Nothing will ever get me to stop reading books with fake dating, especially when the book is as cute as this one!
Circling Back to You was well written and the characters and romance were great. I really liked the workplace setting and the whole set up for the fake dating trope.
Family was a big topic in this book and I liked that it added an extra layer to the main characters and the plot.
If you're looking for a light, fun, cute contemporary romance then this is the read for you!

This book was advertised as an office romance, although personally I thought the book was more "office" than romance. There was a lot of "shop talk" involved, and not much page-time was dedicated to the romance. It seemed like more of a sub-plot. I liked that Candance was no-bullshit and wouldn't be pushed around, both personally and professionally. Matt was an okay male lead, kind of boring, but overall not bad. That goes for this novel as a whole - not bad, but probably not something I'll read again. There wasn't much excitement driving the story.

Original Post (June 26): I finished reading CIRCLING BACK TO YOU by @julietieuwrites this morning. Thank you to the author for the #gifted print ARC, I was also approved for an eARC by @avonbooks via @netgalley. The current release date for this book is July 12, 2022. Signed copies can be pre-ordered from Vroman's.

I adored this novel.

Matt and Cadence have such delightful banter with each other, plus make me realize why I love the work colleagues to lovers trope so much. There's so much mutual pining, but neither are willing to risk their work relationship. That is until a work trip there's the two of them together more than usual.

There are quite a few cute moments in the book, like there's a brief sickbed/care taking scene. There's also the only one suite (I really need more novels to do this, I don't like only one beds, but only one multiple room suite? Yes).

Plus lots of food mentions. If it weren't for the fact that I finished the book really early this morning, I would have likely ordered way too much Filipino food from the restaurant down the street.

Content Notes: death of parent (heart attack) - past, off-page, but plays a point in plot; grief/grieving; toxic behavior in work environment - microaggresions (sexism) from direct boss

Second review post (August 6):
Thank you @bibliolifestyle and @avonbooks for a #gifted copy of CIRCLING BACK TO YOU by @julietieuwrites. *

Belated tour stop, because my tour date was last week when I was traveling to DC for ApollyCon, and my plan was to take a photo of the book at the airport, because there's this great airport scene in the book. However, in my haste to get out the door, I forgot to bring the book with me. Oops.

I enjoyed Tieu's second novel; it's much more of a romance than her first. It's a friends/work colleges to lovers, where they both pine for each other, rather than make a move. That is until a work situation changes the dynamics of their relationship.

Yet, it's more than the romance. Though fleeting, I like that Tieu also shows us different dynamics of family, once again proving that Asians are not a monolith.

We've got Matt, who is a Filipino American, trying to get a promotion that will transfer him from the San Francisco office to the yet to open Los Angeles office, so that he can be closer to his large meddling family.

On the other side, there's Cadence, who minimizes contact with her very small family. Where every interaction seems to be a chore.

Not only do we get our HEA, but we also get the exploration of family, balancing work, and speaking up to get what we deserve.

Content Notes for off page death of parent prior to the book starting, and a toxic boss/work environment, microaggresions. There might be a few more, check earlier posts.

*I also won a copy of the ARC from the author, was approved for an eARC by the publisher, and purchased my own copies

I thought I would enjoy this much more than I did. I love a workplace romance, and throw in fake-dating and I normally would be sold! But the book was too quickly paced, and Matt just wasn't the hero I wanted him to be, and Cadence felt unnecessarily cold and mean. Their first interaction didn't really set the tone for the book I thought I was getting.

This was such a fun, sweet read! As an Asian American girl who loves romance books, I'm always disappointed with the lack of Asian representation in the romance genre. Because of that I was so happy to find Circling Back To You which was such an amazing, joyful romance that also happened to feature main characters who looked like me. I felt very represented and seen throughout reading this book, and it was just such a good experience all around. It was a really nice, breezy read with tropes I love like a workplace romance and forced proximity. I also liked the addition of the meddling families as they reminded me very much of my own meddling Asian parents who just want the best for me hahahaha. All in all, this was a great romance with amazing Asian representation and lots of good feels!

I don’t usually read two books at the same time but I did overlap two this time and I think that might have made it a bit harder for me to get into the storyline.

Cadence and Matt are teased incessantly about being work husband and work wife. Cadence does spend a lot of time with Matt but it’s been entirely work related. Their coworkers might not realize the element of truth to their teasing. Cadence does have a crush on Matt but she wouldn’t pursue it because he’s moving for work.

Cadence is about to make her yearly visit to see her dad and brother when she gets roped in to something work related. The job basically asks her to work during her visit but she can stay longer and not use vacation time. She agrees.
Matt goes along for work too. His family, rather conveniently, lives in the same area as Cadence’s.
They are booked at the same hotel and wind up sharing a two bedroom suite. Suddenly they are together all the time and they can’t really deny their attraction and their feelings in such close proximity.

Matt’s grandmother gets the idea that Cadence is his girlfriend so he asks her to come to a family party.
But this definitely doesn’t feel like a fake dating storyline. I feel like Cadence and Matt were very much actually dating by this point.

Cadence and Matt eventually do have to deal with the future job issues, their issues with their families and whether they can be together.

I didn’t always like Matt. I felt like he was rather rude at times. I didn’t like him teasing Cadence about how she was dressed. I didn’t find that cute. She packed for comfort, never expecting to be sharing a hotel with him. And even if she had, she shouldn’t get teased about wearing a T-shirt and comfy pants. I also thought like he put himself first a lot of the time.

I did get more invested in this story after I finished the other book I was reading. I did care about the outcome, about the characters and appreciate the author’s writing style.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

I had high hopes for this book with two Asian American characters, but I DNFed at 46%. It felt so slow and I wasn't in to the characters' relationship.

