This is a story about expectations.  Cadence Lim and Matt Escanilla both work at Prism Realty, a commercial real estate firm in the Bay Area.  Cadence is behind the scenes, the data analyst that is key to many of the firm's deals.  Matt is the outgoing, successful broker, who relies on Cadence’s expertise to close deals -- and for a laugh across their cubicle walls. 

Both are at a crossroads professionally.  Cadence has a sexist and unsupportive immediate boss and is not sure she has room to advance at the company.  Matt is hoping to be appointed the director of the company's new Los Angeles office in order to move closer to his tight knit family -- but he is in a tight competition for the promotion with a well-connected fellow broker.  

Cadence and Matt are each other's' "work spouse" -- both look forward to the time they spend together at the office.  But despite a mutual attraction that is obvious to everyone at their office but them, their relationship goes no further.  That is, until a business trip forces them both to be in LA and in the same hotel suite.  As Cadence and Matt spend all their time together, they are no longer able to deny their strong feelings for each other.  But as comfortable as finally being together feels when they are alone, where they can avoid the family pressures and career dynamics that test their newfound connection, they soon must face whether their relationship can survive the confrontation with "real life."

This book was terrific!  I really enjoyed the author's previous novel, The Donut Trap, so I was eager to read her new book, and Circling Back to You lived up to my high expectations. 

The two books share some qualities, including richly developed main characters and an insightful exploration of navigating careers and family expectations. I thought this book also offered one of the most realistic depictions of the modern workplace that I’ve read, and I appreciated how seriously both Cadence and Matt's professional ambitions were treated.  It also offered a deft examination of grief -- its long reach and how it can continue to impact you in unexpected ways.  All of this was wrapped in a truly delightful romance which often had me laughing out loud.

Strongly recommended!

Thank you Avon & Harper Voyager for the chance to read Circking Back to You by Julie Tieu. This is my first book by Julie, and I have a thing for office romance, so I said "hell yess!!" to this book. Sadly, I didn't connect at all with the character's background. CIicling Back to You could be betted. I love and enjoy the characters "hate" for each other, the teasing and I don't lile him or her between the two main characters, but I missed more of this, I missed their tension, the kind of tension you can only cut with scissors.

I really wanted to connect with this story, but I hope others can enjoy it more than I did.

I am a sucker for office romance, but I will admit I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I loved the Asian representation - especially the Filipino representation because I could really empathize and relate to Matt and his family dynamics with my own family. I also always enjoy dual perspectives - so that earned extra bonus points.

Matt had massive golden-retriever, himbo energy, which I love. However, he is still a man, and did let me down about his disappointment in "granny panties" and not seeing practicality as sexy. But, I still liked this character regardless.

I personally could not completely connect with Cadence's character to be honest. I would be frustrated with her character sometimes. However, I did relate how it was brought up in the novel the Asian culture expectation to take care of your elders/parents, it was very refreshing to see.

For both characters, I felt that since it was somewhat friends-to-lovers, I would have seen more tension, chemistry, and build-up, but they did have their heartfelt moments.

Overall, 3/5 for me. Some parts randomly during the story held up its rating, but I personally felt like it was missing something.

This was a cute & light escapist read. I struggled to fully connect w the characters & to immerse entirely, possibly because I often enjoy more angst in my stories, but for a light and sweet romance this was enjoyable.

This was a fun, easy romance! I enjoyed it but it also felt like nothing special. A fun, quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good office romance and really enjoyed this. I loved the MC's dynamic and i loved the tropes that played out. it was fun and addicting and i got through it so quick. I think people who are fans of office romances will really like this book.

This book promised an office romance and it had some fantastic comps that had me so excited to read it, I was so sure that I would love it but it unfortunately fell short for me.

I felt like the story itself had so much potential to deliver and at times it did but for an office romance I needed it to have more banter and bickering between the two main characters. The book started and it felt like they already had so much history, but it also felt like they didn't quite mind each other so for me that made the banter fall short. I needed more tension between them and felt like I never got it.

I really wanted to love this one and I am so sad that I didn't. I am sure that others will still love this one though, it just didn't work out for me personally.

