This was such an adorable and sweet romance that I absolutely devoured. Lyn created the perfect build up between Kimmie and Matt - you would believe a catfish/miscommunication storyline would be rather frustrating to read, however not this one, this miscommunication trope was all sorts of humorous and cute and I LOVED how when Matt discovered the truth, he didn't get angry, but he heard Kimmie out and went along with it. It played out so perfectly that I couldn't be mad, Matt handled it so well so why shouldn't we!?

A gorgeous romance with a stunning book cover, plus, who isn't in the mood for a firefighter!?

Thank you, Net Galley and the author for the advance reader copy.

Kimmie is a small town crafter who recently went viral for screaming and talking and dancing? at her mean boss. After going footloose on her boss, she quits and does everything she can to keep the viral video from being tied to her Etsy shop. Matt is a new NYFD firefighter. He slides into her dms after ordering a purse for his grandma.

Through mishaps, he ends up building a cute relationship with her over dms and phone calls, thinking sge looks like her friend. She keeps trying to tell him, but fails.

What I liked about the book.
The couple was cute. There was funny moments. I liked that Kimmie had her aunt and her friend, and I'm a sucker for texting as connection plots.

What I didn't like.
The plot towards the end of the book felt manufactured particularly around the Collab with Matt's dad's business. The third act break up didn't make a ton of sense.

What gave me pause.
Kimmie was adopted. Her parents didn't want her to know. When they died, Kimmie found out. The sub plot of her connecting with her birth mom felt shoe horned in. There are moments where I question if a sensitivity reader has looked at the text. It didn't feel like it was a child-centered view of adoption.

Final thoughts.
The book was fun. If you like silly, sweet, nearly fade to black romcoms, you might try it.

I thought this book was very cute. I loved how hip and modern Matt's nana was, and I really enjoyed the references to everyday situations. Kimmie was very clumsy and relatable. However, the 'viral' video that starts the book off seemed a little wild and unplausible and seemed a little farfetched to believe it. I did enjoy the tie of being a dog lover, and the support for mental health. Matt was a well-rounded male character, and offered all necessary support, while Kimmie did the same for him! The supporting characters were relatable, although at times seemed to be too 'separated' from the events taking place. Overall, I enjoyed this book, it also could have been spicier, and definitely is more of a slow burn overall.

Kimmie lives in Oklahoma, owns an Etsy shop dedicated to creating handmade accessories, and accidentally went viral after a coworker filmed her twerking while quitting her retail job. Matt quit working for his father to pursue his dream of becoming a firefighter for the FDNY. Their relationship starts online after Matt purchases a bag from Kimmie's shop for his grandmother and despite the long distance, they have instant chemistry.

There were so many things I loved about this story - the title, the fact that their relationship started online, and that the character's have depth and interesting background stories that actually add value to the plot. I love that the book highlighted Kimmie's struggle with her identity not only about being adopted, but also finding out her ethnicity and culture. The story also had a unique twist with the characters meeting online in an unconventional way, which I thought was an accurate, modern portrayal on romance. I also thought the supporting characters were well written and sometimes a little more likable than the main characters.

However, I thought that so much of what went on during the story was frustratingly excessive. When you boil it down - Kimmie essentially catfished Matt and he seemingly is able to instantly forgive her. She continued to lie not only to him, but to his father who is a potential business partner, despite her friends and family telling her to come clean. I also struggled with the viral video - I know people do crazy things every day, but twerking while quitting your job and not being able to explain it at all?

I thought this story had a lot of potential, and while I did enjoy the majority of the book, I think it could have had less distracting avenues and focused on some bigger parts of the plot.

This is a very cute romance novel. Good pacing and interesting characters. I did struggle with how over the top insecure Kimmie's character came across for readers during certain parts of the book. Matt was by far my favorite in the relationship.

I enjoyed Crazy Bao You. It's a quick, easy pallet cleanser romance. The main characters are an Etsy shop owner and firefighter, which are not a pairing you would typically see in a novel, but it is more realistic than many other pairings and tropes. I appreciate the more modern aspects of the book such as the social media usage, and it certainly is a fun concept. Some of the dialogue was a bit hard to stomach, but I chalk that up to the self-proclaimed "awkward" characters themselves more than anything else. Coming into this, I did not really understand the lore behind FDNY, and I would have appreciated more explanation. The name and cover really drew me in, and while it was not what I expected, I was not disappointed as a Bao-lover. More than anything, you can tell that Lyn Liao poured her heart into this book. This was a solid 3/5, and I look forward to future releases!

This was such a sweet story with a hint of spice (but probably barely even PG-13). I was drawn to this book because food puns are my jam, and this book stood by it's title and repeated 'crazy bao you' a few times.

This book is an interesting mash up of culture (including food) and fashion. There's a lot that our two main characters have in common including grief over losing their parents (his mum and both of her parents). Then there's the mending of relationships (his with his dad and hers with her birth mom). Although their friends are present the story is very focused on the main characters and their immediate families. It's a dual POV which works really nicely in this novel.

I enjoyed the characters and their respective arcs. There's some but not a lot of action in this novel even though it starts out with a bang!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC for an honest review!

