When we meet Noelle Tom, she is an overworked, underpaid, chronically in her own head person who doesn’t have a strong support system and just wants something to eat. Unfortunately for her, the dumplings she buys at the night market cause her to get stuck in a time loop, reliving the same day. Initially I wasn’t sure if it was going to work for me since by necessity the time loop structure meant spending a lot of time going over very similar ground with Noelle as she comes to terms with being stuck reliving June 20th over and over again and seemingly being the only one who knows what is happening. Each night the day resets – all work undone, all money back in bank accounts, all other people having no recollection of the previous 24 hours that Noelle lived – and within those resets Noelle has to figure out what it is she needs to get out of this experience, both literally and figuratively.

But eventually it did work, and I was glad to have had the patience to see what Lau was creating. I could start to see the strings of the story coming together as Lau introduced Avery, someone else who was stuck in the loop with Noelle. While this is clearly a Romance book, it takes much of the usual structures of the genre and throws them out the window, because while the titular meet cutes are happening with Cam, the lovely brewery owner who Noelle keeps running into, the emotional heft of the first half of the book is in the friendship that Avery and Noelle form as they try to understand this experience together. This is an emotionally resonant book with characters who are going through it. Lau uses the time loop structure to broaden Noelle’s understanding of herself and others. By putting her in a position where she is at the mercy of so many things out of her control it gives Noelle the ability to relate to others in a new way, and it is incredibly poignant in her relationship with her sister. Honestly, the metaphor that Lau creates around mental health here is great stuff and an excellent reason to go over into the fantasy side of things a bit.

On the romance side of the equation this one reminds me of another Lau book, Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie in that the emotional beats of the story lean hard into the characters senses of self-worth and ways in which our assumptions about others are a form of self-sabotage. In the first half of the book as Noelle has her series of meet cutes and first dates with Cam she is able to get out of her own way a bit, but once she’s out of the loop she must trust herself, and him, as she approaches him for the first time with real consequences. But because Lau structured the previous interactions in a way that always had Cam responding positively, and having some vague memory of Noelle, that when things don’t go exactly as she hopes she has the knowledge and confidence to try more. Which eventually leads to them deciding if they have it in themselves to be open, to be known, and to be loved. It really is maybe the best thing Lau has written, but maybe not my favorite – not that I’m sure what my favorite is either. I’ve read a lot of Lau since 2019, and I hope more people will pick up this one and see what it has to offer.

It was a good idea but time loop stories I don’t think are my favorite. It becomes very repetitive and I start to lose interest the more it goes on.

I love the time loop trope, so I immediately wanted to pick this book up. The characters were relatable and the plot interesting, but one of my favorite parts was the vivid descriptions of food. Our main character gets thrown into a time loop after eating dumplings at a night market. She continues to attend the night market and then other restaurants in the area to try to find a way out of the loop.

I haven't read any other novels by Jackie Lau, but now I am going to add some to my TBR!

Again, like I do, I went into this book completely blind, and I was addicted from the start. Noelle is struggling in her life, and then ends up in a time loop and repeats June 20th over and over again, and meets Cam on most days when she isn't trying, but she also just lives life, I love how she spends her money, enjoys life, changes her hair, and just overall treats everyday like a fun time, and it's so fun seeing her find light and friendship again, and mend ties with her family, until she gets out and has to deal with her time in there, while only being able to discuss it with one person, so she starts to have to figure out more about what happened.

Noelle and Cam have a million first dates and fall in love every day, until Noelle gets out and Cam doesn't remember her, so she struggles to do it all over again with him, and can't prove she was in a timeloop like she could during. Noelle struggles to connect with Cam this time around and learns that she has to take risks in her real life too, and it's nice to see it all come together.

This review is a little vague because I don't want to spoil anything, but this book was so good and it's so fun to read!

Time Loops & Meet Cutes was an absolute delight of a rom-com that tugged at all the right heartstrings. Noelle Tom is stuck - she is single, works way too hard for little pay and is generally alone all until she eats dumplings from a strange stall at a local night market. Suddenly she is stuck in a new way, reliving June 20th over and over and over and over again. It gives her the opportunity to try new things and she finds a friend also stuck in the loop and then she meets Cam. And then has another meet-cute with Cam and another and she thinks he might be a way out. There are numerous first dates, tons of restaurants to try but being stuck gets very difficult.

