I read a lot of romance novels that are cute and fun but overall just fine. I was expecting Love Interest to be one of those, but I ended up absolutely adoring it. The premise of Love Interest isn't totally new or novel, but I ended up loving Casey and Alex so much that I didn't need the plot to be something I completely hadn't seen before.

One of my favorite things about the book was how Alex and Casey's relationships with their families paralleled and also contrasted each other and became an important and well interwoven part of the plot. I loved all of their friends and family we meet throughout the book and honestly wish we got to see more of them (future book maybe??)

My only critiques are very very minor. I'm normally not someone who cares about pop culture references in books, but I thought it was used a little too extensively in Love Interest. To the point where there were sometimes extended pop culture references used to explain something and I didn't understand what they were trying to convey because I didn't get the reference. Additionally, given that the premise of the book was that Alex and Casey wanted the same job and Casey got passed over for Alex (the board chairman's son), I expected this to play a bigger role later in the book than it did.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Casey has always preferred the reliability of numbers to people. Now at 24 she is a finance expert working in Manhattan and aiming for a project manager position. When she’s turned down, she is okay, until she finds out that the position was given to the board chairman’s son.

Alex is hardworking, Harvard educated, and a go-getter. Everyone loves him, except maybe Casey. When the two are put on a project together, sparks fly, and they’re not sure if they’re romantic, or catastrophic.

I’m going to start with what I loved about this book. The female main character. I am a finance nerd, and this book had some hilarious finance jokes. I loved that I was able to relate and laugh. It’s accrual world, am I right! HAHA. I also enjoyed the male main character. He was determined and headstrong, and while annoying at times, extremely likeable. Okay, what didn’t work for me. The enemies to lovers. This was more like a mild annoyance to lovers. I would have much preferred this been described as a workplace romance, between two co-workers who had a disagreement but still got along. Despite this annoyance, the book worked when I got into the right mindset. If you are the type to go into books blind, you will probably love this one, because it is a really cute romcom.

If you are looking for a delightful workplace romcom then I hope you check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher St Martin’s Press, @stmartinspress, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars for the finance jokes.

A witty and tender debut I couldn’t put down. This story follows Casey and Alex as they start off on the wrong foot but ultimately are drawn together, sharing many heartwarming moments even though they’re adamant their time with each other has an expiration date. It’s a little bit angsty but mostly just a fun read that explores creating the life you want.

This book had thousands of words that were arranged in a perfect way to make a completely adorable story!

Casey Maitland, math extraordinaire and finance wizard, is going out on a limb; she is applying for the project manager position at her office. However, Alex Harrison, unexpected son of a board member has been hired for the job. Casey immediately dislikes Alex, seeing that she believes he got the job unfairly. Only the real problem is, is that Casey slowly begins to realize Alex might it be so bad after all,

There was so much fun banter and chemistry between these characters that made me swoon while reading. All of the characters were enjoyable, I was truly interested in all of them. The writing was addictive and descriptive.

The only thing that took me out of the story a little bit was the discussion of the company, I felt the parts that were heavier on the business drug out a bit for me.

Lemme introduce you to my new book boyfriend, Alex Harrison...
Casey loses out on a promotion at work to a board member's son. While the nepotism is clear and extremely frustrating, Casey can't help but see that Alex is really good at his job. And even though they work floors apart, he seems to be everywhere.
This is the first time a book has made a pop culture reference that made me feel my age. That being said, I couldn't help but be delighted throughout the whole read. I love how Clare gave both Casey and Alex something to fight for - besides each other - and thoroughly developed their characters, relationship and supporting cast in the perfect way. I didn't want to put this book down and I'm beyond eager to see what Clare does next. This will easily be a book to keep on my re-read shelf when I need a pick me up.
Thank you to SMP and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Casey Maitland finds comfort in numbers but yearns for more creativity in her work. So, when she applies for a different position at her publishing company’s firm and is passed over for the board chairman’s son, charismatic Alex Harrison, Casey immediately despises him. Add in forced work lunches and afternoon meetings, and Casey finds there’s more to the handsome man she can’t stop thinking about.

This sweet workplace romance debut, set in NYC, captures the essence of the millennial workplace and is super relatable. Pick this up if you enjoy he falls first, and enemies to co-workers to lovers romantic tropes. There was great representation throughout the book, as well as fun pop culture mentions and relatable familial issues. This was such a delight and had me turning pages well into the night.

