📚 Read if you like: time loops, contemporary romance, speculative fiction, meet cutes, magical realism

I really enjoyed this one! I thought it was a really interesting take on a time loop story. And as a fan of all things romance, I love that the time loops afforded us so many meet cutes between Noelle and Cam! I adored these two - they have immediate chemistry but not in an instant-lusty way.

There’s also a large focus on personal growth and relationships, both familial and friends. As she tries many things to escape the time loop, she examines so many different parts of her life and sees what it could be to live consequence free when all she has done before is rigorous routine. It’s wonderful seeing her blossom as she explores different parts of herself and how she begins opening herself up to new experiences and opportunities.

Be prepared to be hungry reading this! So much of it centers around delicious food and drinks and I swear I ate dumplings multiple times over the course of reading this book! I also love that it was set in Toronto - I used to visit a lot for work and love that city so much! I absolutely recommend this to folks who are looking for something a little bit different but so full of heart and magic ✨

Thank you Atria Books for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

TL&MC was such a lovely, hopeful story! Noelle, the lead, is a mechanical engineer stuck in a job where she is underpaid, overworked, and under appreciated. After a mysterious order of dumplings at a night market, she ends up stuck in something different - a time loop, repeating June 20 over and over again.

Over the course of her day(s), she meets Cam, a brewery owner, who sometimes remembers little things about their past meetings. Could he be the true path to breaking the loop? Or is there something larger at play?

I really enjoyed this engaging and whimsical romance that also focused on finding your happiness. Family and friendships are also important relationships, and they were portrayed with care and nuance. I recommend TL&MC to folks looking for a contemporary romance with a magical twist - and lots of dumplings.

I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

One perk of an 8 hour flight?! Being able to devour a fabulous book in one sitting, cover to cover.

And this one was the PERFECT companion for that overseas flight. I was sad to be leaving London, but this story helped a bit.

Noelle Tom is in a bit of a rut, and after a really long workweek she heads to the nightmarket. She sees a new vendor and her dumplings look pretty good. When the old woman selling them told her that they would give her what she needed most, Noelle didn't think much of it. But the next morning she realized that she was repeating the same day...

Stuck in a time loop, Noelle keeps replaying June 20. She tries different things, desperate to get out. She keeps running into handsome Cam, and is stuck meeting him all over again every day.

This book was the perfect whimsical romance. I really wasn't sure how author Jackie Lau was going to navigate it all, and it went in directions I did not expect. I was totally delighted page after page.

Thanks to my friends at netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Happy Pub Day to Time Loops & Meet Cutes and author Jackie Lau!!! This book is out in the world TODAY - a must add to your TBR!

Thank you Atria Books for my #gifted copy of Time Loops & Meet Cutes! #AtriaPartner #atriabooks #TimeLoopsandMeetCutes #JackieLau

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 & 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐮
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Another book by Jackie Lau that was a hit for me! This was a cute time loop romance with such charming characters. I loved watching Noelle develop throughout this one and loved how there was so much more to it than just the time loop taking place. I love a good meet-cute and this one sure did deliver! On top of that, the food was amazing to read about and literally made me so hungry! If you enjoy magical realism (or if you’ve never tried it and you are looking for one to try), this is a great one!

🍺Magical Realism
🧋Slow Burn
🥟Dual POV
🍺Time Loop
🧋Meet Cutes
🥟Great Food
🍺Amazing Characters

Posted on Goodreads on May 6, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around May 6, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on May 6, 2025
**-will post on designated date

I loved this adorable story with overtones of Groundhog Day and In a Holidaze! Noelle and Cam are great characters, and I enjoyed how each repetition of the same day, with minute changes in timing or choices, gradually revealed more of their inner lives, their backstories, and their family relationships. Even though they were stuck on the same day for the whole of Part One of the book, it never became tedious, as each reiteration of the day brought some sort of revelation or hint as to their situation. It was a lot of fun following their funny, frustrating, and magical love story as they navigated their way to their happy ending. The twist at the end, revealing their hidden connection, was a nice touch, too.

This time loop certainly has a lot of meet cutes! Noelle is stuck reliving June 20th over and over with no idea how to get out of the time loop. Each iteration of the day, she has meet cutes with Cam, who shows up throughout her day. Each meet cute was oozing cuteness and charm that has you swooning over Cam from the start. Cam gives off golden retriever energy through and through. The story focuses around Noelle trying to get out of the time loop, but she is also learning about herself, reflecting on the relationships in her life, and deciding on what’s important to her. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC and ARC. All opinions are my own.

I just loved this book. A fun take on a time loop story, and great development of characters. I enjoyed that I didn't know what was coming next for the most part, and I really enjoyed getting to know the main characters in the story. It was a delight to read. My one complaint would be that the ending felt a bit rushed, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.

I started reading Jackie Lau in 2019. While that may not seem like much, but it’s been a long 6 years, and Lau’s books consistently bring me joy. Time Loops and Meet Cutes might be the best book Jackie Lau has written yet. It has classic Jackie Lau elements: an FMC who is all in her head and trying to figure out this curveball life has thrown, complicated family, the glorious food of Toronto, and Lau’s own unique author voice. This is the first book she’s published with a science fiction element (that I know of), and I felt like her excitement vibrated off the page. I loved her take on the time loop device.

Noelle lives a boring life. She works long hours, is cautious with her money, and doesn’t see many friends. On Friday, June 20th, she’s frustrated that mentoring the boss’s nephew mostly means doing his work in addition to her own. After working late, again, she stops at a night market and treats herself to some dumplings from an elderly woman who says,

“You want dumplings? They give you what you need most.”

Apparently what she needs most is to relive June 20th over and over again. During that time she meets Avery, who is also reliving June 20th, and Cam who always says she looks familiar, but never remembers her the next time they meet. Avery is not having a great day, which gives Noelle someone to take care of. They experience the joy of consequence free living (the money is always back in their accounts, they never get fired), and the frustration of having nothing change. Knowing that Cam won’t remember her gives Noelle the courage to try things she wouldn’t normally, but also breaks her heart as she develops feelings for him and his feelings never progress.

My favorite part of the book comes when the time loop suddenly ends and Noelle and Avery figure out how to apply what they learned to a life with consequences and change. Time kept moving for everyone else, so when Noelle meets Cam on a day that isn’t June 20, he isn’t quite the same person he was and the script Noelle has been following doesn’t work.

Time Loops and Meet Cutes is a lovely and generous meditation on bravery, compassion, change, and valuing this one wild, precious life we’ve all been given.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Atria Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This was a cute, fun read. The concept of the time loops was so interesting. The story had a great pace. I loved the dynamic between Noelle and all the characters she gets to meet, especially when Cam enters the story. If you’re looking for a fun and easy read with some spice, with a little bit of magic intertwined, pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was adorable!

Noelle is a workaholic - she doesn’t have a social life, consistent family time, or any hobbies. On June 20th, longest day of the year, she went to a special market to feed herself after a long day of work cleaning up other peoples messes and stumbles upon a stand that serves her magic dumplings that accidentally throw her into a timeloop.
In her time loop, she runs into a handsome stranger, Cam, multiple times. And he seems to be the only person that has vague awareness of her previous loops.
Noelle finds herself struggling trying to figure out how to break the loop, falling in love with a stranger (over and over again), and getting to know what she actually wants out of life.

Jackie Lau created a beautiful love story within the magical realism. I loved that there was an additional person in the loop with her and I felt like the twists that brought the story all together were really unique and fun. She integrated the importance of connection with friends, family, and community while analyzing what we want from the world, how capitalism impacts us, and what it means to build a life we care about.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this eARC, NetGalley and Atria Books! <3

The novel blends romantic comedy with a delightful sci-fi twist.
I connected with many elements in the story. We all want to pause our lives sometimes and want to do things, but never get time for them. But as they say, 'Be careful what you wish for', Noelle is also stuck in the nightmare of reliving a day every day. First, she finds it interesting as she doesn't need to go to work and her actions won't have consequences, but after some time, the events sound more horrific when you know what will happen. There isn't any surprise, any thrill in your life, then.

