Casey and Alex shine as work rivals and more in Love Interest by Clare Gilmore. When Alex gets the job Casey wants but they have to work together, Casey is forced to confront her animosity toward Alex as well as her career goals.

Two of my favorite tropes in this story — workplace romance and forced proximity — were executed to perfection. I loved the fleshed out office setting with employee archetypes everyone knows, and I was so invested in all the characters Gilmore introduced. Casey and Alex’s dry humor was so fun and made them a great match. In the last 30% of the book, there were so many quotes that I am still obsessed with. I loved this debut and can’t wait for more from Clare Gilmore!

*Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Clare Gilmore for this ARC!

I had no idea this book was going to be so good. This book made me laugh out loud several times and also cry like a baby several times as well. Casey hates Alex immediately because he got the job she wanted and she believes there was nepotism involved. They end up getting into it and saying hurtful things to each other, making her feel even more dislike for Alex. Then when they have to work together on a project, they start to get to know each other and sparks fly. They both have plans for the future that don’t fit with a normal long term relationship so they just start having fun together. Eventually love happens and they both have to decide whether to take a chance on love or go their separate ways. This was really fun to read and also heartbreaking at times. There were love scenes but they weren’t descriptive or too hot, just enough to know what’s going on.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication: October 10, 2023

Rating: 3 stars

I enjoyed this book and was stunned that it was a debut! I loved the characters and the banter between Alex and Casey was on point! The story had so much development and flesh, however, I am torn on how I wanted to rate this.

Things I loved:
- The banter
- Alex and Casey's characters
- The side characters
- The writing

Things I disliked:
- Heavy on the workplace which left me feeling bored
- Light on the romance
- Only a dash of enemies to lovers

Overall, I couldn't decide on the rating because the likes and dislikes are pretty even. I look forward to her next book!

Wow, I wish I could read this again for the first time. I am sad it's over! I was hoping for a workplace, enemies-to-lovers story with great banter, and I thought this was that and so much more.
I thought Clare Gilmore did an excellent job of creating fully developed characters - I loved Casey and I loved Alex. And I loved them together! It was especially great to see them both have their own issues and challenges and read about how they figured them out individually and together.
I just want to rave about Casey a little more, because I loved that she was smart, thoughtful, could communicate and she felt like a breath of fresh air compared to some other characters I've read lately. The story flowed at a great pace and I was so invested in these characters. I didn't think any plot points weren't needed or didn't add to the story. Overall, this was an A+ rom-com.
Also, the side characters were so great. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me there will be stories revolving around any of them.... or multiple books for them all. Even if not, I am definitely picking up the next Clare Gilmore book (soon I hope).
Thank you St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for fans of the Hating Game who may have wanted a bit more sweetness, Love Interest is a fast and easy enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance.

We start by meeting Casey, a twenty-four-year-old finance worker with big goals. On her way to land a new job, she meets a handsome stranger in the elevator and they hit it off. However, handsome stranger in the elevator turns out to be the boss's son, Alex, and he just got the promotion Casey should have had. We can all guess what happens next.

This book is a very charming, little romance novel. It has great character development as Casey and Alex get to know each other more. It has a decent amount of spice but not really any sort of smut, and it's quick and easy to read. While it follows the standard rom com book formula, I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good beach read.


Read if you like:
- enemies to lovers
- workplace romance
- witty banter
- gender reversed grumpy x sunshine
- tiny hints of spice


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

Love Interest starts off as your quintessential office enemies-to-lovers tale with the golden boy swooping in to steal the hardworking female lead’s coveted job, but after the first few chapters, it morphs into so much more. Casey and Alex both have hidden depths to them based on past experiences, and I loved how Gilmore let that all unfold in such a natural, organic way. The laundry detergent!! That had me swooning. The dialogue, character choices, and conflicts all felt realistic for mid-20s professionals, and I loved the character growth for both of the leads. I did think the first few chapters were a little hard to get into, but stick with it because the pay off is well worth it. And I absolutely adored the meet cute moment (Simba!!!); I’ll be thinking about that for a long time. Overall, I found this to be an entertaining, heartfelt rom com that I would recommend to others. I do feel that every other contemporary romance book is set at a publishing/media company, so I am more than ready for authors to branch out a bit, but I look forward to reading more from Clare Gilmore. A special thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book!

"Love Interest" is a captivating exploration of modern relationships, skillfully woven into a heartwarming narrative with such a distinctive voice that I found myself highlighting at least one of Casey's clever one-liners per page. This is the perfect workplace romcom for 2023, and I found myself in my own modern corporate job in many facets of Gilmore's characters at Little Cooper. Casey and Alex's journey had me feeling all kinds of emotions throughout my reading experience, from laughter to empathy, to crying in my bed at 3am when I was 90% of the way through the book. Gilmore's fresh and one-of-a-kind voice is something that will live with me long after I have closed the book, and quite frankly, I NEED more of her work.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of "Love Interest" by Claire Gilmore in exchange for an honest review.

