a cute and charming enemies to lovers romance that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

While I haven’t read a traditional rom-com in some time, this book put a smile on my face. Pacing was excellent and kept me flipping pages. Loved the character arc. Will definitely be suggesting to friends and carrying in store.

This was such a cute read. I'm not the biggest fan of workplace romance. Maybe it's cause I tend feel like they all follow the same formula. Alex and Casey, however, made added more to the story that made it enjoyable. I like that plot points didn't linger and there were twists that I didn't even seen coming. Definitely gonna keep Clare Gilmore on my watch list for whatever comes next!

Clare Gilmore delivers a satisfying rom-com debut with LOVE INTEREST, the story of an initial antagonism between two job-competing colleagues that blossoms into something more.

I would have given this a higher rating, if it wasn’t for the rather misleading description — this does not have an enemies-to-lovers trope, but more of a somewhat one-sided distrust that quickly evolves into attraction. And while I really liked the characters — Alex was dreamy and Casey is easy to relate to — I could’ve done without the YouTube storyline. (That plot device felt a bit forced.)

All in all, LOVE INTEREST is a solid summer read. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but that’s okay — it doesn’t have to.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC.*

I love a good enemies to lovers trope and this was a delightful read. I enjoyed Casey, Alex and the evolution of their relationship. They live in a world I don't have a strong frame of reference for, but I enjoyed learning more about financial world. Overall, this was a really well written romantic read. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a fun, enjoyable read. It would be a good beach or vacation read. It is nothing that will stick with me for a long time, but I don't regret picking it up. It had good representation and tropes, and was worth a read.

GIVE ME ALL THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS AND WORKPLACE ROMANCE FEELS PLEASE AND THANK YOU! With a dash of "he fell first," this book was just perfection from start to finish! Extra special thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for offering me this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

This book had no right to be as good as it was. 4.5 rounded up because I can't find any reason to NOT round up.
When I started this I imagined it was going to be another enemies to lovers, work place romance, and it was in a way but it also wasn't.

The character growth, the relationships, the settings. It was all so lovely.

I would also like to say, as someone currently living in Nashville, who works for a media conglomerate, this felt pretty accurate. A lot of times you read books about certain professions or places and you can tell that the author has not only never experienced them, but also did a poor job researching them. But with this book, you could tell me Clare Gilmore works for a publisher, and also grew up in Nashville or New York and I would believe you.

Also, big shout out because I went to see what other books she has written, and learned this was her DEBUT?? Well done. This was a delightful read. There was spice but it wasn't gross. There was banter but not too much that it felt like one big joke. There was communication. There were relationships that felt REAL. Absolutely enjoyable.

4stars
My Thoughts
Twenty-four-year-old finance expert working in Manhattan, Casey Maitland, took a leap when she moved to the big city after college.

Growing up the only child of people whose artistic talents passed her over, much to her chagrin as both a child and as an adult.

Numbers became her friend when Casey discovered a love of solving problems that others found pretty much outside their abilities that she heretofore had not experienced.

Moving from Nashville to The Big Apple with her best friend Miriam was the first step towards choosing the life she wanted.

A job she applies for within Little Cooper Publications for a different, as well as more intimidating, position has Casey once again outside her comfort zone so when someone new named Alex Harrison gets said position instead there is immediate tension between the two.

As Casey navigates this new reality her coworker Brijesh, best friend and roommate Miriam, her only other friend in New York Sasha Nicholson stay in her corner and indeed the four have each others best interests at heart for the entire book.

Despite the initial use of many acronyms and other inside jokes as the story builds very slowly it brings the reader more insight into both Casey and Alex than we would probably not have gotten at a faster pace.

I did read a few reviewers that applauded this entire setup from start to finish and a few that were not even able to get past its initial beginning chapters so they gave up quickly.

I feel like that is a personal choice and understand their honesty for not continuing what turned out to be a very well thought out for me romance pairing between two people who truly find themselves to be exactly right for each other once Casey and Alex explored not only the physical aspects but the mental ones as well.

Their companies’ drama certainly took center stage at times but it worked well as a vehicle for both characters to hone their respective talents and learn new ones along the way as well.

[EArc from Netgalley]

When Casey doesn't get the job she thinks she wants, she ends up meeting the right person for her. This novel has a well-written enemy to love storyline with well-developed characters who bring out the best in each other. I started reading this book for the romance, but also found myself relating to and thoroughly enjoying the perfectly captured corporate working life.

