Love Interest by Claire Gilmore
Contemporary romance.
Casey Maitland feels there is truth in numbers. She is a finance professional at LC Publications and because of her creative fathers, thinks she may have missed the true direction in a career. She tries for a Project Manager transfer but loses out on the job to the board chairman’s son. Alex Harrison and Casey are tasked to work together on a project and she soon realizes he has a vision she totally missed. Worked hours turn into overtime and the team relaxing at the local bar. Which leads to more time together and sparks between the two. Corporate secrets and intrigue could cause a total overhaul and job loss so they need to figure out their own priorities.

Casey is adorable with her numbers but still wanting to honor her fathers. The group bar events are so true and amusing, all I could think was “those were the days”. Career concerns can really hit home too. Obviously there are deeper issues and concerns in this book that I thought were handled well. I loved the ending too.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

Cute story about workplace romance. It was nice to have a numbers-oriented introverted female MC who is ambitious and has goals up against a very social, always on-the-go male counterpart. The story itself dragged at times and had a lot of details about the inner workings of the company that seemed to bog the story done but on the whole, it was cute and entertaining.

I truly loved this work place rom com, it was such a fun and quick read! This was Clare Gilmore’s debut novel and I think she did amazing on this! I cannot wait to read more of Clare Gilmore in the future.

Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
He falls first
Single POV

Casey works for a large magazine company and is going to interview for a position that management has encouraged her to apply for. We quickly find out that she does not get the job and it was given to Alex who is the son of someone on the board. Casey is not happy one bit that he was chosen for the job over her.
Casey and Alex have started to work on projects together which forces them to spend a lot of time together and Casey might have miss judged her thoughts on what she thinks of Alex.
Alex has been captivated by her since the beginning, as for Casey this has taken much longer.. Alex just wants to figure out why Casey has such a problem with him..And how he can start to win her over.

The chemistry, spice, and tension throughout this book really kept me reading and captivated. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good Rom Com!

Workplace romances are my catnip & this one checked all the right boxes for me (though I was a little lost during all the finance analysis talk, but I was just happy to be along for the ride 🤪)! This book is v character driven & the way that Casey & Alex always communicated in ways that they both needed was >>> 🥹 Honestly if you’ve ever imagined that you would spend your 20’s working in a NYC high rise w the best group of friends & a workplace enemy that you would eventually fall in love with, then pls live vicariously through Casey & Alex bc it is v satisfying!! Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

REVIEW FOR LOVE INTEREST

4 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and SMPRomance for the gifted eARC!

I thought this was a super cute, enemies(ish) to lovers workplace romance. I loved Casey's excitement about not only her life in NYC, but also her job. I wasn't completely sold on Alex- I liked him, but there is was something about his aloofness that made me weary. I think the chemistry he and Casey had was off the charts.

What could have been a bit better is I felt the entire situation with their company was a bit too casual- the entire thing screamed privilege and it would have been better if there was some actual suffering that occurred. Otherwise, this was a refreshing story from a new author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Looking forward to Clare's next book!

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore

Thank you NetGalley & St Martins Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute workplace rom-com based in New York City, and it is filled with funny banter that has you smiling and laughing! But also has the sweet and tender moments as well.

The story follows Casey, who has just lost the promotion she applied for at her work. Not soon after, she meets Alex, the man who got the position, and learns that he is the former CEO’s son, she’s takes an immediate dislike towards him. When the two are roped into a project together, Casey learns that she may have misjudged him too soon.

Now this was a workplace romance. A huge chunk of the plot was them working in the office and about Casey & Alex working together. But I thought it was great! Clare’s writing kept me engaged in the story and the little details that was added throughout about Casey and Alex’s life allowed me to connect more with their characters.

Casey was so relatable, she is pop cultured, socially awkward & introverted but as the story progresses you can see the character development happening with her becoming more confident. And Alex was such an intense and gentle character. I think they complement each other really well, they are both fun and easy to love. And their meet cute moment was definitely one of my favourite parts. I just really loved seeing Alex and Casey’s going from enemies to slowly progressing into something more.

The side characters in this story were great and very fun, and were such a tight-knit friend group that had become a found family.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and a great debut novel! I thought the writing and the plot were great. The characters were fun and relatable. The book was a soft and sweet book with a touch of spicy moments and a ton of sexual tension.

If you like workplace rom-com’s with the enemies-to-lovers, he falls first, forced proximity, only one bed tropes, I recommend checking this one out!!

Don't let the fact that this book took me FOREVER to read fool you - I absolutely loved it! I just made the mistake of starting it right before having to read several book club books. You know how that goes.

This book, sincerely, has everything I love going for it. Enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, secret dating - THE WORKS. Casey & Alex's chemistry just sparks off the page, and I am here for it. I loved that they were basically complete opposites and yet were able to relate to each other and give each other the space they needed to process in their own time.

I really enjoyed both the representation of what appeared to be ADHD in the MMC and a little OCD in the FMC.
I loved that they both worked to bring each other rout of their shells.
I really liked that their whole dislike stemmed from a lot of miscommunication.

I did not, however, enjoy the third act breakup (spoiler alert: like all romance novels - this book has one). It felt sort of out of place and both fell apart and resolved kind of weirdly.

But I let it slide because of how much I enjoyed the rest of the novel.
This is an Aardvark Book Club pick this month (Nov 2023) - and I think you'd be doing yourself a favor if you picked it up!

