Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau starts off as a typical time loop story, but Lau has plenty of tricks up her sleeve to add new twists to the time loop theme. For starters, the main character Noelle is stuck in the time loop on a random day with only one other person--and it's not the love interest, Cam. Instead, she interacts with Cam repeatedly and falls in love while he must learn her name again every time they meet.

This book is pretty slow-paced, and more space is dedicated to the time loop aspect than the romance. We follow Noelle as she struggles to figure out the parameters of the time loop and escape it. Thus, we get to learn a lot about her and her family. The actual amount of time she interacts with the male lead is rather small in comparison, which may or may not turn some readers off if they are reading this book primarily for the romance piece. Personally, I found the romantic dynamics between the two leads to be just okay. I wasn't put off by their dynamics, but their chemistry was fairly mediocre and relied a lot on incredibly cheesy jokes.

Overall, I think this book sold me mostly on its creative twist to the time loop. It could have been a lot shorter and spent more time building up the romantic tension, but I still enjoyed the read.

What if Noelle didn't eat those dumplings? This time loop rom com sees her repeat June 20 over and over again,thanks to dumplings she impulsively bought from an older woman at a street festival. It's disconcerting and frustrating to see your life reset every night (even hair cut during the day regrows). Luckily, she meets Avery, who also ate the dumplings and thus has an ally. And she meets Cam who isn't on her loop, which means she must reintroduce herself every day. She's intrigued by him but can they build a relationship in these circumstances? I liked Noelle (also that she's an engineer) and Cam is a treat so I rooted for them, as you will as well. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. No spoilers from me!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This was a really cute romance. I think this book may well end up being one of my favorite romances of 2025! If you love movies like Back to the Future or 13 Going on 30, I definitely recommend this book. I can't wait to read Jackie Lau's next book! I definitely would not sit this book out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This was (thankfully!) a quick read, but I couldn't wait for it to be over. I thought the premise was interesting, but the main character and the writing style were both incredibly juvenile, so I just could not get invested in the story. Also, I love some spice in my romance novels, but the sex scenes in this book were so jarring. Noelle seemed so infantile and there was zero actual chemistry between her and Cam, yet all of a sudden there would be a somewhat spicy sex scene?!?! It made me cringe several times. I also saw the "twist" coming a mile away. Rounding up to two stars because I loved the food descriptions.

The premise of this book was so fun! Like Groundhog Day, but magic dumplings helping you find what you need.

And what Noelle needs is Cam, Cam just doesn’t know it, since he isn’t living June 20th over and over again.

Sometimes the best part of a romance is that sometimes awkward or humorous first meeting, this book gives you multiple of those since they meet over and over and over again.

I loved watching their relationship grow even when it was one sided, Cam’s lingering sense of knowing her and what she liked was so sweet.

This book definitely gave me Ali Hazelwood vibes with a smart woman in STEM as the FMC. Noelle navigates being undervalued in the male dominated world of mechanical engineering.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book!! Jackie Lau captured my heart and did not let go. Time Loops and Meet Cutes is about Noelle Tom a hard-working mechanical engineer who was very focused on tasks and not so much about what was going on around her.

After eating dumplings at a market - the vendor told her they would bring exactly what she needed - she lives the same day over and over again . She seems Cam, a handsome man who works nearby, every day - she starts to incorporate him more and more into her days. Fortunately, she meets another woman, Avery, who is also stuck in the time loop.

Noelle was ADORABLE - super quirky and funny - I love the risks she took on her repeating days. The pace was fast, which was perfect, so that the story didn't become tedious. I love the Asian rep, the amazing food descriptions, and just a sprinkling of spice. I cried, laughed, remained hopeful, and just loved the ending. This book was all-around delicious!

I remain grateful to Atria/Emily Bestler books, and I really, REALLY want a second book to see how Avery fares!!!

4.5 stars. This was an absolute delight to read!

I'm struggling to write this review because there were so many little details that I enjoyed. That Noelle knew Cam was related to her escape from the time loop, even if she didn't know how. That Noelle tried every dumpling restaurant in the greater Toronto area to find the first one. The little deja vu moments Cam had throughout, knowing this person was important to him somehow but couldn't quite figure out why. Noelle's continued struggles with her self-worth, even after proving to herself that she could be confident and get what she wants. The way Madison accepts the time loop story, and Cam too, because Noelle is just that sincere a person.

