Book Synopsis:
Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet. Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count. Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation. But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?
Review:
It's simple. When I hear enemies to lovers, I come running. Café Con Lychee came at just the right time. Recently I've been on an insatiable contemporary binge. There is something about sitting down to chill with a contemporary romance that just satisfies me. I was really hoping for a well-developed, fun romance, and this book delivered the goods. Theo and Gabi were the most adorable protagonists. I'm so glad that the POV's alternated, as getting inside the heads of both boys was vital for this love story. They start the novel as enemies. Theo seems to hate Gabi a lot more than the other boy hates him, but both are apprehensive of the other. Their enemy dynamic is mostly centred around the fact that their parents own rival businesses, and neither boy really has a tangible reason to hate the other. I didn't mind this as we've all hated people we've never really spoken to, right? Gabi is incredibly awkward and the perfect contrast to Theo's confidence. I really enjoyed how Theo resisted Gabi's pursuit of friendship, even after agreeing to work together for their mutual benefit. Their relationship felt incredibly tense in the first third of the novel. This definitely felt like a natural choice. Theo was far too confident in expressing his queerness for Gabi to initially handle. I absolutely love enemies to lovers books where just when you think they've made progress, there is yet another setback. It's just such a good way of prolonging the burn. The pacing was mostly well done, and I really appreciated the development of their relationship in such a short book. I do think it could have been a little bit longer, but that was mostly because of how much I enjoyed the story. Their personalities were really different, and I loved reading their different experiences with being queer. Gabi struggles to open up to his parents. Before you come out, especially when you are young and still developing, you're at a really crucial part of your journey. Any kind of homophobic comment or action can entirely shape your journey. It was really heartbreaking to see Gabi have to navigate all of the homophobic comments his father had made, and how his father's rejection of queerness pushed him deeper into the closet. It was lovely seeing Theo's parents push against their family's culture and accept their son. I loved how Theo began to help Gabi see the beauty in being queer. It was wonderful seeing two queer boys learn to love themselves and each other. I love stories where other queer people help closeted folk accept their authentic selves. There was a really touching moment where Theo had to face homophobia 'alone'. That really resonated with me because, back when I was a queer teen in school, I always felt safer and more confident in my queerness when I was around other queer people. No one will protect and defend you like your butch lesbian friend. There is such a beauty in the solidarity we can find in our community, and I loved how this book quietly represented that. I really enjoyed how this book fused two different cultures, and some really important discussions happened as a result. The competing cafe that was putting both of the families out of business was doing a terrible job of representing their cultures, and I loved how by the end of the novel, they fused their differences together to create a greater whole. This story is a celebration of how difference can bring us together, and I really enjoyed how lighthearted it was at times. The representation was superb, and I cannot recommend this enough! This was the perfect mix of meaningful writing and pure enemies to lovers joy!
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