Read if you liked:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The Last Word by Katy Birchall
Just My Type by Fallon Ballard

This was such a pleasant surprise. For all the workplace enemies to lovers books out there, I really appreciated Casey and Alex, neither one of them tried to change the other, and they really grew together. While I wouldn’t call them enemies per se, I wouldn’t have called them friends either, they fell into their relationship organically and it was lovely.

Love Interest starts with Casey Maitland getting passed up for a project manager position at her company for the board chairman’s son. After they are forced together for a project, Casey sees it as her opportunity to transfer to the London office. The only thing getting in her way was perfect Alex Harrison. As they get to know each other after hours, a workplace romance begins to spark.

I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters and friends, and the chemistry that Alex and Casey had was very sweet. However, I do have an issue with Love Interest being described as a rom-com when I don’t think there’s that much comedy. There are definitely funny moments, but overall the emotional topics discussed, especially multiple mentions of cancer and death, do not lend towards a lighthearted read.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This was the perfect office enemies to lovers love story with so much depth. I loved both our main characters, Alex and Casey. The book had humor mixed with deeper issues and the romance was sweet and swoon worthy! Our couple felt real, and I was genuinely invested in the outcome. There was great character development and endearing dialogue...and I'm still smiling!

4 stars

I went into this thinking it would be similar to the hating game but boy was I wrong. This is the cutest love story and I loved watching it play out. Having both the FMC AND MMC be falling in love with each other while the broken parts of them get healed is a trope I didn’t realize I needed! The ending is so sweet I feel like it should be covered in chocolate 🍫.

This was such a fun, cute story! I am always here for a good enemies to lovers forced to work together in the work place, and I ate this up. It’s fun to see a spin on the classic “creative daughter of intellectual parents” trope here, with Casey being the intellectual daughter of creative parents instead.

And watching her and Alex be thrown together time and time again kept me glued to the page. The tension and the chemistry truly crackled off the page.

Cute and fun, this one took me by surprise in the best way. There’s a lot to love here and the banter is well done! I will be looking for more Claire Gilmore books!

I loved this book! The setting is NYC at a magazine publishing company. Casey is hoping she is getting a new job within the company only to find out the son of the board chairman is getting it. She immediately dislikes Alex and he is confused by her animosity. It was lovely to see their relationship develop and I enjoyed their dialogue. I really liked both of these characters and it was great to see their personal growth. This is a debut novel and I thought it was wonderful!

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC of Love Interest in exchange for an honest review. I have been in a bit of a reading slump and this was the perfect thing to get me out of it. Even more perfect for a rainy day. Workplace romances are always a hit or miss for me, and this was definitely a hit, especially with the spice... Casey and Alex were authentic characters, which gave way to an authentic and beautifully written romance.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I thought this was adorable and I really enjoyed it. It hit the beats I expected of a romance novel but was really well written. The growing relationship of Alex and Casey was honest and sweet and I liked it a lot. I don't have a ton of words around it other than super cute and a great way to turn off your brain and just sink into it. 4.5 stars.

Ok I really enjoyed this! This is a debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from this author. This style was different in narration vibes than most books I’ve read lately so it stuck out for me.
I loved the way the romance built and the characters felt like they acted their age which was really nice.

There were a lot of people to keep track of in this book, but once I for the names down I was able to dive into the community of friends and family.

There was a good person to root against and some realities of getting ahead in the workplace. Overall really enjoyed this one!

Steam level 3

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

This was a sweet and charming office romance! Reminded me of the hating game but much sweeter. Lots of giggles and nail biting moments that ended happily ever after!

Love Interest is an enemies to lovers, work place romance between Casey and Alex. Casey is a numbers girl and was hoping to branch out more at work by interviewing for a new position only to find out she didn’t get the job and the handsome stranger she met in the elevator did. Naturally, Alex aka handsome stranger becomes public enemy number one but the more time Casey spends with Alex, the more she learns about him and the more she likes him. Their chemistry is excellent and while I wish this was dual POV, it’s not, however there’s no doubt Alex fell first even when he didn’t think he deserved Casey. Casey and Alex shared so much with each other and the way they comfortably understood each other was just what the other person needed. This is an open door romance however it’s very fade to black in terms of steaminess so definitely add this to your tbr if you loved books like The Hating Game or Book Lovers.


Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Love Interest is a workplace romance set in New York and was funny, charming, and comforting. I could not get enough of those in-office scenes. I haven’t read a workplace romance that hit all the right notes for me like Love Interest did since I finished The Hating Game.

I thought the title of Love Interest was a cute nod to Casey’s finance career and enjoyed the layers in this story of Casey figuring out who she is and where she fits into the world because of it. I really did not know how this book was going to end. If there is ever a way to do miscommunication right, other authors take note because Clare Gilmore did it. I found Casey so relatable and Alex so sweet but also realistic and flawed and it made me love them even more. I also loved the representation and would not have said no to more Benny. Or Brijesh. Or Fari. The banter between Casey and her coworkers, not just Alex, was so fun. These characters felt so real and I was so sad when it ended. I would love a book about Brijesh and Miriam.

This book made me laugh out loud, cry once or twice, briefly miss working in an office, and question whether the nipple-top Gatorade actually does taste better than the regular bottles or not. Overall, this was one of my top romcoms of the year!