Cadence Lim is an analyst and an integral part of the operations at Prism reality. Matt, her coworker-next-door has sat next to her for years as both of them hustled and climbed the ladder, secretly liking one another but never acting on it. One thing led to another and now you have a typical office romance on your hands. A+ for diversity and positive Asian rep, and this was a cute fluffy romance. Matt is a solid male love interest, he isn't toxic or possessive and he's written as generally a good guy all around and I appreciate this in a male love interest.

Cadence is a grumpy numbers cruncher, and very practical and grounded. Both of them have their families push and pulling them in different directions and I think the struggle with these expectations is portrayed nicely.

Now, for everything else. Where's the tension? Where's the angst? Even in a cute fluffy romance, you need some tension for it to not be a total snooze fest. I just didn't love it. I was bored and I had a hard time really connecting to either of the characters. Office romance isn't my thing so this might just be a case of good book, wrong audience. I had a really hard time getting into it and I felt like the move from friends to something more was so quick, like both of the characters were disregarding everything they were worried about.

All around if you're looking for a cute fluffy romance and some seriously light reading, I would give this a try.

Circling Back to You
Rating : 3.75 stars

Synopsis:

Cadence Lim is a by the book person, who is an integral part of the sales team at Prism Realty. Despite a successful career she is estranged from her family and has a rather complicated relationship with both her father and her brother.

Matt Escanilla, a successful and top broker at Prism Reality, is a charming, fun personality who is a family man and his career is only growing from here. Due to his unsuccessful love life, Matt is feeling the pressure from his family to settle down and start a family.

Cadence is rather fond of her favorite co-worker, Matt Escanilla. Their friendship/relationship begins to develop further when a business trips sends them both in their hometown. While on the trip, Matt asks Cadence to pose as his pretend girlfriend for a family gathering. While spending hours together and a bit of forced proximity it allows the two coworkers to see each other in a new light. However, when contending job opportunities arise the threat their budding relationship is high.

Overall this book was very cute. This was an easy read and it was a nice pace. The two main characters were intriguing and it was nice to see both the culture and representation. This was a work place romance and I thought it was done in a way that made it believable and relatable. I really enjoyed Matt’s character, he was charming and funny . This book was a tad bit slow at times but it kept me interested and wanting to see how their relationship progressed. I also really enjoyed the dual POV structure.

*Thanks to Julie Tieu, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

New review: Circling Back To You
Thank you @netgalley @avonbooks and @julietieuwrites for the ARC of this witty Rom-Com. I absolutely loved the banter between Candace and Matt.
Release date: July 2022
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-Matt and Cadence are co-workers who secretly both have feeling for each other.
-A nice slow burn romance evolves
-Both characters have family dilemmas that they are dealing with and how important family means to each of them.
-Cadence sense of humor throughout the story 😅
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I did not get a chance to read The Donut Trap yet but I know I’ll picking it up. But I recommend this story to anyone who loves a light hearted rom-com.
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This book really exceeded my expectations. Work place romances are not often done well but this was genuinely cute. I also don’t usually like the male love interest very much but Matt is an absolute gem!! We Stan considerate, non toxic love interests!! But also give me fake dating and I am IN!!

Circling Back to You is a workplace romance following Cadence and Matt. Cadence and Matt work together at a realty firm and aren’t much more than acquaintances at the beginning of the story. When Matt and Cadence go on a “work trip” together, their relationship takes an interesting turn. Matt is working his butt off to get a promotion and follow his career dreams. Cadence is an absolute genius with numbers and the key to Matt’s success.

The only problem is that Cadence is still grieving the loss of her mother and some messy family dynamics. Her heart is just not in it. But she’s willing to play along to help Matt out with both his sales pitch and his family. Cadence has agreed to pretend to be Matt’s girlfriend for a family event.

Circling Back to You focuses on loss, advocating for yourself, and unexpected relationships. This book is a perfect mix of tropes I love and a darn good romance!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have a soft spot for workplace romances, so requested this as soon as I saw it pop up.

