Oh my gosh, if this isn’t just the most heartwarming story! I truly loved it.

Josie and Will are absolutely the most lovable
characters who feel like they could be your friends. Their story of reconnection is both endearing and aww-worthy!


Thank you to SMP, NetGalley, and Clare Gilmore for the wonderful Arc!

4.5 ⭐️
I could tell I was going to absolutely love this book starting right off with the dedication!
Clare's writing was so good, I found myself swooning over Will and Josie one chapter and then crying during the next! The romance between Josie and Will was fantastic. Will is the definition of a man who’s love language is acts of service! Everything he does for Josie from getting her the table for her bff's bachelorette to taking care of her when she is sick was sooooo swoon worthy omg! I love how the book tackles the idea of burning out and losing passion for the things we once loved but how we can still always find new passions and revitalize old ones! Something that really stuck out was the friendship between Josie and Camilla. Their relationship was such a beautiful part of the book.

Tropes
-workplace romance
-ex best friend's brother
-no third act breakup
-he falls first/harder
-mental health rep
-slow burn
-forced proximity

👗Single POV
👗Ex-Best Friend’s Brother
👗She’s the CEO x He’s the Consultant
👗He Falls First
👗Mental Health Struggles

This was a sweet and cozy book. There was angst in this book but it was on the lighter side with the pining and fighting of feelings. This being a single POV story, Josie’s struggle with career burnout and identity and self worth being a direct result of her and her company’s success was big part of this story. We see her attraction and feelings grow for Will but I would have loved Will’s POV, he falls first and hard for Josie and I would have squealing and kicking my feet if I had his thoughts! I was happy with Josie’s HEA because she had to put in work on herself but she still had Will and her friends’ support all while getting to enjoy life and her new direction.

Josie is the founder of a startup clothing brand called Revenant. In an attempt to become a B Corp company she was advised by her biggest investor to hire a consultant. In comes Will, her ex best friends twin brother, who she has previously kissed.
A very sweet novel, but felt it would have been better to read Will's point of view as well. I liked how not only was the book a romance novel, but also heavily showed Josie's workplace struggles.
I did find the story slow at the beginning, but it definitely picks up around 40% in.
I enjoyed this book and would read more from the author.
Thank you to St Martin's Press, Clare Gilmore and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Perfect Fit publishes on October 29, 2024

●I found a new-to-me author that is sure be an auto-buy the next time!!
●A delightful rom-com that masterfully blends humor and heart.
●The story follows Josephine Davis, a driven CEO of a fashion brand, who is forced to collaborate with Will Grant, the twin brother of her estranged best friend. ●Despite their rocky past and initial reluctance, sparks fly as they navigate professional challenges and personal growth. 
●Gilmore’s writing shines with witty dialogue and well-developed characters, making this a charming read about finding love in unexpected places and learning to balance ambition with personal happiness.
●Overall, just a perfect feel-good contemporary romance that was a pleasure to read.

Somehow, Clare Gilmore has figured out the recipe for my perfect book, and she's done it twice.

This is one of those books where you can't pinpoint exactly what made you love it. You just do. I think Josie and Will are very relatable characters; however, they each have very unique experiences that not many people in their late twenties can relate to. When I think of Josie, all I can think of is the "I'm just a girl" quote because, yes, while she is the CEO of a large fashion brand at just 27 years old, she still struggles with her self-worth and separating that from her job. Will is a genuine hero for Josie. He helps her see her worth beyond her CEO title and fully embraces who she is outside of that.

I love how the elements of their past together rounded everything out in the story. It helped to show how much each of them had grown in the nine years since high school and how much more growing they still had to do. Will is so self-aware!! We stan. It was honestly refreshing to see such a mature relationship play out on the page.

While the romantic love story was a large part of this book I think the platonic love stories also played such a big role! It all starts with the fallout from Josie's friendship with Zoe, Will's twin sister. This obviously affects how Josie views female friendships going forward in life, which makes Camila and Josie's relationship all the more remarkable because it demonstrates how important it is to have friends you can grow and change with throughout all the phases of life. And Will moving into the picture helps Josie reflect on the way things worked out with Zoe and understand where things could have gone differently. 10/10 for character growth!

I also just truly loved the setting being Austin! As a Texan, it was so fun to picture some of the places described!

Perfect Fit was a perfect fit for me. I loved this book a lot but I'm so greedy I now need another Clare Gilmore novel!

“𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝓯𝓲𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽. 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼."

✂️ P L O T L I N E
“A hilarious and heartfelt rom-com about having it all, slowing down to see the big picture, and finding out that the person you least expect could be your perfect fit.”

