LOVE INTEREST is the perfect debut romcom—with equal parts swoon and substance, it had me hooked from the very first page! The story follows Casey, a 24-year-old finance expert who works at a powerful media company. She's now vying for the project manager position, a major change from her current job, but ultimately ends up losing it to the board chairman's son, Alex. As a result, Casey develops an instant dislike for Alex—but when they're forced to work together on a work project, everything changes. As Casey uncovers some company secrets and strives for her career goals, she realizes that her sworn enemy just might be her love interest.

I loved the banter and chemistry between Casey and Alex, and found them to be such compelling characters. I did feel like the enemies-to-lovers aspect of their romance was a bit one-sided and would have liked to see a little more development on that end, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. Casey was a great heroine—I loved her more introverted, independent nature, witty sense of humor, quiet confidence, and dedication to her relationships and career. Alex was also a fantastic hero and the perfect book boyfriend! I fell for him instantly. He's charismatic, creative, and determined, but also so kind and caring. Both leads had so much depth and complexity, while also being super endearing and sweet characters! I really enjoyed reading about their backstories and about the other relationships in their lives, too, from familial bonds (especially Casey's relationship with her dads!) to friendships to their connections with their work colleagues. I also loved the role that the location played in this book—the NYC setting was so vivid and truly felt like its own character, and all of the other different places/cities mentioned also felt really well-developed and meaningful to the story. Overall, I would highly recommend LOVE INTEREST, and can't wait to see what Clare Gilmore writes next! (Maybe Miriam and Brijesh's story?) Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Cute, funny, sassy, sweet.

I love when the main characters have good banter., makes me feel like there is hope for sassy ole me.

I really appreciated the normalization of ADHD in the adult world, how their differences were appreciated by the other person, and the mature handling of a relationship. So many books irk me because they turn into babies when they’re dating. Grow up and communicate your feelings ya know? So good star for the communication. I really enjoyed this book!

This was probably the best debut I have ever read. Her writing was too fluid and real. Even the awkward parts were totally relatable in the best way! I am in shock at how much I loved this book. I haven't really read many office romances, and of the few I have, this one takes the cake. Oftentimes, when you bring enemies to lovers in a rom com kind of way where the main characters are adults, they can behave very childish and more or less stupidly. This was a very mature enemies to lovers, which throughly enjoyed. I will be recommending this to all my friends, so please, please go read this book. It was so cute, and I'm in love with Alex!!! Casey, too. I loved that she knew what she wanted and worked hard to achieve it even if people told her what she actually liked was stupid or not anything someone could be passionate about. Women in STEM(chefs kiss).
Thank you, NetGalley!!

Missed the mark for what I usually like about office romances. It didn’t hook me in in the beginning and I pushed through only for it to not really keep my attention throughout.

The detail is great and I loved the ending but it ultimately just fell a little flat.

I think this works better as a movie than as a book

I really hate to leave a low review, but I've had a very difficult time getting through this book. It just does not keep my attention. There is so much time spent on describing the inner workings and details of this company they all work at, that it almost feels like a documentary on this fake business, instead of the business simply being a device for bringing the two main characters together. In addition, the FMC is in finance and there's a lot of time spent explaining why she loves finance and how she feels about her job and it's just not that interesting to me.

Then, when the MMC does pop up, so much time has passed between interactions, and the things they talk about are so dull or even negative, that it's hard to believe their feelings for each other at all. I don't quite get why the MMC even likes the FMC, because she's really not nice to him and judges him a lot. The all caps text messages are also jarring to read.

Another thing that turned me off is the use of the word "bastard" and "illegitimate" to describe children. It is very off-putting. I don't think it's ever appropriate to describe a child that way, even for effect in a book. The MMC even refers to himself as a "bastard" and says "the illegitimate kind" and that was the limit for me. I had to stop reading.

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore is a really well-done debut. Casey is a 24 year old finance expert working at a magazine conglomeration and awaiting news on a job she's applied for that would be a huge step up. On the way up in the elevator she meets a handsome stranger - who happens to be Alex Harrison, son of the CEO Robert Harrison and the man who got the job she wanted. Casey vows to be enemies with Alex (in her own head, at least) but they're quickly brought together at work to collaborate on the launch of a new digital site Bite The Hand. And as they get to know each other, and they both look past first impressions to find each other's true character, they fall in love.

The romance element of this book was very well-written. The plotting was great, everything unfolded at a pace that felt organic, and the third act break-up was not a typical miscommunication, but in fact a break-up that made sense considering the circumstances. I was less interested in the corporate espionage elements, but this plot was set up as sort of background noise to the bigger journeys both characters were on, so I was able to enjoy it all. And again - it was all well-written, so I never felt like I wanted to skim.

4.5 stars rounded up for this one. I am as shocked as anyone that I'm rounding a book about people in their early to mid 20s up to 5 stars, but this was that enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I liked the book, but it wasn't love. I liked the relationship and character development of Casey and Alex, and a journey they went on to become their better selves. However, I did feel some parts were dragging and the storyline was slow moving. at times. I would be interested in reading another book by this author, I think this author has great potential in the literary world.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I Loved this book and could not but it down. I LOVED IT.

Thank you to St Griffins Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in less than a day. "Love Interest" is a charming debut by Clare Gilmore, and I'm excited to see what else she comes out with.

