I love rom-coms, but this book didn't do it for me. The main female character felt too unrealistic and the banter seemed forced.

This was a sweet friends to lovers, dual perspective workplace romance between two Asian American co-workers who get thrown together on a trip. Forced proximity, fake dating, more steam than you usually get from this author and a lot of complex family dynamics had me speeding through this new book with pure enthusiasm. Recommended for fans of Suzanne Park. Much thanks to NetGalley and Avon for my advance review copy!

I really wanted to love this book as it hits on some of my favorite tropes: friends to lovers, workplace romance, fake dating... But I had a really hard time with this one. I felt like there was almost no chemistry between Cadence and Matt. I also really struggled with the amount of "shop talk" that was in the first 30% or so. I felt like they talked more about real estate and the ins and outs of their jobs than "friend" things which made it really hard for me to connect to them and want to keep reading.

Unfortunately at about the 50% mark, I decided to DNF because I could just not form a connection to the story or the characters. This one was just not for me.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This romance novel was so enjoyable to read. I love the aspect of them being coworkers that actually got along and who were friends prior to when the story starts in the book. I am always a lover of the fake dating trope, and the way it was used and incorporated into this story was so well done. Through the story they end up seeing each other in a different light than they had before, and feeling begin to bloom and surface between them. Through the ups and downs of this book they fight to remain together and not let the romance between them take a back seat anymore. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I enjoyed this book - not as much as some of the others in this genre & with these tropes, but definitely more than others I have read. It is a friends to lovers, own voices, miscommunication trope, will they/won't they book, and it fills the void of a lighthearted read if that is what you are looking for. I appreciated the cultural elements of this book, considering I don't come from a Chinese background, it was nice to have Julie incorporate her culture into the book, thus making it stand out from other books I have read in this genre. But overall the book was a little too trope-y for my taste - though this isn't fundamentally a bad thing! It just wasn't what I think I was looking for when I was reading right now. It has a HEA/HFN, but it was unique and I appreciated that. Overall this was a nice read.

Happy Book Birthday to Circling Back to You by @julietieuwrites 🥳🥳
Thanks to @netgalley for an e-ARC of this awesome book!
Cadence Lim has her life together, she’s moving up the corporate ladder and she has her apartment and routine in the Bay Area. Yet every year she makes the trip back to the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles to visit her estranged Dad and brother. This year things take a twist when suddenly her work bestie, Matt Escanilla is sent to Los Angeles for work at the same time. He enlists Cadence’s help in the office & outside of work at a family event. The two figure out their mutual attraction but can they make it work while also continuing to work together? And why does Cadence make a yearly trip to LA? Will Matt’s family behave long enough for Cadence to pass their tests? Will Cadence’s Dad finally open up to her about his life and health? Please read this awesome book to find out! 💕
I loved the themes Tieu writes about here including family drama and bonding, first-gen immigrant struggles, grief and love, and community supporting each other. Also, Matt and Cadence are so hot together! 🥵😍💕

This was a great friends to lovers mixed with a fake relationship story and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🔥
Tropes: Workplace romance, friends to lovers, AAPI main characters, family oriented, Cali setting

I really enjoyed this book. It was so much deeper than a typical romcom, it discussed belonging and family dynamics. I resonated with the main character in that she struggles to feel like she fits in and questions if her job is going nowhere. The romance in this book was definitely the most realistic, raw relationship I’ve read about in RomCom. The couple deals with real struggles including life diverging, potential long distance, parents getting older and needing help. Overall would definitely recommend this book.

Cadence has a crush on coworker Matt, but she's focused on her career and treats him with cool professionalism. They're sent on a business trip to LA—where both their families live—and he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a family event. Will their fake relationship turn real?

This is a smart, complex story with a lot of moving parts. Both characters are hoping to get a promotion, which splits their focus between their career goals and each other. It takes a long time for them to soften and let down their emotional walls.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Circling Back to You progressed very quickly, which left me struggling to keep up. I wished that there had been time for more development or explanation of Cadence and Matt's relationship. There was a lot going on and it just fell a little short for me.

A reverse grumpy/sunshine trope wrapped in a workplace romance with Asian representation.

Matt and Cadence are working together in a real estate brokerage company as a broker and analyst respectively, having this kind of work-husband and work-wife relationship. They kept their attractions at bay until they decide they couldn't, not anymore.

This was a fast read and just took me around three sittings to finish. I found this entertaining enough to keep me going but not enough to make me feel deeply towards it.

Cadence came off as rude and condescending most of the time that I found it hard to connect with her. I admired her work ethic, though, I give her that. Matt, on the other hand, is your typical cinnamon roll hero who's not hard to fall in love with. They may make for good individual characters but I found their relationship lacking. There was no real sizzling chemistry and I even wondered what drew Matt to Cadence aside from her being attractive in a pencil skirt.

Also, as I belong in a Filipino household myself, I found the extended family relationships down to their meddling and gossiping relatable, HA.

