Time Loops & Meet Cutes

Noelle, a young woman who lives and works as an engineer in Toronto, takes a break from her routine on the longest day of the year and visits the night market. There she meets a mysterious woman selling dumplings that have the effect of causing her to relive June 20th again and again. Thinking she might need to be kissed to break the time loop she flirts with a handsome brewpub owner Cam. Noelle forms a special connection with Cam over multiple "first dates" although she struggle with the fact that he can't remember them. Noelle also meets up with another woman named Avery who is caught in the time loop. They become friends and eventually roommates as they alternate between carefree adventures and attempts to break the time loop.

I enjoy show more that in a clever variation on time loop stories that after living through June 20 over 100 times, they return to normal time six months in the future with no memory of what happened in the intervening months. Thematically, the novel works as a way of Noelle growing beyond being a shy workaholic to someone able to take risks, form connections with other people, and repair relationships with her family. As a romance it is both very sweet and very horny. show less

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy.
This time loop contemporary romance is a real charmer. The book has a dual POV, with chapters narrated by Noelle, who is stuck in a time loop, and her love interest Cam. Noelle is a highly relatable young woman, who struggles with keeping up with all of her responsibilities, including her demanding job. After she inexplicably begins living the same day over again, Noelle begins to live her life in earnest. Her relationship with Cam, who will never retain memories of their time together, is the focal point of the story. But the supporting characters are just as interesting. She befriends Avery, who shares the same time loop, and learns to be a better friend. She sets show more healthy boundaries with her demanding job. She finds the fun in a good haircut, a delicious meal, and a bit of travel. But the most satisfying part of the story happens with the resolution of the time loop scenario. Lau adeptly explores a trope that has been done before and done well. But her spin on it is a delightful read. Highly recommend for any contemporary romance reader looking for something a little different. Fans of Groundhog Day and 50 First Dates will eat this delicious romance up with a spoon. show less

I read an ARC of this book and really enjoyed it. I went into this book expecting a romantic relationship by the absolute master of tropes, and I got that, but it's also a love story about all your relationships, including with yourself. It's lovely.

What would you do with your do-overs?

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“You want dumplings? They give you what you need most.”

Time Loops & Meet Cutes was a scifi story that delved into what could be possible if people took the time to stop and look beyond their narrowed focus and didn't let fear guide them. Noelle swore off love six years ago after getting dumped by her boyfriend and going through a depressive episode. She's a mechanical engineer who gives it all to her job and has found herself distanced not only from friends but family. When a random stop at a night market has her eating dumplings that seem to be the cause of her repeating Friday June 20th, she looks for the reason to get herself show more out of her time loop. A cute guy named Cam keeps appearing randomly through her day and she's starting to wonder if he could be the key.

He doesn’t remember our encounter at the market, but he seems to have a vague memory of me.

I thought this was a really cool concept, in the Groundhog Day movie family but some twists to make it feel fresh. Noelle does find someone who is stuck in the loop with her, so while it was interesting to have that buddy for her, the character of Avery never really seemed to fit in the story for me, I kept waiting for her to be connected somehow (possible sequel?). Told in Noelle's point-of-view as she relives the numerous same Fridays, we also get Cam's pov's. Reader's that catch while in the first half Noelle's povs are all from Friday June 20th, Cam's always starts in a different month, this lead into a second half that has Noelle breaking out of the time loop but jumping straight into the present day, not starting on June 21st. This was kind of wild, our character of Noelle missed seven months but in the alternate reality, a Noelle was there. So, the second half becomes what Noelle learned from letting fear go in some aspects in the different ways she lived her numerous Fridays and trying to figure out how the alternate reality Noelle acted.

It’s amazing how many possibilities there are in a single day.