Overall, the concept was good, but I found it boring after the 20th time. It got very repetitive.

I'm a sucker for any story where a character has to relive the same day over and over until something changes, so I knew right away this book would be my kind of read. What I didn’t expect was the magical dumplings twist and that Cam’s grandma would be the one behind the time loops! I absolutely adored Cam and the sweet, genuine connection he shared with Noelle. I also loved that his grandmother was the one who gave Noelle the magic dumplings, such a fun and meaningful detail. It was especially heartwarming that Noelle didn’t go through the time loop alone, and that she and Avery became best friends along the way. This story was full of charm, magic, and emotional depth and that sometimes we need to take chances and not wait for something to happen.

Imagine grabbing some delicious dumplings on your way home from work on Friday night—and then the next day is Friday again!

Noelle Tom gets stuck reliving her Friday over and over. But she keeps bumping into Cam, the guy from the Night market, who doesn’t remember her name. The more meet-cutes they have, the more she thinks he might be the key to breaking this loop.

Time loop romcoms can undoubtedly be repetitive—it's the trope's nature. Yet Jackie Lau introduces a few surprise elements that make this fun and fresh. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say the magic of the time continuum hits Noelle and Cam differently.

I liked that we saw Noelle and Cam’s relationship develop within the loop, and once Noelle broke free from it. It added some interesting perspectives, which reminded me of a blend of the movies 50 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 and 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑ℎ𝑜𝑔 𝐷𝑎𝑦. Noelle also develops a new female friendship with someone who is stuck like her, and as much as it was an anchor, the friendship was a big part of Noelle's growth.

I loved watching Noelle’s character develop as she learned to be a good friend, try to win the guy, and be confident with each new Friday.

Sweet and charming characters and time loops filled with tons of dumplings, boba tea, and craft beers made for a fun read!


Thank you @atriabooks for the gifted ebook via #NetGalley. #AtriaPartner #AtriaBooks

Noelle is a bit stuck. She's in a job where she is underpaid and underappreciated, she hasn't been willing to to take a chance on love since she broke up with her boyfriend 5 years ago and she doesn't really have any close friends. So the only unusual thing about her Friday is that after another long day at work, she stops by a local market for the dumplings. And then she wakes up on Friday morning again to redo the day.

I love a time loop story and I loved that the book gives a little bit of.a perspective of her love interest, Cal (I won't spoil the twist of his POV). I also totally bought the two of them having a shy and sweet romance that happens repeatedly over one day. I also loved that Noelle made a friend who is also in a time loop - this book recognised that romantic love isn't the only kind of loneliness that someone can feel, and I really enjoyed that Noelle and Avery were able to lean on each other.

Finally, the characters spent a lot of time walking around Toronto, enjoying the outdoor markets and the local food scene. Toronto is under appreciated for the diversity (not the least in food) and I loved that this book sent time exploring Toronto with our characters.

I'd recommend this one to fans of Lynn Painter or Ali Hazelwood.

I like stories with time loops or time travels. It´s interesting and entertaining to see how the main character finds the way to go back to normal, and if there´s romance, so much better.
However, this story felt a little bit off.
I liked the fact that our FMC eventually finds another person trapped in the time loop. It was original that her love interst wasn´t trapped in time.
But her attitude felt weird the entire time. She wasn´t scared, she oddly remained calm...I don´t know...I really didn´t understand what was the point of being trapped in a time loop.
Anyway, I´m gonna givee another try to the author, because , after all, it was a cute story.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

4.5 stars

This just might be my favorite time loop book I've ever read.

One night on her way home from work, Noelle uncharacteristically stops at a night market where she eats some dumplings that the owner of the stall promises will give her exactly what she needs. But when Noelle continues to wake up on June 20, she can't imagine why she could have possibly needed to be stuck in a time loop. Eventually, Noelle finds another woman, Avery, who is also stuck reliving the same Friday after eating from the dumpling stall. She also keeps running into a very handsome man at different locations and points in the day, which leads her to believe that he may be the key to breaking out of this loop. Either way, Noelle is forced to put aside her orderly life and workaholic tendencies and put herself out there to get him to notice her. But as she becomes more infatuated with him, Noelle can't help but wonder what will become of them if she ever wakes up on June 21.

