This is my second book by Julie Tieu! I really enjoy her writing style but the plot and setting of this one did not grip me. There was a lot of office/work talk and while I enjoy an office setting I don't care that much about the work they're doing. I wanted more ROMANCE!

The beginning of the book moves so quickly that it was hard to get into and get a feel for the characters. I ended up DNFing because of a lack of chemistry.

Super cute romance. Love a good office romance Thank you Harper and Avon for the ARC for my honest review.

“Circling Back To You” by Julie Tieu was a cute read! I felt as though the story took a while to pick up and fully capture my attention. However, about halfway through the story the momentum picked up a bit. I went into this book thinking that I would absolutely love it but was a bit disappointed in the end. This story is a workplace friends to lovers romance that definitely had its cute moments. Nevertheless, this read was still a good read overall and had a super cute ending.

“Circling Back To You” follows Cadence and Matt, two coworkers who also happen to be good friends. When they both get sent on a business trip to LA, feelings start to rise to the surface. Will these two be able to make it work even with Cadence’s work-focused mentality and Matt’s past of being a player?

I appreciate Julie Tieu and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book.

Matt and cadence works for the same company. They are best friends in the office (well maybe not since she keeps him at arms length. And poor Matt because he really wants to be her friend). When work sends them on a business trip, Matt asks Cadence to preteens to be his girlfriend for a family gathering, because the trip just do happen to be in their hometown. New settings and seeing each other in a new and different light, they start to question what that means for their friendship.

While this book was adorable and fun to read I just couldn’t get pass giving it a three stars. I didn’t love it and I didn’t dislike it. I thought Cadence would be just this shy girl in the beginning but she was unnecessarily mean a lot of the times. Another problem I had with this book was the lack of passion between Matt and Cadence. I like seeing sparks with the characters but did not get to see that in here.

Overall, was not a bad of a book that I couldn’t get through just find myself putting it down multi times and forgetting I was reading it. However, it was just a normal read. Could have given me Hallmark if I am being honest about this.

I am an absolute sucker for a workplace romance … add in a touch of fake dating when you KNOW they want to be real dating. I love it. Highly recommend. Really well done even when working with potentially “overdone” tropes.

Julie Tieu's Circling Back to You is a delightful rom-com with well-rounded characters. It was such a pleasure to read this!

I loved getting to read this story. I loved these characters and this world. It was just soooo good.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I highly recommend this! It was absolutely adorable!

Rating: 3/5

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Circling Back to You (great title for an office romance) was a cute office romance with classic tropes of friends to lovers with a side of fake dating. While I liked this one…it was over all lack luster, the romance wasn’t development fully and I felt there was so unnecessary family drama that didn’t add much to the story in the end. I appreciated the Filipino representation, learning more about cultural and family values. More diversity of representation is so needed in the romance space, and I was excited to see that in this book.

A classic friends to lovers office romance! It started off pretty strong but I sort of disconnected in the middle bit - the plot started to feel a little random. By the end I thought the family dynamics of each character was more interesting than the romance itself.

i was really excited for a fun workplace romance, and this was definitely a lighthearted read. i tend to want to connect with characters, and i didn't feel so strongly abut them, but i would still recommend this to anyone looking for a very easy read.

I love a good friends-to-lovers trope and I had high hopes for this one but it fell flat. The story didn't go beyond surface level and I felt no real connection to the story or characters.

2.5 stars. This rom-com was a bit lackluster. Cadence and Matt work together at a real estate agency. Matt is the nice guy, sweet and considerate, sleeps around a bit but not too much. Cadence has no time for romance. She is no nonsense, sends money home to her brother and elderly father and has a slight crush on Matt. Matt is up for a big promotion which would entail a move from San Francisco to Los Angeles so Cadence really thinks a relationship with Matt would be stupid if he's going to leave. They end up fake dating on a work trip to help out Matt who told his family he had a girlfriend to get them to stop pressuring him to find someone.

The problems that I had with this novel include why the fake dating trope, they were sleeping together (in mostly fade to black scenes). Also, Cadence was quite unlikeable, brusque even a bit mean to Matt. The story just kind of didn't know what direction to take and I ended up not caring that much. I liked that they were Asian American, you don't see that too much without it being a cliche and so this novel had that going for it but not too much else.

This romance did something that I have either rarely, or possibly never seen? Made me root for the couple, but actually showed them getting annoyed or not totally vibing with each other the entire time. It was really refreshing! Definitely worth the read! Tha k you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Matt is Cadence's "work husband" and vice versa. Cadence hates the office gossip surrounding her and her work best friend, but that's what happens in a cubicled office. When they both get sent from SF to LA to nail a business deal, their relationship complicates. Family drama, pining feelings, and miscommunication abound in this friends to lovers romance.

This story was cute and fun! I appreciate when writers include deeper emotional situations in their novels. This one specifically deals with family death and deep family issues. It adds to the richness and bonds the reader to the characters. I really enjoyed this book!

I enjoyed this book - but it's hard to articulate why? I felt it was slightly too long, but I did enjoy this workplace romance with some fake dating thrown in, the emphasis on culture and family, the diverse representation, and the California setting.

I think this was a cute book, and I will definitely highlight on my Bookstagram.

There is no denying that Julie Tieu loves writing about love, and it definitely shows in her sophomore novel CIRCLING BACK TO YOU from Avon Books. Julie joins us on the podcast to talk about how she found her way in the world of all things rom-com. Julie introduces us to Candice and Matt, the ultimate "will they/won't they" couple working in the real estate business. Their friendship blooms into an office romance, but when climbing the professional ladder proves to be a roadblock from love, they must figure out what they are willing to sacrifice and keep.

Cadence and Matt are coworkers and best friends, but they've been suppressing their feelings for each other for years. But during a work trip to Los Angeles their relationship's tested and suddenly romance doesn't seem all that bad.

I felt like this novel had a bit of a slow start, but the plot picks up when they're in Los Angeles. The characters in this story are interesting while Cadence and Matt are compatible it's interesting that they both look at family in different ways.

I think this is the perfect novel for those who enjoy friends to lovers and a bit of an office romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙏𝙞𝙚𝙪, 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚.

After reading The Donut Trap last year I wanted to pick up Julie Tieu’s latest novel, and I’m glad I did. I find her books to be really quick and light contemporary romance reads.

In this romance, we follow a fake-dating trope between Cadence and Matt in an office setting. I enjoy it when we follow two colleagues who have romantic feelings toward each other. The banter between the characters was very well developed.

I loved that Julie includes the characters’ families and their dynamics. I think it’s so important when romances don’t just focus on the romantic connection between our MCs, but also on their family and background.

I felt like I got to know the characters so well with this kind of writing style, the amount of talk about the families just added so much more joy to the story.

I felt like both characters were relatable from early on. They both want the best for themselves and want to succeed in their careers. They’re both working on improving their lives in the best way possible, and I felt more attached to them because of that.

I really liked how the author included the struggles and amount of growth these characters had to get through.

Overall, this was such an enjoyable and lighthearted read. I loved the romantic feeling between the characters and their family dynamics. I will be picking up more from this author and I highly recommend this for a quick, light, and enjoyable contemporary romance!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy, all thoughts are my own!