This book follows work spouses Cadence and Matt as they go on a work trip from their office in San Francisco, to both of their homes in Los Angeles. While on the trip the pair decide to explore a personal relationship outside of work but to keep things low key. While trying to woo a client they both return to their families and the family drama that they’ve been removed from.

I liked this book more than Julie’s first book, The Donut trap. I was very pleased to find that this one was actually a romance. I liked both Matt and Cadence on the surface level, but both were flawed people who were off-putting at times. Cadence is really mean to both Matt and her family. Matt was extremely superficial and judgmental when it came to Cadence’s body and clothing. Some people might call this realistic characterization, but to me their flaws outweighed their good sides.

I’m also very confused by the marketing of this book. The blurb calls it, “a hilarious and sexy new novel,” but I wouldn’t really call it either of those things. Yes it was an open door romance, but it was not tension filled high heat. And there is absolutely nothing in this book that is slightly funny, let alone “hilarious.” Looking back on it I’m very confused on what I was supposed to find funny about this book. Not everything needs to be a rom-com, and it does more damage to a book to market it as a rom-com and have it not be funny than to market it just as a contemporary romance. The description also refers to it as a fake dating book. This is not a fake dating book as they are actually having a relationship. Again, describing the book as something it is not, just sets the book up to disappoint readers.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book, but it was not anything spectacular. It was a solid 3 star book. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i was very disappointed, I had to dnf this book even tho it’s right up my alley. I didn’t like the writing style, it was too confusing and forced me to reread several times some moments. carence was a difficult FMC to grasp, I didn’t like her. even tho I tried. Matt was the highlight of this book but it wasn’t enough to keep me from continuing this story….

Circling Back to You

QOTD: Workplace romance - yay or nay?

I have avoided them before but this year wanted to try them! This ARC came after that impulse…

And honestly, this was so underwhelming to read.

What did I like? The FMC is brilliant. I love Cadence Lim and understand her. She is just a thirty-something woman living her life and never feeling like she can do everything. She is tired and stressed and overlooked and I adore her.

Matt… is boring. He seems like a dime-a dozen corporate bro that throws the bare minimum energy at Cadence and then wonders why she doesn’t think he has a serious thing for her… He is in his late thirties and seems surprised that people find him to be a joke when… he is a joke. His motivations were inconsistent - do you want to have a big wild family or do you want to beat a fellow corporate bro and broing? Pick one. And follow through… I really couldn’t understand what she saw in him in the end.

TL/DR Review
Stars: Three and a half - all for Cadence
Series: NA
POV: Dual Third
Steam: low - a couple scenes, telling not showing
Tropes: coworkers, overbearing families, everyone over thirty, career crisis, forced proximit
For Fans Of: classic romcoms (third act break ups, weird grand gesture, etc.)
Theme Song: Not Your Barbie Girl by Ava Max
Subgenre: contemporary/ romcom
CW/ TW: references to grief/ loss of parent, secret keeping, workplace misogyny/ micro aggressions

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Circling Back to Your
Rating: 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Circling Back to You was an okay read for me. It's about an office romance between Cadence and Matt. I had a hard time believing that these two had feelings for each other, well that Cadence actually liked Matt. There were times that I didn't really like her because of the things she said or did. She had this horrible grudge against her father because of his handling of their financial situation when she was younger. Deep down she blames him for her mother's passing. This feeling carried on to her job, because she could be rude to Matt and other people. As a reader, I understand what her dad did was not what a father should do, but why treat Matt that way when all he wanted to befriend her from the very beginning.
I don't know...I feel that it was a forced relationship and the majority of these characters needed to practice being more honest with each other. Also, the way Cadence was treated at Matt's family party was not nice. It was her first time meeting them, she didn't deserve to be interrogated and for them to think it was a normal way to welcome somebody to the family.