I was way too excited to read this book early on. Like I could not wait a sec when I received the ARC in the mail. And I was not disappointed when I finished reading this book.

Circling Back to You is a slow burning romance between two opposite co-workers. Cadence and Matt have secretly liked each other for years, but they have always denied their attraction. We really don’t know why until later on. But I would say that the slow burning attraction between them builds up throughout the book. And you best believe, you will enjoy reading about their intense attraction for each other.

I would also say that in this book we do touch up on Cadence family problems. Cadence is very private about herself so that we get to understand her more when she visits her family. And she has not processed all of her grief with her mother's passing. She is still stuck with moving on and letting go of her resentment toward her father. It will always take awhile, you just have to embrace it if you want to move forward.

Thank-you Avon and NetGalley for the chance to review this arc.

Another winner from Julie Tieu!

Circling Back to You is what you want in novel!
I had so much fun reading it once the story really got going.
With likable characters that felt real and relatable!
I man you can't go wrong with the workplace romance and friends to lovers tropes!

I loved the multicultural romance between BIPOC characters, especially with a rarely-seen Filipino male lead. Totally related to all the filial piety situations both characters had to observe. Workplace romance was also dealt with very well in that Matt and Cadence didn't have a power imbalance. The fake dating aspect was a bit unnecessary. Sweet ending but the romance and heat level could have been ramped up more.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an arc and a finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Circling Back To You follows Cadence and Matt, two co-workers who work for Prism Realty. The book takes you on their career journey and their budding workplace romance.

I thought this book was adorable! It’s written as a rom-com and I found Matt and Cadence’s friendship enduring and funny. They have really good flirty banter and chemistry. I genuinely feel like the author wrote this in a style that helped me envision this as a rom-com on screen. I found Matt extremely charming and real, “Let me be clear. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. I’m done pretending that I don’t want to kiss you when you walk into the office.”

I really appreciate that I didn’t have to wait long for the romance in this story. The author does a good job with pacing this story and also bringing you along into the characters jobs. Their careers were a major focal point in the book and I really liked that!

While the book is described as also having a fake dating trope, I didn’t really find that to be true and that’s not negative either but it definitely meets the workplace romance, friends to lovers trope and dual POV!

As someone who loves romance stories, I really loved that this story is centered around two Asian Americans and I think the author does a great job of representing them and their culture in the story.

TW: Grief/death of a parent*

Started out really strong, I loved the office romance that was friends to lovers - so many are enemies to lovers. I liked how sweet both characters were to each other and their banter. 5 star first half that sizzled a bit and ended up at a 4. Great book and I really liked it but not a book you binge in a day.

This is just about the driest workplace romance I've read.
There was no chemistry between these characters and both of them read as if no personalities were given to them.
The only redeeming part of this was Matt's family members.
I has high hopes as I did enjoy The Donut Trap by this author but unfortunately this one didn't hit in quite the same way.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you, @netgalley, and @avonbooks, for the eARC in return for an honest review.

“When is it not complicated? You think when you find someone and get married, you live happily ever after?”

My Thoughts:
3.5 ⭐️A cute workplace rom com with friends to lovers and fake dating tropes. I love that the main characters are in their 30s. As a Filipino, I could relate to the family dynamics and expectations. There were references to Filipino cuisine, language and Asian traditions.

I do find Cadence a bit mean but she’s smart, bold, and doesn’t take crap from men. Matt is sweet. I had to look up who he was compared to an actor, Manny Jacinto.

It had a great premise but overall, it was okay. Nothing really exciting or dramatic. I think the MCs relationship was sweet but the spicy parts were pretty tamed.

Sadly this one just didn’t hit right with me. I wanted to like it so badly but I think I just didn’t love the characters very much. Matt felt immature and didn’t really seem like he knew Cadence all that well or at least as much as she knew him. Maybe I just read it at the wrong time but this one was just meh for me.

This was cute but I didn’t love the flow of the book. I felt the middle dragged some and it ended too quickly. I also wasn’t totally convinced of Matt and Cadence's chemistry. Solid 3/5 stars

This book had a lot of my favorite tropes: workplace/forbidden romance, secret pining, forced proximity, and fake dating. There was one adorable, loving family and one tense family situation, both storylines that I really enjoyed. Matt is Filipino-American and Cadence is Chinese-American, and I liked reading about each family’s traditions (and food).

There was a lot to appreciate, but overall it didn’t come together as memorably as I wanted it to. I didn’t connect to the romance as strongly as I’d like to, and a few days after reading it I didn’t feel like I remembered many of the finer points of the story.

A cute, fun contemporary romance that was a quick and easy read.

I enjoyed this book but it didn't wow me. I think this was solidly a me thing and nothing wrong with the book. Just wasn't for me at this moment. Excited to read more from Julie Tieu.

Once again, I am duped by a synopsis. Even though this a workplace romance, it's a bit light on the romance, especially the promise of fake dating. I thought Matt and Cadence's banter was cute, but that was really all they had going for them. However, I did think the discussions of family and remembrance, and how everyone handles grief differently were very interesting. Circling Back to You was a nice story, but just not quite the workplace fake-dating romance that I was looking for.

Sadly, I am DNFing this. I have nothing against the author or the contents of this book, but I was under the impression that this would be a rom-com romance story, but it sadly feels more like literary fiction to me and I am having a hard time connecting with the main character since her personality is very stoic and impersonal (there is nothing wrong with that, I just was expecting her to have more depth). If this sounds like something you’re interested in, please give it a shot!