Time Loops & Meet Cutes

"Time Loops & Meet Cutes" finds Noelle Tom in a bit of a pickle. She ate magic dumplings after a long day at work, and now is stuck reliving June 20 over and over again. It wasn't the best day on the first time around, and since she has no idea what she has to do in order to rejoin the rest of the world navigating through time, she's finding things a challenge.But the situation starts to look up when she meets a nice guy named Cam and decides that perhaps if she could get him to kiss her, she'd go back to her timeline. After all, he has a vague sense that he knows her from somewhere, so that's encouraging. Right?As she relives June 20th dozens of times, she seems no closer to figuring out the solution than when she began. And it's getting harder to face Cam each day when he doesn't remember who she is.One of the things that makes this time loop story different from others I've read is that the MC has no idea what the purpose of the loop is or what she needs to do or accomplish in order to escape it. And while that was intriguing at first, in the end, it wasn't very satisfying, because, just like Noelle, we have no idea if any of the things she's trying may be the solution she's looking for. Then, when we do finally find out what happened to trap her there, it's fairly vague. So there's no satisfying sense of closure or accomplishment.What I did like about the scenario, though, is it forced Noelle outside of her comfort zone and gave her the opportunity to try things, risk-free. So, we get to see her growth along the way, which was nice. But overall, it wasn't enough to truly satisfy. By the end of the story, I kept reading mostly because I wanted to know what had triggered the loop in the first place. And there were seeds planted, like Cam's dad's story, that were never explored that could have provided a much more satisfying story, I think.Thank you to Jackie Lau, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I loved it! A new kind of book for Jackie Lau, who's never dabbled in magic before, but it was amazing! Now I want Avery to get her own book. Sigh.

Some days you eat magic dumplings that cause you to live in a time loop! And this is a Jackie Lau book, so of course it's dumplings that cause the time loop. Noelle is a serious person with a serious job where she's being taken advantage of, with a sister who'd not so serious. As a romance, it's very Groundhog Day as Noelle learns the way to approach the guy she keeps bumping into... and who kind of remembers her?I wasn't sure about this at first, but watching Noelle blossom, and then deal with the fall out of the time loop, was a joy. And the way this time loop resolves was very interesting to me - different from what I expected.I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie LauThis charming magical‑realism rom‑com had me smiling from day one, on the same day. Noelle gets stuck reliving June 20 in Toronto after eating magical dumplings, and each loop brings fresh “meet‑cutes” with charming brewery owner Cam. Their chemistry is sweet, slow‑burn, and refreshingly fun.I loved how the time loop gives Noelle space to grow, trying new things, exploring her city, making a friendship with fellow looper Avery, and rediscovering what she really wants in life. Jackie Lau handles the repetitive day brilliantly, weaving in humor and genuine emotional beats so that each reset feels purposeful.Why 4 stars? •✨ Adorable, inventive premise with heartfelt growth •😊 Strong found‑family vibe through Noelle, Cam, and AveryOverall, Time Loops & Meet Cutes is a feel‑good, thoughtful twist on a time‑loop romance. Cozy, clever, and full of heart, definitely one I’ll remember

I almost DNFd this book but I decided to power through to the end. The first part of the book took me a bit to get into. Especially when when Noelle continued to do the same things over and over. When she found another person stuck in the time loop with her, Avery, things began to get interesting. She developed a true friendship with someone else and strategized together on ways to get out of the loop. Then there was Cam, who felt a sense of deja vu around Noelle and the things they did, but couldn't recall in real time that they actually met before. I felt like Noelle was as interesting as a bag of rocks in the beginning (that was harsh...yikes!). Maybe it was because she continued to do the same things over and over. It wasn't until she tried doing different things and changed up her routine in the loop that I began to tolerate and then like her. I don't tend to like books with magical realism, but after a while I became invested on Noelle and Avery getting out of the loop. I also powered through to see how Noelle and Cam ended up together.