Book Review: Circling Back To You by Julie Tieu

Circling About To You is an adult contemporary romance about two co-workers in commercial real estate and their struggles with work, family and romance.
Cadence and Matt have been working together at a San Francisco commercial real estate office for several years when a series of events push them closer together. Cadence is frustrated with how slowly her career is moving and rarely visits home since her mother died. She has very little in common with her older brother Tristan and still resents her father for the financial burdens the family has been under. Matt feels left out of his large Filipino family as one of the only cousins without a wife or kids. When Cadence and Matt are asked to work together on a few clients during a trip to Los Angeles they will start to see their chemistry heat up but with their individual futures up in the air they are unsure if romance even worth pursuing.
Combining both sweet and sexy Julie Tieu wrote a great workplace rom com with diverse main characters who despite their age and career success still have complicated family obligations to accommodate.

The blurb pulled me in as it had some tropes I liked, namely fake relationship and office romance. Unfortunately the story itself did not grab in the way I hoped. The writing was good, story was pleasant enough but I was not fully engaged in the romance. There was a lot of world building stuff in the background which possibly distracted me from focussing on leads Cadence and Matt. Overall alright (2.75 ⭐️)

I really enjoyed this rom com that had some of my favorite tropes:
-friends to lovers
-workplace romance
-force proximity
-interferring relatives

The middle of the story lagged a little bit and I really just wanted Cadence and Matt to be open and have honest communication. I just like to avoid those kinds of conflicts. There were are lot of times that the sentences were missing words and I hope that is resolved before the final printing. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute story with some substance to it. I really appreciated that the main characters, Cadence and Matt, were both Asian because in a lot of rom com or romance novels, one of the love interests are usually white or black. Which is fine but I like to walk away from every book that I be read as of I've learned SOMETHING and that's difficult when culture doesn't really play into the story line.
I did not expect some parts of the book to be as heavy as they were subject wise, but that took nothing away and honestly added to the story for me.

<i>Circling Back to You</i> is a fun, light read that was comedic with emotional depth.

Matt and Cadence had great chemistry, and the development of their relationship felt authentic and wonderful.

One synopsis I read gave the impression there was a fake relationship, which is definitely not true. Which is fine! It was just a letdown since I was looking forward to it.

I enjoyed that the third act break up was not based solely on miscommunication/lack of communication. Instead, throughout the book, the fault lines in their burgeoning relationship are clear.

The one thing I didn’t like was the promotion competition between Matt and Hunter. It felt out of place and much more cheesy than the rest of the book.

I definitely recommend <i>Circling Back to You</i> if you’re a fan of RomComs!

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

DNF @ 41%

I was so looking forward to this book because I loved Julie Tieu’s debut novel, The Donut Trap, but this book did not deliver for me.

The summary was so promising, a friends to lovers office romance with the self-proclaimed Asian Jim and Pam. I was totally here for that, but what I got ended up being very boring and watered down. I hated Cadence, the heroine in the story. She was bossy, rude, and really demanding. I also couldn’t connect with Matt, the real estate broker she worked with. As a couple, I didn’t see them jive together that well, which made it hard to root for them. There wasn’t any flirty banter and it being told in 3rd person also didn’t help.

I definitely don’t see this as a romantic comedy because I didn’t really laugh at any parts and there wasn’t a ton of great romance writing here. It was just very bland and boring, and frankly, I was disappointed.

Thank you to Net Galley for my complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review 🙂

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu

Circling Back to You was a cute, workplace rom com! Cadence and Matt are co-workers and friends, but when Matt asks Cadence to be his pretend girlfriend during a visit with family…(I’m sure you know the rest 🤣)

I really enjoyed reading this book. Cadence and Matt seemed pretty realistic, and their relationship progressed naturally. I loved seeing their friendship blossom into more. Also really loved the Chinese, Filipino, and women in STEM representation!

This book also covers some tough topics, like workplace microaggressions, loss of a parent, and parental/familial expectations. They were handled really well and flowed with the rest of the story.

If you’re looking for a workplace romance rec, look no further! Circling Back to You releases on 7/12! Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the #gifted copy!

The premise of this story sounded so intriguing to me, and I was really excited to dive in. However, what was advertised was not what was ultimately delivered. I found myself a bit bored with the story, feeling completely disconnected by the characters, and while the writing style was actually very engaging, the relationship didn't develop in a way that felt natural or aligned with how the story was meant to go.

