I thoroughly enjoyed the story of second chances. The theme of redemption really resonated with me, especially seeing the characters get their well-deserved opportunities to make things right. It was heartwarming to witness their growth and transformation. The way the narrative explored their struggles and triumphs made the journey feel authentic and inspiring. Each character's path to redemption was portrayed with such depth and nuance, reminding me of the power of forgiveness and perseverance. It’s a compelling reminder that everyone deserves a chance to correct their mistakes and strive for better.

I liked Clare Gilmore’s other book, “Love Interest” and this one is just as good. Josie is the CEO of a clothing company she founded when she was still in college, Will is a consultant who is helping her. Josie is a bit all over the place and overwhelmed and stressed out. Will is a sweet, patient, thoughtful, great MMC. This is second chance romance since the two knew each other in highschool and haven’t seen each other in 10 years. I just finished reading “The Breakup Pact” by Emma Lord with a similar highschool/10 year falling out/communication gap. They have this past while getting to know each other in the present. Josie’s work obsession can be a bit much at times, but I understand it for the storyline. The side characters are enjoyable and I do like how the story played out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital copy of this book

Another wonderful work romance from a very talented author. Most of the first half is spent getting to know the characters and backstory. There is a bit of miscommunication, which isn’t my favorite plot device, but it was addressed and recognized by the characters. This made it more believable. The second half picked up and I flew through it. Will is boyfriend goals, and Josie is believable and lovable. They really had to work on themselves and with each other to find their happy ending. I love these kinds of romance books, even though I still don’t know what “b corp” means. Ha! I’ll have to ask my business minded book besties. All the best to the author on the release!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

All I want is to smell warm cinnamon on a man. What a lovely story about personal growth, ups and downs and how to regain passion. A very smooth story which did get confusing.

This was a really solid romance novel without the cutesy tropes so many of the popular ones fall back on. We follow Josephine, a young CEO of her own clothing company as she navigates "having it all" and a second chance romance from her past. The writing was a notch above many standard romances, coupled with a little bit of travel in the story, which made excellent summer/light reading.

My one qualm is the even from Josephine's past that got her "cancelled" in high school was truly a stretch and entirely unbelievable - but if you are willing to suspend a little disbelief this is a great choice!

I was really sad to not love this as much as I thought I would. I adored Love Interest, but Perfect Fit didn't manage to captivate me as much as her first novel. I just didn't connect with the characters. Their stories were so heartfelt, but something kept me from believing it. Same thing with Josie and Will. They were cute, and he kept saying the right things, but I just couldn't see their connection. It felt kinda too insta-love, even for a second chance romance. I liked the plot, and the characters, but the story wasn't as well crafted as it could've been.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC of Perfect Fit.

I loved this! While the miscommunication trope isn't my favorite, I could overlook it in this circumstance. I loved the tension between the characters and there were moments I laughed out loud while reading. The plot is very well developed, as well as the side plot. I loved the MMC. Really everything about this story. The only thing I didn't like was the last little sentence. I don't like not knowing, but still, the author will be a must buy from now on!

miss clare gilmore you will always eat at the cutesy (and steamy) lil romcoms lemme tell you that right now! i genuinely enjoyed this from start to finish, the writing is so easy to get into and laugh out loud funny. it has its lighthearted and a bit more serious moments all wrapped up in the cutest covers and the page length was perfect!

A great sophomore novel from Clare Gilmore! The chemistry between Josie and Will is palpable from the beginning and the character development from Gilmore makes me want to automatically add anything she writes in the future to my "To Be Read" shelf.

Perfect Fit bucks expected romcom tropes right off the bat (miscommunication especially). It’s not even that these things are predictable - it’s that they’re so common that I assume it’s going to happen. And it annoys me. So I was so pleasantly surprised that this had a different setup.
It was so funny and charming and so so good. Clare Gilmore needs more recognition for her contributions to the genre.

I loved this book! It was so sweet, and swoon-worthy!! The plot was perfectly paced, the characters were realistic and relatable and the romance was so genuine!!

I love Clare Gilmore so I was excited to read this one. The cover and title were so cute. It was a fun read that I read in one day. Loved the characters and Josie the FMC. I found it to be a smudge too long - but overall a good read. It was the ‘perfect fit’ for me!

Thank you Net Galley for the arc.

This book was so cute! Claire Gilmore has a new fan in me. Super cute romance taking place in Austin between a business man and savvy fashion designer/business owner.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

I previously read Love Interest and was thrilled to receive this ARC!  Perfect Fit brings us the story of Josie, a female CEO who is struggling with maintaining a work life balance, burnout, and underlying anxiety (relatable much?).  Also woven throughout her story is the importance of supportive female friendships.  Will is  introduced to us as the twin brother of Josie's ex-best friend.   Josie and Will shared a passionate kiss in the past which ultimately ended her friendship with her best friend which gives us a bit of a well done miscommunication trope  not only between our MMC and FMC but between friends as well.  There were so many aspects of this book I loved, but mostly Will Grant.  OMG. Will. Grant.  He is my new favorite book boyfriend.  If someone could create the perfect man  Clare Gilmore did just that.   In fact, all of the characters were extremely well done and likeable. This was one of those books you don't want to put down once you start it, but also don't want to finish because then its over.  Side note, the random shout out to Farmer Wants a Wife  had me dying, only because this account is anonymous will I admit that I have indulged in this show.

