This book was a light read but at times became much deeper than I expected. It is your typical Manhattan 20-something story, but the characters were more richly developed than I expected.

I couldn't follow much of the business storyline - I'm not even sure that it made sense, but I enjoyed the witty banter and the writing. I would definitely read another book by this author, as this was a pleasant distraction for a few hours.

What an adorable debut romance novel!

💜 Ok, here’s what you get with this one…
- workplace romance
- competitors to lovers
- self discovery
- one bed
- self joy vs family joy
- takes place in NYC
- nerding out over finance

💜 I loved the female MC’s journey through this book. She is trying to find her way to love without giving up any of her own dreams. I love the challenges and inner dialogue that set up presents.

💜 Overall I really enjoyed this adorable romance. I’d recommend it — especially if you love workplace romances or if you’re a numbers need and want to be seen!

I really enjoyed this debut from Clare Gilmore. It was a sweet and adorable workplace romance with the cutest meet-cute in an elevator! I was rooting for Casey and Alex and loved their banter. I will definitely read the author's next book.

2 Stars
Late ARC review but better late than never lol...I found this so hard to get through, it was a bit boring to me. I didn't like how we literally went to 4 weeks later from the first meeting of the MCs, I feel like there was a missed opportunity there to further develop the enemies-to-lover trope. The side characters were also just okay, not enough to redeem this for me though. I really wanted to like this more, there was so much potential there but it needed more for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

DNF @ 19%

I tried to get into this one but I’m 19% in and the only thing that has happened is the FMC got turned down for a job she wasn’t qualified for, got mad at the MMC for getting it, time jumped a whole month, and they’re bickering and going on the companies YouTube page.

I just don’t think this one is for me unfortunately, which is sad because both characters are around my age (24&25).

This book was SO adorable! I absolutely loved it!!
Meet Alex and Casey --- coworkers who get off on the wrong foot because, unbeknownst to him, Alex landed the job that Casey wanted. However, as one of the financial gurus at the company, Casey is assigned to work alongside Alex, setting the scene for a delightful workplace romance with enemies-to-lovers vibes. Despite having a pretty good idea where the story was ultimately heading, I loved watching the relationship between Alex and Casey strengthen and grow, and the romance was utterly swoony and dreamy. (The call from the Cape Cod Target? BE STILL MY HEART! ) Alex is total book boyfriend material and Casey is a fascinating and complex main character and narrator (the book is single POV through her eyes).

Rest assured that this isn't just a 'straight-line-from-point-A-to-point-B romcom. Buckle up for some twists and turns and corporate politics that had me vibrating with tension. Enjoy witty banter, strong character development, top-tier chemistry, a moderate level of spice, and excellent secondary characters. I also appreciated the BIPOC and queer representation in the story despite the female main character being white and heterosexual. The diversity that is shown in the workplace and in the friend groups felt natural and authentic rather than seeming like the author was just completing a checklist (you know that feeling, right?)

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was a debut novel. I was blown away by the strength of the writing and the story and I am so excited to have a new author to love. I look forward to reading whatever Clare Gilmore decides to write next. Perfect for fans of The Hating Game, this book had me hooked from start to finish and I cannot recommend it enough.

I received a review copy from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Love Interest-Clare Gilmore

Out today!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this workplace, enemies to lovers romance, Casey and Alex are thrown together to work on a new project at the LC corporation. Oh and Alex is the handsome guy that just beat out Casey on a new promotion.

I really liked Casey and Alex’s story. There was some really sweet moments throughout. They also showed so much support for each other’s dreams.

Casey’s quirky friend group and parents were great side characters. They had me chuckling and wishing I was invited to the murder mystery dinner.

Highly recommend for your next romance read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a light and fun romance read. I love that it had ADHD rep in it and that it is a workplace romance. The enemies to lovers aspect along with friend shenanigans and workplace politics keep the readers interested and rotting for the main characters.