Some main points that did not work for me...

"Hilarious" - I didn't really find it all that funny. I was expecting a true rom-com, but what I got was a rather sad contemporary romance that had some humorous soundbites from just the MMC. Overall, it didn't read like a comedy, even though I could tell the author was trying.

Fake Relationship - Nope. This wasn't a thing at all. It wasn't fake. They had slept together before they even tried to present their relationship to the family. They fell into bed so fast, with so little buildup to it, that I was a bit taken aback. I felt like I had missed a big portion of their relationship development. They didn't act like a couple who had feelings for each other, but once the FMC got drunk, into bed they went. A fake relationship implies they didn't start out in any sort of romantic relationship, which was not the case here.

Office Romance - It felt really weird to me, as someone who works in HR, that so much that went on actually happened, Rumors fly about their relationship, when there clearly isn't one, and it becomes a bit uncomfortable from a workplace perspective re. how others treat them. They are sent on a business trip together, and OOPS, there is only one room booked and that's okay. The FMC puts up a little resistance initially, but then she gives in. It was...weird. You have to read it to understand it. Also, most of the story feels less "office romance" than it does "friends to lovers". Office romance would have more of a taboo feeling, which I really didn't get from the story.

Overall, plot felt underdeveloped, relationship was not strong, and it was marketed as something it was not. Disappointed.

3.75 stars

A fun workplace romance, Circling Back to You centers around Cadence and Matt. Cadence is a data analyst and Matt is a broker, both working at the same real estate firm. While they both secretly have a crush on one another, they are forced to confront their feelings when they are sent on an important business trip together (and yes, there's only one hotel room).

This book was enjoyable, and if you're looking for a workplace romance I would recommend it! I think the back and forth negging between Cadence and Matt just wasn't my thing, but as their relationship evolved I definitely enjoyed the book more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cadence has pined for Matt since her start at Prism Realty. Having him as her work husband has it's perks, including early morning coffee, but just as she is thinking of taking things out of the office, Matt is up for a promotion that includes a relocation putting all thoughts of taking this working relationship into a real relationship off the table. When they are forced together to work on scoring a big client, in their hometown, they get closer than they ever have before. Will Matt be able to bring Cadence's walls down and open her up to what they could be if she let them or will he force her walls back up forever?

When I saw this book available on Netgalley, I was so freaking excited. I love me a good workplace romance with Asain rep and fake dating....count me IN! While fake dating is teased in the book, it doesn't happen. That is totally okay by me though because Circling Back to You is so much more than a rom-com. Is it funny? Yes. (WARNING: Matt makes the dadest of dad jokes 😆) Is it a romance? Yes. It is also a book about grief and family. It's about strength and resilience and trusting in people. As it is marketed as a rom-com I was not expecting the amount of depth that was involved in the love story of Matt and Cadence. There were so many important moments and intricacies that made up their relationship.

I read Circling back to you in one sitting. I stayed up well past my bedtime because I could not wait until morning to find out how things ended for the couple. I also made 4 pages worth of notes on the book. This is another epistolary novel. Throughout the book is a smattering of text threads, email chains, and chat conversations. It is also dual POV so you get to be inside both Cadence and Matt's brains to know what each of them are thinking. While both characters come from Asian families, their upbringing and relationship with their relatives are completely different. I loved the way that Julie Tieu gave a glimpse into each. The way she described the death anniversary rituals for Cadence and her family were a lot more in depth to some other books I have read in the past. It was written in a beautiful way that showed love and respect for an emotional and difficult ritual.

I could go on and on about all of the things I loved about this book (4 pages of notes 😅), but I will just end this with READ THIS BOOK. I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and 🌶🌶🌶. It has some open door scenes but they aren't super detailed or descriptive.

Julie Tieu always manages to write sweet, diverse romances and I’m all here for it.

This book is filled with unappreciative coworkers and bosses, women in STEM, work friendships, crushes, fake dating, and some real feelings. But when families get involved things tend to take a turn – and they definitely did here.