Matt…swoon…Matt. Cadence and Matt are so sweet together! I loved their dynamic in the office, and out of it. Friends to lovers perfection! The side characters were also compelling (and some quite frankly needed a slap). Just a really great book!

Cadence and Matt are co-workers that have been labeled as each other's work wife/husband which is pretty adorable honestly. So here you have these two hard-working people whose story literally takes place at work and work only -hence the office rom-com. I feel like Cadence is a mirror of what many ladies' realities look like: crushing from afar and totally being weird and almost humorously pathetic about it. And I'm saying this with a smile. Haha. She's more reserved but she does not hold back as well which just makes her all the more interesting. Matt on the other hand is quite the opposite of Cadence though they compliment each other quite well. Matt and Cadence find themselves taking a work trip together where they find themselves and take their friendship to the next level. From here, things slowly progress and they slowly get to know each other more than who they are in the office. But while their bantering and sass was enjoyable and gave me a good laugh at times, there were instances where I got lost in the pages and not the good kind. I enjoyed reading this no doubt but I also felt that the story wasn't even really about "fake-relationship". It was more about Cadence going through family drama, Matt doing his best to give her confidence and support whilst balancing important work meetings/accounts and competing for a promotion. All of that and trying to make a new relationship work. While Cadence is independent, sometimes I just wanted to shake sense into her because she was not getting anywhere. Matt though, is great. Nonetheless, it wasn't the most amazing novel but definitely still good enough to read and make you laugh. And super cute :)

I'm going to be honest and say that it's been about a month since I originally finished this book so some of the details are fuzzy. Although, I also think having some time away from it also helped inform my opinion of the book.

First, I really appreciated the friends to lovers aspect of this book and how it was dual perspective. Having both perspectives of the relationship in a romance novel I find tends to hold my attention better and I just find it more entertaining. I did have some problems though, this just could be a me thing but I often found my attention wandering as I was reading and was often skimming just to get through the page and not in a good way. I just wanted to finish reading the book. And I don't think it's the best that some of the larger plot points I don't seem to remember after reading it only a month ago. Overall I found my experience reading this to be really mediocre.
I really wanted to love this book and I really felt that I would, It had an office setting, friends to lovers, and dual perspectives, all things I really love in a romance novel but this one just fell flat unfortunately.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I loved Cadence and Matt and their easygoing dynamic. There was a bit of tension between them as they tried to navigate their friendship while hiding their blooming feelings for each other. I particularly loved how Cadence wanted to distance herself from Matt who would surely leave for a new job soon, but ALL Matt wants is to find excuses to be near Cadence. The push and pull of their situation was addicting to read about and I couldn’t get enough of it.
While the romance is the main plot of this book, there are multiple subplots that both main characters must deal with. Specifically, steering the complicated relationships between their respective families and work situations. I liked reading about the main characters trying to work out their familial issues, as I can relate a lot. Matt is dealing with intense pressure from his family to settle down and start a family, whereas Cadence doesn’t even have a relationship with her family. Reading about our characters’ woes forced me to reflect on my own relationship with my huge family, so I found that to be cathartic and understandable.

If you’re looking for a reverse grumpy/sunshine workplace romance with low spice, you’ve found it! You’ll need your tissues for this one!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon/Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this ARC!

My very first ARC! Thank you so much again to
@netgalley, @avonbooks, @harpervoyagerus, and @julietieuwrites for allowing me this opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It was a lighter and, imo, more realistic depiction of the Workplace Romance trope. I loved watching Cadence & Matt's relationship evolve over time from just being "work
colleagues" to later friends, then eventually lovers. I appreciated the slow burn and, as someone who's also used to working in large firm settings, I loved how Julie highlighted how working in such close proximity w/ someone else over the course of many years allows both parties to inadvertently learn so much about the other person in a
completely platonic way. It's a different type of closeness that sort of just happens, and one I wish more people would acknowledge & appreciate.