The story may sound a little out there but it's all done in that fun scifi out there way; it creates a different vehicle to relay some of the common messaging of don't be afraid to try new things, isolating yourself from pain also isolates yourself from joy, and figuring out what's really important to you. There was a little bit of dragging as Noelle couldn't figure out how to get out of the time loop and she seemed to give up herself until, without fanfare, it just happened. I was a little disappointed in this but the ending gives an explanation that just might make your eyes water a little after the emotions behind it all are revealed, so it makes up for it. The secondary characters were a little harder to know, this being all from Noelle's pov, but there was enough to add some to Noelle's character definitions.

You changed me, but you don’t remember.

I'm not sure the romance was the strongest for me, harder in such a stop and start format setup here, but I could go along with Noelle and Cam's initial sparks, if not totally feeling their lasting longevity emotional depth. Some twists on a known concept, personal, family, and romantic relationship discussion, open door scenes, and scific goodness to get you to remember that life's not always all about eyes ahead and the to the finish line, there's a lot of joy to be found on the sidelines. show less

See also: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio; This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

In Toronto, serious Noelle Tom, an engineer, breaks routine one Friday evening after working late and goes to a night market and eats some magical dumplings...that trap her in a time loop, reliving June 20 over and over. Noelle discovers Avery, who is also trapped, but they seem to be the only two, and no matter what they try, they can't get out. Noelle meets cute brewery owner Cam Huang again...and again...and again. She thinks a kiss might break the loop, but when it doesn't, she continues to go on first dates with him. It's frustrating, though, that as she develops memories of them together, he never does.

*Spoilers*

Finally, seven months after the first June show more 20, the time loop mysteriously breaks - and suddenly Noelle and Avery are in January. Apparently their past selves continued their lives, but they have no memory of them, and do their best to piece them together by reading their old texts, emails, and social media posts, as well as the news. Now that there are no more do-overs, Noelle has to decide whether to approach Cam again - and whether to tell him about the time loop.

Delightful! Clever premise, satisfying execution with a special twist at the end, showing how Noelle and Cam are connected (through dumplings!). A fresh version of the Groundhog Day plot, with believable romance.

Quotes

It really is hard to adjust to living without consequences. (32)

...everything I've been doing lately has sounded utterly ridiculous, but when you're stuck in a ridiculous situation, what else are you supposed to do? (57)

"But when you worry it might go on forever, it's hard to live in the moment." (Avery to Noelle, 98)

It's amazing how many possibilities there are in a single day. (169)

[stress-strain curves, elastic deformation, plastic deformation] A little stress in your life might not fundamentally change you, but there's no way I won't be irrevocably changed by this time-loop experience... (194)

"I know that I was shaped by all the experiences I had in the past, and I probably shouldn't wish any of them away because they made me into me, but..." (224)

In retrospect, it's amazing how I could just forget to think about who I was and what I wanted for so long. (235)

Big emotions are part of [life]. You can't completely avoid them, even if you keep reliving the same day. (278) show less

Having previously read Book One of the Kwan Sisters series, I was looking forward to seeing the characters Jackie brought to life in Time Loops and Meet Cutes. Her knack for writing realistic, relatable protagonists is what drew me to pick up another book by her, and I’m so glad I did. Time Loops and Meet Cutes reminds us how often we can get in our own way - how the idea of consequences and repercussions can stop us from making choices, putting yourself out there, and fully experiencing all that life has to offer.

Life as a mechanical engineer may be demanding, but Noelle wouldn’t have it any other way. The hours are long, and the extra work she takes on to “help” her mentee (a nepo-baby, no less) might frustrate others, but show more this is what she knows. As the reliable, steady, and predictable sibling, she understands what’s expected of her and does her best to avoid rocking the boat. She’s even got her post-work routine down to a science - until one particular Friday, when her body decides to go completely off script. Hungry and desperate to silence her grumbling stomach, she finds herself veering toward the market instead of heading straight home to raid her fridge.

Scouring the vendors, Noelle stumbles upon a dumpling stand with no line. Dealing with the eccentric woman running it and her cash-only policy feels like a small price to pay for what turns out to be the best dumplings she’s ever had. What Noelle doesn’t realize is that these dumplings are about to change her life. She finds out just how much when she wakes up the next morning to discover it’s Friday, June 20th - again. And again. And again.

