Crazy Bao You by Lyn Liao
Everyone knows someone who always has bad luck following them at every turn. It’s like watching Lindsey Lohan constantly trip and spill and get rained on in the movie Just My Luck.
Kimmie Park is that unlucky soul in Crazy Bao You by Lyn Liao.
While Kimmie’s happy making tote bags and wristlets for her Etsy customers, working her day job at craft boutique Let Her Rip is becoming intolerable, especially when the store’s owner Rip van Patten becomes too much to handle. So, one day Kimmie says adios with dramatic flair, twerking and dancing while making a speech to Rip about his treatment of fellow worker bees.
Unfortunately this little display, recorded by fellow coworker friend Michelle goes viral at the same time Kimmie’s Etsy business, My Crafty Bao, takes off. And that’s not the only bad luck she stumbles into. Kimmie posts a photo of her best friend Alicia modeling one of her creations to her store’s Instagram profile. Her followers love the photo, mostly because they think that Alicia — who is actually a part-time model — is Kimmie.
This is a bit of a problem considering she’s hit it off with recent customer Matt West via Instagram and he’s never seen her before. Now, he thinks Kimmie is Alicia. But who knew she would meet a firefighter from across the country online and connect with him while discussing a handmade tote bag for his grandmother?
Deferred Dreams and Cultural Identity
Lyn Liao also writes women’s fiction, and that’s evident through the heroine’s emotional journey of dealing with her fears of loss and guilt for pursuing her own dreams. Kimmie has been stuck in Oklahoma all her life despite wanting to go to New York City and study fashion at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) because of a fatal hiking accident her parents had when she was a teenager. A crippling fear that she would lose everything if she went after her dream kept her from boarding a plane or leaving Oklahoma and getting a fashion degree.
Another strong theme here as in most if not all of Liao’s books is cultural representation and the sense of belonging that one can achieve when connecting with their culture. Kimmie was given up for adoption to Korean parents, and while she knew she was adopted, she thought that her mother was Chinese. It turns out that her birth mother is Taiwanese.
Similar to Liao’s domestic thriller Someone Else’s Life (which is penned under the name Lyn Liao Butler), the main character — and the reader — explores her culture through, among other things, food. In Crazy Bao You, we’re not only exposed to Chinese baos, but many other Asian dishes as Kimmie not only relishes in the culture she grew up with but is now being exposed to a part of her that she didn’t know before.
Happily Ever After Romance
Even with all the serious issues and cultural representations, above all this is a romance, HEA included. NYFD Firefighter Matt West buys a tote from Kimmie’s Etsy store for his grandmother’s birthday. He meets Kimmie sight unseen in the zoomer version of online dating: sliding into someone’s DMs on Insta (and if you don’t know what I just said … get in the know, like Matt’s grandma). Kimmie doesn’t have a personal social media account, and other than this viral video — which she refuses to link to her Etsy shop because she’s embarrassed by it — Matt has never truly seen Kimmie. But he can’t help but fall in love with her personality, her wit and her charm, as they take their relationship from the ‘Gram to phone conversations.
The heat level here is sweet-steamy, which if you haven’t heard of it you’ll probably think it’s an oxymoron. I did. This means that while there is a little more than kissing on page, the book doesn’t have any open-door love scenes. In a lot of sweet-steamy books, the language is also somewhat risqué — there may be cursing and other colorful language. This heat level is perfect for those who love a romantic comedy but aren’t fans of too much steam. If you were comfortable with, for instance, Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron, you’ll be comfortable here.
For readers who love to see the unlikely heroine come out on top and get a hot firefighter to boot, this book is for you. This cute romantic comedy will make you laugh and give you hope with its guaranteed HEA.
About Lyn Liao:
Lyn Liao, author of upmarket fiction, thrillers, and romcoms, was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when she was seven. Before becoming an author, she was a professional ballet and modern dancer, and is still a personal trainer, fitness instructor, and yoga instructor. She is an avid animal lover and fosters dogs as well as volunteers with rescues.
When she is not torturing clients or talking to imaginary characters, Lyn enjoys spending time with her FDNY husband, their son (the happiest little boy in the world), their three stubborn dachshunds (Lokie, Mochi, Cash, and Pinot in heaven), sewing for her Etsy shop, and trying crazy yoga poses on a stand-up paddleboard. So far, she has not fallen into the water yet.
