4.5 stars
I’d heard good things about Claire Gilmore so decided to request her newest release. The audiobook was great! The story itself was a refreshing change from the usual contemporary romance formula. I kept bracing myself for miscommunication, drama & the third act breakup. Instead, our main characters liked each other & used their words to talk about obstacles. I loved it!
*thanks to net galley & St Martin’s Press for the advance copy

Perfect Fit was a great slow burn love story. We had a great girl boss, and some healthy relationships. Clare took us through Josephine’s and Will’s lives and shows us the growth that has happened with them and their lives in the best way. The communication between them and the friendships is amazing and something that we all need! I enjoyed the ending as it leaves you to your imagination. Great read and would recommend to many people.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so so good 🥹🥹 From the very beginning I was so interested and intrigued to keep reading. I always love history between characters so when that was mentioned briefly I was so excited!!!

These characters are also just so sweet 🥲 so many things Will said had me absolutely swooning and the love between him and Josie was so tender and soft! I also very much relate to Josie and her fear of people’s perception of her.

I also loved the fashion aspect of this book! I love project runway and shows like that so it was so interesting to read about Josie’s job and her love for fashion!

Overall an incredible book and I can’t wait for more by Clare!

Josephine’s life has been all about growing her fashion company. After literally running into her ex-best friend’s brother Will, the last thing Josephine plans to do is to hire him as a consultant. The two decide to move on from their past and focus on the success of Josephine’s company. As Will grows to become a positive and consistent support system, Josephine realizes maybe she doesn’t have to do everything herself.

This sweet second chance romance deals with burnout and knowing when to take a step back to enjoy life.

Cute with a quite a few extra cute lines and a few laugh out loud notice. Ultimately though tbtefr was nothing that made it stand out from any other rom com that floods the market. 3.5 stars.

A super cute office romance that had me swooning. I loved Josephine’s character and her romance with Will. It felt real and mature. I could have used a bit more over the top romance but overall it was super cute and an easy read.

Tropes:
Office romance
Girl boss / consultant
Slow burn
It's always been you/second chance romance
Mutual pining/obsession
NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP 👏

What a breath of fresh air! I haven't read an office romance in forever and the way I got sucked into this one surprised even myself. Like, by the 20% mark I was already hunting for the preorder links and any info/graphic/crumbs I could find.

Julie and Will knew each other briefly in high school, but life and circumstances separated them. Fastforward 10 years or so, they are both very accomplished in their career but burnout and missing that human connection. So when a project forces them to work together, travel, talk, open up, flirt, remember what they had it's all kaboom. The world stops. Work stops. Everything falls into place. ❤️

Their story lies mostly in the little things. The little moments. The looks. The vibe. The unassuming words hiding big meanings. The communication, smart banter, plus the work connection these two have is 👏 unreal. 👏

I dont think a title ever described a couple as much as this one. They continue their thoughts, they parry, they flirt, give in, give back, seem always in sync, it's amazing.
And so freaking effortless.

They float from one subject to the next seamlessly; now they talk business now they flirt, now they share some personal history now back to business and it's all so natural and organic and give me butterflies I cannot.

It's like they created their own language. 🫠🫶🥹🥹🥹

Their love langauge is being there for each other, listenting, asking the right questions, the unnerving questions, the hard questions, pushing each other.

This is a work romance but also a second chance Romance so the pining and secret obsession and what ifs thoughts keeping them awake at night is mutual. They keep trying to peel away their layers and to learn everything there is about each other or what they did in the last 7 years or so. Rediscovering, remembering, loving. It's smart, passionate, hearfelt and phew, the tensionnnn. 🤭🥵

They are also very mature and open about their insecurities and obstacles they face, willing to put it all on the line, making the effort.

Also, the story is about self worth, learning to live with imperfections, knowing when to show up, admit burnout and regroup.

It really shows how much social media can influence someone's life how fast things can spirall out of control there and how one mean comment can have a domino effect and ruin more things/people than it was intended.

All in all, perfection.🥰🥰🥰🥰🥹👏👏👏

I swear this book still owns me and for some reason it's not available in international stores yet??? Why?? Uk what is happening I need my trophy copy 😭😭😭🫠

Pro: Interesting look at a workaholic launching her own company. I like a girlboss story. I also liked Will, in general. I liked the initial ruminations about where people end up after high school... Good writing, lively humor in parts.

Con: The entire plot hinges on Jo not talking to people when there's a problem. She loses her best friend for nine years because she doesn't talk to her. She shines on the guy she really liked because of above. That was in high school. Meanwhile, in the present, when she discovers through drunken talk (and there's a lot of drinking in this, which is not a plus for me) that her new besty is going to resign from her com[any, does she ask about it? Nooo, not to the manufactured ending, with a lot of social media stuff that felt forced.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of Perfect Fit.

Perfect Fit was the perfect second chance romance, BUT it was so much more than a romance. It was also about female friendship and taking a moment to see the bigger picture in life. The themes and messages throughout this book were so relatable.

*The cutest smashing meet-cute
*High school crush come back around?
*Fashion entrepreneur
*Austin backdrop is perfection
*Strong, loyal, supportive women friendships
*Major work life/personal life imbalance
*Going through work burnout...
*...Leads to loss of passion for something you used to love
*Realizing the path you're on might not be right for you

My only critique is not just one of this book, but many romcoms that I've been reading lately - most of these books contain main characters that don't have the real life and financial struggles that the people in my own, real world have. Maybe I just haven't run across them? But overall, this book was super adorable and I think it will be well loved.

It was a cute story. Maybe it is my age, but I find myself losing patience with characters who don’t talk to each other, and that is on me. Half the angst in this book could have been avoided with an honest conversation.

