3/5 stars. This was cute but very predictable The pacing was a little off but I enjoyed the dates they went on! Thanks to NetGalley for the arc

📖 review
4.5 ⭐️
.5 🌶️ 2 or 3 open door scenes

Absolutely captivated by this book! Idk what I was expecting going in, but this book exceeded beyond my expectations.
Noelle and Avery are stuck in a time loop repeating Friday June 20th over and over. I couldn’t put this book down, trying to figure out how this would end!
I loved the ending and how everything just seemed to make sense! This is a MUST read for sure!
I normally go for books that are big on spice, but I was pulled in by this book and recommend it to everyone!

Noelle works for an engineering company. She's often staying late, covering for her coworker. On this particular day, she's working late (not unusual) but, tonight she decides to go to the night market. There's a booth with a handmade sign advertising dumplings for $5. Noelle decides to take a chance. And that stand is the only thing missing when Noelle wakes up and it's Friday again.
Cam is a brewery owner who is, throughout this book, going through time normally. He and Noelle meet several times in her loop and it feels like he's just starting to know her when the loop abruptly stops.
The time loop in this book is different from other time loops and I quite enjoyed it although I was frustrated. I did enjoy that Noelle had a friend in the time loop, but for me, Avery felt more like a prop to help the story along than a developed character. That may have been a function of us seeing the book through Noelle's eyes. Overall, I did enjoy the book.

Three and a half stars
This book came out May 6, 2025
ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

4.5 stars

What an adorable, magical romance! I was captivated by this book from the very beginning and found it so hard to put down.

Despite living the same day over and over, I never grew tired of reading Noelle’s journey through this story. I loved watching her grow in friendship with Avery and slowly begin to fall in love with Cam.

This book was so beautifully thought out. While I’ve read quite a few times loop books, I’ve never read one that drew me in so thoroughly as this one. It was imaginative and so creative. Two souls who are stuck in a permanent loop of “not knowing” yet are still drawn to each other day after day. It was so romantic and at times heartbreaking. What would we all do if we were stuck in a loop? To never be known past a single day?

And I couldn’t finish this review off without mentioning the food! This book felt like a celebration of food and how memories can be attached to it. I loved the descriptions of all the different dishes. My mouth was definitely watering by the time I finished the book!

A really charming, sweet book! The biggest thank you to @atriabooks and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I had the greatest time with this book!

What would you do if you relived the same day over and over again? Quit your job? Dye your hair pink? See if you can get the same man to kiss you every night?

These are the queries Noelle is faced with after she accidentally gets stuck in a time loop on June 20th. Unsure how to escape the situation, Noelle draws inspiration from the movies and sets out to change her life for the better in hopes of breaking free from the loop. Enter Cam, potential love interest and loop breaker. The really interesting piece? While it never stops being June 20th for Noelle, for Cam life goes on, but he starts to feel that he's missing something in his life as well.

This was a fun and clever take on the classic time loop trope! It was a very cute read, and I really liked the characters of Noelle and Cam, as well as several really great supporting characters. And the descriptions of the Asian market and the food? My mouth was watering. I also love that this was set in Toronto! A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me and a great rec for AAPI Heritage Month!

If you’re a fan of Groundhog Day, you may like this novel by Jackie Lau, a time-loop romance set in Toronto. Noelle Tom leaves her job late on June 20, as she always does, and this time she heads to the night market. After eating some questionable dumplings, she finds she wakes up the next morning to the same day. The dumpling woman said the dumplings would give her “what she needs most” so she tries to figure out what she needs to do to get out of the time loop.


She learns that anything good or bad that happens that day will reset the next morning. She takes up crocheting but it always starts over the next day. Things she would normally worry about like cleaning and money have become completely irrelevant. She can dye her hair any color, eat anything she wants, say anything she wants, and it all gets reset and no one will remember. No one, that is, except Avery, a woman she meets in the night market who’s caught in the same situation.

In the loop, she starts running into a guy in multiple places around town. Cam is thoughtful and funny and cute, but he never remembers her the next day, except some vague sense they’ve met before. At first, that’s kind of a blessing, because Noelle is a terrible flirt and can barely make conversation. She can embarrass herself without consequence. As she gets better at banter, their relationship starts to build, but it still starts over the next day.

Cam might be the key to getting out of the loop – only it’s clear there are other issues she needs to resolve. She’s underpaid and overworked at her job, and she has a difficult relationship with her sister. While Noelle has always been the responsible sibling, her sister is unstable and doesn’t make good decisions.

I liked the time loop story a lot, for many of the reasons I love Groundhog Day. Noelle has all the time in the world to explore and try new things, but I can also see her frustration of having none of those things matter.

I could relate to Noelle quite a bit. She’s awkward and insecure, and the time loop shows her she doesn’t have to live by the same script every day. Maybe time loop stories appeal to those of us who worry too much and generally follow the rules – Noelle is free to skip work and take chances she wouldn’t otherwise. This resonated because my days feel a little that way too, since I’m not working.