Unfortunately, while Matt was a sweety and aspects of the story were charming, I didn't find the romance between him and Candace believable, it was more like the author was telling me they fell in love then making me feel it.

Just finished this eARC of Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu and it was a fun workplace romance. The characters had good chemistry and there were some genuinely funny moments. It did drag a bit in the middle, but I liked that the characters each had their own flaws and issues to work through before they could make things work together. Wasn't the best I've ever read, but it was a fun read for fans of the genre.

I think this story had all the potential, but I think the overall execution fell flat. I wanted so badly to love this story because of the representation and as a fellow Filipino, I want to adore any book that has any representation in their story, but I just had a hard time connecting with Matt and Cadence's love story. Alone Matt stole my heart, but it was hard to see a match with Cadence.

The one saving grace of this story was Matt. Give me a Filipino male with his meddling Lola any day of the week. He was genuine and the kind of character that is easy to fall for becuase he is the perfect mixture of sexy, sweet, and charming. Cadence was a bit harder to crack for me. She was a bit stand-offish and very hard to read. She had exterior armor that made it hard to connect with her. I didn’t feel any growth in her development throughout the story and I felt her actions were the opposite of her character.

The writing style does feel distant and feel like you are reading a story more so than experiencing it along with the characters. There is a dry tone that makes it hard to stay focused on the book. Though this book didn’t work out for me, I think it’s worth giving it a chance. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

This was an easy to read rom-com. Although, I thought the first quarter to a third of the book was a bit slow. But once I got passed that mark, I was binge reading till the end. I loved the moments when Matt and Cadence were together. While their personalities may seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum (Matt is more outgoing; Cadence likes to keep to herself), they compliment each other.

Cadence’s family dynamic reminded me of my family and was relatable. It was interesting to see the contrast against Matt’s lively family and their direct form of communication.

Loved all the steamy moments between Cadence and Matt — wished there was more of it! ;)

Oohhh this is a cute office romance, it’s very light hearted and honestly so easy to read in one sitting, i was just minding my business wanting to read a few chapters and hello, it’s way past my bedtime and i’ve got 3 chapters left! that’s how you know it’s a good book, it was such a cozy read!

Overall this books was very cute. If you area fan of friends to lovers I am sure you would love this book, Friends to lovers is not one of my favorite tropes, which is just my own preference, so that's why this book isn't a 4 star for me.

Other than that, the two main characters are adorable and you cant help but to ship together. This is also a work place romance and it is done SO WELL! I adore Matt he is just so adorable and funny and he is a character I could see Bookstagram and Booktok being obsessed with. This book is a little slow in the beginning, but after about 5 chapters it is really easy to fly through this book.

I liked this book but I feel like it could have been better. It started off weird to me, I couldn’t tell if they were supposed to already be friends, or what. It seemed to jump in at a weird place, and pick up from there. I liked their chemistry and friendship but I was frustrated with Cadence and Matt both with some of the decisions they made. It was fun to meet both their families too but Matt’s family seemed to be too much at times.

3.5/5
I NEEDED A GOOD CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE HIT AND THIS WAS IT.

Pretend Relationship. I'm not sure why this is being sold as a pretend relationship because it really wasn't one in my opinion. Cadence and Matt are practically already dating and established from the night before the family event and Matt specifically only described her as someone special and a coworker. The girlfriend label was dismissed by him multiple times in my opinion so the family latching onto that title was more of their dreams then what Matt and Cadence were "pretending" to do. Regardless though, they did pretend to be more further along their relationship than they actually were considering they just hooked up the night before after years of banter it seems. So the resolution of a pretend relationship of "Omg do I actually like you more than I thought?" was still there which was very satisfying.

Cadence is written as an analytical, cold, only work first kinda character. I get what the author was trying to go for but sometimes it missed the mark and came off as dismissive. Especially since Matt is such a simp for her and totally outgoing. The two find themselves in L.A. together to close a deal and *gasp* find out they are sharing ONE hotel room?!?! but it had two beds :( Again, still hit the spot!

