Clare Gilmore has me in a chock hold in the best way. This is my 2nd read from this author and it won't be my last. It is hard to put into words what the writing in book makes me feel. When trying to form a description of this reading experience I thought of how these characters and this setting is perfectly normal, maybe mundane, but in the most perfect way. What I think I love about Clare's writing is the way the characters grow together with each other in a lovely synchronicity. They truly show the change a person can make in your life and how it is both good and bad and scary and wonderful. The characters grow on the page in front of you into something they weren't when you started the book. That's the most normal everyday thing there is, but it is also wonderful and magical. We see that magic in this book. Just people living and learning and loving. As a cherry on top, we get a nice dose of romance and book crushes to add to our roster of dream partners.


Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the early arc!

I like the idea of best friend's brother, but at 40%, they weren't communicating and weren't really doing anything much to advance their relationship forward. I wanted more connection between the two of them and less of her inner thoughts. I was hoping for their connection to be a little clearer and between the mystery of what happened with her friend (his sister) and all of the unsaid things with both of them, I was struggling hard. Even her bestie had a loose secret that wasn't getting resolved. I found myself more frustrated than happy.

There was so much to love about this novel!

I related to Josephine SO MUCH. From the overthinking to the harsh inner critic to caring a little to much about what others think of her, I loved seeing those less than flattering bits of myself represented in a character. I felt like I got a little trip to Austin, Texas for a couple of days while reading this.

Her reunion with Zoe. Whew, I teared up and I never cry in books!! But the backstory of Josephine, Will and Zoe was so well done and the chemistry of Josephine and Will was definitely there!

Unfortunately, the bits that weren’t my favorite were purely just personal preference thing. There was a lot of alcohol and a little bit too much spice for me. However, that being said, I will absolutely read more from this author and be recommending this book. 3.5 stars overall!

This book just did not do it for me. While I liked the characters, I feel there was no real plot. I wouldn't even classify this as.a romance book, just a character growth story. While I get what the author was going for, I just didn't feel like it was that catching.

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

Josephine Davis has spent her adult life building her fashion brand, Revenant. But when her biggest investor orders her to hire a consultant, it’s the last person she would ever expect to work with: her ex best friend’s twin brother, Will. Can she fight the attraction she has for Will in order to take her brand to the next level at the risk of breaking her own heart?

Will Grant hasn’t seen Josephine since they shared that kiss during senior spring break nine years ago. They’ve never been friends, but when he’s tasked to help her grow her brand the spark they shared burns hot. She’s a burnt out CEO, and he lives miles away. Can their love overcome the many hurdles in their way?

Josephine and Will literally run into each other nine years after their one and only kiss when he accidentally hits her car with his bike during rush hour traffic. Surprised to see Will in Austin, Josie can’t help but remember their kiss and the aftermath afterwards.

This was an interesting second chance romance. Will and Josie first met their senior year of high school through his twin sister, Zoe. Josie and Zoe were best friends despite being such opposite people and Zoe having her guard up when it comes to friendships. Zoe was betrayed by her ex best friend when she learned that she was using her to get to Will. Because of this past betrayal, when Zoe witnesses Will and Josie kiss she ends their friendship. Ashamed that she hurt her friend, Josie distances herself from Will and puts a stop to their budding attraction.

When they reconnect again, they realize that the spark is still there, but Josie is a workaholic and doesn’t know how she could possibly have time for a relationship. Her work ethic comes from a place of having to prove herself and having to feel productive. It’s hard to let that idea of yourself go sometimes, but as the story goes on Josie begins to question if this is truly the way she wants to live her life. Meeting Will again begins to put things in perspective. What would life be like if she wasn’t the CEO of a successful company?

