"Julie Tieu, an exciting new and diverse voice in contemporary romance, returns with a hilarious and sexy new novel about colleagues who decide to take their relationship outside the office.
Cadence Lim has transformed from behind-the-scenes number cruncher to an integral part of the sales team at Prism Realty. But despite moving up the corporate ladder, her complicated relationship with her estranged elderly father weighs heavily and she can't seem to shake the desire for a new beginning.
At least Cadence can always lean on her favorite co-worker and co-conspirator, Matt Escanilla. A top broker with an unsuccessful love life, the forever single Matt is constantly being nagged by his loving Filipino family to settle down.
Their relationship takes a turn when a business trip lands them both in their hometown and Matt enlists Cadence as a pretend girlfriend for a family gathering. The new after-hours setting forces the two friends to see each other in a new light, and their previously buried feelings rise quickly to the surface. When competing promotions threaten to separate Cadence and Matt, these office besties must work together to round up their ambitions and families to pursue their overdue romance."
Pages: 352
I received Circling Back To You by Julie Tieu for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Harper 360 UK and Insta Book Tours for my advanced copy and for having me on the tour!
This book was so CUTE! I have fallen in love with Julie Tieu’s writing style and now I can’t get enough! As soon as I started reading I didn’t want to put it down, it was so easy to fall into the story and I instantly fell in love with the characters. Cadence & Matt had such good chemistry throughout and I loved how much they secretly wanted each other but also did not want to lose their friendship. Julie Tieu has now fully converted me into a lover of the friends to lovers trope because this was absolutely delicious!
Also reverse grumpy x sunshine is my kryptonite which made me fall even harder for this story! The way that Cadence is logical and can appear closed off until you get to know her and how Matt is silly, fun and goofy but really values his work and puts all of his effort into it - they balanced each other so perfectly and I loved the depth that these characters had.
I also really enjoyed how the author explored complicated family dynamics in this story! With Matt having a close family and feeling the pressures of missing out on big family events and milestones contrasted with Cadence’s distance with her family and the surrounding guilt from the patriarchal expectations of the women in the family usually having to be the ones to take care of ageing parents. I loved how the characters supported each other with their respective family situations and I think the love that they showed for each other in this moment is what really sold friends to lovers for me!
Circling Back To You is hands down my favourite romance of the summer and I NEED to go and get The Donut Trap now! I am so excited to read more from Julie Tieu. Thank you so much for having me on the tour!
Make sure to check out all of the amazing bookstagrammers also on the tour:
