic experience, love and belonging with a hilarious touch. My critiques are that I wish the POVs were more distinct and I was personally more invested in the family mysteries than their personal journeys.

The story is emotionally laden when questioning the meaning of home through characters trying to figure out how family works. This is a beautiful journey punctuated by invisible threads and the author, ultimately, invites the reader to find joy again and celebrate small wins.

THE FAMILY RECIPE is the epitome of a family's brokenness - it's about rediscovering one's roots and I, like the characters, learned to be vulnerable. I had a good time with this family drama that made me crave bánh mì.

[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Atria books . All opinions are my own ]

After having loved the ARC of The Fortunes of Jaded Sisters, I ran to request this ARC. The Family Recipe combines complicated family relationships, humor, and a strong sense of place. This book did not disappoint!

Duc Tran, the patriarch of the Tran family, who built a fortune and a gaudy mansion on a chain of banh mi shops spread across the country. While the banh mi shops peaked ages ago, Duc retained his fortune. To win it, the Tran children must each compete against each other in their respective quests. The four daughters are given one banh mi shop each, in different cities and challenged to make them profitable. The spoiled only son is challenged to get married. They have one year.

The author skillfully weaves the history of Vietnamese Americans throughout this entertaining story. She explores some of the earliest Vietnamese refugees, who worked on fishing boats in Texas, alongside the following waves of immigration and small businesses that these Americans built. While the relationships are complicated, Huynh succeeds in bringing some of the lightheartedness and laughs that made me love The Fortunes of Jaded Sisters.

Great book. Thanks Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by Huynh. It was VERY GOOD!! I was invested from Chapter 1. I really wanted to know why Evelyn left, and what the big secret was. I was not disappointed. This book was really amazing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

When the famed Duc Tran of the bánh mì chain Duc's Sandwiches brings his five estranged children together to announce his retirement. Only, their shifty family lawyer is there with the children and their father has fled to Vietnam. The incredulous terms of their inheritance are as follows: the four daughters (Jane, Bingo, Paulina and Georgia) must take over a failing Duc's Sandwiches restaurant in one of four far flung American cities. The son, Jude, has to get married. Duc has pitted the five adult children against each other in an all or nothing sweep for the family jewels.

Their mother has been estranged and missing--walking out over two decades ago. Duc really never knew how to parent after that--leaving the Tran's starved for intimacy. Belive me, this sets the stage for some absolutely ridiculous family drama. But, even better, there is a historical fiction flashback component involving hate crimes again Vietamese fisherman in the 1980s involving the KKK. Carolyn Huynh definitely did her homework, and I was truly enlightened by this piece of seedy American history.

Yes, there are a LOT of characters and many are unlikeable. There is a lot to love about them though, and it's worth the effort to get to know them. I read the print version; however, because of the multiple timelines and POV (we have over a dozen named characters to keep up with) I feel like this would be better in print format.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this one! This one hits shelves April 1, 2025.

Carolyn Huynh has written another hilarious and relatable Vietnamese family drama. As a Vietnamese American myself, I loved Fortunes of Jaded Women, and I also loved this book so much. She wove so much history into this one, and brought in settings all over the US with high Vietnamese American immigrant populations through the different siblings and I found that to be genius. I truly enjoyed this story!

The Family Recipe is a delightful blend of humor, family drama, and heartfelt emotion. The novel explores family relationships, the power of secrets, and the importance of being true to oneself.

The story follows the 5 Tran siblings as they embark on a contest to win their father's inheritance. They are each sent to a different state with cryptic notes from their father. They believe they are in this places to revitalize the locations of the family Banh Mi shops, but each one finds much more than they expected. As each sibling learns threads of their family story they realize they can only be successful is they rely on each other.

Intertwined with the story of the Tran siblings is the back story of their Vietnamese immigrant parents. You learn of the struggles they went through to survive. The racism they endured, and the perseverance they needed to create a family and thrive.

The Family Recipe is a heartwarming reminder that family is not just about bloodlines, but about the connections we forge. It encourages readers to embrace their individuality, to cherish their loved ones, and to never be afraid to be their authentic selves.

I had high hopes for this book, but never felt fully immersed into it, which was disappointing as I loved Carolyn Huynh's earlier book, The Fortunes of Jaded Women. This book, while still well written, was somehow less compelling for me. It was beautifully written and the shifting narrative was masterfully done as there were so many characters and they all had distinct voices and personalities. The family/sibling dynamics were both beautifully and painfully real as were the raw emotions. I thought the older/younger sibling dynamics were also so recognizable and accurate.