Chemistry. I LOVE the chemistry between the two and wish we got more of it. When the two inevitably get together (which there wasn't even an attempt to cast a doubt on that), it almost felt rushed to me but I knew it was in the context of them working years together with sexual tension and banter but again I wish we got to see more of them falling in love rather than just already being in love and needing to realize it. I love their teasing, Karl references, and much more. They have such a spark!

Family. I feel like I have been reading a lot of family emphasis books recently but this one made me feel so at home. Matt is constantly texting his cousin group chat about white elephant and Cadence is dealing with her tough love father and black sheep brother. When she meets Matt's family they emphasize the value of family and are shocked when she isn't close to her brother. This made Cadence question a lot of things in her life and honestly it turned out well in the end.

Hunter. Don't worry no spoilers. But hate that guy! :)

Warm regards,

Diana Banana

I really enjoyed this one! I started it at school as a filler book, and ended up bingeing the entire thing instead of studying (oops). Not my fault though, the characters hooked me immediately!

They were both so well developed, and so loveable. In so many romances, the male lead is a dick, and it's excused because he's hot. This book dodged that, and I loved it so much for that. He was genuinely a good person. And Cadence was just as loveable. Her struggles were relatable, and she really called to me as a character.

I also really enjoyed the dual POV structure. It helped develop both characters, and made both of them feel like friends, not just paper figures. It also helped keep the story interesting, as you never got tired of the character you were reading.

Finally, I really enjoyed the workplace dynamic in this one. In some ways, it reminded me of The Hating Game, but I enjoyed it so much more. The workplace setting helped throw in some romcom elements and I loved it.

After hitting a mini book slump, I'm super happy I picked this one up! It was adorable, and the perfect book to binge.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book is super cute and I really enjoyed it. It dealt with a bit heavier topics that I expected but it was good. I did feel as though the relationship moved kind of fast and did not give the reader a good enough look into exactly how they felt about each other and how those feelings developed.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This is a well-written coworkers-to-lovers romance. The MCs have some conflict at the beginning, but not enough to classify themselves as enemies (or anything more than crushes denying their feelings).

I liked it, but wasn’t blown away- the characters were easy to root for but not as complex as they could have been, the romance plot had some tension but I wasn’t convinced there was a chance they wouldn’t end up together, the writing was solid but not the best I’ve read.

The inclusion of a number of asian cultural aspects was a huge highlight, and perhaps one of the better components adding characterization.

Not super steamy, but overall a pretty healthy relationship (besides the classic communication errors of a romance, which I felt was handled better than in some books).

Did I read the main characters name as Candice until the last chapter? Yes. Did I appreciate the resolution, including the firing of some people who deserved it? Also yes.

Overall, this is a light and decent romance.

Circling back to you follows two colleagues who decide to take their relationship outside the office. This was the perfect friends to lovers, grumpy sunshine book and just what I needed to read this month. It wasn’t perfect in every way but it still felt like a breath of fresh air.

First of all, Cadence and Matt were so fun to read about and their relationship is so wholesome. Matt was such a simp for Cadence while she was a bit cold towards him, but only on the outside. Also, the fact that the book had a dual pov was great because we got to read about both of their feelings and thought’s.

Additionally their families were a big part of the book as well. In my opinion Cadence’s strained relationship with her father and brother was interesting to read about and I liked how it was kind of resolved.
Matt and Cadence were so different but also so perfect for each other.

The only part of this book I disliked is the middle part. Nothing much was happening at that point and I was kinda bored. Next, the smut was so underwhelming. I’m not some smut fanatic but when there is smut in a book I want it to at least be good. I felt like in this book it was rounded down to a few sentences ces and there was no chemistry to be completely honest.

To summarise, this was a pretty good read and it deserves the rating that i gave it.

