Book Review: Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu

Fancy Meeting You Here is an adult contemporary romance about two twenty-somethings that meet in the midst of a busy summer of weddings.

Elise and Ben have never met even though their best friends are getting married and Elise is really close with Ben’s sister. But now three couples in their circle are planning weddings and they’ll be thrown together again and again. As Ben and Elize start to fall for each other they’ll have to navigate nosy friends, Elise’s struggling floral business and Ben’s job on his mother’s political campaign.

This is a sweet and sexy romance with a relatable and normal couple. Ben is trying to find himself despite getting dragged into his mother’s career in politics and Elise is barely staying afloat after starting her own floral studio. Anyone that has ever been a bridesmaid, planned a wedding or worked in the bridal business (I’ve done all three) will especially relate to Fancy Meeting You Here. I recommend it to readers read enjoy contemporary romance without a lot of unnecessary stress, angst or toxicity in the main character’s relationship plus a sweet story about the bond between female friends.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my gosh, Julie Tieu has created an addictive read! I sat down to start reading and seriously finished it in one sitting.

Elise is an amazing friend & it was so fun to see her growth throughout the book. I love how she finally stands up for herself and learns to set boundaries with her friends. She also draws her line clearly with her love interest Ben and it was soo good for her. Yes girl, we love to see it!

Speaking of Ben, he similarly was a very likable character. The way he seemed so in tune to Elise was sexy. Although they refer to him as “younger” he’s only like a year younger than her lol. I thought it was a bit silly, but it didn’t hang me up anywhere.

Definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a wedding-filled, cheesy, laugh-filled romance.

This swoony rom-com read was funny and heartfelt with a dazzling California setting!

💐Always -the-bridesmaid florist heroine
💞Prickly and aloof caterer hero
💐Best friend’s younger brother/secret feelings
💞Three weddings to plan and attend!
💐Large close-knit friend group
💞Vegas girls’ weekend
💐Political campaign (hero’s mom) drama
💞Asian wedding cultural inclusion
💐Only one bed/Open door spice

Elise and Ben’s budding relationship had real hurdles and challenges but it was so fun to see them both fight in their own way for each other! If you enjoy fun spicy rom-coms with the perfect balance of heart and heat, add this one to your TBR list today 💐.

DNF’d at 46% :(

Unfortunately this book didn’t click with me! The characters lacked connection in my opinion. There was no build up in the relationship between the female main character and the male main character. The romance and tropes felt forced and the plot was too predictable.

The story didn’t grip me and I had to DNF.

Elise Ngo loves her three closest friends, even if she often feels like the odd one out in their friend group.  Each of her three friends, Rebecca, Jesse, and Beth, are getting married within the same few month period.  And each has requested that Elise, a florist who recently opened her own flower shop, serve as both a bridesmaid and their wedding florist.  

Rebecca is the daughter of a prominent local politician, and her wedding is the highest profile.  It offers Elise the potential for the greatest exposure for her business, but also the highest risk for failure.  As she rushes to set up at Rebecca's wedding, she turns to a caterer who is already at the venue for an extra set of hands.  The caterer turns out to be Rebecca's mysterious and aloof younger brother Ben.

Although Ben is off-putting, he does offer Elise jobs designing flowers for his mother's campaign fundraisers.  As Elise spends more time with Ben, who is working on his mother's campaign, she finds herself drawn to him and sees that he is much more than Rebecca's rude younger brother -- and she soon feels that he might be the one person who truly understands her.  But as their romance haltingly takes off, it is soon entangled in surprising and complicated ways with his mom's campaign, her own relationship with Rebecca, and her struggling floral business.  In the face of these challenges, Elise must decide how much she is willing to put on the line for what makes her happy.  

This was a great book!  I am a huge fan of the author and her two previous books, The Donut Trap and Circling Back to You, so I had high expectations for this latest novel -- and they were exceeded.  Like those two previous books, this novel excels at portraying main characters navigating their career ambitions and love in ways that feel authentic and realistic.   I also thought the author excelled at portraying the fraught dynamics that often occur when close adult friends have different financial situations, including how the friends with more resources are often oblivious to the pressures felt by the friends with less and the difficulties that places on the latter.  Finally, I appreciated how the book is as much about friendship as about romance -- in many ways, the central relationships in the book are between Elise and her three friends.  