This book went through some big topics but still managed to be lighthearted and accessible. It's very hopeful. A wonderful book that everyone should read if they need a little push to make that next big decision.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jackie Lau, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel, which far exceeded my expectations! First, my expectations have to do with the fact that Jackie Lau is a romance writer, and I'm not a devotee of the genre. Second, I was ambivalent about the time loop thing. I’ve seen Groundhog Day; I get it.

But it turns out that the commentary on alternative temporalities is just so well done! There is the fact that Noelle’s life is already thoroughly routinized, not unlike what we see in something like Severance or other dramatizations of the neoliberal subject or homo economicus. On several occasions, as Noelle attempts to explain her dilemma to others, she has to press the point that she is literally and not just figuratively living the same day on repeat. But there is also incredibly diversity to the multiple June 20ths. In fact, living the same day makes her life much richer than if time were to progress as usual, with her clocking the hours with the same work routine everyday.

I was really impressed with how Lau found a way to narrate June 20 so that 1) both the reader and Noelle can appreciate all the ways that the same day can be lived differently and 2) how the repetitiveness of this time loop feels as frustrating to the reader as to Noelle herself. The central figure for allowing us to appreciate this potential for diversity and inexorable repetitiveness is Noelle’s love interest Cam. Her relationship with Cam does “develop” over the course of the novel—over the course of repeating the same day—in that brief encounters lead into sexual encounters. But Cam and Noelle are always constrained by the temporal conundrum (and decorousness) of the first date. Cam’s subconscious does possess the imprint of their prior meetings, and on one occasion he almost remembers her name. For the most part, though, there is no linear progression in their relationship. And neither kissing Cam nor sex with Cam breaks the loop; it all ends up making Noelle feel worse about a relationship that can go nowhere.

Cam is a crucial relationship to the novel’s unfolding and to the time loop’s breaking, but arguably it is Noelle’s friendship with Avery that feels the most meaningful. Like Noelle, Avery has found herself stuck in June 20 due to the magic dumpling. Noelle does constantly remind us, in relation to Cam, that she hasn’t dated since college, yet she just as frequently notes, in relation to Avery, that she hasn’t had a close friend in just as long of a time. Noelle cohabitates with Avery, not Cam. We see the two friends exchange gifts and meals in more meaningful ways. There is a lot of pining with respect to Cam, but only with Avery does Noelle develop a relationship with actual emotional depth. Notably, the first time that Cam agrees to sleep with Noelle, she receives an emergency text from Avery, and she chooses Avery over Cam.

The second half of the novel concerns when Avery and Noelle do break the time loop. Here, the reader comes to fully appreciate how much the time loop has brought out a more confident and considerate Noelle. Only the promise of a reset could she flirt with Cam, find a best friend in Avery, learn to crochet, ask her boss for a raise, and reconcile with her estranged sister Madison. When time resumes, Noelle finds her job way more oppressive than it had initially seemed. The men she works with are not just annoying but intolerable. She finally finds it in herself to quit.

Overall, I found so much depth, nuance, and fun in this novel. I can't wait to read more of Lau's work!

I LOVE time loop stories so Time Loops & Meet Cutes was my jam! I enjoyed this just as I knew I would! I liked following Noelle as she repeated June 20th over and over. I enjoyed the introduction of Avery who also was experiencing the same problem. I laughed at her interactions with Cam. This was the perfect light hearted read for me!

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Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau
Time Loops & Meet Cutes
by Jackie Lau (Goodreads Author)
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More like a 4.5 just due to the ending but I loved 95% of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I'm not sure what it was about it but I consumed this in a day and was completely invested in the main romance. I also loved the friendship of Noelle and Avery and how they formed their bond through this shared trial but continued it after. The book had a lot of real themes of anxiety in developing relationships in adulthood and I was so proud of Noelle for continuing her growth.

the ending felt a bit rushed and not fully pulled together but overall a great book.

I love a good groundhogs day type book. This was done pretty well, but there’s only so much you can do with this type of book so it was fairly predictable.

This book was just okay. The main character, Noelle, finds herself stuck living June 20th over and over again after eating some dumplings at a market. She finds a girl that is also stuck in the loop and they bond over their shared experience. She meets a guy, Cam, while in the loop and tries various ways to win his affection. They’re stuck in the loop for so long that she starts to really like him and has trouble with him forgetting her and their shared experiences.

