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.

Okay, first and foremost, I’m grateful to NetGalley for the chance to check out this title before it’s released.
Now to the rating: I want to be clear that I don’t think this is a bad book. That said, I did not connect with these characters, and part of that was that the dialogue felt really forced to me.
But, what sealed the deal for me was actually pretty early on in the book, when Matt makes some really sexwork phobic mental comments while walking in a NY neighborhood. I know a lot of people have different views on that topic, but it’s a big sticking point for me, and it really changed my perception of his character.

I have no doubt a lot of people will enjoy this book. It’s a fun concept, and I think there is definitely a market for it! It just wasn’t my favorite bao filling <3

This book is about Kimmie an Etsy shop owner, who meets Matt West, a FDNY firefighter. But they have never met in person
It was such an easy and enjoyable read. I found it refreshing that there wasn't much conflict surrounding them and that the majority of the problems revolved around Kimmie and Matt.

Crazy Bao You was just the book to take me out my reading slump! It was such a lighthearted read despite the heavy items spoken about, ie parental death, car accidents, fear of death, etc.

From the description of the video that made Kimmie vital to the way Kimmie and Matt’s relationship is described, the book is an easy pleasant read! I couldn’t put this book down and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a lighthearted romantic comedy!

Online romance-Mistaken Identity-Firefighter-Designer-Food Lovers

This book was extremely cute. I loved watching Matt and Kimmie's relationship grow from DM buddies to something more. Matt is so sweet and honestly the perfect guy while Kimmie is a spot of sunshine. They both discover that it is never too late to follow your dreams/ discover new ones.

A fun fluffy read for anyone looking for a palate-cleanser romance.

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley! The cover is so beautifully illustrated and the title screams cute. I loved the plot line as a fellow seamstress and adored the depth of all the different side characters. The ending was very abrupt for me and seemed very rushed. I really hoped for a more climatic break between the main characters but that part also seemed very wishy washy. Overall it was a super cute and quick read to get me out of my reading slump.