Sweet workplace romance meets friends to lovers troupe from the author of Donut Trap!

The things highlighted in this journey
Multi cultural big families- care-giving subplot
Diversity
Sweet, feel good friends to lovers theme
Quiet adorable San Francisco background
Fake- dating troupe

The book started quick paced, introducing us the main characters: Matt and Cadence work at the high performing real estate company: Matt is a broker and Cadence is an analyst.

As they start working as a team, their blooming friendship’s direction turns into something unexpected during their business trip where it’s headed on Matt’s hometown. Cadence finds herself as Matt’s fake girlfriend, meeting with his family members.

When they realize how deeply they feel for each other work related issues, a competing promotion threats the couple end their newly formed relationship. They also have to deal with some familial struggles.

I loved the sweet premise of the book. But the beginning started so quickly without making enough introductions about the characters and in the middle the story started dragging. I lost my interest. The conclusion was good but I think some parts could be omitted at the middle parts and the beginning could get strengthened with additional background stories of the characters.

I had hard time to connect with Cadence. At first with her shy and sweet attitude she was more likable but then she turned into a bossy bitch! Matt was more likable but his character needed more development.

So I decided to give three stars. I liked this book less than Donut Trap. This was still an enjoyable read but I expected a little more. I’m still looking forward to read the next work of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

it's official. i'm a julie tieu stan.
i was a huge fan of 'the donut trap' and when i saw that she was releasing a new book with a FILIPINO-AMERICAN MALE LEAD i just about died. and this did not disappoint. it's not often that i see asian-american romances. and even rarer is it a filipino-lead. julie tieu, here is a heartfelt thank you for including all of this asian-american rep in your books. i'm a sucker for romances and seeing people like me fall in love makes me so happy.

dramatic intro aside, this book was definitely a five-star read for me.

first of all - i loved the characters. i loved cadence, i loved matt, and i loved them together. the two were fun to read. i think they were such a realistic couple and i enjoyed the book so much more because of this realism.

aside from the two main characters, the side characters were also amazing. i fell in love with both of their families and friends, especially cadence's dad! he brought a lot of humor to whatever scenes he was in. in fact, he reminded me a lot of my own dad. matt's family were also enjoyable to read and i definitely saw my extended family in them.

i'm also gonna put a spotlight on the filipino rep. i think it was really well-done and the filipino traditions incorporated were portrayed well. i do wish that matt used more filipino terms for his family though, such as 'tita' instead of auntie.

this book is a must-read if you enjoy romances. it's well-written, has the cutest couple, and is a nice light read. def would recommend!

thank you to netgalley and avon & harper voyager for an early copy of this book.

This checks a lot of my favorite things.

Workplace romance: check.
Snark meets sass: check.
Family meddling: check.
Strong female lead: check.
Adorable male counterpart: check.

There's so much more to like outside of the obvious. Asian representation in the form of a Filipino male - who happens to be a big soft goofball with a love for his his lola (grandma)– and a Chinese female - who epitomizes take no prisoner's energy with a soft center and a love for all things food. Both of which are hard workers who fight for what they deserve in their work lives. I believe there's so much potential within the pages and story that unfolds.

Where I feel the tale lacks somewhat is in its pacing and descriptions. I wished for more, especially when it came to cuisines and dishes that I know of, but didn't feel the warmth and sensory overload of them drift from the pages nearly as much as I would have liked. There were opportunities to really give the reader a complete feeling of surroundings, experiences, or locations through the narrative that I really missed or wished for. I also wished for a bit more depth of their friendship, as Cadence could come off as too cold towards someone she considered at most a best friend and at the very least, a good work colleague.

That aside, I felt like this was a fun, sweet read that shows a lot of heart and connection through family and community.

I loved Circling Back to You so much! The chemistry between Matt and Cadence was undeniable and was so well written. Matt’s jokes had me cracking up and Cadence was such a strong and fierce force to be reckon with. Overall, this is a hilarious and sweet romance novel with lovable characters.