Thank you to Clare Gilmore, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book for an honest review.

I love a rom com where there are environmental factors keeping them apart, rather than miscommunication. This felt like a realistic forced proximity and I loved the characters. All the tropes that I love were jam packed in here.

Love Interest is Clare Gilmore's debut. It begins as an angsty office romance between Alex and Casey when they both interview for the same job. Casey's makes a lot of assumptions about Alex that she later finds to not give the entire picture. They each have some walls to break down and are slow to trust. I enjoyed the NYC publishing house setting. It's always cool to see the inner workings of the publishing business. Alex and Casey have an undeniable draw to each other, and despite their best efforts, they can't help from falling for each other. It basically wrapped up with a bow. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to future books by this author.

SWOON WORTHY: I absolutely adored this book. The characters are so incredibly lovable and relatable. This is everything I love in a book. I need more of the story. Honestly, probably one of my favorites of the year.


***thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and review***

Thank you @smpromance @netgalley for a copy of this office romance. This was a little enemies to lovers, forced proximity and lots of great banter between Casey and Alex. Casey doesn't like Alex as she was passed for a promotion by someone that was an unknown. I didn't like Casey at first because she was mean to Alex for getting her desired job which felt immature. As they started working together and they show more of their personality, the book started picking up.

I enjoyed this book. The main characters were likeable. A bit slow at times. But overall this was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Casey works in finance but applies for an open project manager position. She is passed over for the board chairman's son Alex, who she has to work with when they get assigned to work on a project together. Casey and Alex get to know each other and Casey also finds out secrets about the company, both of which will have an impact on them both.

This was not just a cheesy rom com! There are family issues, ethics, and so many life decisions thrown into this romance story. I love when a romance book has substance to it but the romance also shines through. Alex was the key player in this book for me. He had me at the elevator scene. The way he saw himself and love broke my heart. His character growth made the whole story for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love Interest is out now and is Clare’s debut novel! Thank you so much Clare, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This book was everything to me. As someone with inspirations to enter the corporate world and girlboss, I really admire Casey. Coming from a creative family, she knows that no matter how hard she tries to push herself, numbers and finance are her comfort zone.

I was quite nervous about Alex coming into the company as I am not a huge fan of nepo babies BUT that was cleared up quickly. He wants everyone to like him (extremely relatable) and sees a challenge when Casey doesn’t automatically like him for reasons unknown to him. While they know their timeline is short, they try to make the most of their time together before Casey’s off to London for good.

There’s something about this book that so deeply struck a chord with me. Everything about this book is truly perfection to me. I love the New York vibes and how much the workplace was incorporated into the story. As I enter into the workforce, I can only hope I find the success Casey has. It takes a lot to pack up and start somewhere new and she did it so gracefully. Every character was so well written (I love her dads). The spice was terrific. I would say it’s a mid burn so it should cater to everyone! You need to read this book!! It was a top read of the year for me.

Casey Maitland has always preferred the reliability of numbers, despite growing up the daughter of two artistic souls. Now 24 years old, finance guru, working in Manhattan at a magazine powerhouse LC Publications, she wonders if the project manager position opening is a sign to pursue a career with a little more sparkle. That is, until she's passed over in favor of the board chairman's son, Alex Harrison. He's handsome, Harvard-educated, and enigmatic, and everyone loves him - except for Casey. But when the two are thrown on the same project, they both have something to prove. For Casey, there's a transfer to the London office. For Alex, it's successfully launching a brand that will impress his distant father. Work meetings turn into after hours, and Casey and Alex are drawn to each other, but neither can avoid the messy secrets of their corporation threatening to tear them apart. What they discover about their workplace might change everything - including the dreams each of them is chasing.

This is by far my favorite workplace romance I've read yet, and this is Gilmore's DEBUT NOVEL - I can't get over just how wonderful this was! This has rivals to lovers, forced proximity, witty banter, a dash of spice, and eccentric side characters, the perfect recipe for a top-tier rom-com! Casey is incredibly smart and invaluable at her company, and really trying to find what makes her happy and leave a legacy. Alex is such a great love interest, headstrong and hardworking, sweet, and communicative, all while working through his own issues, and their romance was nothing short of adorable. Each of their backstories added a nice tug at the heart strings as well which I enjoyed.