Casey Maitland is a numbers person. When she gets overlooked for a promotion in favor of the board chairman's son, she is ready to shake things up a bit. A great workplace enemies to lovers storyline that I couldn't help but cheer for. I will be waiting for upcoming books by this debut author.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! This was a cute and easy read. The banter was quick and witty, and there was a little bit of spice. Felt like anothern version of The Hating Game and I’m all for the enemies to lovers workplace romance.

Read if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Workplace romance
- Only one bed

Casey is a financial analyst for a magazine publisher, who is waiting to hear about a possible promotion. But the hot dude in the elevator is ACTUALLY the new hire that is taking on the job she was hoping for. Alex is a guy with quite the complicated past, and some serious daddy issues, who steps into his new position and infuriates Casey by being WAY BETTER at the job than she would have been. But as she learns more about Alex, Casey starts to realize how thin the line is between hatred, and that other thing...

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline is good, and it has a legit plot and bit of mystery dosed out between the bits of love story.

I will say that Casey seems a bit naive throughout. Also, I appreciate the fact that every sex act doesn't require every details throughout, which is sort of refreshing lately. There's some details, sure, but it's not all sex all the time.

I really appreciated the scene where Casey and Alex have it out and come clean. Most of the time, the person getting pissed about the other's betrayal almost always leads to the betrayed person to absolutely hate the other person. That's not what happened here. Feelings were hurt, but the couple ends the conversation well, and I'm so pleased to see something that has done this scene right.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

I couldn’t connect to this at all. There were so many side characters and I don’t even totally understand what the plot was supposed to be about? Like it’s fleshed out and very meaty, but it has more of a day in the life element to it than any driving conflict. Plus I didn’t like the characters at all, their romance felt random. Ultimately I think they were too young - I’m not buying Condé Nast is putting a 25 year old on charge of anything.

Very cute rom com workplace romance. Casey's love for her job and her work family drew me in from the start. She finds out she was passed over for a job opportunity for the bosses' son, it setups up for the perfect come together story which in the end turned out perfectly for this author.

This is a cute one! Lots of romance tropes but none in a frustrating way. The two characters are such loveable go getters. I really was rooting for every character throughout the book, except maybe the billionaire CEOs. Nothing that makes it exceptionally stand out among cutesy romances but not in a bad way. Just a perfect book to pick up to feel good things. Very quick read.

This coworker's enemies to lovers story was funny and romantic and such a good read! I found Casey relatable. Alex and Casey were drawn to each other despite Casey's reluctance to like him. Can't wait to read more books by Clare Gilmore.

This rollercoaster ride of a romance book has so many wonderful tropes. These include enemies to lovers, workplace romance, one bed, and a little dash of he falls first! With the enemies to lovers + workplace romance, I was worried this book would be too similar to The Hating Game (which wouldn't be a bad thing because it's one of my favorites) BUT Clare Gilmore created characters that had completely different plot lines, characteristics, and some different depths! I think that was a super unique thing about this contemporary romance: it's depth. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a bit more of a "literary" aspect to this book, where the characters encountered grief, handled not knowing their full selves, and maybe being scared to uncover all of themselves!

As someone who absolutely cannot deal with numbers, I did struggle a bit in the beginning to relate to Casey, but there were other aspects of her character that I was able to relate to her on! Like being from the South! The Alabama vs Auburn question peppered in the latter half of the book were epic! Also, as a person named Molly who is working towards an HR degree, having an HR employee named Molly on the FIRST PAGE was king of wild and I refuse to think that made me biased in any way...(👀😂)!

I love that this had some elements that differentiated it from other rom-coms and had a unique spin on an enemies to lovers + workplace romance! This was a fun read and I can't wait to see what else comes from the author!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Enemies to lovers, workplace trope. A favorite of mine, and Gilmore didn't disappoint.

A quick, fun read I really enjoyed.

This debut surprised me. Starting out I wasn’t getting into it. To be fair, I don’t usually latch my full attention on any book until around the 12% mark. At that point in Love Interest, I was fully engaged. I fell in love with all these characters. The banter was just right. The workplace scenario didn’t feel contrived, and the romance was hot but not overly spicy. I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers/workplace romance and look forward to more from Clare Gilmore.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.