We featured Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu for our Asian American Heritage Month in April. We both found the novel to be witty and charming with an honest and loving depiction of both Filipino and Chinese culture and family. While we were not completely sold on the chemistry, this book packs a lot of spice. We recommend it for those who love a good office romance with some friends to lovers thrown in. Please find our review here: https://anchor.fm/chicklitbookclub/episodes/CLBC-Episode-37---Circling-Back-to-You-e1ikpn0.

Cadence Lim thinks she knows what she needs to do in life and it does not include a romantic relationship, actually it does not involve many relationships at all. Matt Escanilla has been working, working, and a little playing for the past few years but now it seems as if life is leaving him behind. He just needs to close this large deal with a tech giant to gain his promotion in the new Prism Realty LA office. Then he can finally settle down and spend more time with his family. When Cadence shines as an integral part of making that happen, Matt is more than happy to have her along.
I enjoyed this book for several reasons but mostly because of Cadence. She is an AAIP character that grew up in a home that was trying hard to assimilate. At least it seems her father wished that for her and her brother. When her mother passed several years ago, Cadence pulled back from her relationships with her family and threw herself into work. She is at the top of her game and goes above and beyond without the recognition she deserves. She can be brutally honest and somewhat off putting but it is a defense to shield herself from personal involvement. If people do not like her, they will not want to get to know her. Matt has always appreciated Cadence’s dedication and respects her abilities, but as they spend more time together he realizes he knows nothing about her. As a Filipino American, Matt can understand Cadence's struggles of balancing a family life with a rich culture and expectations. The expectations for him are to get married and start making babies, ekk. He knows if he is going to do that it needs to be soon.
These characters have a good foundation to work with as they have been co workers for years but they quickly realize that does not mean you know a person. I think Matt and Cadence both had to deal with some realistic insecurities to get to an HEA. I thought the way things ended worked well as the characters did not change their personalities, just their goals.

A sweet work place romcom where the hero is an absolute simp and the heroine is very hot and cold. As someone who is also big on keeping work and personal life separate, I found Cadence very easy to relate to. I loved seeing her slowly open up and lean into her family. I loved so much of the banter with Matt and Cadence, some of it was silly and try hard and other times it was laugh out loud funny. Both main characters are Asian and I loved getting to see the family dynamics, especially with Matt and the women in his family. Friends to lovers can be such a wonderful trope and I enjoyed this one immensely.

I would've loved to see a bit more tension between Matt and Cadence, but I loved their banter. This was framed to be a fake dating scenario, but that never really happened. Other than that, definitely a fun summer read for your tbr!


3.5 rounded up

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon for the eARC!

This was a cute office romance! I did struggle with the main character at times. I found her behavior to be somewhat puzzling and didn't really understand why she was acting the way she was towards Matt or her father. I also found myself wanting more "romance" or tension between the characters. Regardless, I did enjoy "Circling Back to You" and would reccomend!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy! Out tomorrow - 7/12/22!

Complicated family dynamics are always my jam when it comes to books. Throw in some fake dating and I cannot resist! I was so excited to get an early copy of Circling Back to You. A wonderful story by a wonderful author. I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read "Circling Back to You" by Julie Tieu, scheduled to release on July 12th, 2022!

This novel told the story of a workplace romance between Cadence & Matt. They are both looking for promotions in their realty careers. Cadence is actually putting in her resume' to other job offers because she feels as though her current career path isn't going anywhere significant. Matt annoys Cadence to no end, but perhaps that's what she likes best about him. :) Their boss schedules them to work back in their hometown over the course of two weeks.

I was glad to read a novel with Asian-oriented characters in it! That in itself was like a breath of fresh air. I also enjoyed the relationship Cadence had with her father and Matt had with his mother & grandmother. It reminded me of how my own relationship with my mother is, so it was fairly relatable.

Overall, I rated this book a 3.5/5 stars!

Work friends morph into something more in this second effort by author Julie Tieu, CIRCLING BACK TO YOU. The colleagues work in a real estate office and a Christmas-time volunteer effort causes co-workers to gossip about a romance that doesn’t quite exist…yet. Although given the opportunity, the two leads manage to find a way to fake a relationship on their way into a real one. The book, however, is awkwardly written and just doesn’t flow well. It’s not actually funny despite being promoted as a rom com and the characters aren’t really engaging enough to sell their romance. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book follows work spouses Cadence and Matt as they go on a work trip from their office in San Francisco, to both of their homes in Los Angeles. While on the trip the pair decide to explore a personal relationship outside of work but to keep things low key. While trying to woo a client they both return to their families and the family drama that they’ve been removed from.

I liked this book more than Julie’s first book, The Donut trap. I was very pleased to find that this one was actually a romance. I liked both Matt and Cadence on the surface level, but both were flawed people who were off-putting at times. Cadence is really mean to both Matt and her family. Matt was extremely superficial and judgmental when it came to Cadence’s body and clothing. Some people might call this realistic characterization, but to me their flaws outweighed their good sides.

I’m also very confused by the marketing of this book. The blurb calls it, “a hilarious and sexy new novel,” but I wouldn’t really call it either of those things. Yes it was an open door romance, but it was not tension filled high heat. And there is absolutely nothing in this book that is slightly funny, let alone “hilarious.” Looking back on it I’m very confused on what I was supposed to find funny about this book. Not everything needs to be a rom-com, and it does more damage to a book to market it as a rom-com and have it not be funny than to market it just as a contemporary romance. The description also refers to it as a fake dating book. This is not a fake dating book as they are actually having a relationship. Again, describing the book as something it is not, just sets the book up to disappoint readers.

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book, but it was not anything spectacular. It was a solid 3 star book. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i was very disappointed, I had to dnf this book even tho it’s right up my alley. I didn’t like the writing style, it was too confusing and forced me to reread several times some moments. carence was a difficult FMC to grasp, I didn’t like her. even tho I tried. Matt was the highlight of this book but it wasn’t enough to keep me from continuing this story….

Circling Back to You

QOTD: Workplace romance - yay or nay?

I have avoided them before but this year wanted to try them! This ARC came after that impulse…

And honestly, this was so underwhelming to read.

What did I like? The FMC is brilliant. I love Cadence Lim and understand her. She is just a thirty-something woman living her life and never feeling like she can do everything. She is tired and stressed and overlooked and I adore her.

Matt… is boring. He seems like a dime-a dozen corporate bro that throws the bare minimum energy at Cadence and then wonders why she doesn’t think he has a serious thing for her… He is in his late thirties and seems surprised that people find him to be a joke when… he is a joke. His motivations were inconsistent - do you want to have a big wild family or do you want to beat a fellow corporate bro and broing? Pick one. And follow through… I really couldn’t understand what she saw in him in the end.

TL/DR Review
Stars: Three and a half - all for Cadence
Series: NA
POV: Dual Third
Steam: low - a couple scenes, telling not showing
Tropes: coworkers, overbearing families, everyone over thirty, career crisis, forced proximit
For Fans Of: classic romcoms (third act break ups, weird grand gesture, etc.)
Theme Song: Not Your Barbie Girl by Ava Max
Subgenre: contemporary/ romcom
CW/ TW: references to grief/ loss of parent, secret keeping, workplace misogyny/ micro aggressions

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Circling Back to Your
Rating: 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Circling Back to You was an okay read for me. It's about an office romance between Cadence and Matt. I had a hard time believing that these two had feelings for each other, well that Cadence actually liked Matt. There were times that I didn't really like her because of the things she said or did. She had this horrible grudge against her father because of his handling of their financial situation when she was younger. Deep down she blames him for her mother's passing. This feeling carried on to her job, because she could be rude to Matt and other people. As a reader, I understand what her dad did was not what a father should do, but why treat Matt that way when all he wanted to befriend her from the very beginning.
I don't know...I feel that it was a forced relationship and the majority of these characters needed to practice being more honest with each other. Also, the way Cadence was treated at Matt's family party was not nice. It was her first time meeting them, she didn't deserve to be interrogated and for them to think it was a normal way to welcome somebody to the family.

Book Review: Circling Back To You by Julie Tieu

Circling About To You is an adult contemporary romance about two co-workers in commercial real estate and their struggles with work, family and romance.
Cadence and Matt have been working together at a San Francisco commercial real estate office for several years when a series of events push them closer together. Cadence is frustrated with how slowly her career is moving and rarely visits home since her mother died. She has very little in common with her older brother Tristan and still resents her father for the financial burdens the family has been under. Matt feels left out of his large Filipino family as one of the only cousins without a wife or kids. When Cadence and Matt are asked to work together on a few clients during a trip to Los Angeles they will start to see their chemistry heat up but with their individual futures up in the air they are unsure if romance even worth pursuing.
Combining both sweet and sexy Julie Tieu wrote a great workplace rom com with diverse main characters who despite their age and career success still have complicated family obligations to accommodate.

The blurb pulled me in as it had some tropes I liked, namely fake relationship and office romance. Unfortunately the story itself did not grab in the way I hoped. The writing was good, story was pleasant enough but I was not fully engaged in the romance. There was a lot of world building stuff in the background which possibly distracted me from focussing on leads Cadence and Matt. Overall alright (2.75 ⭐️)

I really enjoyed this rom com that had some of my favorite tropes:
-friends to lovers
-workplace romance
-force proximity
-interferring relatives

The middle of the story lagged a little bit and I really just wanted Cadence and Matt to be open and have honest communication. I just like to avoid those kinds of conflicts. There were are lot of times that the sentences were missing words and I hope that is resolved before the final printing. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute story with some substance to it. I really appreciated that the main characters, Cadence and Matt, were both Asian because in a lot of rom com or romance novels, one of the love interests are usually white or black. Which is fine but I like to walk away from every book that I be read as of I've learned SOMETHING and that's difficult when culture doesn't really play into the story line.
I did not expect some parts of the book to be as heavy as they were subject wise, but that took nothing away and honestly added to the story for me.

