Fancy Meeting You Here by Julie Tieu (Review by Stephanie Rowitz)

Rating: 3/5

Elise Ngo doesn’t have time for romance. Between her struggling floral business and participating (and planning) her friends’ weddings, she is focused on keeping her eye on the ball. That is until she meets her friend’s brother, Ben, who makes her feel seen and valued just for being who she is, not for what she can do for others. 

I didn’t love the “always a bridesmaid, never a bride trope” that was so prevalent in this story. Honestly, I was more interested in seeing Elise set up boundaries with her friends and learn how to accept help than the slow-burn romance between Elise and Ben. There were several moments of witty dialogue between the two characters, but overall, I didn’t really think they had much chemistry. I also felt that their story ended a bit abruptly. All the loose ends were quickly tied up at the end and it left me wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way. 

I liked the climax of the book where Elise realizes she has to stand up for herself and define her limits. You can tell this is a hard thing for her to do which made her seem very human to me. After all, who doesn’t think they can do it all? Her evolution as a character felt more powerful to me than the romance, so I appreciated that element of the story.

Overall, Fancy Meeting You Here is a sweet story about a woman who constantly puts others above herself, and eventually realizes that by doing that, no one is really looking out for her. It’s about learning that as much as we might try, we can’t always do it all ourselves. Sometimes we need a little help, and that’s okay. Oh, and there’s a cute little love story in there, too.