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
If you need another book boyfriend in your life, then you must meet Will Grant! He is perfect in every aspect (except for one little thing that would not fly for me….you will have to read the book and then let me know if it would be a deal breaker for you too😴).There was a whole lot to love about this book! I was swooning so hard at Josie and Wills relationship and there were so many quotes that I highlighted because they made my heart flutter. I really appreciated the depiction of a healthy romantic relationship in this book. The way they communicated and supported one another was truly commendable. Clare Gilmore shows us that a third act breakup is absolutely not needed to still fit the formula of a great romcom! The more serious topics about workplace burnout and the roll of a female CEO in the workplace were very relatable and well written. I loved the female friendship aspect and the food and travel talk was a bonus!
But….I’m a girl who needs answers, so I’m hoping that the ending was left intentionally ambiguous to perfectly provide room for book number two??? Please say it’s so Clare Gilmore!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🩷Workplace romance
💙Ex best friends brother
👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻Forced proximity
🥰Swoon worthy
🤝Female friendships
💡Self Discovery
🗣️Communication
🌶️A little bit spice
😋Food and travel talk
🙌🏼No third act break up
1️⃣Single POV

👗𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾👗
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💕Q U O T E: “𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝓊𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓅 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓋𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻*𝒸𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉𝓁𝓎, 𝒥𝑜𝓈𝒾𝑒, 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻, 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒷𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊."


🙏 Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Pess, and Clare Gilmore for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

5 out of 5 stars!

If I get told now what book would I choose to tightly hug and not easily let go of, it would be this book 'Perfect Fit'.

This book caught my attention ever since I saw the cover reveal and just then I decided to read the blurb as well and at that precise moment I knew I would fall deeply in love with this book. Turns out, I was right. From the first chapter I was a goner for 'Perfect Fit'.

I'd wanted to read this author's debut novel since it came out, but unfortunately never found the right time to do so. But, I was also very fortunate to receive an arc for this, because I was already too excited for this book and had no idea how I was going to wait a but longer till its release.

The quotes! *SIGHS DREAMILY* Too many quotes in this book that made my heart flutter.
You know a book is GOOD when you find yourself highlighting many many lines in every few page.

''I know your fever's about to hit. I can wrap you up in my arms. Get under the covers with you. Keep you warm. Make you feel not alone. I can let your head rest against my chest and that way, you'll feel another person's heartbeat, in sync with yours. That's the kind of help I can be. Even though I can't take away your... physical pain, I can make you feel good in a different way.''

Will Grant, you have my heart, it is yours. It had been a hot second for me to find a (new) book boyfriend, but the way we got introduced to our main male character/love interest I knew he would find his place in my heart.
Where the heck is my cheesiness and the hopeless romanticness coming from. *tsk*

''You should have me. You do have me. I think, from now on, forevermore, you will probably always have me.''

The friendships and the relationships in this book were everything I could ask for and more! Josie being an IT GIRL and a BOSS BITCH while being extremely kind, loving and down to earth, and of course, her wanting to make everyone in her surroundings happy and being emotional and vulnerable is something that spoke to me the most. I related to her character immensely.

''I want to be there while you test each one and pick your favorites. I want to carry you around in my arms and then put you down and let you stand on your own two feet while you build something out loud that used to live inside your head. I want to stand on the sidelines and clap for you and then take you somewhere private and (....) you. But mostly, Josie, I want to be a good person with you. Because you make me feel better about myself, just by being you.''

The female friendships and the friendships, in general. Josie's relationship with Camila, and how mature and communicative they were towards one another, all because of Josie's past friendship with her former best friend. Then, we have her ex bff Zoe (who happens to be her high-school bestfriend and also her her new consultant's twin sister), with whom she hasn't spoken a single word for almost a decade. Even her relationship with her now bff's fiancé was incredible adorable, though we haven't seen too much of it. But, still.

''I want to make you a deal.''
''What deal?''
''If you wake up one morning and decide you want to try out soft living. We do it together. Even if it's only for a little while. If you want to drop everything, then I will, too.''

Overall, a fantastic book and hands down one of my FAVORITE books that I have read this year. I will think about this book for a while, I just know it.

I couldn’t put this book down! I finished it in two sittings over 14 hours. I was completely sucked into the story within the first chapter.

This is a second chance/forbidden romance between Josie and Will, who is the twin brother to Josie’s ex-best friend. She hasn’t seen him in 9 years since they shared a forbidden kiss that blew up Josie’s friendship. They run into each other in Austin, she is a successful clothing brand owner/CEO and he works as a consultant to start ups. They have incredible chemistry off the bat.

This book has fully fleshed out characters, and great side characters that add to the story. It gave me butterflies, and had incredible tension. They also deal with real life problems that felt relatable, and you can’t help but root for these two.

Clare Gilmore's Perfect Fit absolutely stole my heart! This book is a masterclass in character development, with complex, well-rounded characters that feel so real. Watching them grow—both individually and together—was a beautiful journey.

The slow-burn, second-chance romance is perfection! The chemistry between the leads is palpable, building tension in all the right ways. And I must say, Will Grant is everything; I'm obsessed! He's the perfect blend of swoon-worthy charm and emotional depth, making him a standout love interest who leaves a lasting impression.