The story felt a little flat to me and the pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but things pick up once they begin to travel to the suppliers Josie has chosen to meet for her company. We start to see Will and Josie grow closer as they travel from country to country. It felt so intimate to watch them sharing secrets and taking care of each other when they both got the stomach flu. The relationship builds gradually and organically. I love how Will championed her and supported her as she grapples with what life would look like if she chooses to continue on a different path.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“My guess is you’re a revenant, Josephine.” His voice is low and emotional. “And if you fall apart again, you’ll put yourself back together again. Because you’re strong. The only difference is from now on, I’ll be there, if you want me to, to hold your broken pieces.”

“You should have me. You do have me. I think,” Will says, pinching my bottom lip between his fingertips, “from now on, forevermore, you will probably always have me.”

His voice lowers, his mouth at my hair. “But I was never meant to be your hero. I honestly think you were meant to be mine.”

What I appreciated most was that there was a lot of communication between the couple. There was no third act breakup, and when things go south with Josie’s company, she doesn’t break things off with Will. He supports her and gives her the space she needs so that she can figure out who she really is when she’s not busy being the burnt out CEO of Revenant and what she wants to do next.

There isn’t much conflict in this book, so if you’re looking for some angst this may not be for you. But there’s a lot of heart.

This was such a fun romcom! As someone who’s used to working all the time, I resonated with Josie. I enjoyed this book. The only thing I did not love was the end. Like I wanted an answer lol. Would definitely recommend this book to my friends!

The pop culture references were a bit overused. I also feel like Zoe could have been written better. A reconciliation earlier in the book could have let to a bit better storytelling.

Clare Gilmore’s romances really appeal to me. Her books somehow seem to be able to subvert the most annoying rom-com tropes and instead just tell an interesting story that has romantic elements.
The Perfect Fit tells the story of Josephine, the perfect it-girl CEO of her own clothing brand, who literally runs into her high school ex-best friend’s brother, Will Grant. Will is hired to be a business consultant for her company and their prior relationship is rekindled. I loved the details of building a brand and a business and letting ambition get in the way of leading a fulfilling and full life. I enjoyed the relationship that unfolded between Josie and Will and just found this book to be generally lovely. I am definitely looking forward to Clare Gilmore’s next book.
Thank to St. Martins Griffin Paperback and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
 
This was a cute and easy read. I've never read Gilmore before, but I will look out for her books after this. The way Clare writes is captivating and engaging, feeling like you're catching up on tea with your bestie.

Josie is a young CEO balancing 3 significant tasks: managing her company, planning her best friend’s bachelorette party, and launching her first brick-and-mortar store while trying not to have feelings for her ex-best friend’s twin brother. Josie goes through a lot of human experiences that feel so relatable. The characters in the book seem like everyday people you would come across, making it much more realistic.


Read if you like:
- Workplace romance
- He falls first
- No third act break up
- Second chance

perfect fit is about josie, the CEO of an up and coming clothing company about to open its first brick and mortar store, and will, a consultant from new york who is hired to help her company out. josie is will's sister's ex-best friend from high school, and will and josie have a sudden run-in with one another years after the incident that broke zoe and josie's friendship.

overall, this was an easy read. josie, her understanding of her work, and her relationship with camila and her friends was my favorite part of this story. josie shies away from the typical descriptions of being a girl boss and doesn’t want to fall into this stereotype of a “female CEO” but not for the reasons you’d think. I like that it’s a nuanced take. josie is so self-aware and so sweet, constantly putting others before herself, and i was happy that she finally learned not to. i loved reading about austin as as the setting for the story. i noticed this is in love interest (clare gilmore's first novel) as well, but she has a way of making the city that the story is set in a character in of itself.

at some points in the story, I thought the dialogue was just too cheesy, especially considering that josie and will had barely known each for an entire school year back in high school, before they met again 9 years later. i think i had a hard time with how quickly they fell for each other again. it just didn’t seem that believable. however, as the story went on i warmed up to their relationship. i found the ending to be too abrupt, i understand what the author was trying to go for, but it was just strange to me.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. This was a romance following, Josie, a 27 year old fashion CEO dealing with career burnout and Will, her high school best friend’s brother who is back in her life as her consultant. The thing that kept me from liking this book more was that sometimes the romance took a back seat to Josie’s career. The central plot felt centered around her job, instead of the romance. While I certainly believe romance books need plot outside the romance, this book went too far in the other direction for me. I didn’t feel connected to the career storyline and wanted to hear more about Will instead.