I really do enjoy time loop books and I was having a good time with this one. The creative ways to spend the same day over and over again were entertaining. I started having trouble once the girls got out of the loop. I think overall, people will really enjoy this one.

I absolutely loved reading Time Loops and Meet Cutes! Noelle finds herself reliving the same day over and over after eating dumplings that the shop owner claims will “give her what she needs most.” In reliving the same day, she finds herself drawn to a man she keeps running into in various places.

I was a little hesitant to read this book at first because I was worried the “Groundhog Day” trope would get a bit repetitive. This was absolutely not the case with Time Loops and Meet Cutes! Jackie Lau does an excellent job at portraying Noelle’s frustration repeating the same day without making the reader also feel the repetition. I loved that Noelle found ways to switch up her days in the loop, and I really admired the friendship she built with Avery throughout the book.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a sweet romance, magical realism, or a bit of both! Thank you, Jackie Lau, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good! I read 97% of it in one setting. Noelle’s life is pretty mundane until one night she eats the most delicious dumplings and the next morning she lives that day again, again, and again. This book got my right in the feels. When the days kept going on and on I started to feel the never ending dread that both Avery and Noelle were feeling. Cam was such a sweetheart and his love and trust of Noelle was everything. Highly recommend this book to all!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, & Jackie Lau for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The cosmic pull between our two MC's (Noelle & Cam) is truly magical realism at its finest! And the friendship with the fellow voyager (Avery) is just WOMEN at its finest!

The thing about some books with the time loop trope- it can get tiresome. Jackie Lau handles the straight up ABYSS of a seemingly never ending time loop with incredible skill. I was not bored. I was not tired or annoyed when the alarm went off again-- I was ready and so down for every twist and turn within the monotony.

I would LOVE a book about Avery- maybe we can uncover more about the magic dumpling maker and their intentions? Perhaps how Cam's dad's experience works into it!?!? Please?!? :-)

TIME LOOPS & MEET CUTES
RATING: 3.75
GENRE: Romance

Time Loops & Meet Cutes s a play off the famous movie, Groundhog Day, where our main female character, Noelle, falls into a time loop and keeps repeating the same day. Noelle lives a quiet, but cautious and monotonous life as a mechanical engineer. She spontaneously decides to visit a night market after work one day and eats some magical dumplings and her entire life is literally thrown into a time loop.

The first half of the book is Noelle realizing she is stuck repeating June 20th and so she allows herself to do fun and out of the ordinary things without consequences. However, it does get a little repetitive after a while. During the time loop, Noelle keeps running into Cam and this kicks off out meet cute love interest.

We get short viewpoints from Cam as he continues to live his life as is, but he gets a sense he is missing someone. It’s interesting to see how life goes on for everyone except Noelle. She becomes desperate to break the time loop as it becomes day 150+?

I enjoyed this book - it was a fun concept to explore. Noelle is a very relatable character for anyone who’s been stuck in corporate monotony. I like the contrast of Cam and Noelle’s personalities. Please pick up if you enjoy romance with a twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Artria Books for this e-ARC.

I think time loops are just not for me. Overall, it was a cute story, but I found myself disconnecting from the story. It felt a little repetitive which is to be expected with time loops, and I couldn't quite get behind the romance between the two main characters. However, I did like the friendship between Noelle and Avery! If you enjoy cute little rom coms with a time loop aspect I would check this out!

I am happy to report that eating dumplings while reading this book did not cause me to get stuck in a time loop!

This was a very cute book that made me want to eat everything mentioned, which seems to be Jackie Lau's sweet spot.

Noelle is thrown into a time loop, doomed/destined to repeat June 20th over and over again. She learns to take chances with her family, career and the cute guy she keeps bumping into in different iterations of the day, but learns that there are downsides to a consequence-free day as well. I enjoyed also getting snippets of Cam's perspective as we moved through the book.

A time loop story is tricky, and this did start to drag for me a bit, even though I think the aftermath of the loop is handled in a clever way. And there were some things I wanted more resolution on <spoiler>her friendship with Veronica never really went anywhere, and there was a lot left unexplored in Avery's story. She had it SO much worse during the loop, but her explanation is even less satisfying than Noelle's in the end</spoiler>.

Thank you to Jackie Lau, NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC.

I devoured this book in one day!! It's such an interesting premise, and I absolutely love how it was executed. The relationship between the main characters is so pure and genuine and wholesome, I couldn't stop smiling! I'm eagerly awaiting Lau's next book.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.