If you love well-crafted romances with deep emotional layers and a deliciously slow build, Perfect Fit is a must-read!

Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore is such a delightful read! Featuring Josie, an over-worked, stressed business owner who’s also trying to plan her best friend’s bachelorette party. She doesn’t have time for love – especially not time to navigate old feelings that resurface as a blast-from-her-past Will comes back into her life.

Josie was such a relatable character! The life challenges she faced and her battle with self-worth resonated deeply with me as a woman in today’s society. The author did a great job crafting characters that truly felt real. It was so easy to picture the story as I read, which is a unique talent not all authors accomplish.

If you’re in the mood for a charming romance that also includes real life, meaningful storylines - I highly recommend Perfect Fit!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This might be my surprise hit of 2025! Truthfully, I had never read anything by Claire Gilmore before, but was intrigued by the synopsis of this book. I am so happy I picked this book up. I read it in one sitting. I loved everything about Josie and Will’s love story. I loved them dealing with their own personal insecurities and friendships and girl bossing. This was an absolute five star delightful romance. I’ve already added all of Claire Gilmore’s books to my backlist, and she is officially on my automatic to read authors list!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I loved many things about this book, but what I mostly loved is that Will and Josie are two imperfect people who are the perfect fit for each other. And I don’t mean that in a pithy trite way…because to me that is the heart of this entire story. A decade earlier, they’d shared a kiss with consequences that changed the course of their lives. When they meet again, their feelings are conflicted, but they slowly work through old hurts and new challenges. Another thing I loved about Will and Josie and their story, is that, even at their lowest, they communicated honestly, with no fear of reprisal. It’s a common theme in romance novels for couples to not be honest, to not share their deepest feelings and worries, to shut each other out when things get tough. But in this novel, when things got tough or when doubt and disappointment crept in, they didn’t let go of each other, they didn’t try to hide their messy emotions. They never questioned the other’s love or support, they never let go of each other. Sigh…they melted my heart.

I really really enjoyed this book. I found the chemistry between Josie and will to be believable. I connected with Josie questioning her value as a friend/business owner and felt her insecurities. I liked the flirty banter, but also loved the friendship elements. Would definitely recommend!

This was a fun read! It grabbed my attention immediately.

*Workplace romance. Ex best friend’s brother. Second chance-ish. Hurt / comfort. MMC described as baby Henry Cavill.*

There were so many sweet moments. Likable characters. Relatable situations. Great banter. Palpable chemistry and tension.

I struggled with a couple things personally that kept it from being a five star, but overall a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to review an advance copy.

I think we are really sleeping on the sheer brilliance of Clare Gilmore. I had seen a few rave reviews floating around #bookstagram for Gilmore’s debut romance Love Interest so when I saw she had a new one coming out, I jumped at the chance to request an advanced copy on Netgalley.

Perfect Fit has everything I look for in a romance: well-established adults with careers and full lives, side characters who feel like fleshed-out people and do more than just serve to move the romance plot line along, chemistry and tension, and character growth. I found myself so excited to get home and get back into this book!

In Perfect Fit, Josie is an entrepreneur who is girlbossing too close to the sun. She’s tailored every facet of her life to ensure the success of her sustainable clothing business. When she literally runs into Will, the twin brother of her former best friend from high school, he offers to come on board as a consultant to guide the business through the B Corp Certification process (whatever that means, lol). You already know where this is going. Chemistry, banter, work trips, and angst ensue.

Do not sleep on this book! If you’re a romance reader, it’s literally a perfect fit. (See what I did there??)

I wish it was easier to gauge how spicy romance books are before I read them. 'Perfect Fit' hooked me from the beginning, and I wanted it to keep me, but there were some aspects that I just couldn't handle. Josie is the likable founder and CEO of a sustainable fashion startup in ATX. I felt like I was right there with Josie as she strived to be a great friend, ethical entrepreneur, and well-rounded girly. Where this book diverges too far from my personal taste is the cursing throughout (f-word used dozens of times), scenes with heavy drinking, and too much spice.

If you like reading contemporary romance novels, and don't mind the above-mentioned aspects, then you'll likely enjoy this book. The overall plot and main characters are well-written and interesting.

Special thanks to the Publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Net Galley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I finished this pretty quickly after receiving the arc and immediately gave it five stars. I saw myself in Josie, I loved Josie and Will’s relationship and background. Their relationship felt real, and so many books I’ve read lately haven’t. Read this if you like Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez!!!!

Clare Gilmore’s writing is amazing and she’s easily an author to look out for. Auto buying everything she writes going forward!!!!

Thank you for the arc :)

I loved this!!!

Workplace romance + blast from the past (sorta second chance romance but less involved).

I loved Austin as a backdrop and definitely this sweet and swoony slow burn that had me kicking my feet!

Can’t wait for whatever Claire has written next!

OK loved the dynamic between the love interests. Also loved that there was no third act breakup I hate those. Hated the bad press angle.