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!

cute workplace romance for fans of the hating game back in the day. one thing I will say against it is I personally do not prefer the fwb trope. if that's something that adds spice to your life, go for it.

This was a pretty fast read (about 5-6 hours for me) partially because it was an easy, well-written story but also because I couldn't put it down! If you love workplace romance with really good banter and some spice then you will love this book.

Casey is very driven and career focused which I loved. Both her and Alex are super endearing. This one actually had me wondering how it was going to end and if it would be a HEA. I appreciated this because some contemporary romance can be very predictable so it was a nice change to be reading and hoping for a happy ending. I would have loved an Alex POV to be honest, because he was a little mysterious to me. I wasn't always sure what was going on in that mind of his, which was actually really cool.

Overall, this was a fun, steamy and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this book.

This was such a cute read. It was rom-com gold, really! The workplace romance setting was so well done, the enemies to lovers really shined and the characters: I loved them.

I cannot wait to read more by Claire Gilmore!

This is a cute opposites attract work place romance. The storyline is adorable and kept me engaged throughout. I am looking forward to more books from this author. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends!

This is the case of a book that got better as I read more with it taking me awhile to get into the plot. As someone who is most definitely NOT finance lingo savvy, I think I had a hard time connecting initially to Casey, although I could sympathize with the idea of being torn between what you think you should go into career wise vs. what is the best fit for you. Love Interest took off when Casey and Alex first go to the bar together. It was at this point I felt like I got to see more of who they were as people beyond the workplace. For a single POV book (Casey’s), I found that I really loved Alex and preferred reading the scenes where he was the main focus. There are moments in this book that I thought, oh—I’ve never read words combined that beautifully before, and although I couldn’t pinpoint specific moments, Clare Gilmore’s writing is very strong for a debut.
The parental dynamics run strong in Love Interest, framing quite a bit of the characters’ story and also a bit of their decision making. In this way, I felt like this book was written for someone specifically in their twenties, just getting their start in their career post-college, so perhaps because of that it didn’t resonate as strongly with me. The romantic scenes, however, are very well done and I was always glad to see how Casey and Alex navigated working together while also having a relationship of sorts.
I received this book as an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers work place romance! This follows Casey who is a finance wiz and is upset when she gets passed up for a job by someone from the outside. Turns out Alex, the new hire is very qualified and Casey begrudgingly starts to appreciate what he brings to the table. As Casey and Alex work more closely together on a new project things start to heat up between them. Both Casey and Alex had flaws but were trying to over come them and I really enjoyed that part of the story. I highly recommend picking this one up! Plus it takes place in the fall and over the holidays!! Thank you @smpromance for my #gifted copy for review!!

3.5 stars rounded down to 3

This book was very interesting and I had a fun time reading it!

I liked all the main characters, and the romance was great, but there wasn’t really anything special about this book compared to a lot of others. It was a standard office romance with enemies to lovers, and there are so many of those out there. However, I haven’t seen one where the work was actually a big focus of the plot, and it was unique to have it be a magazine publishing company where they have to ensure funding for a big project. I also liked some of the other companies in the novel, including the several YouTube channels the main characters are featured on.

The only reason this book didn’t get 4 stars from me (I gave it 3.5) is because there were SO MANY CHARACTERS!!! I had trouble remembering all of them, especially since there were a ton of coworkers. There were some points where I didn’t know if a character was one of the main character’s bosses because I couldn’t remember any of their names. There were just a lot of characters that didn’t affect the plot, and I feel like it could have been cut down to allow more of a focus on the ones that did matter.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I’d definitely still recommend reading it!

It was a little tough to get into in the beginning; but it definitely picked up for me. Stick with it- this story is great!

Super cute fun read! It was hard for me to get Into at first but I am glad I stuck with it. I look forward to reading more from the author.

Love interest is adorable and I’m so glad I picked it up. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was a bit weary of the story from the synopsis, which by the way did not do the book justice! The synopsis gave the impression of enemies to lovers and I expected it to be like The Hating Game and all the books that have tried to emulate it since. But this has a completely unique voice, creative and intriguing plot and the best dialogue. I loved the characters and their development.

My only issue was that it was a little longer than I thought it needed to be. This is a special book and I can’t wait to read more from the author!

I liked this book, but I went in with high expectations that it just didn't meet (and that is totally my fault). It was well written, good characters, nothing actually wrong with the book...the problem must be me. I felt it had so much more potential and didn't quite meet that mark. If you are looking for a quick read to escape your reality it will do. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

4/5 - A delightful, thoughtful, feeling forward story with relatable and interesting main characters who I really rooted for!

This one did take me a bit to get into but I’m certain it was because the world was falling apart and my ability to focus suffered. I do sometimes struggle with “younger than me” MCs (these MCs are in their mid-twenties) BUT all that being said I really fell into a groove around 35% of the way through and then could not put it down!

Gilmore is a beautiful writer and really sets the scene with her lovely language. This story is set in present day NYC in the magazine publishing world - a space I dabbled in for a hot minute - but the FMC is a financial girlie and the MMC is a project manager creative type. It’s a fresh take on quasi enemies-to-lovers / workplace romance with a lot of heartfelt exploration into who the MCs are, how they’ve been shaped by their pasts and what makes them tick in the present. Love Interest is realistic and heartfelt with smart banter, A+ dialogue, great chemistry, and a lovable cast of characters. Family, legacy and growth are huge themes, too!

A charming read - I can’t wait to read more from Clare Gilmore! Thank you to @netgalley, @smpromance and the talented @momentofclarety for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. OUT NOW!

I give this 4 stars because of the chemistry between Alex and Casey. Their story and journey throughout the book was very relatable and also plausible, and I feel like this could happen to many people today. Their communication with each other was also mature and like proper professional adults, unlike some romantic contemparary books where the conversation is like immature college students.

Definitely recommended. I will defnitely read more from Claire Gilmore if her books continue to be as good as this one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Claire Gilmore and St Martins Press Griffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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