Circling Back to You - Julie Tieu

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Cadence has pined for Matt since her start at Prism Realty. Having him as her work husband has it's perks, including early morning coffee, but just as she is thinking of taking things out of the office, Matt is up for a promotion that includes a relocation putting all thoughts of taking this working relationship into a real relationship off the table. When they are forced together to work on scoring a big client, in their hometown, they get closer than they ever have before. Will Matt be able to bring Cadence's walls down and open her up to what they could be if she let them or will he force her walls back up forever?

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Avon, and Julie Tieu for an advanced copy of this book for review.

When I saw this book available on Netgalley, I was so freaking excited. I love me a good workplace romance with Asain rep and fake dating....count me IN! While fake dating is teased in the book, it doesn't happen. That is totally okay by me though because Circling Back to You is so much more than a rom-com. Is it funny? Yes. (WARNING: Matt makes the dadest of dad jokes 😆) Is it a romance? Yes. It is also a book about grief and family. It's about strength and resilience and trusting in people. As it is marketed as a rom-com I was not expecting the amount of depth that was involved in the love story of Matt and Cadence. There were so many important moments and intricacies that made up their relationship.

I read Circling Back to You in one sitting. I stayed up well past my bedtime because I could not wait until morning to find out how things ended for the couple. I also made 4 pages worth of notes on the book. This is another epistolary novel. Throughout the book is a smattering of text threads, email chains, and chat conversations. It is also dual POV so you get to be inside both Cadence and Matt's brains to know what each of them are thinking. While both characters come from Asian families, their upbringing and relationship with their relatives are completely different. I loved the way that Julie Tieu gave a glimpse into each. The way she described the death anniversary rituals for Cadence and her family were a lot more in depth to some other books I have read in the past. It was written in a beautiful way that showed love and respect for an emotional and difficult ritual.

I could go on and on about all of the things I loved about this book (4 pages of notes 😅), but I will just end this with READ THIS BOOK. I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and 🌶🌶🌶. It has some open door scenes but they aren't super detailed or descriptive.

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