I am happy that the conversations finally took place and that issues were resolved. Will and Josie were a cute couple and the side characters were interesting. The ending was satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and Clare Gilmore for the eARC.

Loved this, a girl boss who learns how to take something for herself. Will is so good and wholesome.

This was my first book by Clare Gilmore and I can't wait to pick up more!

This was beautifully written. The reader was given a lot of respect, and the story wasn't drawn out for the sake of suspense or shock value. There is no unnecessary miscommunication AND NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP.

The focus was absolutely on Josephine's growth, her love story with Will, and the tender and pure ways in which they love each other and themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For this week, this felt like such a hug of a book. 🥹 I liked it so much.

I love how Will just took care of Josie, even after all that time apart. Their relationship was so heartwarming and beautiful. To see Josie experience burn out and then grow from it. To see her realize what was truly important.

And don’t even get me started on the funny situations that happened. It was so nice to laugh at what was happening but then immediately go awww.

This book feels so realistic in the situation but I loved it so much for the way everything was handled.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually one to talk about Book Boyfriends, but Will Grant might change my mind! He's the sweetest and most thoughtful MC I've read in a long time. He always met Josie where she was at and was constantly doing what he could to make her life easier. I loved it!

I liked Josie's character too--her workaholic tendancies are certainly relatable, and I totally could see myself in her. (I'm not quite as much of a badass, but find it hard to say no at work at times).

Their romance is slow-burning, but the banter between the characters makes it a quick read. I appreciated that the third-act conflict felt realistic, and there wasn't any absurd miscommunication that's so common in rom-coms.

I'm an instant Clare Gilmore fan, and already can't wait to see what's next!

I absolutely loved this book! It was such a surprise because typically workplace romance isn’t one of my favorite tropes. But this has to be the best workplace romance trope book I’ve read! It honestly felt more than a romance. The character development of both the leads Josie and Will was outstanding. The writing style kept me captivated and had a dreamy connotation like a few of my other favorite romance authors: Jessica Joyce and Carley Fortune. I didn’t want this book to end! I wrote a Bookstagram review post on this and have it linked below.

Ever since reading her debut novel last year, I will say...she's amazing writer. It wasn't a hoax or a one time good book. I honestly can even say that I think I liked this one slightly more than the last one (probably because I related to it more). I binged this book in 2 days, that's how good it was. The story follows Josie who has spent all of her 20s building up her fashion company, Revenant. When her biggest investor tells her to get a consultant, the last person she expects to work with was Will Grant (who is the twin brother of her ex-best friend).
While they did exchange a kiss once when they were seniors in high school, they were never friends. Romance wasn't on the table for either of them until they realize they can’t stay away from one another. But there are a lot of things to consider, the fact they they live on opposite sides of the country, not to mention his sister. But overall, this is such a fun story that talks about anxiety, being a public figure, over productivity, leaving room for romance (and balancing it with work), and just loving yourself in the process. I really related to Josie as a character, and completely fell in love with Will. Overall a great read, and added Clare Gilmore as an auto-read author. 4.5 stars

Another delightful romance by Gilmore that combines heartwarming chemistry, workplace tension, and a strong female lead. The story had a nice balance between romance with the complexities of personal growth. Overall the writing is engaging, with witty dialogue and thoughtful character building.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet and quick read! I enjoyed the forced proximity, brother of ex best friend, and some enemies to lovers tropes.

I found the relationship between Josephine and Will to be super sweet and I appreciated how he fell first and was so supportive of her. There is some spice but very minimal and not very descriptive..

While this book mainly focuses on Josephine, I think it would have benefited to see Will's POV. It felt like he was making all the sacrifices for Josephine and we really didn't get his full backstory and reasonings for his actions.

The author did a wonderful job weaving in more heavy topics such a burnout, belonging and following your dreams both personal and professional into this story. I felt like this book might be aimed more for the Gen Z readers since the discussion regarding the damage that social media can cause and the importance of therapy is at the heart of this story.

Something that I really liked about this book is that we get to see Josephine grow so much without the blatant forgiveness of her ex-best friend. I feel like in a lot of "best-friends-brother" books the relationship is taken over by the feud or the secrecy that is created between the two friends due to the unaccepted romance. I think it was smart of Gilmore to let her characters be who they needed to be without that kind of situation cramping the plot line.

I also enjoyed the humor in this book. How Josie and Will end up meeting again is hilarious and is also a bit of foreshadowing for how their relationship will go at first.

Something I like about both characters is that they are smart successful people. Josie is a self aware queen who managed to build a successful company in her twenties and Will is able to leave behind a life that no longer serves him which is, in my opinion, a huge show of strength.

I think this couple pairs well together and I had fun reading their story.

Josie is the CEO of the fashion brand, Revenant, that she created when her largest investor tells her to hire a consultant. She did not expect that consultant to be Will Grant, her ex best friend's twin brother who she had a major crush on in high school and is the reason she is no longer friends with his sister. She ends up working with Will as her consultant and that makes them spend lots of time together even though he lives in New York City and she is in Austin, Texas. Josie has always been all about her career and being the best in that space that she hasn't really left time for dating.

I love everything that Clare writes so this was very high on my anticipated reads this year and I was so thrilled to get an advanced copy that I even purchased it as well through Aardvark . Josie and Will deserved a Happily Ever After with everything they had been through. Josie is such a hard worker for everyone else, but often would forget things for herself. Will was so swoony that he was willing to give up so much just to be part of Josie's life, not even all of it. I laughed, giggled, and cried at parts of this book and think everyone should read it!