When I read the blurb for Perfect Fit, I was immediately interested. From what I read in the blurb, this book hit all my wants for a romance. So, I accepted the widget and jumped into reading. I am happy to say that this book was a great read.

The main storyline of Perfect Fit is centered on Josie. Josie is a twentysomething fashion designer who has built her brand up on social media and is looking to open a brick-and-mortar store. When her leading investor hires a consulting firm, Josie is all for it until she realizes who she will work with – Will Grant, the twin brother of her high school ex-best friend Zoe. Still hurting from how her friendship with Zoe ended, Josie keeps him at arm’s length. But that lasts all of a minute because everything Josie has worked so hard for is about to go up in flames. Through it all, Will is at her side. Can Josie see what she has before her, or will she let it go?

I liked Josie. To this day, she remains one of the realest characters that I have read. Take, for instance, her battle with social media. Josie put herself in exile from all sites because of the cyberbullying she endured in the early years of her business and the impact it had on her mental health. I also like that she wasn’t made out to be a superwoman CEO. Instead, as the book went on, she got progressively more and more burnt out, and I liked how the author chose to have her remedy it.

I liked Will and thought he was perfect for Josie. Initially, I thought he would be a Finance Bro (and wasn’t surprised when he admitted that he was), but that assumption was thrown out the window shortly after the book began. Will went above and beyond for Josie, both personally and professionally. He even began to mend the friendship between Josie and Zoe.

The friendship between Josie and Zoe and how it ended are a vast part of the book. The author didn’t come right out and say what happened that night at the beach. Instead, she teased it, and I was stunned when the whole story came out. That night had so much trauma, assumptions, and communication issues and it broke my heart.

The storyline with the business was interesting, but it didn’t hold my attention. I was more interested in Josie, Will, and their slow-burn romance than reading about investors and opening stores. I liked the trip that Will and Josie took to Peru and Spain. The Peru trip (and the stomach bug they both caught) broke down the last walls between Will and Josie.

There was a secondary storyline involving Josie and her current best friend. It was the only time I didn’t like Josie. Instead of confronting her best friend over something that was said while drunk, Josie stewed on it. And when everything (including the news that her best friend was supposed to tell her in private) exploded, it wasn’t very good. Thankfully, Josie’s current best friend didn’t do her dirty like Zoe and instead talked to Josie about what was happening.

The romance between Will and Josie was a slow burn, and I loved it. There was a lot of sighing, looking at lips, and sexual chemistry that was through the roof. So, when they finally had sex, I was like, “Finally.” And then, it was a wait for Josie to realize her feelings for Will (his feelings were very apparent from the get-go).

The end of Perfect Fit was perfect. I liked how the author wrapped everything up and gave Josie the closure she needed with Zoe and the HEA she deserved with Will.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Clare Gilmore for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Perfect Fit. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

I'd like to give a big thank to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Clare Gilmore's writing style. The premise of this book was cute. The characters were charming and easy to follow along.
I would've enjoyed the book more if we had spent more time on the plot but I think that's more of a me thing then a problem with the book. All in a all it was a quick enjoyable read!

My Thoughts

As a teenager Josephine Davis found passion in creating one-of-a-kind clothing and that expanded into a full-blown fashion business that she obsesses over pretty much 24 hours a day.

Now in her late twenties Josie is overworked and on the fast track to a personal crisis if she refuses to slow down.

Enter center stage Will Grant, twin brother of her once best friend Zoe.

Now a business consultant Will signs on with her company and soon the two are mixing business and pleasure as their personal connection grows.

The story has a set of quirky characters who perfectly personify people who are true Austinites.

Josephine and Will as the leads take readers to some places familiar to me and some in the city I am totally unfamiliar with but sound pretty interesting.

I enjoyed the dialog between everyone as the characters interacted with each other, especially the conversations exploring their feelings between Josie and Will.

Billed as a rom-com you will find that this is true but also there is a depth to the story that sets it apart and makes readers take into consideration there is more to life than working oneself ragged.

[EArc from Netgalley]


On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

This was my first Clare Gilmore novel, and I will surely be back for more! I really enjoyed Perfect Fit and the multi-dimensional characters she wrote. Maybe an over-generalization, but rom-com characters often fall flat and appear one-dimensional to me. That's not the case with Josie and Will Grant! I fell for them the minute Will crashed his bike into Josie's car. I loved how their history was woven into the fabric of the story in a very organic way. Would have loved some chapters from Will's perspective! And I love how these two got their happy ending after a slowwwwwww burn romance.