What immediately drew me to this book was not only its cute af cover, but the instant realization I had knowing it featured Asian leads. REPRESENTATION MATTERS! And not just any representation ofc, but GOOD, accurate portrayals. Being Fil-Am, I loved how I could see so much of my own family's dynamics through the lens of Matt's (the cousins group text! His LOLA!!!). I also found myself relating to Cadence's personal struggles as well, in that there is a lot of pressure
within most Asian cultures, mine included, to take on the responsibilities of caring for your family once of age (& esp if you're the oldest!). There's a sense of duty we are given and feel so deeply,
one that sometimes eclipses all else and, in Cadence's case (and perhaps my own), can quickly turn into resentment & things left unsaid as we grow into adults. It's honestly quite rare for this depth of representation to be seen (and in a rom-com no less!), and it makes me excited & hopeful for the future of this genre.

I highly rec you add this one to your TBRs and check it out when it is released come Julv 12. 2022!

Super cute romance, loved the characters and throughly enjoyed their growth. I thought it was a fun office romance and it made me audibly laugh at some points. Looking forward to getting my hands on a physical copy!

I was drawn to this book after I read the description and I had fun reading it. I liked the characters. There is some mature content (just a warning because I have a variety of followers). Familial relationships play a big part in this book, and it’s always nice to see growth. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Read this if you like:
🌏 Reading Diversely
🌉 Books set in California
❤️ Coworkers to Lovers
🏙 Commercial Realty

Book Review:
I really liked how this started out with being able to see that both Matt and Candace were oblivious that the other had a crush on them but it was clearly seen by their coworkers. It made for a cute and sweet start to the romance.

Then I enjoyed the forced proximity and joint efforts on work that brought them together during their work trip. I was a little saddened for the why they ended up sharing the hotel suite, but get it at the same time, family can be complicated.

I really loved also that they supported each other in their work as individuals throughout the story even in the moments where Matt found himself wanting her to give up her work, when he realized what he was asking of her, he didn’t continue to push for what he wanted and was willing to walk a harder path of long distance to not force her to push her career aside for him and their relationship.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Cadence has worked alongside Matt at their California brokerage firm and have been harboring secret crushes on each other for a while. Matt is the fun playboy of the office, while Cadence quietly keeps her head down and gets things done. When a project forces them to go to LA and work together for a couple weeks things come to a head. They meet each other’s families and pretend they are a couple. This creates a web of emotions and forces both Matt and Cadence to think hard about their relationship and what they want in future. This book has emotional depth and humor on top of romance. One of my favorite reads of 2022!

I will never ever going to stop reading fake dating books, especially when the book is so well written and cute like this It was wonderfully written, the characters and romance were great, I liked the setup and the story.

3 stars
Workplace romance meets friends to lovers!

Matt and Cadence work for the same realty company and have the all too great banter/tease friendship, although, both want something more (secretly). An important deal for Matt to close which could offer him a promotion leads these two on a trip to LA—conveniently where both their families reside. Matt's family wants him to settle down while Cadence's family just wants her around more. Both settling in a two-bedroom suite, leads to their confession of feelings and the start of a romance. Only it's never that easy.

This book had a lot of potential and I was really hoping this would hit the mark, especially with the Asian representation. However, things moved way too fast, the plot got boring for me, and there were many things that felt like filler. It started off VERY strong but the momentum and desire to continue reading just kept slowly fading away. I made it to about 50% before I started to feel the wants of DNF'ing but I pushed through.

The ending was very sweet and honestly the type of ending we don't get very often and something I always crave. So props to that. Overall, this was still a good read.

An absolutely adorkable story of two coworkers who each somehow don't realize that theirs is a mutual interest and chemistry? Moments of sweet and saucy banter pepper heavier bits of family drama and expectations.

In Julie Tieu’s latest novel, she gives us a classic desk-mates to lovers office romance.

I loved being able to see the sparks between Cadence and Matt develop from both of their perspectives as the story unfolds. The mutual respect and desire to see each other excel at work was a great touch. The additional layering of strong cultures and family ties was a central element to the book which I loved.

This book has a bit of ~spice~. Nothing you wouldn’t mind recommending to your mother, but definitely wouldn’t be HR “approved.”#officejokes

While I felt the last quarter of the book could have been expanded, I was satisfied at the ending. Matt and Cadence were two characters I loved to see come together and only wish I could read an epilogue about their success.