If you're looking for your next workplace rom-com, this one should be on your radar!

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

Casey and Alex are thrown together on a project neither is quite prepared for. Both have very different goals they need to accomplish but they both need the project to be a success. Alex just wants to make a name for himself and appease his father. Casey is feeling a bit stagnant with her current position. She dreams of getting to travel and hopefully being transferred to a coveted position at the London office. They quickly realize the only way to get what they both want is to work together.

Love Interest is a workplace, rivals to lovers romance. It is a stand-alone.

What a great debut novel! The author has crammed every inch of this book with fantastic banter and swoony scenes. The office environment was a little different from any other workplace romances that I have read in the past. Some of it reminded me a lot of the corporate drama that happened with Bon Appetit a few years ago. The MCs have good chemistry from the very beginning even (especially) when they are being snarky toward one another.

I hope to read more of this author’s work in the future.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (St. Martin’s Griffin)!

*Review posted to Goodreads on 10/12/23 (see link below)

RATING: 3.25✨
SPICE: 1.5🌶
Trope/Setting Highlights:
✔ ~320 pages
✔ Contemporary romance, workplace setting
✔ New adult
✔ Finance analyst FMC x digital media specialist MMC (both mid 20s)
✔ Biracial, Korean American MMC
✔ Workplace rivals-to-friends-to-lovers
✔ HFN (comfortably settled in relationship, currently living together in London)

Review:

This is an arc review – thank you to NetGalley and the publisher as always, extremely grateful for these opportunities!

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore is a workplace rivals to lovers, new adult, contemporary romance that follows our finance-guru FMC Casey, great with numbers, little awkward with people, and our favorite nepotism (or is he?) MMC Alex, a ray of sunshine that covers his gray inner clouds.
After Alex snags the job both (unbeknownst to him) he and Casey were vying for, things start off on the wrong foot. But their obvious chemistry has them working together in other ways, in and out of the workplace…

I believe this is Clare Gilmore’s debut, or at least her first published work, and I definitely took that into my consideration when reading and writing this review. It’s an amazing accomplishment, and there are some definite things to appreciate here.

Clare Gilmore’s dedication and passion for making the world seem real, seem relatable, reflect the true and diverse nature of our society and the varied people you would find in a workplace was very evident and appreciated. Side characters had their own motivations that weren’t just there to serve the main characters’ needs or whims (for example, side characters specifically concerned for their own job security and less so about the main character’s issues). That is realistic! No character ever felt stale, or like a stereotype. This contemporary worldbuilding was seamless.

However, that dedication to keeping things real can sometimes be a double-edged sword, and while Gilmore got the good parts of it right, I believe the overall tone, pacing, and writing suffered from it a bit.

For example, the detailed nature of the way Gilmore told the story led to many instances of telling and not showing, when we know that the gold standard is show, don’t tell. With every small twitch explained, every appearance commented on, every action rationalized, there soon became too much too fast. And because (specially the main characters) the characters started to balloon outward with an abundance of attributes, it got a bit difficult to fully capture everyone’s true characterization.

This is a silly example, but it’s the one that came to mind. Casey is billed as this green thumb goddess who loves plants, but when Alex suggests that in order to save the Finance department money to fund his own project, they cut the budget for the gardening magazine offshoot. And I think, oop, Casey is gonna have a field day with this one, because of her love of plants. But she just kind of… somewhat agrees with it? It was definitely out of character.

While we’re still on the topic of writing, and this is probably a personal opinion versus something truly critical against the book so just take it from my POV, I really didn’t care for the overly modern tone of the writing. Now that I’m writing it out, I don’t think modern is the right word. It’s not that the writing is modern (like reflecting modern ideals, LOVE THAT), I mean it has a modern conversational style that I’m used to seeing in dialogue only. It’s very new adult, I guess. I feel like after every sentence there had to be a quip, or an attempt at being clever. I think about 60% of that additional fluff writing could’ve been cut, and this would’ve been a stronger novel by far.

When this novel truly shined, however, was the interactions between the main characters. Once they got into their banter, and it was just them in a scene playing off each other, or just opening up to each other in those softer more emotional moments, it was beautiful to read. The characters really were very similar, even if their personalities were opposite, and you could definitely see how a relationship between them could work out.

Give this a try if you love a workplace setting with new adult romance.

