Love Interest-Clare Gilmore

Out today!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this workplace, enemies to lovers romance, Casey and Alex are thrown together to work on a new project at the LC corporation. Oh and Alex is the handsome guy that just beat out Casey on a new promotion.

I really liked Casey and Alex’s story. There was some really sweet moments throughout. They also showed so much support for each other’s dreams.

Casey’s quirky friend group and parents were great side characters. They had me chuckling and wishing I was invited to the murder mystery dinner.

Highly recommend for your next romance read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a light and fun romance read. I love that it had ADHD rep in it and that it is a workplace romance. The enemies to lovers aspect along with friend shenanigans and workplace politics keep the readers interested and rotting for the main characters.

This book was good - it didn’t live up to the hype I hoped for but it was still overall a really enjoyable, cozy read! The tropes were all the ones I look for in a good book, but unfortunately there were too many shortcomings with the timing of the storyline sometimes. For example, a lot of the time jumping really extinguished a lot of the momentum building for the slow burn trope. I also found that the story focused a little too much on the workplace and not enough on the romance aspect. I wish there was a bit more relationship building as opposed to banter and interactions - it made it feel more of a casual relationship and not as believable of a meet cute as I hoped for. All of that being said, I loved the way the author pulled in contemporary writing styles and made sure her side characters were developed as well. Globally, I really enjoyed Alex and Casey’s relationship, their workplace and family troubles were realistic and added to the overall experience. At the end of the day, this was an excellent debut novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Love Interest is a sparkling debut from Gilmore! The cast of characters, the NYC setting, and the corporate backdrop all perfectly enhanced Casey and Alex's love story, and I adored how their relationship developed over the course of the novel. The voice-y writing gripped me from the first page, and I was left feeling happy and uplifted by this tender yet hilarious romcom!

I loved that this was not a typical or predictable (to me!) enemies to lovers rom-com book. I loved how the characters stayed true to themselves and I really fell in love with them. They had real emotions and I felt that their conflicts made sense and were not just manufactured to stand in their way of getting together. The book covered other topics that I think all young people feel when they move away and start making their own life separate from their parents and even their friends. I very much enjoyed this take on a workplace romance and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Are you looking for workplace enemies-to-lovers energy a la books like The Hating Game? Then look no further. Clare Gilmore’s Love Interest is a refreshing spin on this beloved trope in her debut novel set mostly in New York City.

I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the way the narrative unfolds. In romance, I typically prefer dual or multiple POV, but felt that the single POV better serves the story. Though I wouldn’t mind a bonus chapter or two from Alex’s perspective.

One slight caution… if you dislike the miscommunication trope, be aware that there are elements of that in this story. Though I feel like Gilmore does a great job of making those elements feel wholly believable and not just there to inorganically create conflict.

Thank you to St. Martins and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book is a perfect example of a darn good debut. This is a office romance and enemies to lovers with all sorts of great representation. This was a wonderful and delightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc!

This book was pure delight. I loved the banter between Casey and Alex.

Everything about this story just felt real: the desire to be loved, the want for more out of life, the friendships, the development of a crush into a real relationship.

Casey was such a relatable character to me. Her desire to travel to London to feel connected with her mom, while also being something she wanted to do for herself was inspiring. Her anxieties about leaving her world behind for something she wanted to build was so realistic.

I wish I could adequately put into words my feelings for this book, because I just truly loved it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is utterly charming. It’s adversaries-to-lovers and you know I love a workplace romance.
I really love that the cover is right out of the book. When I got to that scene, I was so thrilled. The cover is just the cutest and I love that they nailed Casey’s style.
Casey and Alex have such great banter and chemistry, and I really enjoy the emotional depth and character growth we get from each of them. The story is told in single POV but I felt like we got a really good look at who Alex is as a person through Casey’s eyes.
If you love solid communication, good food, spreadsheets, delightful side characters, and workplace drama, go buy this book!

Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC from debut author Clare Gilmore. Clearly, it took a while for me to really warm up to this book because I was expecting really more of an enemies to lovers trope between Alex and Casey, and this really wasn't it. I think it was mislabeled as such. However, I do enjoy Alex and Casey's journey together, and I am happy with the way it ended between them. I still stand by that I really didn't care about any of the side characters, and I felt that their scenes were kind of filler at times. I enjoyed Alex and Casey's scenes together, although I think in the beginning they could have shown more of the hate and tension between Alex and Casey versus telling me and having a big-time jump. This is what really almost gave the book a three star versus a four. That and a good portion of the book, there wasn't much of a plot. Just Casey and Alex hanging out. That's not too much of a bad thing honestly, because this book is mostly character-driven, and it was nice watching Alex and Casey's relationship organically develop on it own. Initially, my interest did wane at times as there really wasn't much tension or conflict to sustain my interest. Even the side plot with the job and acquisition kind bored me and I didn't have much interest in that, but I think in the end Gilmore tied it all nicely. Toward the end of the book, Alex and Clare each have to make decisions that are best for them, on top of facing their own interpersonal problems and grief due to each losing their mothers. The plot itself is somewhat of a slow simmer, but I promise you, if you stick to it, it pays off well to a good emotional experience. Casey has to find herself and make peace with who she is, and Alex has to come to terms that he is worth loving regardless of achievement, which was the driving force with Alex's relationship with his job and his father. This is what bumped it up to four stars. I really like Alex and Casey's journey, and glad I appreciated it more by the end.

10/9
Maybe this book isn't really for me...
I want to like this book more than I do. I don't feel much tension between Alex and Casey, so so far, I'm not really rooting for much of anything with them even though they're both likeable and sympathetic characters.
The extra characters I can do without, I feel myself get bored when Casey is with her friends (something that seems to happen a lot with other books that I read, I notice) and I find myself not caring about the interaction with them. It's better with Alex and Casey, their interaction more meaningful, but even with them, there's not much of a spark present.
10/10
Yes, there's some will we/won't we tension with them, but this is not enemies to lovers...Alex and Casey each have issues they work on, which is fascinating, and I'm here for it.

Casey & Alex are my new favorite book couple. Their story of strangers to partial-enemies (she hated him because he got the job she wanted but he was friendly to her) to lovers had me laughing, smiling, lusting, crying, and then crying happy tears.

I love when you have two characters who act like adults, talk to each other like adults, pick each other up and root for each other, and have spectacular growth & development over the course of the book. They each had their own internal struggles but you could also tell that they genuinely wanted the other person to be happy.

This debut novel from Clare Gilmore has moved her to my immediate “will read everything this author writes” list. I finished the book and immediately DMed her on Instagram how much I loved it and how I can’t wait to read her next book.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a book that a full of emotion & beautiful characters that you absolutely fall in love with (and hate the characters that you are meant to hate)

Huge thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really cute story that even manages to make a career in finance sound interesting. Both of the main characters are really good, kind, caring, and thoughtful people who don't try to overthink things like characters in novels usually do. This is not to say that they are perfect or don't have their flaws. However, it is refreshing that the author doesn't use the same boring plot devices to try to create tension in their relationship. In fact, they are together for most of the story, and when they are not there is a good reason for it. That is refreshing. It makes the story more original and exciting to read. Not knowing exactly what's going to happen keeps you interested but the feeling that it is all going to work out okay in the end keeps you invested in this charming book.

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore was so much fun!!

Casey Maitland is a financial expert for LC Publications in Manhattan, and even though it's probably a good thing she didn't get the project manager position, it still chafes that she was passed over in favor of the board chairman's son. Alex Harrison is handsome, smart, and actually REALLY good at his new job. And he keeps trying to be nice to her. How irritating. They end up filming a vlog together as part of an ongoing "Day in the Life" series, and Casey realizes maybe Alex isn't all bad after all. And maybe it wasn't nepotism that got him the job. They fall into friendship and then into more, and the whole time Casey is plagued with the knowledge that their company is headed toward some enormous changes, unless they can uncover a way to save it.

