Cover Image: Circling Back to You

Circling Back to You

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Member Reviews

Mixed feelings about this book; the story was good, but our heroine was annoying. Having grown up similar to here, in a town close by, I understand where she’s coming from, but she was still annoying and grated on my nerves. The books also dragged on a bit for me.

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We love a light fake dating book!! Not very deep the great AA representation. While at times I thought the main character was a bit mean, they were so cute and they're interactions had me curling my toes. I thought the execution of workplace romance was good and realistic. Well I'm just now getting back into friends to lovers, and while this one wasn't my fave, it did suffice.

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I love the way Julie story writes Asian families - the irritating parts, the hilarious parts, all of it with heartfelt detail. This NorCal Asian-American take on the fake dating trope is so adorable to any reader, and uncannily recognizable to those who know these cultures. I loved Cadence and Matt and hope they'll cameo in the next Julieverse entry!

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Originally didn’t give feedback because I DNF, but it’s hurting my feedback ratio so now I am. This book started out in a way I didn’t expect and I didn’t feel like I loved the characters enough to continue, I also never rate I book I DNF but this makes me.

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I really enjoyed reading this romance! The characters and story were both great, and I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

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This book made me laugh out loud so many times! The family dynamics were also very poignant. So in short, I had ALL THE FEELS! Both the heroine and hero grew over the course of this book, which I really appreciated, and their back and forth felt real. I heard about this book initially from Helen Hoang's social media and I am so glad I did. Circling Back to You is one of those books that I will re-read when I need a pick-me-up, which means it will likely show up on my GoodReads multiple times a year and I can't wait!

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This was a cute workplace romance, but I felt like it could've been so much more than it was. Cadence and Matt work together at a brokerage firm. Everyone seems to think there's something going on between them, but they're just friends... until a joint business trip forces the two to spend time together outside of work and they finally act on their shared (but secret) interest.

There were multiple plot points that felt underdeveloped, but overall, I enjoyed reading Circling Back to You. It's a great read for when you need a palate cleanser or something to fill a little time between books.

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I enjoyed this story and the build up to the romance as well. I didn't know that I loved workplace romances as much as I do until this book. There was great humor and a little bit of spice. I did wish there was more spice but other than that, I thought it was great. I also loved that it was dual perspective, which always makes me happy when reading a romance. I have recommended this book and will continue to!

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I'm not usually a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope but this was a cute friends to lovers workplace romance rom com. If you love the friends to lovers trope, you'll love this book

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This was such a cute workplace (or more work trip) romance. The beginning felt a little rushed - I wish we could have seen their relationship develop a little more as friends- but after about 20% I think it really hit its groove. The romance was sweet and the plot was quite unique.

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Nothing will ever get me to stop reading books with fake dating, especially when the book is as cute as this one!
Circling Back to You was well written and the characters and romance were great. I really liked the workplace setting and the whole set up for the fake dating trope.
Family was a big topic in this book and I liked that it added an extra layer to the main characters and the plot.
If you're looking for a light, fun, cute contemporary romance then this is the read for you!

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This book was advertised as an office romance, although personally I thought the book was more "office" than romance. There was a lot of "shop talk" involved, and not much page-time was dedicated to the romance. It seemed like more of a sub-plot. I liked that Candance was no-bullshit and wouldn't be pushed around, both personally and professionally. Matt was an okay male lead, kind of boring, but overall not bad. That goes for this novel as a whole - not bad, but probably not something I'll read again. There wasn't much excitement driving the story.

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Original Post (June 26): I finished reading CIRCLING BACK TO YOU by @julietieuwrites this morning. Thank you to the author for the #gifted print ARC, I was also approved for an eARC by @avonbooks via @netgalley. The current release date for this book is July 12, 2022. Signed copies can be pre-ordered from Vroman's.

I adored this novel.

Matt and Cadence have such delightful banter with each other, plus make me realize why I love the work colleagues to lovers trope so much. There's so much mutual pining, but neither are willing to risk their work relationship. That is until a work trip there's the two of them together more than usual.

There are quite a few cute moments in the book, like there's a brief sickbed/care taking scene. There's also the only one suite (I really need more novels to do this, I don't like only one beds, but only one multiple room suite? Yes).

Plus lots of food mentions. If it weren't for the fact that I finished the book really early this morning, I would have likely ordered way too much Filipino food from the restaurant down the street.

Content Notes: death of parent (heart attack) - past, off-page, but plays a point in plot; grief/grieving; toxic behavior in work environment - microaggresions (sexism) from direct boss

Second review post (August 6):
Thank you @bibliolifestyle and @avonbooks for a #gifted copy of CIRCLING BACK TO YOU by @julietieuwrites. *

Belated tour stop, because my tour date was last week when I was traveling to DC for ApollyCon, and my plan was to take a photo of the book at the airport, because there's this great airport scene in the book. However, in my haste to get out the door, I forgot to bring the book with me. Oops.

