You pass through places and places pass through you: CAFE CON LYCHEE.

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gabi and Theo (well, mostly Theo) are sworn enemies thanks to their families owning competing bakeries. When both stores start to experience financial trouble, the boys have to put aside their differences to help their parents. Both Gabi and Theo feel a duty to their families, but also feel like deep disappointments to them--Theo, because he's gay and not the best student; Gabi, because he's secretly gay and not the star athlete his parents want. Gabi and Theo start selling food to their classmates to help.

This is a really cute, queer enemies to lovers story. It's a fast read (clocked in at 2.5 hours) too! I think Gabi might be one of the sweetest characters I've ever read about; he's just adorable. It took me a bit to warm up to Theo: I know this trope requires some "enemies," but Theo's early hatred of Gabi seemed almost too visceral and irrational for me.

I loved how CAFE deftly dealt with being gay, the fears of coming out, and the difficulty of not being accepted by one's friends and family. Neither Theo nor Gabi feel safe or appreciated, at times, with their families and the book can be really bittersweet and touching.

A lot of the problems in CAFE seemed to wrap up a little too easily for me, but overall this was a really sweet romance that covered difficult topics very well, while still being witty and fun! 4 stars.

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