I did not guess the family secret, but had an idea of what it was about and was confused as to why it was a secret for so long? I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers, but maybe it has to do with the generational/experiential differences between immigrants and their children (which felt genuine and recognizable to me even though I'm not Vietnamese American).

Rounding up from 3.5 stars for the masterful writing and execution. Also, maybe I just was less into this book since it felt more sad and less hopeful, which was not what I was expecting.

I didn't want to pick up this book but I decided to force myself to finish this book since it was an arc. It had good parts and bad. I just felt like most of the characters were not likeable. I didnt care if Jude found a girl or whether any of the 4 susters successfully turned Duc's sandwiches around. All i wanted to know was why Duc had done this to them and what happened to their mother. We do get a bit of a mystery surrounding the parents of the kids. The back and forth between all of the POVs and also the past of Duc and Huey kind of disrupted the story. It does help hs piece together the mystery. I found myself slimming the book because I didnt care about any of the siblings and their lives. All i cared about was Evelyn's story. The ending was satisfying for her at least.

I did enjoy the way the author touches upon racism against the Vietnamese and also some misogyny as well.

Okay spoilers below:

Duc says he will leave the inheritance to any one of his kids but they have to be the first to do something and then they'll get all of the money. Jude must get married. The 4 sisters must turn their Duc's sandwiches into money making machines. They all go out and try and fix it up. Jane gets entangled with an ex. Paulina also reacquaints with an ex and his daughter. Bingo meets a girl and wants to reconnect. Georgia is the one to find Evelyn and finally figure out why Evelyn left. They all eventually figure out Duc isnt their father. In the past, Duc had to pretend to be Eveyn's husband because the KKK were looking for Huey. Huey is the father to the girls. On a boating trip, Evelyn's first husband actually dies and he's Jude's father. They lied to Evelyn that he died by the hands of the KKK when in reality, he died because he was drunk and fell overboard. Im glad in the end the siblings do get along and open the sandwich story in Evelyn's real name.

I had read Huynh's previous book, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, so I was excited to read The Family Recipe.

I guess from the cover, I was expecting a much different book. This is a much heavier and deep book than I was anticipating. Not that that was bad. I was just surprised.

Duc Tan, the owner of Duc's Sandwhich Shop, has decided to retire. He has delivered a missive to each of his five children via his longtime attorney. Jude, the eldest and only son, must marry within a year and each of the four daughter's is assigned a failing Duc's Sandwhich Shop to bring back to life and make profitable. The first to achieve their goal will receive their dad's fortune and the inheritance.

There is much prejudice against the Vietnamese in the United States in the 1980s. I found this part of the story, which I would assume to be true, hard to read at times but thankful for the education.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I did find this enlightening about American Vietnamese.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a funny and smart story. Duc Tran is a man of great fortune, or so he would have you believe. He has one son and four daughters. Enter Mr Huey NGO. Part lawyer, part negotiator, all serving the Tran family. Mr Huey has a big announcement for the Tran kids. The inheritance they have long coveted is dependent on them making a success of a one of the family restaurant locations. They have a year. They each have reasons to succeed against each other. They each have real questions about their father, a mother they don’t really remember and a family born of migration. It’s a perfect bookend to her first book. Happy reading

An interesting read which reminded me a little of a restaurant themed 'Succession.' Siblings believe they have 1 year to earn their place in the will; however, they learn some sordid family secrets along the way.

All families are different, all families have drama. But some families hide it better than others ! Loved the writing and characters!

THE FAMILY RECIPE
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GENRE: Fiction, Historical, Diaspora

Carolyn Huynh returns with her sophomore debut, The Family Recipe about an enstranged Vietnamese family. This book takes the Tran siblings across America to complete against each other in order to “win and receive” their inheritance from their father, founder of Duc’s Sandwiches, in this messy story of identity and the meaning of family. The five Trans siblings, who have not been in the same room over ten years, are forced to confront their family dynamics and who they really are.

Huynh brings to attention the struggles of Vietnamese refugees in area through the eyes of the parents and their journey in America. It really opened my eyes to towards who chose to settled in non-dominant Vietnamese areas and the racism they experienced.

I enjoyed following the family’s journey along with the bit of mystery in intertwined in their stories. As an eldest daughter, I think Jane’s character spoken to me the most as someone who had to act as a third parent to children of an immigrant family. I’ve mentioned this before, but I love the bits of Vietnamese phrases sprinkled throughout the novel. There’s some phrases or words can’t convey the true meaning in English and the sentiment is in the actual Vietnamese phrases - especially in the scene between Georgina and Evelyn. I won’t say more without spoiling it but I felt my heart breaking when Evelyn says those words. It just seems to resonate harder in Vietnamese.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this e-ARC of The Family Recipe. I loved this book as a second-gen Vietnamese American and felt seen through the children’s struggles to fit in America. Please pick up this book when it releases on 4/1/25. I know I will!