Highly recommended!

This was a really cute rom-com and such a quick read! Thank you to Avon & Harper for the ARC.

I went into this story very skeptical because I’m not too big on weddings or hearing about bridezillas. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the story being from an industry person’s POV. I’ve shot a few weddings and wow, the stories I have about pricing, bridezillas and people getting absolutely trashed during the reception. So that drew me in and then I stayed for the friendship, budding relationship and really cool descriptions of the cultural weddings. It’s insane that all of her friends got married in just one book, my wedding was screaming while thinking of how much this must have cost them all.

While the story still had a lot of cheesy elements, mainly surrounding the budding relationship between Elise and Ben/Tom, I really enjoyed myself and would recommend to anyone needing a quick and less stressful read.

This is book is like a long lingering hug. When it got good it was really sweet and made me think there needs to be more romance where the couples don't have it all together and the MMC isn't uber confident. Ben and Elise are late 20 somethings still trying to figure it out. Ben is an anxious baby coming from a powerhouse political family, quiet and reserved. Elise is a college drop out who lives at home with her divorcee mom. Relatable characters (in some ways) doing relatable things like seeing their friends getting married and lives going in different directions. At any rate the first 14 chapters were a bit slow but then after the first wedding over things picked up in the best way possible. I really like Tieu's approach to writing Asian characters, navigating tradition and being children of immigrants.

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE – Julie Tieu
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-324519-8
November 7, 2023
Romantic Comedy

California – Present Day

Florist Elise Ngo has watched her three closest girlfriends fall in love and get engaged. Each of the brides has asked Elise to not only be a bridesmaid but to decorate their wedding venue with flowers. With her being the last single female of their group and no boyfriend, it’s natural that they want to see her with a steady boyfriend. Beth has even suggested her fiancé’s best friend, Ben, for a blind date, but Elise turned that down. One day while setting up the flowers for Rebecca’s wedding, a man starts yelling at her to not trespass. He thinks she is trying to crash the wedding since Rebecca’s mother is a politician and up for re-election. Elise assures him that she is the florist. Turns out the man is Ben Yu. Yes, the Ben that Beth suggested for a blind date, and he is Rebecca’s brother too. He will also be part of the wedding party.

Elise soon runs into Ben a lot and they are also tasked with planning Beth and Ethan’s wedding. Since it is on short notice, that means scrambling to find an available venue. One day, they end up in the middle of nowhere to check out a possible wedding spot, but a storm traps them for a night at the property. Elise and Ben have both a potential venue and a potential attraction with each other. Ben is involved in his mother’s re-election campaign and needs to keep a low profile. Elise doesn’t want it to get back to Rebecca that she is involved with her brother. They try to keep their burgeoning attraction a secret, but they don’t fool a few of their friends. The last thing Elise needs is for a scandal to scare away her business.

Both Elise and Ben weren’t interested in a new relationship but their attraction for each other has them changing their minds in FANCY MEETING YOU HERE. They keep running into each other and soon realize the other isn’t as bad as they first thought. They take things slow and secret, though they still manage to spend some time together. Elise had always felt that she wasn’t lucky in love, so she put all her energy into starting up her business. Alas, things aren’t going well with her floristry business even if her friends are keeping her busy with their weddings. Ben has always dealt with his parents’ disapproval. He’d rather be running a restaurant kitchen than involved in his mother’s political career, but that is taken out of his hands with her upcoming tough re-election battle.

FANCY MEETING YOU HERE is a cute, funny tale that highlights the highs and lows of weddings and all the planning that goes into them. Ben is prickly at first and Elise is one who prefers to be independent. But they soon win over each other. Their relationship is still growing and anything might happen to break them up. Here’s hoping Ben and Elise find a happily ever after. Don’t miss the fun in FANCY MEETING YOU HERE.