Note to editors (if it's not too late) - please cut down on the number of Will Grant references using his full name. It was a bit juvenile. And his use of calling Josie "sweetheart." Just didn't fit with the character.

This was one of my favorite reads this year! I loved the atmosphere of the book including the plot and the setting. Josie loved her job and that passion was felt as I was reading. She was my favorite character in this book, especially because I related to her feelings of burnout as she navigated being a CEO. Will was such a golden-retriever man with a sense of humor. They have great communication throughout the book leading to an amazing relationship professionally and romantically.

The man in this book is to die for. He's everything I want in a male love interest. I loved the circumstance of which they were connected. I also love the ceo dynamic for the female main character because she is experiencing such real life problems such as burnout. I also truly felt like these two characters were made perfectly for each other!

Overall I really enjoyed this read. It was mostly light and an easy to read romance but had some meaningful bits as well. Loved the characters and their relationships, but I do think some of the things seemed out of proportion (I.e. what caused the initial friend falling out, how much of an interest story some of the later drama would have been in the real world) but none of that stopped me from devouring the book in less than 24 hours. Sometimes this is a perfect fit for what you are looking for and helps you reflect on what is important.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Love second chance romances (and friendships)? Then you might want to pick up this one! Josie is the CEO of her own clothing brand, Revenant, and she hopes to have her company B-Corp Certified. So when she starts looking for a consultant, she does not expect to hire Will - the twin brother of Josie’s ex best friend.
I liked the journey that each of them goes through - it was complex, yet realistic. Even though Josie is a workaholic CEO type, she is kind, thoughtful, and makes sure her friends and employees are cared for. Will is the ultimate acts of service guy, which was sweet, and supported Josie all throughout the book. The work trip scenes were one of my favorites in the book (though I have a lot of favorite scenes). I wished that Josie and Zoe (her ex best friend) could have squashed all of the misunderstandings and doubts earlier though, but I’m, glad it ended the way it did. This was a fun, sweet, and romantic read, even though it touches on topics like working in the corporate world, burnout, and the fear of not being enough.

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for access to this E-ARC! Really enjoyed this one. Cute characters & concept. Will definitely read more from this author.

This was a easy, light read. I thought the plot was good, but I didn't find I connected too much to the main characters. I liked Josie and Will, but I wanted to connect to them on a much deeper level. Loved Cami and Josie's friendship. All the supporting characters were also good and it was overall a sweet book.

I thought this book was so well paced. I really enjoyed the building of the love story and was sucked in. A great romance!

No because THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. there is something about the way Clare writes that is absolutely magical and I won’t ever be able to fully explain the way it makes me feel. I felt the same way when I read Love Interest and now that I’ve read this one I know I truly haven’t felt the same about a book since. For the first time in a long time I actually savored this, I could have easily read it in one sitting but I took a couple of days to really take it in. There were also SO MANY TIMES I had to put it down and laugh or cry or just take a breath because it was just SO GOOD.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had been really hyped so I guess my expectations were high. It was cute, but nothing really happens. There isn't a lot of conflict. The worst thing is her integrity is questioned by a vicious reporter and even that didn't seem as bad as it could have been. She was too goody goody for any conflict to really happen. Even as a perfectionist, Type A character, she had no flaws other than being too caring, too kind? And she was supposed to be anxious but it didn't seem to really have an effect on her day to day life, it was hard to believe she was a person. It's a cute, low-stakes romance. Good to read if you need something happy.

✨Thoughts✨
This was a great read. The portrayal of a strong and accomplished woman like Josie, navigating through the challenges of her world, was truly inspiring. I couldn't help but develop a deep admiration for her character. And as for Will, his determination to mend his relationship with Josie won me over completely.

🩵This was a very solid storyline, engaging and thought-provoking. It reminded me that having it all sometimes feels like having nothing at all. Taking the time to pause and appreciate life's simplest joys is essential for one's well-being – a valuable lesson conveyed through this narrative.

🩵Overall, if you are a fan of heartfelt stories with second-chance vibes, then this book is an absolute must-read.