Clare Gilmore, what a stunning debut! This is so well written, and I love that it's an ACTUAL workplace romance and that we see how the relationship between Casey and Alex develops naturally. These characters are very real, and their work situations are very realistic too.

Clare is a great character, she's headstrong, dedicated, and is so helpful to everyone around her. She's relatable in the sense that she'll take on too much to please everyone else, and because of that, it's very clear how much she loves her job. I really like seeing her character development throughout the story, she's someone who loves knowing the outcome before participating in things, but we see her change her approach and begin to take more risks, which I love.

Alex is wonderful, genuinely. We learn he's a nepotism baby, but he honestly doesn't deserve that title. We can see how hard he's worked, and how skilled he is in his business to get where he is. He cares about the work that he does, even if it does cause Casey a bit more stress than usual in the finance department. Regardless, Alex is attentive, and so caring, and just so incredibly sweet. I adore books where the guy falls first, and it's so clear he has in this one. He thrives off of Casey's presence alone, and for that I admire him.

This story is so realistic and that adds to the appeal for me. Their relationship is genuine, though it starts off a bit rough, I loved reading about them. This is a fantastic debut and I'm so excited to read what Clare Gilmore comes up with next! I'm looking forward to her next project for sure.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this workplace rivals romance more than I did, but it still makes for a promising debut. I've heard a lot of good things about this one and the tropes are right up my alley, so I was excited to dig in. And the meet cute set things off on the right note - I could feel the playful vibes mixed with the tension of their future working relationship. I actually really liked the sweetheart of a hero once I got to know him better, and it was fun putting together the pieces of his personality (since we only get the heroine's perspective). But there was WAY too much telling and not enough showing; the quick time jumps throughout the story extinguished a lot of the momentum the romance was building, and the focus on (too many) work details meant that the relationship didn't get the spotlight it deserved. I knew things had truly gone awry when I had zero emotional attachment to their first (strangely described) spicy scene, and the whole thing was a bit of an uneven experience for me. So definitely some mixed feelings with this one.

The story follows Casey (24), a woman who works in finance but is hoping for a promotion that's a little outside of her wheelhouse. On the way to the interview, Casey runs into a cute stranger in the elevator. The two have a playful interaction that leaves Casey smiling, but those feelings change the moment she realizes that the handsome stranger is the one who got the job - and it was a nepotism hire. The more Casey works with Alex (25), the more she realizes that there might be more to the story, and it's not long before the two are getting closer. But neither one is sure of where they'll be next year, and that means starting up a relationship is a terrible idea.

There were a lot of things about this that I really liked, and a lot of things that missed the mark completely. For one, I'm supposed to believe that a 24-year-old who works in finance is being seriously considered to develop a digital magazine...? The nepotism was a lot more believable. I also didn't love the progression of the relationship itself; not only did I want more moments spent with them actually bantering and interacting, but I also wanted more communication and fewer casual vibes. Instead of showing the first month they worked together, it was summarized in a single paragraph. There were a LOT of missed opportunities like that, so it felt like the romance ended up taking a backseat to the plot revolving around their workplace. I did like the romance in the moments we had it, but I definitely could've been more connected to it. I'd love to be able to round this up to 4 stars because of the elements that I did like, but that's just not the way things worked out.

This was a lovely workplace romance with characters that felt relatable and real!
Casey starts out hating Alex when he got the job she wanted. She realizes he’s not what she originally thought, so the “enemies” portion doesn’t last too long. They had some great banter though! I think both characters had great growth together and separate.

I liked all the side characters and how they were a close group.

One bed
Workplace romance
Found family
He falls first
Open door, mild

This, as they say these days, just hit right in the feels. It was cozy, warm, and very squishy in that comforting sense of wanting to decide for yourself but also not wanting to leave anyone behind.
I connected very strongly to the emotions and the feelings Casey was going through, the first person perspective worked really well in the story, getting into Casey head and reading as she worked through her conflicts and struggles made her joy and happiness that much sweeter. Her engagement with Alex, the banter that started with annoyance and animosity and bloomed into flirtation and comradery was just the right amount of silly and gooey.
I teared up at the introspection, sighed in contentment with the declarations, and enjoyed Casey's thought process as she romanticized and struggled through her days. It also renewed an urge to travel.
I enjoyed this debut book, and look forward to more from Clare Gilmore