I love a little magical realism or sci-fi element in a book, though I often find them riddled with plot holes, but I actually thought the author did an excellent job of setting the parameters for this world and sticking to them. In the end, I was satisfied with the explanation we're given for both why the loop started and ended. She also tackled just about every question and concern I had when it came to Noelle's relationship with Cam. I loved watching him fall for Noelle every time they met, but it was also heartbreaking every time he didn't remember who she was.

I loved the inclusion of Avery's character in this story. I don't think I've ever read a time loop book where it isn't just the main character who is stuck in the loop, and I thought that made the story both more interesting and unique.

<spoiler>I was hoping that the epilogue was going to be the first June 20 from the old woman's perspective- it would have been cool to get some concrete answer for why she chose Noelle and Avery to be in a time loop, but alas, I'll just have to speculate like characters.</spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria Books, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the concept of Time Loops and Meet Cutes, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me. The characters felt a bit underdeveloped, which made it hard to really connect with their story. The writing style leaned more toward telling than showing, which took away some of the emotional impact and made the narrative feel a bit flat.

I nearly put the book down around the 10% mark, but decided to keep going in hopes things would pick up. While I appreciated the creativity behind the time loop premise, the repetition quickly wore thin. Especially since the FMC Noelle didn’t seem to explore many new or exciting options with each loop. The pacing really felt rushed at times, with some loops flying by in just a paragraph or two, leaving little room to develop her choices or emotions.

I think the story would have been more impactful if there had been fewer loops overall, with more detail given to each day. It would’ve been nice to see Noelle slow down and discover more joy for herself and moments of personal growth that felt earned, rather than breezed past.

Since both Noelle and Avery are stuck in the loop, a chapter or two from Avery’s perspective could have added more emotional depth as well, especially as she works through her own relationship baggage.

In the end, this one just wasn’t a match for me, but I can see how others might enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
3.5 stars!
I love books about time travel and time loops so I was very excited to read this one. I thoroughly enjoyed all the fantastic food descriptions. I mostly loved our FMC’s friendship with Avery and her growth throughout.

Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau

My first thought when I finished this book was this needs to be a movie or long form TV show for sure! As the title implies the female main character Noelle falls into a time loop and in love with Cam who she meets multiple times in the time loop. There are so many twists and surprises that make this novel stand out from other time travel stories.

Most of all there is a huge twist at the end that just tied the whole story together so nicely! This book is a slow burn and can be repetitive but it pays off in the best way!

I recommend this one who those who like a sweet romance story with a fun twist. The characters are wonderful and relatable. I felt like I left this book thinking about if I was in a time loop what chances would I take and should they be ones I should take now?

Noelle is a workaholic without much of a personal life who strives for perfection in her job as an engineer. Unlike her co-workers, she won’t leave until the job is done and it’s done right. After a particularly grueling day at the office, she is starving and finds her way to a market to get something to eat. She eats some dumplings and wakes up the next morning - but it’s not the next morning. It’s the previous day, June 20th, all over again. As she goes through living the same day each day, she meets a cute guy named Cam. She also meets another girl, Avery, who is also stuck in the same time loop. They work together to try and figure out how they got stuck in the time loop and try various adventures to get themselves out of it. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t wondered at some point what things would be like if you’d done something differently or not at all. These are all things that Avery and Noelle experience. It was a truly cute story of learning life’s lessons on what’s important. You can practically feel Noelle’s frustration as the time loop continues. I felt the middle of the book was the most interesting for me with the relationship between Cam and Noelle unfolding. The beginning was slow to build and I felt like the end could have used a bit more finesse. Time loops aren’t really my jam, but I felt that the author explained it in a way that made it believable. This book would be a good choice when you’re looking for something to lose yourself in on a vacation or weekend.