Personally, I loved the characters in this book, and the plot, but I felt a bit of a disconnect from how the characters spoke to each other – and I want to specifically say that I think it’s due to cultural differences. Julie Tieu is fantastic at representing different and diverse cultures and with what I know about the cultures being represented, I think she did a phenomenal job. It’s just not how I tend to interact with people (again, different cultures), but that’s why we read, right? To expose ourselves to different environments, people, and experiences! And this book does all of these at the same time for me.

If you’re looking for a cute workplace romance with a strong and quirky female protagonist, this is definitely one for you!

Another solid Own Voices read from Julie Tieu!

This is a work place romance with friends-to-lovers that is a bit of a slow burn. There’s also a bit of grumpy/sunshine thrown in where Matt is the sunshine and Cadence is the grump. The dynamic works and it brings out Matt’s sweet side.

While it’s not a closed door, fade to black romance, the intimate scenes are fairly tame. I didn’t feel the chemistry between them, but that worked in this story because the focus was on the relationship dynamic between them,

There were a few parts that dismissed the mark for me and that I think could have been further developed. Grief, loss of a parent, and familial pressure to act a certain way are main topics of the story so avoid if these are triggers.

Overall a solid, heartwarming read for contemporary romance readers that enjoy office space relationships!

I love a good workplace romance and this also has forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, and mutual pining. But…. It just wasn’t it for me. It was good, but just not great. Maybe enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance is more my speed? Anyway… Circling Back to You is a quick(ish), mostly lighthearted easy read. There isn’t too much angst, and the grief Cadence experiences over the loss of her mother is present, but not overwhelming. I do feel like the chemistry and tension between Cadence and Matt was a tad lacking… not enough time was spent really developing their emotions and connections on the page, so it felt less believable. If you’re looking for an easy read without a big emotional lift, this does the trick.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a parent (past), grief, toxic workplace

This was a quick low angst read, that dealt with some heavier topics. While I enjoyed the diversity and the pushback against a toxic workplace, the romance was overshadowed by all of the external plots for me. As a romance reader I was hoping for more romance but I know that plenty of other will appreciate it.

Steam: 1.5

What an absolutely delightful workplace romance!

Cadence and Matt are cubicle neighbors and work spouses whose working relationship evolves into a romantic one. I enjoyed watching both of them struggle through awkward moments when they were concealing their attraction from each other, and I really enjoyed how their connection evolved over time. Once it became clear that there was a mutual attraction there, Matt was charming in his attempts to woo Cadence, but I appreciated that he did respect her boundaries and didn't cross any lines or try to force her to speak to him when she needed space.

I loved the family elements. I laughed out loud at a few points with Matt's Filipino family, and I felt so tender toward Cadence and her family dynamic after losing her mom. Having lost my mom five years ago, and moved back home to help my dad around the house, I really connected with her struggling to reconcile her career goals with her family obligations.

It was also great to see such a strong, intelligent female lead. Cadence is a bad-ass data analyst who is the backbone of the real estate firm where they work, and it was great to see her stand up for herself and pursue what she rightfully deserves. More of this in romances, please!

So much adorableness wrapped into 345 pages. I love how many tropes were brought into this book without it feeling too chaotic. You have:

- Grumpy x sunshine (My personal favorite considering the FMC was the grumpy 😩)
- Friends to lovers
- Work place romance
- Mutual pining being hidden

I love how well written and thought out this book felt, the duel POV was great it made it easier to understand where each character was coming from and how they perceived each other. Their banter was also *chefs kiss*

I absolutely adored how Matt is the epitome of golden retriever boyfriend, he is such a sweetheart through out the entire book it made me root for him the entire time. Cadence was also such a strong character, I like that she didn’t back down from any obstacles or challenges and she always showed up when people needed her the most.

Can we also just talk about this quote from Matt?????

“Look. It’s late and we should get some rest, but let me be clear. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. I’m done pretending that I don’t want to kiss you when you walk into the office, and I sure as hell am not going to forget that this happened. But I promise you, I’m not going to kiss you again until we’re on the same page. And if we are, we’re going to do a hell of a lot more than kiss.”

😮‍💨🫣🥵