Casey Maitland is 23 and living a good life in NYC. She's got a great job crunching numbers at a publishing firm, loving, supportive parents, and a bunch of fun friends. Unfortunately, she applies for a dream job within the company and doesn't get it. Who does? Well, the male protagonist, of course. He's dreamy, rich, charming, AND the chairman's son, Alex Harrison. For his part, Alex seems pretty smitten with her, but she immediately hates him because she hates that he got the job due to nepotism. (Or DID he?!? Alex's issues with his father play a big role in how the story plays out.)

They start working on launching an online, Buzzfeed-like feature for the company but there's a whole bunch of corporate intrigue that complicates the project. They work well together and Alex gradually wins her over. Eventually, they go out for drinks, fake-kiss, get blasted, and end up spending the night spooning at his place. Things develop accordingly from there.

There is a small army of side-characters whose names I immediately started confusing, and it seems like they all eat at one hundred different NYC restaurants and bars throughout the book.

What did I like? I liked that the heroine had a stated goal that might interfere with their developing relationship (i.e. moving to London), told the hero up front that it was going to happen, and thereby avoided the whole "I should have told him sooner but now my secret will ruin everything" agony loop that I truly loathe. I liked the corporate intrigue stuff, too, and how that was all resolved. I'd love to say more about that point, but that would require spoilers.

This is a debut novel, and it... really feels like one. It's ok. There were just so many small details that individually weren't that bad, but they added up and tended to take my attention away from the story itself. Better editing would have helped.

For example. "The way Alex says my name, in that clear New England dialect, is different than I grew up being used to." Soooo... what she really meant was his New England accent, not dialect. Accent is how something is pronounced; dialect includes pronunciation but also grammar, etc. Casey is from the South, so she DOES have a different dialect, but in this context, dialect is the wrong word.

Another instance. "I remember him planting rose bulbs in our weed-ridden, overgrown flower beds." Roses don't grow from bulbs. They grow from seed, although they are tricky that way so most people buy young plants from nurseries. A character as interested in plants as Casey would know that, as would her florist dad. Also, why didn't they weed the dang garden before doing all this planting?

Okay, last one, but rest assured, I have more. "He smells clean and cottony and perfect, like a rainy vacation rental on your first day." Perhaps I have not been in enough vacation rentals, let alone on rainy days, but I have absolutely no idea what this simile is trying to convey.

The pacing and focus were a little off too. The focus of a romance novel is the developing relationship, psychically, emotionally, etc. There were gaps between significant relationship milestones, particularly in the second half, so at times, it felt more like the story was mainly about Casey. Alex often felt like the first among side characters. A sexy, charming side character, but secondary nonetheless.

I also wasn't wild about the portrayal of ADHD on the page. It tends to boil Alex's condition down to creativity, Adderall, and possibly an inability to commit to anything long term. Casey spends most of the book insisting that one reason their relationship isn't real is because he doesn't stick to anything. As in, he likes starting new projects so he's not really capable of having a long-term, committed relationship. Yes, she eventually realizes that he struggles with commitment because emotional baggage, but until that point, her attitude is pretty dang irritating. While there is truth to some of this characterization, it's still a limited, very zoomed out perspective on ADHD.

So, in general, I can't say I loved the book, but I can say that I liked things about it. I think there's a lot of room for this author to develop. I'd be willing to read her future efforts.

Beautiful, amazing, gorgeous!!!! 🥰


Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

A smart, charming meet cute between coworkers who team up on a project they hope gets them ahead in their careers despite the outcome separating them farther. Plucky financial analyst Casey has never been one to take risks. But when the chance to prove she can take life into her own hands and follow her dreams of living in London comes up, she accepts the task despite having to team up with the aggravating and annoyingly attractive man that took the job she initially wanted. She assumes it's because he's the boss's son. Alex, however, takes on the job of successfully launching a brand to hopefully impress his distant father and prove his worth.
I enjoyed that the miscommunications between these two were not long lived, and the relationship grew at a believable and romantic way between them. But they both have secrets and throughout the book, those secrets grow heavy and pose major problems for their relationship to succeed. I especially enjoyed the fact that there was an overall conspiracy happening they both had to uncover at the company that kept the intrigue of their relationship and work life. The multiple layers added depth to their emotions and story of how they evolve as people separately and together, Sprinkled with charming anecdotes, a perfect blend of humor and heavier emotion, this contemporary romance was an entertaining, swoon-worthy read.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for this Arc.