Patti Fischer
Romance Review Today

A story about a florist and a grumpy chef sounds like a nice read doesn’t it?
Fancy Meeting You Here was a cute read about wedding preparations.
Main characters has some cute banter going on between each other. Throw in some romance to make this a sweet read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5! This was perfect for a palette cleanser in the midst of reading so many fantasy books. I love that it was light hearted and easy to read. The beginning was on the slower side which is why I say 3.5 stars. I did love the found family with the FMC friends and the overall support around her. After the halfway mark its picks up alot and was so hard to put down. I HIGLY recommend to add to your TBR of rom-coms! I will definitely be ordering the paperback to add to my shelf!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. While a little on the slower side compared to most of the romance novels I read, I enjoyed reading Fancy Meeting You Here. The characters were sweet, but it lacked tension in my opinion. I will look forward to reading more works by author Julie Tieu though.

Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu was such a cute and fun grumpy x sunshine love story, with many sweet moments.
This is a sweet, entertaining rom-com that’s a slow burn romance following Elise and Ben.
Julie Tieu is a wonderful writer of light, fun, and sweet contemporaries, and Fancy Meeting You Here is just as delightful as her previous two. .
If you're looking for a light, fun, cute contemporary romance then this is the read for you!
An absolute delight of a book!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @avonbooks for an early copy of Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: November 7th, 2023

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108490300-fancy-meeting-you-here?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=23MDPwxSBE&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Fancy Meeting You Here is a heartwarming, romantic novel about Elise and Ben, whose circle of friends are getting married in a span of several months in between, with Elise being the florist and bridesmaid/maid of honor in some of them, and Ben being one of the bride’s brother. The book was a bit slow-paced for my liking, and the chemistry between the main characters was bland, but individually they were fascinating. Elise is very admirable with her passion for what she loves – weddings and flowers. Ben, meanwhile, was still finding his footing, but with Elise’s help, he was able to find his passion, what really stuck with him when it came to his career.

I also enjoyed Elise’s friendship with Rebecca, Beth, and Jesse. These women really seemed close to the core and would do everything for their circle of friends. Despite their busy schedules, they remained friends for 10 years and served an important role at each other’s weddings. Although it’s been a while since I read the series, their friendship reminds me of the main female characters from The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts.

A grumpy chef and a florist? Sign me up. I really looked forward to this book because of the aforementioned, but I felt like I had a really hard time connecting to either character. Ben wasn't as aloof as he was made out to be and I didn't see enough of the chef aspect I was really hoping for. There were so many characters in this story that I had a hard time keeping track of who was getting married when and where everyone was at and who they were with. I found it a little weird that Elise didn't know Ben or have any knowledge of what he looked like and he was her best friend's brother, but I let that go.
I felt bad for Elise, always trying to be helpful to everyone, and putting herself out constantly. Ben was a slice of happiness for her, but the way they hid made me sad. Elise struggled so much and I know she didn't talk about it, but it is like no one thought about her and what she had to do to make a living and just wanted her to do all these things for their weddings. I just feel like, no one considered Elise and that made me sad. I felt like Ben and Elise were destined to be together though, and that is what pushed me through. 3.5 stars.
Thanks to Avon, Netgalley and Julie Tieu for an early copy.

"Fancy Meeting You Here" was a really cute romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This is the second book I've read by Julie Tieu. I wasn't obsessed with the first one I read, but I'm a sucker for a romance with a political/campaign element so I was enticed to pick this one up. I liked "Fancy Meeting You Here" more than I liked "Circling Back to You" and I think most of the things I didn't love about both of the books were more matters of preference than actual critiques.

For me, Tieu's romances are a little too close to reality for me. While I thought "Fancy Meeting You Here" had a little more of the embellished drama that I look for in a romance novel, it still didn't totally sweep me off my feet. Again, that's not a criticism, I think there's a lot of people who will love this style of book.

I loved the cast of supporting characters in "Fancy Meeting You Here" (though I sometimes had trouble remembering how they all knew each other). I thought each supporting character brought something different and unique to the book and I also loved seeing how Elise's friend group functioned as a unit.