Thank you to the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This was my first book from Clare Gimore and I was pleasantly surprised. Although the plot started out a little on the slow side once it picked up I just could not stop reading. I loved our characters, they were witty and relatable. Overall this was a cute story, I will definitely be reading from Gilmore again.

Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore is just what I needed for a workplace romance. The characters come to life under their insecurities and flaws, and are extremely relatable as they try to navigate life and separating who they are vs. their past, the things they believe define them, and learn that they really cannot control life.

I could relate heavily to Josephine with the fact that I place my self worth in what I do. My anxiety spikes and I need to DO something. Watching her journey from chaotic workoholic on the verge of a burnout to where she ended up was therapeutic and uplifting. I also loved Will and his sensitive demeanor towards Josephine. He was very much all “I know you you can do it yourself, but let me.”

The highlight of this was their healthy communication and the fact that the miscommunication trope was not used. It would be extremely easy to do it but I appreciated that Gilmore stayed true to the characters and had them work out their emotions and find a way to solve the problem.

What made the book stand out to me was the epilogue ending that left things up in the air a little with Josephine. At first, I hated not knowing, but I loved how unexpected and fresh it was, keeping it at the forefront of my mind. We don’t always know the next step in life, just like we don’t know at the end of the book.

I WILL say, however, the one thing that made me roll my eyes and took me out of the story a few times was when Josephine orgasmed right away every.dang.time. I can excuse once, but every time?? It was really cheesy and felt disingenuous to the whole story with them being very real with each other and relatable to read about. I felt like these parts of the story weren't realistic past the one time, and made me cringe with every time it was mentioned.

Overall, this has cemented myself as a Clare Gilmore fan. I loved Love Interest and have fallen even harder for Perfect Fit. Please write more office romances!

Also, this book made me go a few times, “should I MOVE to Austin, Texas???”

Clare Gilmore has once again written a book about two people easy to root for. Josie and Will are real, memorable, and their ending felt *earned*. I enjoyed every minute.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

⭐️4 stars⭐️

Perfect Fit perfectly portrayed the pressures of living life, working hard, and finding love in today’s world. Josie, a girl boss by all definitions, may girl boss a little too hard for her own well-being, but in walks Will Grant to balance Josie out while helping her achieve her dreams. However, it takes a little time before Josie and Will really discover just how much of a “perfect fit” they are for one another.

Clare Gilmore wrote Josie’s and Will’s story in a way that captivated both my mind and my heart. There were moments I had to pause and reread lines because they punched me in the gut. There were moments where I wanted to cry because the writing captured such raw emotions and situations. There were moments I couldn’t help but giggle and kick my feet a little bit!

Overall, I loved Josie and Will’s story, and I am excited to read more of Clare Gilmore’s works in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Perfect Fit is a fun and cute second-chance love story. Girl-boss Josie is the CEO of her own company and working towards achieving a B corp certification when she quite literally runs into (well technically he hits her car with her bike) Will, her ex-best friends brother. Josie and Will have history, mainly that their drunk kiss in high school ended Josie's friendship with her best friend Zoe, who is Will's twin sister. Will propositions himself to be Josie's consultant to help her company achieve their B corp certifications. As they spend more time together, old wounds begin revisited, and when Will suggests they visit 3 suppliers on 3 different continents together, Josie realizes she can't fight her feelings for Will much longer.

I really enjoyed both Josie and Will as characters. I saw a lot of myself in Josie, and her feelings (especially as aspects of her life are seemingly falling apart) validated mine. Will is the perfect gentleman in every possible way. Their feelings and chemistry were believable and a joy to read. I also enjoyed Camilla and Zoes character's, and what feelings and stories they brought out in Josie.

My main criticism is the pacing was a little slow at the beginning, and took me a while to get fully invested in the characters and their story. I would rate this between 3.5 and 4 stars, and am rounding up to 4!

Perfect Fit follows Josephine, a CEO of her own fashion company, and her journey through burnout, anxiety, and figuring out what she truly wants out of life. When Will, a friend from high school, re-appears in her life, Josie has to decide if she’s willing to take another chance with him. We follow their journey together as we watch Josie deal with burnout and the anxiety over not being enough.

I loved the banter and slow burn between the characters, they were so lovable and relatable that I routed for them right from the beginning. I really hope we get a second book in this universe, I cannot live with that cliffhanger!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the arc of this book!