No matter what Noelle does, every time she falls asleep, the day resets to the morning of June 20th. She’s the only one who remembers anything from previous interactions. At first, life without consequences feels strange and unsettling, but it doesn’t take long for it to become liberating - until she meets Cam.

While Noelle has an endless number of chances to make a first impression, it doesn’t seem to matter when he can’t remember her the next day. Except, he doesn’t completely reset. Cam starts to remember fragments - her preferences, fleeting moments of déjà vu - and Noelle becomes convinced that he’s the key to breaking out of the loop. She just needs to figure out how.

This was such an interesting concept! What I loved most was at one point in the book, Jackie has the characters address exactly what I’d been wondering - if they’re stuck in a time loop, what’s happening with everyone else? And where do they fit in the timeline if they manage to escape?

When I first started reading, I thought Cam was trapped in the loop too, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s moving forward in time - which only raised more questions.

At that point, I was completely hooked, but Jackie was in a tough spot. If she didn’t address the questions she had her characters bring up - questions her readers were undoubtedly wondering too (along with a plethora of other potential plot holes waiting to happen) - the book would risk falling flat.

I want to say she triumphed, answered all the questions, and beautifully tied the story together - but she didn’t. Instead, she took two different cop-outs.

Beyond that slight setback, I was completely fascinated by this book and the amount of time Noelle was stuck in the time loop. I loved how Jackie paired Avery and Noelle because it created a perfect mix of best-case and worst-case scenarios. This balance of the best and worst keeps each character grounded in reality while driving them to focus on the lessons they need to learn to finally break free. While I may have felt let down by the resolution of the time loops, I have to applaud the transformation and lessons experienced by the characters.

Speaking of surprises, Jackie definitely caught me off guard with the spice in this book! I was pretty convinced it was going to stay a closed-door romance - until suddenly it wasn’t! Having forgotten that I’ve read one of the books in her Kwan Sisters series, I really should have known better. Her scenes are hot yet sweet, and they’re written in a way that feels realistically beautiful.

Time Loops and Meet Cutes is a call for reflection and reassessment. For those who truly absorb the message of this book, it serves as a gentle push to step back and evaluate where we are - and whether it’s truly where we want to be. Are we standing in our own way? Are we the roadblock to a richer, more fulfilling life? Simply put, are we settling for comfort and predictability? If we could remove the obstacle of consequence - the paralyzing fear of risk and retribution - what would our lives look like? Would we be braver, more willing to take chances, if we had the safety net of a redo button? show less

Noelle is over-worked and over-achieving, one evening after work she eats mystical dumplings from a night market that inexplicably send her into a Groundhog Day-time loop scenario. As she works to make sense of her new reality, she meets Cam who owns and runs a brewery. She finds that as June 20th repeats, she keeps running into him. Who is he and why is he important?

I have read this author before and enjoyed her work. This one was a solid read with a focus on learning how to live your best and most authentic life, even if you have to keep trying over and over again. I loved how Noelle systematically tries to make sense and order out of the sudden cosmic existential crisis that her life has become. She's a little emotionally stunted, show more which definitely factors into her life choices initially. This is simultaneously a mystery and an "are they destined to be together?" romance. Having Cam's POV was a nice touch and lent some needed variety to the narrative. But while I liked it, I didn't love it. I found that the pacing was uneven and I lost some reading momentum around 50% of the way through. (I mostly got distracted by pondering the mechanics of the time loop, which was a bit unsatisfying in its vagueness.) Things do start to pick up again closer towards the end. The story was also a bit more somber than I was expecting, as the story is an unusual mix of hopeful and gloomy. Thankfully, hope wins out.

If you enjoy open-door romances with a touch of mysticism and some deeper soul searching and personal growth, then this is the book for you! 3.5 stars. Publishes May 6, 2025. This review is based on a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. show less