I loved the story between the pair of them and how Cam wasn't stuck in the loop but we got chapters from him where he felt like something was wrong because he was experiencing all this time with Noelle.

Loved this! It was funny and chaotic. Beautiful love story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jackie Lau, and Atria Books for the eARC. This was such a fun and wild rom-com—an absolute delight from start to finish! It was a whirlwind of laughs and chaos, and the mouthwatering food descriptions had me hungry the whole time. I absolutely loved it!

This was cute, but boy did it make me hungry!

Time traveling/alternate realities are kind of hit or miss for me, sometimes they just freak me out way too much. But I think this book did a good job of toeing that line, it definitely does make you think but it did not send me into that downward depressive spiral.

Noelle as a FMC felt very realistic and relatable to me. I’m a fellow oldest daughter who can get into a bit of a rut and not take risks, so she’s inspired me a bit to put myself out there! I liked the dual POV of Cam and Noelle, while Noelle is reliving June 20th over and over, Cam’s life is slowly progressing.

It dropped off for me a little bit at part 2, but I did really enjoy the ending and I didn’t see the twist coming! I also really wasn’t sure if Noelle was ever going to get out of the time loop, or what would happen if she did.

Is this author also a food blogger or something? Oh my god, I’ve never seen food mentioned SO MUCH in a book and it kept making me hungry!! Which is not ideal when I’m reading at like 10 PM and have already brushed my teeth, but it was kind of non-stop descriptions of really delicious sounding food at times.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!!

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Time Loops and Meet Cutes was intriguing to me. I requested it based on the description and was interested to see how it would play out. I get anxiety during "Groundhog Day"-esque plots, but there was so much more to this book than that. I loved how the plot developed and the characters were interesting and complex. This was definitely a read I would recommend!

Thanks again for the ARC!

This was very cut though ultimately I found it a little underwhelming. I normally love time loop tropes, but something about this one felt rushed or off somehow? That being said, I really enjoyed the dynamics and romance!

When I saw this was about a time loop, I was drawn in because I LOVE a good time loop a la Groundhog Day. After a late night dinner for night market dumplings, Noelle finds herself in a time loop. Noelle takes a very scientific approach to discovering she stuck in a time loop. Noelle is reliving the same day over 150 times. While on this journey, Noelle meets another woman, Avery, seemingly experiencing the time loop that is June 20th.

The friendship that developed between the women was enjoyable, more so than the romance between Noelle and Cam. While their romantic partners are in the story, it felt like their characters could have been developed a bit more. When we get Cam’s POV, it felt out of place, especially since most of the story is in Noelle’s POV.

This was started out as a fun read but there was something that felt flat for me. The chapters are short, which I loved, so it was also a quick read. The story itself was really fast paced, which made the over all story feel a bit rushed. The chemistry between Noelle and Cam was lackluster and the spicy scenes felt awkward and out of place.

Overall, it was a great premise but it felt like it wasn’t fully fleshed out.

Jackie Lau’s Time Loops & Meet Cutes blends the mundane with the magical in a light-hearted yet introspective rom-com that taps into the anxiety of burnout, the beauty of unexpected connection, and the delicious weirdness of a time loop that refuses to let its heroine escape—until she learns how to live.

Noelle Tom is the quintessential overworked engineer: punctual, anxious, and quietly unraveling beneath the weight of corporate expectations and stunted social routines. Lau opens the novel with a painfully relatable confession from Noelle: “Sometimes I feel like a poorly planned design project… possibly held in place by the miracle of duct tape.” That duct tape soon peels away when a mysterious dumpling stall at a Toronto night market sends Noelle into a repetitive Friday time loop. And with each frustrating reset, she’s forced to confront more than just unfinished proposals or missed meals—she must examine what she truly wants from life.

What sets this book apart is Lau’s deft handling of the speculative premise with grounded character development. While the setup has shades of Palm Springs and Before I Fall, the tone is gentler, more introspective, and brimming with cultural specificity—from the dumpling vendor who cryptically promises, “They give you what you need most,” to the night market ambiance that feels like a love letter to Toronto’s vibrant food scene.

Enter Cam, a charming brewery owner who may—or may not—be the key to Noelle’s freedom. Their budding connection is slow-burn and refreshingly low on drama. While he appears unaware of the loop, his warmth provides a counterbalance to Noelle’s anxiety, offering not a magical fix, but an emotional mirror.

The pacing is measured—perhaps too much so in the early chapters, as Noelle’s internal monologue can occasionally overstay its welcome—but the prose is sincere and funny, peppered with small delights. Scenes like Noelle marveling over the “fluffy and buttery” ube halaya pandesal after a long day, or noting the poetic irony in a car held together by literal duct tape, underscore Lau’s talent for elevating everyday moments into emotional resonance.

Fans of Ali Hazelwood’s Love on the Brain or Christina Lauren’s The Soulmate Equation will appreciate the nerdy heart of this story, though Lau’s quieter style leans more toward emotional unraveling than banter-heavy romance.

Overall, Time Loops & Meet Cutes is a gentle reminder that sometimes what we need most isn’t progress—it’s presence. Jackie Lau offers a delightful and thoughtful story for anyone who’s ever felt trapped by routine, and dares to imagine what could happen if we paused long enough to taste the dumplings.

Best for: Fans of contemporary rom-coms with speculative elements, overthinkers who need a push toward self-compassion, and readers hungry for food-themed magic and slow-building intimacy.

✨ARC Review✨

I was provided with a copy by Artia and Net Galley.

I have loved time travel stories since I can remember so I was excited to read this! And it definitely was just what I needed. It was cute, light and easy to connect to the main characters.

I enjoyed that Noelle wasn't alone in her journey of examining her current life and getting it back on track.

Obviously with her being stuck in a time loop it gets a bit repetitive I just wish the ending didn't feel so rushed after.

This was a fun read. I was not overly attached to any of the characters, but I enjoyed the writing and the pacing of the story. I love a story that has a little bit of magical realism, and this was perfect for me. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fun quick read.

I’m a sucker for time loops and I enjoyed this one! It was really cute, especially with Noelle gaining her confidence living the same day over and over. Where it lost me a little bit was the disconnect with the sprinkles of Cam’s POV through the book. I sort of understand why it’s there, it just didn’t flow. Also, Noelle loses a lot that she gained in the time loop almost immediately. Which i get too, it just fell a bit flat after all the progress she made. She does eventually find her footing but it makes for a lackluster third act.

I loved the narration by Cindy Kay and Raymond J. Lee. I thought they both did an excellent job in the audiobook.

Definitely pick up if you are a fan of time loops!

This was such a fantastic and unique take on the time travelling trope! I enjoyed this book so much: I could not put it down! I really enjoyed how Noelle and Cam's relationship progressed and how the time loop was such an important factor for them to get to the point where they could actually get together. I also really appreciated that this wasn't just a romance book and the friendship between Noelle and Avery was such a pillar of the book. The difficulties related to the lime loops also felt very real and I was fully invested in how Noelle and Avery would sort out everything in their lives that needed changing. I did think the outcome was a bit simple and it bothered me that we never got an explanation for some of the things related to the time loop... but also, such is life sometimes! I think I get what the author was trying to do by not tying everything up in a tight neat little bow and in a way that was also refreshing in and of itself.

I don’t believe that I’ve ever read a time loop in a book before but I was pleasantly surprised to be in this one. I loved that this book was different and took a risk and it was definitely a great first read by Jackie Lau. This is a quick read, with a little heart and depth, I teared up once or twice so I recommend people take a chance on this one.

Ahh! This gave me 50 First Dates vibes and I’m not mad about it! I don’t think I’ve ever read a time loop romance like this ine and it was so refreshing. After Noelle eats dumplings from an old woman at a night market, Noelle seems to be reliving June 20th over and over with no idea how to break the loop. She does finally meet another woman who is stuck in the loop with her, which makes it a little easier because she knows no one will believe her. Despite trying to get out of the loop, she is trying to hang on to the one good thing of her forever day, Cam, who she meets every day but he can’t remember her name.
This was a super cute, super binge able open door romance with loads of steam and loads of yummy food and references to the Office!
If you like steam, time travel, magical realism, dual POV, you’re going to enjoy this.
Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The premise sounded interesting, since I am a fan of Groundhog Day. Sadly, the execution of this book fell flat for me. The characters were not as developed as I would've expected, and the chemistry between them was lacking. The pacing was a bit uneven, and the story, overall, was too predictable. I couldn't stay engaged or even care about how things ended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and read it in one day. I loved the characters and the storyline. I thought the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.