This book was good - it didn’t live up to the hype I hoped for but it was still overall a really enjoyable, cozy read! The tropes were all the ones I look for in a good book, but unfortunately there were too many shortcomings with the timing of the storyline sometimes. For example, a lot of the time jumping really extinguished a lot of the momentum building for the slow burn trope. I also found that the story focused a little too much on the workplace and not enough on the romance aspect. I wish there was a bit more relationship building as opposed to banter and interactions - it made it feel more of a casual relationship and not as believable of a meet cute as I hoped for. All of that being said, I loved the way the author pulled in contemporary writing styles and made sure her side characters were developed as well. Globally, I really enjoyed Alex and Casey’s relationship, their workplace and family troubles were realistic and added to the overall experience. At the end of the day, this was an excellent debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Love Interest is a sparkling debut from Gilmore! The cast of characters, the NYC setting, and the corporate backdrop all perfectly enhanced Casey and Alex's love story, and I adored how their relationship developed over the course of the novel. The voice-y writing gripped me from the first page, and I was left feeling happy and uplifted by this tender yet hilarious romcom!

I loved that this was not a typical or predictable (to me!) enemies to lovers rom-com book. I loved how the characters stayed true to themselves and I really fell in love with them. They had real emotions and I felt that their conflicts made sense and were not just manufactured to stand in their way of getting together. The book covered other topics that I think all young people feel when they move away and start making their own life separate from their parents and even their friends. I very much enjoyed this take on a workplace romance and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Are you looking for workplace enemies-to-lovers energy a la books like The Hating Game? Then look no further. Clare Gilmore’s Love Interest is a refreshing spin on this beloved trope in her debut novel set mostly in New York City.

I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the way the narrative unfolds. In romance, I typically prefer dual or multiple POV, but felt that the single POV better serves the story. Though I wouldn’t mind a bonus chapter or two from Alex’s perspective.

One slight caution… if you dislike the miscommunication trope, be aware that there are elements of that in this story. Though I feel like Gilmore does a great job of making those elements feel wholly believable and not just there to inorganically create conflict.

Thank you to St. Martins and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is a perfect example of a darn good debut. This is a office romance and enemies to lovers with all sorts of great representation. This was a wonderful and delightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc!

This book was pure delight. I loved the banter between Casey and Alex.

Everything about this story just felt real: the desire to be loved, the want for more out of life, the friendships, the development of a crush into a real relationship.

Casey was such a relatable character to me. Her desire to travel to London to feel connected with her mom, while also being something she wanted to do for herself was inspiring. Her anxieties about leaving her world behind for something she wanted to build was so realistic.

I wish I could adequately put into words my feelings for this book, because I just truly loved it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is utterly charming. It’s adversaries-to-lovers and you know I love a workplace romance.
I really love that the cover is right out of the book. When I got to that scene, I was so thrilled. The cover is just the cutest and I love that they nailed Casey’s style.
Casey and Alex have such great banter and chemistry, and I really enjoy the emotional depth and character growth we get from each of them. The story is told in single POV but I felt like we got a really good look at who Alex is as a person through Casey’s eyes.
If you love solid communication, good food, spreadsheets, delightful side characters, and workplace drama, go buy this book!

Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC from debut author Clare Gilmore. Clearly, it took a while for me to really warm up to this book because I was expecting really more of an enemies to lovers trope between Alex and Casey, and this really wasn't it. I think it was mislabeled as such. However, I do enjoy Alex and Casey's journey together, and I am happy with the way it ended between them. I still stand by that I really didn't care about any of the side characters, and I felt that their scenes were kind of filler at times. I enjoyed Alex and Casey's scenes together, although I think in the beginning they could have shown more of the hate and tension between Alex and Casey versus telling me and having a big-time jump. This is what really almost gave the book a three star versus a four. That and a good portion of the book, there wasn't much of a plot. Just Casey and Alex hanging out. That's not too much of a bad thing honestly, because this book is mostly character-driven, and it was nice watching Alex and Casey's relationship organically develop on it own. Initially, my interest did wane at times as there really wasn't much tension or conflict to sustain my interest. Even the side plot with the job and acquisition kind bored me and I didn't have much interest in that, but I think in the end Gilmore tied it all nicely. Toward the end of the book, Alex and Clare each have to make decisions that are best for them, on top of facing their own interpersonal problems and grief due to each losing their mothers. The plot itself is somewhat of a slow simmer, but I promise you, if you stick to it, it pays off well to a good emotional experience. Casey has to find herself and make peace with who she is, and Alex has to come to terms that he is worth loving regardless of achievement, which was the driving force with Alex's relationship with his job and his father. This is what bumped it up to four stars. I really like Alex and Casey's journey, and glad I appreciated it more by the end.

10/9
Maybe this book isn't really for me...
I want to like this book more than I do. I don't feel much tension between Alex and Casey, so so far, I'm not really rooting for much of anything with them even though they're both likeable and sympathetic characters.
The extra characters I can do without, I feel myself get bored when Casey is with her friends (something that seems to happen a lot with other books that I read, I notice) and I find myself not caring about the interaction with them. It's better with Alex and Casey, their interaction more meaningful, but even with them, there's not much of a spark present.
10/10
Yes, there's some will we/won't we tension with them, but this is not enemies to lovers...Alex and Casey each have issues they work on, which is fascinating, and I'm here for it.

Casey & Alex are my new favorite book couple. Their story of strangers to partial-enemies (she hated him because he got the job she wanted but he was friendly to her) to lovers had me laughing, smiling, lusting, crying, and then crying happy tears.

I love when you have two characters who act like adults, talk to each other like adults, pick each other up and root for each other, and have spectacular growth & development over the course of the book. They each had their own internal struggles but you could also tell that they genuinely wanted the other person to be happy.

This debut novel from Clare Gilmore has moved her to my immediate “will read everything this author writes” list. I finished the book and immediately DMed her on Instagram how much I loved it and how I can’t wait to read her next book.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a book that a full of emotion & beautiful characters that you absolutely fall in love with (and hate the characters that you are meant to hate)

Huge thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really cute story that even manages to make a career in finance sound interesting. Both of the main characters are really good, kind, caring, and thoughtful people who don't try to overthink things like characters in novels usually do. This is not to say that they are perfect or don't have their flaws. However, it is refreshing that the author doesn't use the same boring plot devices to try to create tension in their relationship. In fact, they are together for most of the story, and when they are not there is a good reason for it. That is refreshing. It makes the story more original and exciting to read. Not knowing exactly what's going to happen keeps you interested but the feeling that it is all going to work out okay in the end keeps you invested in this charming book.

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore was so much fun!!

Casey Maitland is a financial expert for LC Publications in Manhattan, and even though it's probably a good thing she didn't get the project manager position, it still chafes that she was passed over in favor of the board chairman's son. Alex Harrison is handsome, smart, and actually REALLY good at his new job. And he keeps trying to be nice to her. How irritating. They end up filming a vlog together as part of an ongoing "Day in the Life" series, and Casey realizes maybe Alex isn't all bad after all. And maybe it wasn't nepotism that got him the job. They fall into friendship and then into more, and the whole time Casey is plagued with the knowledge that their company is headed toward some enormous changes, unless they can uncover a way to save it.

This felt like curling up with my favorite rom-coms from the late nineties, only updated for today's twenty-somethings. It has banter. It has drama. It has houseplants and so much kissing. (Ane more.) It gave me the same warm fuzzies as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail or Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride. It's the perfect office enemies to lovers romance, and I loved every page of it.

Highly recommend. It's absolutely delightful.

Thank you to the Net Galley team for sharing this ARC with me! Such a heartfelt + meaningful story told through the lens of banter, humor and heart. Can’t wait to see what Gilmore has next in store!