Instant workplace enemies to lovers, Casey losses out on a new job opportunity that goes to Alex. After some friendly internet stalking Casey and her friend (and coworker) find out Alex is the son of the CEO and she instantly assumes this is a case of nepotism.

This romance was such a fun hilarious read but also had its gut wrenching moments that had tears falling. Casey and Alex are both so relatable and normal you can’t help but root for them the whole time. As the whole book comes to its penultimate moment both are left at a cross roads.

I couldn’t put this book down it’s honestly one of my favourite romances I read this year.

This was such a cute easy rom-com book. Casey was a great character, a hard working and smart women. Alex was a Harvard grad, handsome and also the person who got the job Casey was after. I think overall it was a cute romance book with characters that have great development. 3.5 stars!

I received this ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book is a zippy, fun rom com of a book. Was it super realistic? No, probably not. (I’ve honestly never known the finance department of any organization to get involved quite like this which is not to say it never happens but also, hmmm. I don’t know.) But it’s a decent read to get lost in if you don’t think super hard about it.

I didn’t expect to love this book. I didn’t expect to give it five stars. I didn’t expect to leave for dinner plans with only 20% of the book left and not be able to stop thinking about how it was going to end.

This book is about a dozen Taylor Swift songs in one but if I had to pick three, I’d pick: Sweet Nothings, Death by A Thousand Cuts & New Years Day.

While I didn’t totally connect with the story or characters at first, I became really enamored and invested in it about 30% and then I could NOT PUT IT DOWN. Alex was just so soft baby boy who wants love and Casey was so I put walls up because nothing lasts. And I just loved them and everything they were when together.

NYC was the perfect backdrop to the story and it was a very visual book. I loved all the months we passed through for the book, it was such a fall/winter book.

Truly impressed by Gilmore’s debut novel and cannot wait to read more by her! I smiled and laughed out loud while reading this book.

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

This book is like a strawberry rhubarb pie - sweet with a little bit of tart but all in a great way. I loved every character's development. Looking forward to what comes next

The classic enemies to lovers trope is my favorite type of romance! This book was witty, and gave me all the feels. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story. It was one I won't forget anytime soon.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Clare Gilmore is now an auto buy author for me. I'm quite simply obsessed.

First of all, I love the plot. The book follows Casey, who's about to receive news on whether or not she got a promotion. While in the elevator, she meets this super cute guy who helps calm her nerves (in the cutest way possible). Later that day, Casey learns the cute elevator guy got the promotion over her. So now we have a beautiful hate to friends to love workplace romance. It is everything I could have ever hoped for and more.

Gilmore has a remarkable writing style that makes it easy to binge read and impossible to put down. She's now one of my favorite authors, next to Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey. Not only is her writing style fun, but the writing itself is amazing.

The characters are all perfect and can do no wrong. Casey and Alex are the loves of my life and I want to protect them from all harm. I loved their character arcs, their relationship development, their backstories, everything. (PS Alex gives me Gus Everrett from Beach Read vibes so if you love Gus you will love Alex). The side characters are also well written. They each have a distinct style about them and it feels like I'm watching a story play out in real life.

In short, Clare Gilmore is amazing and everyone should buy her book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts are my own.

This was such a fun and fast pace enemies to lovers romance. I loved the plot. The characters were fun and cute. I think this was a well rounded romance novel. It didn’t have much “spice” which was nice for a change and I didn’t think it really needed it. It filled out my checklist of things I like when I read romances. Overall a great book.

If you want a cute romance that you can’t put down then I would check this one out.

4 stars.

3.5 rounded to 4 ⭐️

i’m so glad I stuck with this book. the first 40%ish was very slow for me & I wasn’t really enjoying it, BUT then when the second half hit I definitely started to enjoy it way more. overall the second half got me to a 3.5. I wish the first half hit the mark for me a little more, but overall I did enjoy the book & would def recommend to friends!

I love a good STEM book, in some parts gave me a good ali hazelwood vibe to it! I love the co workers vibe & the nemesis to lovers bit to it. I loved alex from the beginning, casey for me was hard to appreciate until half ways through the book. but the animosity from casey to alex, until she finally gets to know him & understand him, that’s when it hit better for me! I loved seeing them come together & honestly the development of claire’s character I think is what saved the book for me!

still definitely recommend to friends, if you love co worker romance, STEM vibes, nemesis, he falls first vibes. highly suggest!

Great debut novel featuring enemies to lovers and co-worker tropes. I enjoyed the banter between Casey and Alex. I appreciated the fact that there was never a true hatred or dislike between the two main characters. I found the interactions and the characters to be mature and not a bunch of immature behavior like some romance novels. Looking forward to future books from this author!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for a digital ARC.