Will be posting on IG linked below closer to pub date

3.5⭐️
"I don't think you could ever know how badly I ache for you. The way you feel to me is like an inevitable rightness."

I would categorize this as "aggressively fine". An entertaining read, I enjoyed it- but not one I would pick up or even remember well.

Josephine and Will have some solid chemistry, and I liked that we see them interact outside of work. They're very different personalities but have some similar interests, to make it believable to see them as a couple. He's a total acts of service guy, and is continually showing up and supporting Josephine, going out of his way to help her even with the small tasks.

Josephine, with the exception of Will, does not seem to let her friends support her/maybe they just don't on their own? She's the CEO of the company and seems to (voluntarily, to be fair) doing a ton of the leg work that would usually be done by others. We see her plan an entire bachelorette weekend in a different city for like twelve women, but the bride/friend never really seems to be there in her hour of need. She actually kept big secrets from Josephine for the whole book, but seemingly told literally everyone else at the company?

I thought the whole drama will Will's sister was a bit over the top. His twin sister Zoe and Josephine were best friends their senior year of high school- when Josephine and Will drunkly make out one night and get caught, Zoe literally cuts Josephine out of her life. Never mind the fact that emotions were running high for both of them, and that Zoe had no right to control them like that. Josephine wrote her a letter to explain and apologize, and Zoe still never forgave her. But in the present time everyone is acting like this was a serious transgression on Josephine's part?! That she should've tried harder to mend things with Zoe!? It was pretty typical high-school girl behaviour, for some reason we're acting like Josephine committed murder and that Zoe is a saint

There were also a few instances that completely took me out of the story. These moments where it felt like the author wanted to get a point across, so just gave the dialogue to a random character? Like at the backyard garlic bbq, Josephine comments that she cares a lot about her appearance, and being put together in general. And then a random side character goes on a slight tangent about beauty standards and how harsh the media is on women. And like, great! Agreed! But it was just so clunky and felt like the author couldn't find a better way to work that opinion into the story

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I’m being especially honest, this book was magnificently boring. I did absolutely LOVE the characters and their relationship, but it was almost like everything was explained twenty times more than necessary to meet a word count.

I would say this is women’s fiction more than it is romance, as the romance is very much in the background of the story. Josie’s work and her growth as a woman finding her place in life and in love is more of the focus, which is fine but not what I was looking for when picking this up.

Will was great! he was sweet and very attentive, but I just don’t think their connection was given enough page space. they had a lot of conversations but what felt like little growth.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of Perfect Fit! This is the first novel I’ve read by Clare Gilmore, and I absolutely loved it and read it in one day. Gilmore’s writing was funny and engaging, and I found myself identifying with the main character Josie Davis and the fears she has about self worth and mattering in the world. I really enjoyed reading about her developing relationship with Will, but I also liked her female friendships and the roles they played in her life. While the end felt a bit long (or maybe that’s because it was 1:00am when I was reading it), overall I really enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to read more by Gilmore.

Perfect Fit has everything I look for in a five star romance, and so much more.

Amazing empowering FMC? Check.

Supportive, caring MMC? Double check.

No third act breakup? CHECK!

Did I mention that Tarah DeWitt did the blurb for this book? So yeah, it has her seal of approval too. 😘

Whenever I stumble across an ARC like this, I feel like I struck gold and want to hoard it like gollum. This book is my precious. 🥹

Believe me when I tell you this is a book you won’t want to sleep on pre-ordering. It is absolute perfection.

My Favorite Quotes:
🚲“Nobody ever gets anywhere interesting when things are comfortable.”

🚲”I want my existence to be meaningful,”

🚲”You have to get through something, come out on the other side of it, before you’re allowed to admit how bad things got.”

🚲”You have to grab the pieces of yourself you want to hang on to and let go of the rest of it, then move forward anyway, the best you can.”

🚲”You deserve to be treated with kindness,”

🚲”It’s always been like this. Anxiety equals productivity. You’re panicking? Do something. Don’t do something about it.
Just do something.”

🚲”I’ve been self-medicating with work ethic.”

🚲”For once in your life, stop worrying what strangers think of you.”

🚲”Which feels like a fate we deserve and a peace we earned.”

Thank you so much to St Martins Press & Clare for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore was the perfect workplace romance - one of my favorite tropes! I loved the characters & every aspect of this book! Add this to your TBR!
Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press|St. Martin’s Griffin for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

clare gillmore is such a charming writer!! and will grant is the king of romantic speeches! this book was so perfect and cozy until the conflict. i wish it had been 5-10 chapters shorter. also i understand why the ending was the way it was but i still didnt feel i had the appropriate amount of closure with the story