Carolyn Huynh has done it again! With her second novel, she has captured in my opinion, not only elements of the Vietnamese culture, but also the incorporation of humor and drama. She begins with many characters, including the lives of five siblings, but how I loved diving into each one of their lives. The storyline was beautifully interwoven between past and present and while my heart was breaking for this dysfunctional family, I also found myself laughing out loud at certain parts of the story. A must read and can’t wait for her book debut!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Vietnamese people were always the last to change but the first to complain.

While this one took me a little while longer to get into than FORTUNES, once I was in, I was in.

I am Vietnamese American. I am from Houston. I know woefully little about the Gulf Coast fishermen that suffered racism and violence from the KKK.

Duc's Sandwiches is a bánh mì (stop spelling it bahn mi - I will find you) institution started in Houston. There are outposts in the other Little Saigons of the US: New Orleans, Philly, and San Jose.

Duc is estranged from his first wife, Evelyn. Evelyn took off one day and has been missing this entire time. His new, younger wife, Connie, gallivants across Asia.

"Nothing is more petty than an angry Vietnamese mother—" "—except for a Vietnamese father"


There is one son and four daughters. Jude, the eldest, has lost his way, like so many other Asian American eldest sons with too much responsibility.

Firstborn Vietnamese sons truly are the worst


The daughters are named for the Beatles, sort of. Jane is the second oldest, fled Houston for LA, and has the responsibility of a third parent to the rest of the kids. Bingo, queer, has anger issues inherited from her father that she doesn't like to talk about. Paulina, beautiful, has an ex that she has never quite gotten over. Georgia is the typical youngest child. She doesn't speak any Vietnamese and acts very wide-eyed about the world.

there they were, the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse


In FORTUNES, it was Priscilla's character that attacked me from page one, IYKYK. Here, it's Jane. While that one came on more gradually, it still hurt.

She had a set of skills that only the eldest Asian daughter could wield: Her Vietnamese was better and she knew how to talk to old people.


Duc has disappeared. Not like Evelyn, but he's gone. The family lawyer, Huey, who they call Uncle, but who is not their Uncle (so Viet, so Asian, so immigrant), calls the kids together to talk about winning their inheritance. The girls are to be given a failing store. They are to turn it around in the span of a year. Jude's task is to get married. Whichever one of them succeeds first, wins the entire inheritance. Or do they?

Who'd ever trust a Vietnamese lawyer to actually file paperwork? She should have gone with her white lawyer.


Each of their siblings goes on a journey. Not just the journey to save their stores, or get married. There are relationship journeys. Familial journeys. Life journeys, am I right?

There was just something so sexy about being with someone from the same background and how they didn't even question putting Maggi on everything.


There's a culmination when the siblings travel to Vietnam to confront Duc. Remember Georgia's Vietnamese is nearly non-existent. She has never been. I didn't connect that much with her (oldest daughter here), but everything she felt upon landing in Vietnam for the first time was everything I felt about making the same trip.

Meanwhile, Georgia took everything in, her eyes enchanted, enthralled by the prospect of finally seeing the motherland, the country that was embedded deep in her DNA—a history that flowed through her veins, a living, invisible organism that she knew nothing about, but somehow it was the reason for why she was standing there now.


Carolyn visited Houston to get a true feel of the city, and it shows. The sights. The smells. The heat. I felt it all.

The smell of lemongrass, Old Bay seasoning, and fish sauce hit the siblings all at once, and they all breathed in the familiar, comforting scent. The coalescent beauty of a Viet-Cajun seafood boil was the magnum opus of the American South.


My favorite part about the Philly chapters was learning that locals call bánh mì Viet hoagies. Confirmed with a Viet Am friend from the city. Still laughing. I'm easily amused.

Since I'm on my preaching journey, why won't people pay more for immigrant food? I actually kind of hate the word immigrant. (We were all immigrants, unless you're actually indigenous. If so, say hi.) I hate the word ethnic.

It angered her all her life that immigrant food had to be cheap. Tacos, pupusas, dumplings, phở, gyros, kimchi, pad thai . . . she could keep going. These were all foods worthy of double digits.


I'll be taking my physical ARC to Houston during the holidays, so stay tuned for my bookstagram review. I want to do it justice. If you see me taking another picture at Riêu Cua, no you didn't.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books

I knew from the first chapter that this book was for me. Loved every minute of this novel. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review