Verrrrrry slow, dull characters and a lack of chemistry overall. I'm thankful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC, but unfortunately, I won't be recommending this book to anyone. :(

This book delivers a heartwarming and satisfying happily-ever-after that feels genuinely earned. The characters are exceptionally well-crafted, with a plot that rivals classic romances and writing that is both poetic and engaging. The story's charm and insightful observations make it a must-read for hopeful romantics. I was thoroughly engrossed and look forward to more from Clare Gilmore.

This was fine! A second chance romance between a wealthy, sheltered, and burnt out CEO and a management consultant with culinary aspirations.

I wasn't sure what Josie's personality really was - her best friend and love interest (Will) really like her but her employees don't seem to? We also don't really get to know much about Will other than he adores Josie and loves cooking. I did enjoy the setting of Austin and the cycling! It is sweet that Josie and Will have some hobbies in common. I think fans of second chance and workplace romance will find this to be a light and charming read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This book was fantastic! I loved Josie and Will, I loved her relationship with Camila and how real everything felt. The romance was amazing, I feel like the two were so good at expressing their feelings and just being outright with one another. I was so glad there wasn’t a third act breakup, and they instead just acted like normal adults.

Clare Has done it again! Loved these characters! The Male lead is chef's kiss to a "T." This book will leave you swooning and it really writes a strong female character! Couldn't love Ms. Gilmore more.....She is well on her way to becoming one of my favorite authors.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved how the independence of both main characters was shown and developed. Also, I really liked the way the story flowed between Will and Josie. Furthermore, the way the author incorporated the importance of friendship relationships, as well as romantic relationships was very thoughtful and I really appreciated that aspect of the book. Overall, it was very cute and I highly recommended it!

I had not read any books from Clare Gilmore previously, but man oh man am I going to! This book, while it is a romance, has so much going for it. Our main characters have amazing chemistry, both are interesting, & the tropes were a delight! Brother of the ex bestie & forced proximity? uh, yes please! I loved that Clare also added Josie's journey as a plot point as well. Honestly, I found myself more interested in her finding her path through the world than the romance sometimes, although Will's great!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Omg this book. This book was everything to me, I love reading books about strong women! Josie is the type of person who doesn't need a man to make her but to complement her and Will was the perfect person for this. I loved how real Josie was as a person from her managing her everyday anxiety to the way she handled herself as a CEO. I also love that even though she was well accomplished the author didn't make it seem like she had it all and it was easy to get that way. Yes she had the money but the author was very realistic around how she wasn't the perfect student and school did not come easy for her.

Will was the perfect male lead in that he had his own insecurities and dreams. I liked how he knew when was the right time to give her space and when to be there. Going into this book knowing it did not have a third act breakup concerned me at first but I really liked how there was still a conflict of sorts but it wasn't around the relationship and them being together. This author also does a great job of pacing - i was interested enough to read all of the corporate scenes of the book and it never got too detailed or in the weeds where I started to feel disengaged.

I will say my only downside of this book was that I wish we had more of Will's twin. We hear about her throughout the book but I felt like we didn't get as much time actually seeing the Zoe interact with Josie. This author is now added to me list of authors I will one click. I will leave my review on amazon

This was adorable! Loved both leads and really loved the ending. I could see this being a very popular release.

Tropes:
Second Chance Romance
(ex-) best friend's brother

Josie is a very career-forward FMC who has major aspirations for her company but has let her personal life take the backseat for many years. When she suddenly meets Will again, it's clear that there are still feelings there. Can Josie have it all?

I empathized with Josie's dilemma - it can be hard deciding whether your personal relationship or ambitions should be your top priority. I was rooting for Josie to be successful and for her business to thrive, but I also loved Will for her and they clearly had such good chemistry. And Will didn't deserve to be second below her business. Will is literally the perfect book boyfriend. I thought he was so sweet - he unapologetically likes Josephine for who she is and doesn't try to change her in any way. He truly respects her and supports her, and he provides Josie with the unconditional love that she deserves. And I really wanted him to get the unconditional love he also deserves from Josie. This book focuses on Josie finding that perfect work-life balance, which I think a lot of people can relate to.
My favorite quote from the book: "Everything I think about is in reference to you."

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

Man, I love Clare Gilmore so much! She deserves all the praise.

She writes such emotional and moving characters, the sweetest stories, I love it all. It's almost like literary fiction with romance subplots, kind of reminds me of Emily Henry that way! Most of all, I love the way this book talks about friendship and growing up. The friendship between Camila and Josie is heartwarming and the perfect representation of how special female friendships are. Not ashamed to say I cried a lot in this book! Not because it's sad necessarily, but because it evokes emotion.

osephine es una diseñadora que creo su empresa y ahora se centra en la parte comercial, es una adicta al trabajo por razones nada saludables. Cuando aparece alguien de su pasado, su mundo de pone de cabeza.

Will es un consultor, pero no ama su trabajo y cuando se reencuentra con Josie se replantea su vida.

