Crushing on You

Burlfriends, Book 1

By: Jen Trinh

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller, James Chen

Finalist for Best Romance in the 2023 Audie Awards.

Finalist for Best First Book and Best Mid-length Contemporary Romance in the 2020 NJRW Golden Leaf Awards.

Anna Tang doesn't date Asian guys. Her own Chinese family is bad enough, and she's not looking to double the trouble. Besides, she's busy chasing her dream of becoming a music journalist, and she's going to march towards it single-mindedly—and single, if need be.

But when she meets a handsome stranger on a flight to a wedding, she's charmed. Intrigued. Seduced.

Too bad he's Asian, and not her type.

Ian Gao has a great tech job and rock-hard abs from years of climbing. His parents hope he'll settle down soon, but he's drawn to the fierce and lovely Anna, who doesn't plan on getting married. Ever.

But the more time they spend together, the more it feels like coming home. Does Ian have what it takes to make her to stay? Or are the walls around her heart too hard to climb?

©2019 Jen Trinh (P)2021 Jen Trinh

Don’t give up

I had a hard time liking Anna for a good portion of the book. When you finally learn of her past you understand her better. Both Anna and Ian have to grow who they want to be to earn their HEA. You may just develop an interest in climbing along the way.

Fantastic story!

Anna and Ian were such wonderfully complex characters. Each had their own issues and hang ups. Anna had so much that she had gone through and in her mind not dating an Asian guy was at the top of her dating no-no list. When she meets Ian on a flight to their mutual friends wedding, both of them unknowingly have their worlds turned upside down. They become reckless and in a situation that could only end badly, and it does. They both had to go through some serious introspection and learning about what they really want. It takes some tough situations for them to realize any other this. I could not stop listening to this book once I started. Both Emily Woo Zeller and James Chen did an amazing job with every character in this story and I enjoyed their performances so much!

Pacing felt like an early 2000's rom com, with sexy spicy moments sprinkled throughout the story!

The pacing felt like an early 2000's rom com, with sexy spicy moments sprinkled throughout the story! Good ups and downs for the characters, growth, and moments that are super relatable to us as an audience. And the performances were top notch! I can't wait to check out the rest of Jen's novels!

Good character development

I really liked the narration and the fact both characters were Chinese-American but had very different backgrounds.

So good

This is one of my favorites! I'm a rock climber & bay area native. Very relatable.