Pretty enjoyable read if you're looking for the above mentioned tropes.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager, NetGalley and the author for my early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book gave me all the feels! Mat and Cadence we're so cute. It was just the romance I was craving. Her workplace observations were so relatable and I'm glad she always stood up for her self. I like that the story explored their families dynamics.

Overall a great read that i will be recommending to my friends.

Cadence Lim is the analyst for Prism Realty in San Francisco. Her cubicle partner is Matt a real estate broker.
They both secretly like each other but haven't said anything. Until they are both asked to work on a new proposal for a client in LA.

This was a fun workplace romance. I loved the banter between Matt and Cadence. I seriously cried when Cadence met Matt's family and his Mom was so nice.

We featured Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu for our Asian American Heritage Month in April. We both found the novel to be witty and charming with an honest and loving depiction of both Filipino and Chinese culture and family. While we were not completely sold on the chemistry, this book packs a lot of spice. We recommend it for those who love a good office romance with some friends to lovers thrown in. Please find our review here: https://anchor.fm/chicklitbookclub/episodes/CLBC-Episode-37---Circling-Back-to-You-e1ikpn0.

Cadence Lim thinks she knows what she needs to do in life and it does not include a romantic relationship, actually it does not involve many relationships at all. Matt Escanilla has been working, working, and a little playing for the past few years but now it seems as if life is leaving him behind. He just needs to close this large deal with a tech giant to gain his promotion in the new Prism Realty LA office. Then he can finally settle down and spend more time with his family. When Cadence shines as an integral part of making that happen, Matt is more than happy to have her along.
I enjoyed this book for several reasons but mostly because of Cadence. She is an AAIP character that grew up in a home that was trying hard to assimilate. At least it seems her father wished that for her and her brother. When her mother passed several years ago, Cadence pulled back from her relationships with her family and threw herself into work. She is at the top of her game and goes above and beyond without the recognition she deserves. She can be brutally honest and somewhat off putting but it is a defense to shield herself from personal involvement. If people do not like her, they will not want to get to know her. Matt has always appreciated Cadence’s dedication and respects her abilities, but as they spend more time together he realizes he knows nothing about her. As a Filipino American, Matt can understand Cadence's struggles of balancing a family life with a rich culture and expectations. The expectations for him are to get married and start making babies, ekk. He knows if he is going to do that it needs to be soon.
These characters have a good foundation to work with as they have been co workers for years but they quickly realize that does not mean you know a person. I think Matt and Cadence both had to deal with some realistic insecurities to get to an HEA. I thought the way things ended worked well as the characters did not change their personalities, just their goals.

A sweet work place romcom where the hero is an absolute simp and the heroine is very hot and cold. As someone who is also big on keeping work and personal life separate, I found Cadence very easy to relate to. I loved seeing her slowly open up and lean into her family. I loved so much of the banter with Matt and Cadence, some of it was silly and try hard and other times it was laugh out loud funny. Both main characters are Asian and I loved getting to see the family dynamics, especially with Matt and the women in his family. Friends to lovers can be such a wonderful trope and I enjoyed this one immensely.

I would've loved to see a bit more tension between Matt and Cadence, but I loved their banter. This was framed to be a fake dating scenario, but that never really happened. Other than that, definitely a fun summer read for your tbr!


3.5 rounded up

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon for the eARC!

This was a cute office romance! I did struggle with the main character at times. I found her behavior to be somewhat puzzling and didn't really understand why she was acting the way she was towards Matt or her father. I also found myself wanting more "romance" or tension between the characters. Regardless, I did enjoy "Circling Back to You" and would reccomend!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy! Out tomorrow - 7/12/22!

Complicated family dynamics are always my jam when it comes to books. Throw in some fake dating and I cannot resist! I was so excited to get an early copy of Circling Back to You. A wonderful story by a wonderful author. I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read "Circling Back to You" by Julie Tieu, scheduled to release on July 12th, 2022!

This novel told the story of a workplace romance between Cadence & Matt. They are both looking for promotions in their realty careers. Cadence is actually putting in her resume' to other job offers because she feels as though her current career path isn't going anywhere significant. Matt annoys Cadence to no end, but perhaps that's what she likes best about him. :) Their boss schedules them to work back in their hometown over the course of two weeks.

I was glad to read a novel with Asian-oriented characters in it! That in itself was like a breath of fresh air. I also enjoyed the relationship Cadence had with her father and Matt had with his mother & grandmother. It reminded me of how my own relationship with my mother is, so it was fairly relatable.

Overall, I rated this book a 3.5/5 stars!

Work friends morph into something more in this second effort by author Julie Tieu, CIRCLING BACK TO YOU. The colleagues work in a real estate office and a Christmas-time volunteer effort causes co-workers to gossip about a romance that doesn’t quite exist…yet. Although given the opportunity, the two leads manage to find a way to fake a relationship on their way into a real one. The book, however, is awkwardly written and just doesn’t flow well. It’s not actually funny despite being promoted as a rom com and the characters aren’t really engaging enough to sell their romance. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.