<i>Circling Back to You</i> is a fun, light read that was comedic with emotional depth.

Matt and Cadence had great chemistry, and the development of their relationship felt authentic and wonderful.

One synopsis I read gave the impression there was a fake relationship, which is definitely not true. Which is fine! It was just a letdown since I was looking forward to it.

I enjoyed that the third act break up was not based solely on miscommunication/lack of communication. Instead, throughout the book, the fault lines in their burgeoning relationship are clear.

The one thing I didn’t like was the promotion competition between Matt and Hunter. It felt out of place and much more cheesy than the rest of the book.

I definitely recommend <i>Circling Back to You</i> if you’re a fan of RomComs!

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

DNF @ 41%

I was so looking forward to this book because I loved Julie Tieu’s debut novel, The Donut Trap, but this book did not deliver for me.

The summary was so promising, a friends to lovers office romance with the self-proclaimed Asian Jim and Pam. I was totally here for that, but what I got ended up being very boring and watered down. I hated Cadence, the heroine in the story. She was bossy, rude, and really demanding. I also couldn’t connect with Matt, the real estate broker she worked with. As a couple, I didn’t see them jive together that well, which made it hard to root for them. There wasn’t any flirty banter and it being told in 3rd person also didn’t help.

I definitely don’t see this as a romantic comedy because I didn’t really laugh at any parts and there wasn’t a ton of great romance writing here. It was just very bland and boring, and frankly, I was disappointed.

Thank you to Net Galley for my complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review 🙂

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu

Circling Back to You was a cute, workplace rom com! Cadence and Matt are co-workers and friends, but when Matt asks Cadence to be his pretend girlfriend during a visit with family…(I’m sure you know the rest 🤣)

I really enjoyed reading this book. Cadence and Matt seemed pretty realistic, and their relationship progressed naturally. I loved seeing their friendship blossom into more. Also really loved the Chinese, Filipino, and women in STEM representation!

This book also covers some tough topics, like workplace microaggressions, loss of a parent, and parental/familial expectations. They were handled really well and flowed with the rest of the story.

If you’re looking for a workplace romance rec, look no further! Circling Back to You releases on 7/12! Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the #gifted copy!

The premise of this story sounded so intriguing to me, and I was really excited to dive in. However, what was advertised was not what was ultimately delivered. I found myself a bit bored with the story, feeling completely disconnected by the characters, and while the writing style was actually very engaging, the relationship didn't develop in a way that felt natural or aligned with how the story was meant to go.

Some main points that did not work for me...

"Hilarious" - I didn't really find it all that funny. I was expecting a true rom-com, but what I got was a rather sad contemporary romance that had some humorous soundbites from just the MMC. Overall, it didn't read like a comedy, even though I could tell the author was trying.

Fake Relationship - Nope. This wasn't a thing at all. It wasn't fake. They had slept together before they even tried to present their relationship to the family. They fell into bed so fast, with so little buildup to it, that I was a bit taken aback. I felt like I had missed a big portion of their relationship development. They didn't act like a couple who had feelings for each other, but once the FMC got drunk, into bed they went. A fake relationship implies they didn't start out in any sort of romantic relationship, which was not the case here.

Office Romance - It felt really weird to me, as someone who works in HR, that so much that went on actually happened, Rumors fly about their relationship, when there clearly isn't one, and it becomes a bit uncomfortable from a workplace perspective re. how others treat them. They are sent on a business trip together, and OOPS, there is only one room booked and that's okay. The FMC puts up a little resistance initially, but then she gives in. It was...weird. You have to read it to understand it. Also, most of the story feels less "office romance" than it does "friends to lovers". Office romance would have more of a taboo feeling, which I really didn't get from the story.

Overall, plot felt underdeveloped, relationship was not strong, and it was marketed as something it was not. Disappointed.

3.75 stars

A fun workplace romance, Circling Back to You centers around Cadence and Matt. Cadence is a data analyst and Matt is a broker, both working at the same real estate firm. While they both secretly have a crush on one another, they are forced to confront their feelings when they are sent on an important business trip together (and yes, there's only one hotel room).

This book was enjoyable, and if you're looking for a workplace romance I would recommend it! I think the back and forth negging between Cadence and Matt just wasn't my thing, but as their relationship evolved I definitely enjoyed the book more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!