I enjoyed Tieu's second novel; it's much more of a romance than her first. It's a friends/work colleges to lovers, where they both pine for each other, rather than make a move. That is until a work situation changes the dynamics of their relationship.

Yet, it's more than the romance. Though fleeting, I like that Tieu also shows us different dynamics of family, once again proving that Asians are not a monolith.

We've got Matt, who is a Filipino American, trying to get a promotion that will transfer him from the San Francisco office to the yet to open Los Angeles office, so that he can be closer to his large meddling family.

On the other side, there's Cadence, who minimizes contact with her very small family. Where every interaction seems to be a chore.

Not only do we get our HEA, but we also get the exploration of family, balancing work, and speaking up to get what we deserve.

Content Notes for off page death of parent prior to the book starting, and a toxic boss/work environment, microaggresions. There might be a few more, check earlier posts.

*I also won a copy of the ARC from the author, was approved for an eARC by the publisher, and purchased my own copies

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I thought I would enjoy this much more than I did. I love a workplace romance, and throw in fake-dating and I normally would be sold! But the book was too quickly paced, and Matt just wasn't the hero I wanted him to be, and Cadence felt unnecessarily cold and mean. Their first interaction didn't really set the tone for the book I thought I was getting.

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This was such a fun, sweet read! As an Asian American girl who loves romance books, I'm always disappointed with the lack of Asian representation in the romance genre. Because of that I was so happy to find Circling Back To You which was such an amazing, joyful romance that also happened to feature main characters who looked like me. I felt very represented and seen throughout reading this book, and it was just such a good experience all around. It was a really nice, breezy read with tropes I love like a workplace romance and forced proximity. I also liked the addition of the meddling families as they reminded me very much of my own meddling Asian parents who just want the best for me hahahaha. All in all, this was a great romance with amazing Asian representation and lots of good feels!

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I don’t usually read two books at the same time but I did overlap two this time and I think that might have made it a bit harder for me to get into the storyline.

Cadence and Matt are teased incessantly about being work husband and work wife. Cadence does spend a lot of time with Matt but it’s been entirely work related. Their coworkers might not realize the element of truth to their teasing. Cadence does have a crush on Matt but she wouldn’t pursue it because he’s moving for work.

Cadence is about to make her yearly visit to see her dad and brother when she gets roped in to something work related. The job basically asks her to work during her visit but she can stay longer and not use vacation time. She agrees.
Matt goes along for work too. His family, rather conveniently, lives in the same area as Cadence’s.
They are booked at the same hotel and wind up sharing a two bedroom suite. Suddenly they are together all the time and they can’t really deny their attraction and their feelings in such close proximity.

Matt’s grandmother gets the idea that Cadence is his girlfriend so he asks her to come to a family party.
But this definitely doesn’t feel like a fake dating storyline. I feel like Cadence and Matt were very much actually dating by this point.

Cadence and Matt eventually do have to deal with the future job issues, their issues with their families and whether they can be together.

I didn’t always like Matt. I felt like he was rather rude at times. I didn’t like him teasing Cadence about how she was dressed. I didn’t find that cute. She packed for comfort, never expecting to be sharing a hotel with him. And even if she had, she shouldn’t get teased about wearing a T-shirt and comfy pants. I also thought like he put himself first a lot of the time.

I did get more invested in this story after I finished the other book I was reading. I did care about the outcome, about the characters and appreciate the author’s writing style.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

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I had high hopes for this book with two Asian American characters, but I DNFed at 46%. It felt so slow and I wasn't in to the characters' relationship.

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I was way too excited to read this book early on. Like I could not wait a sec when I received the ARC in the mail. And I was not disappointed when I finished reading this book.

Circling Back to You is a slow burning romance between two opposite co-workers. Cadence and Matt have secretly liked each other for years, but they have always denied their attraction. We really don’t know why until later on. But I would say that the slow burning attraction between them builds up throughout the book. And you best believe, you will enjoy reading about their intense attraction for each other.

I would also say that in this book we do touch up on Cadence family problems. Cadence is very private about herself so that we get to understand her more when she visits her family. And she has not processed all of her grief with her mother's passing. She is still stuck with moving on and letting go of her resentment toward her father. It will always take awhile, you just have to embrace it if you want to move forward.

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Thank-you Avon and NetGalley for the chance to review this arc.

Another winner from Julie Tieu!

Circling Back to You is what you want in novel!
I had so much fun reading it once the story really got going.
With likable characters that felt real and relatable!
I man you can't go wrong with the workplace romance and friends to lovers tropes!

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I loved the multicultural romance between BIPOC characters, especially with a rarely-seen Filipino male lead. Totally related to all the filial piety situations both characters had to observe. Workplace romance was also dealt with very well in that Matt and Cadence didn't have a power imbalance. The fake dating aspect was a bit unnecessary. Sweet ending but the romance and heat level could have been ramped up more.

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