4.75 stars!!

i thought this book was SO CUTE & so entertaining!!! i was hooked from the very first page!! it's a fun story between two people who knew each other in high school & are reunited & end up working together... and all the complications that come with it. highly enjoyable. very bingeable. cute, swoony & funny. but also so heartfelt! it really touches on the struggle of finding yourself, figuring out your career and being content in who you are. all things most people struggle with. your heart will feel heavy & hurt at parts BUT MAN it will also feel SO full!!!

will grant can have my heart. he LOVES so good & is this steady wholesome supporting presence but also...HOT. like i love him !!!! half my notes from this one are OMG, CUTE, THIS MANNNN... so like you should read it. sold on clare's writing & will be reading all of her books from now on. i loved.

thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the eARC! this is my honest review.

Josie is a young CEO with a clothing company. Now she is also planning her best friend's bachelorette party as well as trying to launch her first clothing store.
She has to work with Will, who just happens to be the twin brother of a former best friend.
A cute romance.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

The way I adored this book so much! I loved Gilmore's debut and this one even more! She writes interesting careers for our main characters which makes for lovely background to a romance that has such a swoony male lead. I just only wish she had more books to read!

"Perfect Fit" by Clare Gilmore was an adorable romance with an important message about real self-care and embracing change. Josie is a 28 year old CEO of a fashion company who as fate would have it literally crashes into the boy who ruined the end of her high school career. Will Grant will stop at nothing to make that up to Josie so he begs to work as her consultant for her company's upcoming environmental certification. The sparks fly from the minute they reconnect on page and it never lets up.

I was giddy reading most of this book. Will Grant was such a sweet character, but at point I cringed too. It was a good balance though. Josie was frustrating at parts, but her character growth at the end makes up for it. I think many readers will really love this story. I did have an issue finishing the book. I loved it when I was reading it, but took long breaks between reading sessions so whatever was holding me back is making me question my overall rating. I would say 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for this eARC!!

This book was sooo good! The characters went together so well. The pacing was great. The tropes were done in a way that wasn’t annoying. Sometimes best friends brother can be cringy and this was not. Read this book!

“Everything I think about is in reference to you.” Will and Josie have become one of my top book couples of all time. Not to mention, Will is now on my book boyfriend list!

I loved, loved this book! This is one of my top books so far this year, and is now one of my favorite rom-coms of all time. I truly can’t wait for everyone to read this book!

The story is just so beautifully written. You see Josie go through all emotions women typically go-through – from thinking she is an imposter, to pleasing everyone, anxiety, etc. I truly loved her character and loved watching & allowing herself to grow.

And sweet Will! Goodness, what a man! He was always honest with Josie and just wants the best for her!!

Their relationship was so beautiful to read. They actually communicated! Not to mention the witty, sarcastic banter – LOVED IT! They were so honest about all their feelings and any reservations they had about each other.

Do yourself a favor and read this book! It is absolutely amazing, and I couldn’t recommend it more!
Thank you to NetGallery and St. Martins Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Loved everything about this book!
Unique plot, relatable characters, great development!!
And Will is really just the perfect book boyfriend!

Josephine is a boss base, owner of her own business in Austen, TX and looking to climb the ladder and improve her reach with her business. However, an investor wants her to hire a consultant to help her reach her goals. . . And she was not expecting that person to be Will, the older brother of her ex-best friend 🤯

I love a brother of best friend trope, forced proximity and a little bit of enemies to lovers. The author did a wonderful job weaving in more heavy topics such a burnout, belonging and following your dreams both personal and professional.

The chemistry between Josephine and Will was tangible and I loved their development personally and as couple throughout this novel.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book has my whole heart. I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.