I loved Gilmores debut so I’m always weary of a sophomore slump but she really nailed another fantastic romance.

It is so refreshing to read a romance that is not problematic in anyway and the characters communicate and the drama is around them not with them and hallelujah keep these stories coming!

My only tiny gripe was that our FMC didnt need the repetitive insecurities she was better than all that.

This book was about a woman who reconnected with a past boyfriend and realizes they will be working together at a company she owns. It is a love story in its own rights. She is a workaholic that believes she has no time for love and hem makes her realize differently. It read a little slow for me.


Thank you to NetGalley and Clare Gilmore for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

If you want a romance where the main man does nothing wrong, this one is for you. The MMC is adorable and the FMC is an aspiring vegetarian and girl boss in remission. I highly recommend

I loved this enemies-to-lovers, best-friend's-brother romance with a difference. The novel addresses some fairly heavy themes, like the struggles of females in the corporate world and the undeserved judgment and cruelty inherent in social media, and explores the best-friend relationship just as thoroughly as the romantic one. The characters are excellent, three-dimensional and convincing, and the conflict and drama never seem gratuitous but are integral to the story. The pace is perfect, and the happy ending is really earned by both the characters and the author. I'll definitely be searching out more from this writer!

This was an enjoyable read but I can't say it was my favorite thing I've ever read.

It is a single POV and I think it really needed to be a dual POV so we could understand Will a bit more.

Josie is a very career focused and driven woman who does NOT need a man, or a best friend, to help her get through life. It felt like the novel mostly focused on how even liking someone could spiral her business into bankruptcy. It just didn't fly for me.

I also didn't like that the tension between the two characters was based on a kiss from 9 years prior. Will was Josie's best friends twin brother and their ONE make out session ended a friendship and Josie then revolved her life around not making a single mistake again. It just didn't seem realistic and I struggled getting through those parts.

I did enjoy where Josie became a stronger person because she decided what was truly important to her and figured out what fills her cup.

“𝑾𝒆 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆-𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔-𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓.”

Josie and Will haven’t seen each other in nine years—until she hits him with her car. Or maybe he hit her? Either way, it’s not the reunion they expected. Josie, an overworked CEO running her own clothing company, is a chronic over-thinker who hasn’t been impulsive since she kissed her ex best friend’s brother back in high school. But after a friend dares her to “do something reckless,” Will suddenly becomes hard to stop thinking about.

Will, working for a consulting firm Josie once couldn’t afford, insists on helping her out with a certification project for her company. Soon, he’s doing favors, flashing his gorgeous dimples, and giving her compliments she’s not used to—but maybe doesn’t mind as much as she thought.

Set in Austin, Texas, this witty, heartfelt romance is a story of second chances, spontaneous decisions, and figuring out that sometimes love really does hit you when you least expect it—literally.

This book left me with a reminder that change is ok and that embracing change can lead to unexpected and wonderful things.

And that ending? Punched me right in the face. 👊

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Overall this was really sweet and cute. I was rooting for Josie and Will. I wish the romance had been more at the forefront, and I think I was missing having Will's POV. This is very much more focused on Josie's career journey, and her learning to balance things. I also just felt like every reaction was way oversized in Josie, to the point where she comes off as super immature with "pick me" energy. Josie even says she's overly emotional and extra, but the whole premise of everything is that she and Will made out at the end of high school, which made her lose her best friend, who is Will's twin. This one drunken, emotion driven make-out session colors Josie's whole life from then on, and it just did not compute for me, 9 years after the event. Zoe's reaction at the time was over the top as well if she was any kind of real friend. She cut Josie out of her life over it instead of listening to her. So to me it felt like the whole foundation of the romantic tension in this book was based on this weak, very outsized single event. Will did make me kick my feet and swoon a bit though,

Perfect Fit is a single POV workplace romance. Josephine is a young CEO of a popular online clothing brand that is looking to take her company to the next level. Will is a former high school acquaintance, current consultant who is brought in to help the business grow. The two hit it off but Josie is reluctant to relax her hold on her business and make room for love to bloom.

I loved this book. I liked its commentary on women in business and I liked how Will showed up for Josephine. I really liked them as a couple.