Ellos se conocen de la secundaria, Josie fue mejor amiga de Zoe (hermana gemela de Will), pero cuando la hermana los descubrió besándose la hizo a un lado y dejaron de ser amigas porque pensó que la la había utilizado para llegar a su gemelo y que no quería su amistad, como antes ya había pasado por esa situación se cegó y no quiso escuchar sus disculpas. Las consecuencias me parecieron muy exageradas para un drama entre adolescentes que se pudo solucionar con una buena comunicación.

Josie tiene serios problema; todo el tiempo piensa que no vale la pena, que es tonta, fea, que nadie podría querer ser su amiga, que es mala persona, que no es suficiente lo que hace en el trabajo, etc. Cuando se entera que una de sus mejores amigas se va a ir a vivir a otro estado el primer pensamiento que tiene es que es su culpa porque no está siendo lo que la amiga quiere. Todo el libro estaba esperando que se diera cuenta lo peligroso que es vivir así, afortunadamente al final busco ayuda profesional.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Josephine lost her best friend over Will Grant. So when he runs into her, literally, in Austin she’s definitely got her guard up. But she needs Will to help further her fashion startup. Josephine and Will grow close as they work together to build her company and the pair unravel their past together.

This is a sweet second chance romance with a highly anxious and motivated leading lady. And a charming leading man to round out the romance. Josephine has a lot of thoughts that really hit home for me, and it’s nice to see the representation of negative thought patterns in other high achieving women. I try to avoid workplace romances because of how invested I am in my career. So this was a first for me by this author, but this book has me itching to read her other books. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Josie (Josephine) and Will, who is the twin brother of Josie's high school best friend. Josie and Will have a history and have not spoken in years, and when they reconnect when they are adults, sparks fly. The connection between these two is perfect, Will is perfect, and there is just so much love between Will and Josie.

There was the perfect amount of tension, drama, friendship, love, and emotion throughout this entire book and I read it all in one sitting.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This was another cute, fun read from Clare Gilmore! I liked Josie’s and Will’s story but felt like it was rushed at the end. It went from a slow burn to a rushed ending. I wanted a little more of Josie and Will together. We jumped a few months and I felt that took away from the story. But despite that, I read this very quickly because I was into the story. Will was a top notch book boyfriend.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the arc! This was cute! It was a 3,5 stars for me. I enjoyed the second chance between Will and Josie and really liked Josie as the mc. She comes from a wealthy family and managed to get her brand up there but is still down to earth. She loves her job (maybe a bit too much), treats her company and coworkers well and puts herself last tbh. I liked seeing her change in that aspect and rekindling her friendships with new and old friends.
Sadly the spicy scenes put me out of the story and I couldn‘t really get behind how much Will loves her (kinda from the beginning) because even in the past they only had one moment together. The ending made me emotional! I loved how everything turned out.
I would love to read another book by this author because I liked the writing style and want to know what other stories she put out there.

I felt SO seen by this book. This book checked all of the boxes that I love in contemporary romance, but what really made this book special for me was the protagonist. Josie is a driven career woman, and as someone who considers myself to be the same, the idea of “not being able to have it all” really resonated with me. Her love interest, Will, was the perfect balance for banter and growing the relationship. I am now scouring for all of Clare Gilmore’s books and she will be an auto buy author for me!

Adorable! Josie and Will were cute together. They are both sunshiny. The lack of a third act break up was refreshing. I didn’t read her debut novel The Love Interest but now I want to go back and read it.

read if you like:
💙 light romances
👯 powerful women
📈 business romances
📍 Austin, Texas

summary:
I’m a big fan of light, fun romance books after a string of thrillers, and WOW this did not disappoint! This book is about Josephine, CEO of an apparel company, Revenant, based out of Austin. She is your typical boss lady, going a million miles a minute to expand and grow her company, while working with her best friend Camille, when one morning, she runs into (literally) a person from her past. Will, a New Yorker currently working as a consultant, reminds Josephine of her former life, a life that was simpler, slower and calmer. When this chance encounter leads to something more, Josephine wrestles with how to juggle everything, and what she really wants out of life.

Josephine might be one of my favorite characters ever from a book. She is smart, humble and self depreciating, and brutally honest about herself and the mistakes of her past. We learn a little less about Will, but get a sense of their chemistry from the early pages of the story. As you’d guess, the book is a classic will-they-won’t-they, set over the backdrop of an incredibly successful female executive just trying to be the happiest she can be. I love the traditional role reversal of the powerful man and the supportive woman, and how we become deeply attached to Josephine and rooting for her success. The plot moves quickly, and also serves as a bit of a love story to Austin, while also highlighting some other cities across the world in a fun and authentic way.

When I saw this was available as Read Now on NetGalley I ran to the website to download. I’ve been waiting for this book since I finally got to read Love Interest a few months ago. Clare Gilmore’s writing is just so good and she makes me fall in love with the characters from the very beginning. Obsessed is an understatement.