Café Con Lychee is a Romeo-and-Juliet queer YA romance about two boys whose families own competing cafés in the same town. Used to only having each other to vie for customers’ attention, when a new competitor comes into town, Theo and Gabi take it upon themselves to do all they can to help their families’ cafés stay afloat–and end up changing their minds about each other in the process.

Having read Meet Cute Diary, Lee’s previous book, I started off a little concerned that Theo sounded very similar to Noah in Meet Cute–which for me was a big turn-off. However, it quickly became clear that Theo is very different from Noah and not quite all sharp edges, which I really appreciated. Gabi, likewise, is not a “perfect” love interest, either, which was another issue I felt I had with Meet Cute. Both Theo and Gabi are dealing with different family issues; neither has an ideal home life, and I appreciate that Lee takes a look at both these situations, as unfortunately teens are likely to be facing similar ones at home.

My only real critique is that the plot itself is a little unbelievable in certain parts. I don’t really buy that no one would notice a rarely-used room at a school being used for non-school functions, and I’m honestly not really sure how the boys are able to keep their Big Plan under wraps from their parents and the school. That being said, these issues are fairly minor and aren’t really at the heart of the story, anyway.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! Fans of the genre will love it, and for this reader the characters make up for any thin parts of the plot. Theo and Gabi are fantastic, and you’ll be rooting for them every step of the way.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.