This felt like curling up with my favorite rom-coms from the late nineties, only updated for today's twenty-somethings. It has banter. It has drama. It has houseplants and so much kissing. (Ane more.) It gave me the same warm fuzzies as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail or Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Runaway Bride. It's the perfect office enemies to lovers romance, and I loved every page of it.

Highly recommend. It's absolutely delightful.

Thank you to the Net Galley team for sharing this ARC with me! Such a heartfelt + meaningful story told through the lens of banter, humor and heart. Can’t wait to see what Gilmore has next in store!

Such a fun read! This is a workplace, short lived enemies turned forced proximity romcom. When Alex appears at Casey's company, stepping into the job she was hoping for and actively pursuing, they get thrown together on a lifestyle project. Some initial enemies banter quickly turns into heart to hearts, late nights, amazing meals (seriously the food aspect in this book while not a distraction in any means, felt like another character and thus spent most of the book hungry because everything sound SO good! 🤣)

Casey has sights on a possible career move to London (which okay is the absolute dream!!), hinging on the success of her project with Alex. They commit to each other, for now, but of course....feelings. 🥰🫠🥰 their relationship was both heartfelt and realistic and one heck of a found family support system.

There was a taaad too much business jargon for my taste but it made sense and didn't detract from the story at all.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one, hopeful for a follow up with Miriam's story!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

This book is a super cute workplace romance and I loved it! The main character Casey finds out she was passed over for a job opportunity because of the chairman's son Alex. I think I would have liked it more if it was dual pov but it was still a great book and I enjoyed reading it. Enemies to loves is one of my favorite tropes and with the added forced proximity it made for a great debut novel.

Gah! Clare Gilmore blew me away with her debut novel Love Interest!! Her writing is engaging, hilarious, emotional and heartfelt. As an aspiring writer, her style is one to emulate. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one nail complexity and ease so smoothly! Her characters were entirely lovable and complex, including the side characters. I found myself equally invested in the friends and family of the protagonist.

Love interest is threaded with tender emotion and hope. I held my breath in anticipation for the shoe to drop and some form of frustrating miscommunication that would force the lovers apart. While there were moments of frustration and miscommunication, they continued to come back to each other in respect and care. It is a gorgeous example of two broken people coming together in the healthiest way possible. Inspirational!

I think the biggest stand out for me in this book is the ease with which I was pulled in and through Alex’s story. So often, a story is hard to get into, lulls somewhere in the middle or drags on at the end. The pacing of Love Interest was impeccable and an absolute joy from start to finish. I feel like I could offer a standing ovation to the pacing alone!

I’m still fully swooning for Alex, Casey and everyone in their little world! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Clare Gilmore brings to the table next. Instant fan over here!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In her debut novel, "Love Interest," Clare Gilmore skillfully intertwines romance and workplace drama.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is well-executed, allowing the characters' dynamics to evolve in a way that feels authentic and genuine. Gilmore adeptly portrays the complexities of their relationship, making it effortless for readers to invest in their budding romance. The initial tension between them, stemming from their professional competition, evolves into a compelling layer of the story as they find themselves working closely together. The corporate backdrop adds depth to the narrative, with secrets and corporate intrigue adding an element of suspense. The exploration of workplace politics and ambition contributes a strong sense of realism to the overall plot.

All in all, "Love Interest" stands out as a promising debut that offers an entertaining fusion of romance and workplace drama. This book is a must-read for those who appreciate well-crafted romance narratives set in the professional world.

First I love the timeline in this book, how not everything seems rushed and you can tell it takes place of weeks and months instead of what seem like days. I also liked how Casey started to like Alex through actual moments with each other and it was out of spite/hate that their relationship grew. While I love a good spicy scene I also appreciate that these ones weren’t total spice. You got the spice but it wasn’t intense which is nice sometimes. All in all I loved the support that was there through big and little changes and how they genuinely cared about each other even when they were mad at each other.

A really cute workplace romance. The pacing and writing were great, and had me engaged until the very end. I really liked our MCs, Casey and Alex, and the journey they went on together as characters. Overall, a really great romance that I would definitely recommend!

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*