A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen Narrator: Carolina Do, VyVy Nguyen
Published by Macmillan Audio on August 20, 2024
Genres: Romance
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I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families' histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.
In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father, but has stopped updating since his passing.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely even talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.
When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.
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A Bánh Mì for Two is my favorite book released this year. It has just the right mix of sweetness, love, finding oneself, and so much delicious foods you will be craving Vietnamese food by the end of this. Some parts are emotional, and you follow along with the leading ladies alternating POVs to get the entire picture.
Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her mom refuses to tell Vivi anything about her past there, and the only scraps of truth are a few old family pictures of her mother. So, when her school offers a year abroad to Sài Gòn she jumps at the chance to finally learn her roots. The only issue is that her mom has no clue and would be very against her going.
Lan runs an extremely popular food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two. But since her father’s death she has had writer’s block. She throws her love of food into working at the family’s bánh mì stall. With a chance meeting, Lan and Vivi hit it off and they decide to help one another. Vivi will get to know more about her family and Lan will enter a writing contest and find her love of writing about food again.
I wound up really loving this and hats off to Trinity Nguyen for such a strong debut novel. I will be eagerly reading whatever you release next. If you are a fan of romance, I would suggest you give this a try!