Two things I liked most about the book were Noelle’s friendship with Avery and her relationship with her sister. I think these were more compelling than the romance itself. I wish Avery had been more developed; at times she felt like she was there so Noelle had someone to talk to, and Avery always had it worse than Noelle. But I appreciated that a lot of this book was about Noelle learning to be more giving of herself and more open to others.

Lau writes a lot about food and beer, which I enjoyed, even though I often didn’t know the foods she was describing. I liked the details about Asian holidays and food, and I imagine Asian readers will appreciate that.

In the last third or so of the book, Lau throws a wrench into the time loop formula, in that she explores the aftermath of the loop. I liked her approach to this, though I won’t say more about it.

However, something about the writing in the last part of the book felt very stilted to me, not like the rest of the book, which I flew through. Some of the very short chapters are told from Cam’s point of view, and I found these incredibly distracting, and they didn’t advance the story at all.

I also didn’t care for the ending, though I can’t tell you why. I can say it’s a pet peeve of mine that might not bother other readers.

The book owes a lot to Groundhog Day, and I was very surprised it wasn’t mentioned, especially as Noelle starts reading and watching time loop stories to come up with ideas for getting out. I honestly can’t think of a similar time loop story. If you know of any, please share!

In reading other reviews, some readers found the time loop story way too repetitive. I didn’t, but then I like repetition and patterns. I don’t love stories that have lots of time jumping, that just makes my head hurt (Ministry of Time was one of those). I enjoyed the idea that every day starts out the same, and Noelle has an opportunity every day to try something different. If that sounds maddening to you, or you hated seeing the same things over and over again in Groundhog Day, you probably won’t enjoy this book.

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Atria Books. This book publishes May 6, 2025.

What a wild and fun ride! Thank you Jackie Lau, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Admittedly, it took me a while to become invested in the story. The time loops starts almost immediately and you don't have a lot of character background or information. It also took me a while to realize that the Cam chapters moved along the non loop timeline. However, as the story progressed I found myself much more engaged and ended up really enjoying the story as a whole. I also really loved the Avery & Noelle storyline. I wish there had been some Avery chapters sprinkled in there too. She really goes through it and having insight into her mindset would have really evolved her character more.

Overall I really enjoyed it! Thank you again for the ARC NetGalley, Jackie, and S&S!

I’m a sucker for magical realism (time travel, specifically) romances, and this one scratches that itch. Sweet story, and I was rooting for the main characters throughout.

This was such a cute story of self-rediscovery, brought to you by a little old woman selling dumplings at a night market stand! Time loops and meet-cutes indeed!

Thank you @atriabooks for the free book!

📖 Time Loops & Meet Cutes
✍ Jackie Lau
📦 Pub Date: Out now!

⭐️ 3/5
🌶️ 3/5

I think inherently time loop storylines can be a bit repetitive, but this author illustrated this plot point wonderfully! After some magical dumplings, Noelle finds herself reliving June 20th over and over again. After accepting that you don’t know how to escape, what else is there to do but try new things!

I really enjoyed the room for growth that the time loop gave Noelle, allowing her to use the time to make mistakes without lasting consequences. Thanks to the time loop, Noelle was able to branch out from her norm, having the chance to escape her by-the-book way of life.

Enter Cam, a cute guy who keeps popping up in different places each day. There’s something about him that Noelle can’t resist and maybe he is the key to breaking this loop?

When it came to the romance in this story, I was not attached. I love a meet-cute, and we got them, but for me, I didn’t feel the chemistry! The spice felt forced and overall completely unnecessary. Like, there was no tension, and all of a sudden they were naked. It made no sense to me.

I really enjoyed seeing Noelle repair the relationships in her life and find what truly makes her happy. I think that was the best part of the story for me. I also thought the twist at the end was cute, and honestly, I did not see it coming!

Thank you again to Atria Books for the early copy!

I love a good time loop romance, however I felt like the pacing of this one was a bit off. Also, the secondary characters presence was never explained.

This was the longest book ever. It was not a quick, fun, cute read like I was expecting. I liked it. But it was two books in one. I was having a hard time caring by the last 3/4 of it.

A different take on Groundhog Day. Noelle Tom eats some dumplings at the night market and keeps living the same Friday in June over and over. While in her time loop she meets Avery who is looping as well. Together and apart they try various things to wake up on a Saturday. Noelle tries to be more adventurous and also looks at her work and family to see if there are things there that need to change in those areas. The biggest draw to her is Cam, a handsome brewery owner. She gets to know him better evening after evening. In a switch up, a good part of the story takes place after they get out of their time loops, as there are still things to be done.