While I loved the writing and the characters, especially Casey, what stops me from rating this higher is that the author kind of throws a lot of different characters and information at you in the first thirty pages or so and it's just so confusing. I had no idea who was who or why some things were important because it was just way too much, and some bits seemed unecessary to mention.

This is however a great debut from Clare Gilmore and I would love to read what she puts out in the future!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! It has been on my radar for awhile so I was very excited to get the opportunity to read and review it. The premise was sooo good and I really had so much fun watching it play out. I thought the back story and depth that Alex had was so well done. The ending was PERFECT.

Very entertaining and engaging enemies to lovers romance. Multitude of romance tropes come together very nicely as these two characters get to know one another and all the intricacies of their work environment unfolds within their business and pleasure relationship. Some surprises, a bit of steam, heartfelt love and happy for now despite the work spectacle which drives the plot, romance is secondary but satisfying.

This was my first book by Clare Gilmore and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the workplace conflict and family subplots because it helps the reader understand the main characters better and their growth throughout the book. The banter, the romance, and the understanding tied Casey's and Alex's whole relationship together perfectly.

Anyone who talks to me knows how much I love enemies to lovers so I was super excited about this book!

I really liked Casey and Alex. They’re both so realistic and I LOVED their first meeting. I could see that first scene of them in my head like a rom-com movie. While there was definitely some tension between them, I’m not sure if they were ever really enemies. I wasn’t bothered by this, but it could’ve been helped by showing some of the stuff that Casey briefly mentions from the beginning of them working together. I think it could’ve been fun to read. That being said, I did really like the banter that we did get to see. I think Casey was the right choice to have the main POV from, but I would’ve liked just a bit more insight on Alex’s thoughts. He has complexity that I would’ve loved to see from his side and I just really adored him as a character. I also thought that the side characters added just enough to the story and were super likable.

The pacing of this was pretty good. There were a couple times that the miscommunication between Casey and Alex got to me, but it definitely didn’t ruin anything and I get that it was there to aid the conflict. Their maturity and communication later in the book also made up for it. What I really loved about this couple and their story is how their relationship built up in subtle ways. Their more vulnerable conversations when they “hated” each other were my favorite. This story had a way of focusing on both characters and their growth without shoving it in your face. The progression of their relationship was very natural and realistic without getting boring and the way they understood each other was beautiful.

Overall, this was really just a great debut and I’m looking forward to more from this author! I can only imagine how amazing future works will be with this as a start.

MINI PLAYLIST 🩵💼✈️
The Archer - Taylor Swift
Through the Dark - One Direction
Heaven - Niall Horan

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! :)

Book : Love Interest
Author : Clare Gilmore
Release Date : 10 October 2023

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was my first workplace romance book and it was such a fun little debut enemies to lovers office rom-com with some of the cutest characters — Casey and Alex, trying to navigate their lives and their relationship. The slow burn in this book is perfect, not too much to put you off, just enough.

I sat down to read this book and read it from first page to final. I gave this book 4 stars. I will definitely recommend this book to friends who would love a cute little romcom read.

I loved this story! I loved how the relationship between Alex & Cassie really hits the ground running, their relationship truly being the focal point throughout the whole story. the instant spark between these two is amazing, especially in the beginning as they banter & navigate each other. Casey was a firecracker, a certified genius in my mind, as someone who is so anti-finance I hold people like Casey on a pedestal for choosing that finance life. & Alex is just a sweetheart who I loved from the start & that love only grew as he goes on such an emotionally developing journey throughout the story. I would have loved to see more of the story outside Casey & Alex, but overall a very fun, sweet read :)
thank you for the ARC!!!

will post review on instagram and twitter closer to the publication date (and will update here with exact date later); posting review to goodreads immediately

This book was the PG version of The Hating Game and the Spanish Love Deception. I loved the book and have nothing bad to say. Casey and Alex were both amazing characters who played off each other and the author really made the enemies to lovers trope work. This book has potential to be the beach read of the summer.

Claire Gilmore's debut novel, "Love Interest", follows the story of Casey and Alex. The story starts as a work place, one sided enemy to eventually lover story. Alex has managed to get the job Casey was vying for. She initially resents him for it. As they work together and get to know each other, their relationship develops into more. The character development is great, and Casey's inner dialog is relatable.
I especially enjoy the playful dry banter between Casey and Alex. Add a pinch of work drama and a few daddy issues, and we're all set for a fantastic, fun read.
There is a good cast of supporting characters, though none were over developed, allowing the focus to stay on Alex and Casey (which is what I prefer). All in all, I will rate this book 3.75/5. I would like to sincerely thank NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC.

I adored this book! I can be a sucker for a workplace romance, but many of them feel rushed and a bit ingenuine to me. Love Interest was the exact opposite — I loved how Alex and Casey formed a fun friendship before diving into romance. They felt like such an organic couple and I loved meeting all of their friends! Side characters are such a great addition to a story, and I love when I can tell the author put a lot of thought into them. I was fully immersed in the Bite the Hand drama. I would 100% read a sequel of these two in London!!

A good debut novel featuring a semi-enemies to lovers, workplace romance.

Gilmore does well creating chemistry between two likeable characters and brings NYC to life with the scene developement.

Will certainly look forward to reading more from Clare Gilmore.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review.