"Café con Lychee quenched my thirst for the perfect queer enemies-to-lovers tale! With the most exquisitely picked ingredients—loveably cantankerous Theo, adorably awkward Gabi, delicious descriptions of treats, and relatable discoveries of love and sexuality—Emery Lee has yet again cooked up a world and characters I want to return to over and over!" — Jason June, author of Jay's Gay Agenda and Out of the Blue
"Café Con Lychee is as sweet as the baked goods and boba that fill up its pages, along with the adorable enemies-turned-lovers romance at its heart." — Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars and Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating
"Continuing to be THE master of tropes, Emery Lee's food filled, beautifully multicultural, enemies-to-lovers Café Con Lychee is everything that I love about eir books: humorous, sassy, the perfect amount of stress that keeps me obsessively captivated, and so incredibly gay." — Jonny Garza Villa, author of Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun and Ander and Santi Were Here
"If enemies-to-lovers is what you’re hungry for, Emery Lee has something special on the menu for you. Café con Lychee is the confection of sweetness and sweethearts we all need right now!" — Adam Sass, award-winning author of Surrender Your Sons
“[A] touching and humorously told portrayal of intersections of culture, race, and sexuality, told through the lens of an inviting Romeo and Juliet–esque feud.” — Publishers Weekly
08/29/2022
When their respective small-town Vermont family restaurants are threatened by a new establishment, two 16-year-olds must set aside their lifelong rivalry in this buoyant romance by Lee (Meet-Cute Diary). Openly gay Theo Mori’s family runs an Asian American café; closeted Gabriel Moreno’s parents own a Puerto Rican bakery. The boys have always been at odds—reserved Theo swears that popular athlete Gabi “was born to thwart me at every turn”—and their families’ competing establishments fuel the duo’s fierce opposition. The grand opening of a new fusion café puts their respective stores at risk, and the teens, desperate to save their parents’ businesses, come up with an idea to increase their revenues and bump up publicity by covertly selling and delivering bakery items at school. After an injury affects Theo’s ability to work, Gabi steps in to help, but he’s quickly overwhelmed trying to juggle his and Theo’s secret operation, as well as school and work responsibilities, his parents’ expectations, and his blossoming feelings for Theo. Inconsistent character development occasionally muddles an otherwise touching and humorously told portrayal of intersections of culture, race, and sexuality, told through the lens of an inviting Romeo and Juliet–esque feud. Ages 13–up. Agent: Claire Draper, Bent Agency. (May)
"Café con Lychee quenched my thirst for the perfect queer enemies-to-lovers tale! With the most exquisitely picked ingredients—loveably cantankerous Theo, adorably awkward Gabi, delicious descriptions of treats, and relatable discoveries of love and sexuality—Emery Lee has yet again cooked up a world and characters I want to return to over and over!"
"Café Con Lychee is as sweet as the baked goods and boba that fill up its pages, along with the adorable enemies-turned-lovers romance at its heart."
"If enemies-to-lovers is what you’re hungry for, Emery Lee has something special on the menu for you. Café con Lychee is the confection of sweetness and sweethearts we all need right now!"
"Continuing to be THE master of tropes, Emery Lee's food filled, beautifully multicultural, enemies-to-lovers Café Con Lychee is everything that I love about eir books: humorous, sassy, the perfect amount of stress that keeps me obsessively captivated, and so incredibly gay."