I enjoyed the story. Sometimes going through the same day several times can be overdone. But I thought there was enough variety in what they did that it moves the story along. I did like how it all ties together in the end as well. (3.5 Stars)

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Spoilers below!

This was a very cute story with a few magical elements. I love a time loop book and was very happy that this one had a few elements different from the others I have read (a friend also stuck in the loop, the love interest experiencing deja vu, coming back months later). There were a few spicy scenes which I was not expecting, but did not distract from the story. I was upset at the resolution towards the end but then was surprised by that twist which I very much enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC.

This was just so cute and cozy and I absolutely devoured it in one day. This was such a fun and unique twist on the time loop trope & exceeded my expectations!

This is about a woman who eats magical dumplings one night & is told that they’ll “give her what she needs most”. What these dumplings actually do is make her relive that same day in June over, and over, and over AND OVER again. She has the most unique experiences during this time loop and, inconveniently, falls in love. 🥹

I found the FMC really relatable because of her relationship with money, even though I spend much more freely than she does I am definitely more conscious about spending because, just like the FMC, I also watched my parents mishandle money often as a kid. Whether it was for their own desires or to help others in the family, I can relate to her anxiety over spending.

I can also relate to her lack of confidence & feeling like she doesn’t have any friends anymore, too. This time loop gave her the chance to actually take risks & I loved her growth throughout this novel. She was adorable & the banter/dialogue between her and the MMC had me smiling like an idiot. This was so wholesome but also had a bit of unexpected spice, which I was thrilled about!😆 I’m also a foodie so all the delicious sounding food had me 🤤🤤🤤

Equal parts adorable and scandalous, this story captivated me from chapter 1 and I had the most difficult time putting it down. Simply put, I adored it. My only issue is that I hated the way one character was treated throughout this story. She felt like she was a means to an end and I would have liked a happier ending for her as well. 🥺♥️

Thank you NetGalley & Atria for this ARC!

Eating a dumpling could change your life, and that's what happens to Noelle. She has the opportunity to relive this day over and over until well she learns the lesson. And I think that's how to be her true self, which includes being a better daughter, sister, and friend. But she also has to confront her relationship with money and how to advocate for herself at work. Oh, and btw there's this cutie who in this time loop keeps trying to remember her, even though in this time loop no one does. She gets to try on different versions of herself, but in the end, it's the version she's most comfortable in her skin that he remembers. Queue the tears.

This was really cute!! I am a huge fan of the time loop/magical realism romance sub-genre, so I knew I'd enjoy this! It definitely started off a little slow but by the 50% mark I was invested! I related to Noelle a lot (we love a woman in STEM), and Cam was a great book boyfriend. The whole book was super sweet, and I would definitely read one another one of her books! This book is perfect if you're a fan of magical realism!

What a great story with a twist. I loved Noelle and Avery. Going through the time loop making great friends. But having them not stick had to be so frustrating! Cam was such a likable character, I loved him and was rooting for him.

This was a great story and I am so glad I got to read it.

I want to thank NetGalley and Atra Books for this advanced reader copy. This is my honest opinion.

I just wasn’t clicking with the story. I thought the concept was great and was super interested in it. However, I just couldn’t get into it. The writing wasn’t grabbing my attention and kinda moving fast that I just want grasping how many time loops she been through. Just lost the interest and didn’t finish

A workaholic gets trapped in a time loop and learns how to take time for herself, and live a little, while trying to get out of it. That is a story I want to read.

Time Loops & Meet Cutes* was a fun read, and it was exactly what I needed after a rough world month and some heavier books 🙂

*This novel made me seriously hungry. Like, really *seriously*.
*Despite being in a time loop, Noelle is extremely relatable and likeable. I really enjoyed reading her character evolution over the course of the plot.
*I would love to see more of Avery’s story as well.
*Cam was a great book boyfriend.


I have enjoyed the author’s books and absolutely look forward to reading what she writes next.



Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the DRC

4 stars - Time Loops & Meet Cutes is like if Groundhog Day (a movie I haven't seen) and the Freaky Friday 2003 movie score had a book baby. I think fans of Ashley Poston's magical realism will enjoy this book and truly I've thought about this book everyday since I finished it. *light spoilers ahead* Noelle eats one magical dumpling and finds herself stuck in a time loop. I found the time loop portion of the book to be so so so good. I loved that Noelle found the one other person stuck in the loop with her and it was a new friend and not the love interest. Reading about Noelle falling for Cam in new fun ways is so fun and light until she realizes she is in love and he doesn't know her when the day restarts. I was as confused as Noelle when the time loop ended but she didn't know why or how. I kind of wish that there had been a definitive way for her to break the loop on her own rather it having a set end date that it was always going to be. Noelle finding her way back to Cam was very sweet but this portion of the book moved a little slower for me after the fast pace of the time loop. I guess the plot twist, but it was still a very satisfying read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jackie Lau for the Arc ebook in exchange for my honest review.