The book is about Kimmie, who quits her job after telling off her boss (which ends up recorded and going viral online). She decides to focus on her etsy shop and wait for the video to die down. In the interim, she meets Matt, former businessman turned firefighter, online. Due to a very overcomplicated set of circumstances, he doesn't know what she looks like. Trouble ensues.



Spoilers below!

I liked Kimmie and Matt's interactions, but the mistaken identity stuff goes a bit far. Why would they not set the record straight with Matt's dad when business was on the line? Why would Matt tell his dad that Kimmie is moving to New York? It felt like there were too many conflicts thrown in.


Posted to goodreads on 5/17

This was really cute!!! I can totally picture this as a rom com movie (With Lana Condor as the lead 😄) Highly reccomend if you're in the mood for a light comedy with some good chemistry 💕💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5/5)
•Oklahoma / New York setting
•Mistaken identity
•Video and memes gone viral
•Supportive aunt and bestie

Kimmie is hilarious and relatable. Matt is *swooons* !! I loved their chemistry. Theyre both experiencing grief but that doesnt overtake the comedy aspect of the story. I love how everything plays out! I will definitley be reading more of the author's work!!

Thank you Netgalley and Lyn Liao for the advance copy!

Quick, enjoyable read. Perfect for a day at the beach or lazy afternoon.
I found some things to be a little unbelievable, but it’s a fun fiction read so I just went with it (SPOILER: his reaction to her accidental lie was hard to buy). I also wasn’t a huge fan of being told every time his pants got uncomfortable. We get it, he’s attracted to her, move on. It felt like a 2000s sitcom made for 20 year olds-mildly funny, innuendos that make you roll your eyes, and drama that isn’t as dramatic or emotional as it would be in real life.
Overall, it was an okay read.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I loved this so much, it was cute and wholesome - a perfect summer read. It is definitely one of those books that you can get through quickly which is often what you want when you pick up a romance. The title itself is PERFECT and I do love a firefighter so thank you Lyn Liao.

The title itself is such a cute play on words. But the actual book is so amazing! It was such a great and quick morning. Grab your coffee and go read! I highly recommend reading this one. You won't regret it! I for sure will be rereading just cause I loved it too much!! This was such a quick read, and I found myself flying through it. I enjoyed all of the side characters, maybe more than I enjoyed Kimmie herself, and I adored Matt. He was such a Cinnabon of a character. And their dynamic are what made this story great.
Thank you to NetGalley, LLB, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and Members' Titles for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

read this as an ARC from Netgalley and I really enjoyed it. Overall it's all super cute, wholesome and heartwarming, those would have to be the best words to describe it.🥹 I get that the vibe intended was to be a soft cuddly romance but still I couldn't help but crave for more tension or drama, actually any kind of tension or drama would have been appreciated 😭 I didn't mind it being a bit corny but I cringed so bad over the fact that the main plot line revolves around a fart joke 😐 anywayz it was a very nice read which didn't fail to make me smile and giggle so I clearly didn't waste my time 🥰

Thank you so much to the author and netgalley for the chance to read early.

This was such a quick read and I found myself flying through it. I enjoyed all of the side characters, maybe more than I enjoyed Kimmie her self, and I adored Matt. He was such a Cinnabon of a character. And their dynamic are what made this story great.

But I did find certain parts frustrating a lot of the issues are things that could have been solved with proper communication. I know that some people don’t communicate properly but as an adult reading a books about adults this tropes of lack of communication really irritates me. Also Kimmies thoughts would interrupt important moments and it wouldn’t even be valid thoughts the the current conversation, it would bring me out of the story.

Other then that I really enjoyed the story and the romance and quick light read.

Fun story, endearing characters. Further, the writing style was peppy and still thoughtful and descriptive. Very enjoyable read!

Cute romance that didn't exceed expectations but did hit the spot for a breezy afternoon read. The Asian American rep was greatly appreciated and welcomed admist the never ending barrage of sad white women romances.

Thank you to NetGalley, LLB, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and Members' Titles for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhh I loved this book so much.
This is a cute quick rom-com. It’s not like so smutty but the romance and other stuff (Ha Ha) is just in a okay level. Sometimes I I laughed so hard and cried as well. This is such a heartwarming book of love, loss & grief, found family and mistaken identity. But what I didn’t like was she unintentionally catfished Matt. It was annoying cause every time she tried to tell him the truth something happened and she couldn’t or she chickened out.

Crazy Bao You is a sweet mistaken identity love story. I was drawn to it because the female lead is Asian-American and I'm was happy to have a break from reading about skinny white women.

There was a lot I liked about the story. The incorporation of social media and online platforms (like Etsy) into the storyline was really well done. The characters were also fun and well thought out with interesting back stories. I also loved the main characters shared love of food.

All that being said, this story didn't quite hit the mark. It felt like a bunch of small events (often repetitive) strung together and didn't have enough tension driving it forward. A problem would happen and then would be easily solved then another problem would pop up. Also too much of the story relied on convenient coincidences to solve problems and move the plot forward.

My second biggest issue was the lack of spice. It was a very abrupt fade to black when there was a love scene. I think if it's going to fade to black, there probably should be a chapter change. or at least a longer time lapse to ease the transition to the next scene.

Cute and sweet rom-com with a touch of trauma (deceased parents and adoptee identity). It was a light read despite the dramatic background.

This was a cute story , I liked the connection between these two main characters. I definitely read more by this author.