Read dates: 09/18/2024 - 09/20/2024
Goodreads review: 09/20/2024
Instagram review: 09/21/2024
Blog review: 10/29/2024

This one took me by surprise. I absolutely loved this story that ended up being more about discovering what fills your cup & becoming confident in yourself than the workplace romance (which was also wonderful, a little spicy, & majorly swoony).

Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴠɪᴇᴡ: ᴊᴏꜱɪᴇ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴇᴏ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ꜰᴀꜱʜɪᴏɴ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴅᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ 20ꜱ ᴛᴏ ʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴜᴘ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ꜱʜᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ʙʀɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴜʟᴛᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ꜱʜᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜɪʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ɢʀᴀɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡɪɴ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ʜᴇʀ ᴇx-ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʜᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴍɪꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ. ᴊᴏꜱɪᴇ & ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇᴇɴ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴅᴇɴɪᴀʙʟᴇ ᴘᴜʟʟ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ꜱɪɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴇᴇɴᴀɢᴇʀꜱ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ, ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘᴜʟʟ ɪꜱ - ʙᴜᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ, ᴄᴀɴ ᴊᴏꜱɪᴇ ᴀꜰꜰᴏʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴀʟʟ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡɪʟʟ?

This story is told entirely from Josie's POV but with the open communication between her and Will, I never felt like I didn't understand his motives & feelings. Josie is such a relatable character - her insecurities, burnout, & relationship with social media were just some themes that made me feel like I was looking through my diary (or if I'm being honest, sometimes in the mirror).

Josie's relationship with her friends & realizing how the loss of her friendship with Zoe in the past helped her to correct her future friendships was also something I connected with. This story is so much more than a romance; I appreciated these nuances.

But let's talk about the romance - Will is such a swoony MMC. He is a golden retriever - cheering on Josie. He has his hangups over their past but makes all the effort to show up & make a difference for her now. The banter between these two is also A+... the way he pulls Josie out of her shell and his patience, absolutely LOVE! There are a few spicy moments which is nice but the open communication & the little looks & touches between them are where the romance truly lies.

I am so impressed with this story and it's one where the character development sticks with me. I can't wait to see what Claire Gilmore writes next.

💖 Second Chance
🗄️ Workplace Romance
➶ Ex Best Friend's Twin Brother
👗 Fashion Company CEO x Consultant
🫶 Found Family
🦮 Golden Retriever MMC
☝🏻 FMC 1st Person POV

4.25 ⭐️

Hands down 5 stars, I absolutely LOVED this and read it in one sitting. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I was sucked into the characters lives from the first page.

I feel like second chance romances can be so hit or miss for me but this was by far a hit and I wish all second chance romances could be like this one! Often times they feel too forced with the second chance, but considering how Josie and Will had only kissed prior to their "second chance", it felt much more organic.

The characters!! They had so much depth and I just fell in love with them. Josie, a literal girl boss CEO struggling with burnout, I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay and she didn't need to put everyone else before herself. Will, the king of acts of service, is just the sweetest thing in the world and everyone deserves a love like him. And their romance!! The chemistry was top tier.

I also loved how it wasn't just about the romance. You also have Josie dealing with her work issues and her burnout from her corporate job. I felt like this just made the story so much more realistic as so many people are dealing with burnout and while the rom coms where everyone has the perfect job are fun, they aren't realistic at all. It's nice to read a rom com with underlying issues many people are dealing with.

I HIGHLY recommend this one!! I can't wait to read more by Clare Gilmore. I'll for sure autobuy her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this around 30%. I didn’t connect with the romance. A major portion of the book revolves around something that happened to the two main characters in high school and is supposed to explain why the main character is the way she is. Once what happened is explained it seems really ridiculous and unbelievable. A lot of the book also deals with the notion of the “it girl.” I didn’t really understand what the author was trying to accomplish here and didn’t think it was working. It just seemed like something the main character was putting on herself that no one else was concerned with.

I did have fun with the Nashville scenes. Let’s go Preds!

This wasn’t badly written, and I think others would like this. I’m just kind of picky.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

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