My biggest criticism of the book has to do with part of the political plotline. I work in politics, and love reading political rom-coms. Usually, I can suspend my disbelief when there are inaccuracies in how the campaigns function, but there was one issue in "Fancy Meeting You Here" that did bother me a little. (Minor spoilers ahead). The big drama in the back half of the book had to do with the campaign being accused of campaign finance/ethics violations. However, the things they were accused of would not have actually been violations (hence there was no need for an investigation). Additionally, there were actual campaign finance violations committed elsewhere in the book that were not addressed. The actual violations were nothing egregious and things that I'd normally not mind in a novel. However, given that the plot revolved around the campaign being accused of campaign finance violations, I wish that there was a little more research done to make sure the campaign wasn't actually breaking the law.

With that said, there were a lot of political moments that I absolutely loved so I also want to share those: Parents usurping their children to work on their campaigns is 1000% something that happens in real life. The fundraiser where all of the donors begin eating the centerpieces was absolutely iconic. The son getting demoted from fundraisers to canvassing and yard signs after the failed fundraiser is hilariously accurate. Local campaigns getting into fights over things like replacing each other's yard signs is also hilarious and true to life. And I think there was a Four Seasons Total Landscaping reference in there, which was fantastic.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that just wasn't totally my style. I think a lot of people will absolutely adore this book and Julie Tieu's other novels. I should probably be more chill about the politics things.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Julie Tieu is a brilliant author, but I'm just not connecting with this book. There are a lot of moving parts, and the main character has a negative attitude for reasons I don't understand. I think I could handle one or the other of those things, but both of them together are too much for me. DNF at 21%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I enjoyed Circling Back to You and Fancy Meeting You Here just might be my new favorite. First of all, if I had a nickel for every romance book I read about florists, I'd have two nickels...But this one was fabulous. I love a good meet cute and could instantly relate to Elise. To the ways she pushes herself and tries to always be accommodating, to be the best, and how she didn't let anyone in to see her struggle. She's convinced she can do everything on her own without asking for help - talk about a bit too on the nose!

Read if you like:
💍 Multiple Weddings
🔥 Slow-ish burn to 60 (1st kiss around 50%)
🛌 One Bed Trope
💋 Best Friends Brother
💐 Florist FMC
🌏 Diverse Characters
👯‍♀️ Friend Groups

Overall, this one focuses a lot on the weddings of Elise’s three closest friends as they all get married in rapid succession where she is the florist and a bridesmaid at each of the three weddings. This was a bit bothersome to me as she was also doing the florist work super discounted for them but her business was failing to the point she had to let all of her team go and was on the verge of losing her studio for her business.

I also felt like things went a bit from 0 to 100 all of a sudden with her and Ben to the point I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between them at all and wasn’t really invested in their love story.

The third act break-up was also super predictable with the way the book was set up.

This pains me to say, especially after loving the 2022 release from this author but this is not one that knocked it out of the park for me and was more of an okay romance for me personally.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the fmc Elise - she is the star of this romance! She is the kind of friend we all want to have, however her friend group took advantage of her time and time again. She had so much pressure on her to be the florist for 3 weddings and be a bridesmaid at the same weddings! Whew! Her florist business was in trouble, the mmc, Ben, was into her but not as supportive as I’d have liked. He’s her bff’s brother and works on his mom’s political campaign- for now. The romance took a back seat to Elise, her goals, and female friendship, which was just fine because Elise was so relatable. There was a ton going on in this book, so if you like an action packed plot, wedding drama, and found-family side characters you will love this one!

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This felt like it would make a great made-for-tv movie adaptation as a silly goofy romcom. This is a best friend's brother trope, so Elise, our main character, falls for her friend's brother Ben! Elise is helping to plan her bff's wedding, and this puts her into a bit of a forced proximity situation with Ben. I do wish there was a bit more development of their romance, and less telling.

However, overall, the book was entertaining enough, and felt exactly as chaotic as wedding planning can be sometimes. I would read Julie Tieu's work again in the future!