This is absolutely going to be one of my top books of the year. I’ve read everything Gilmore has written and she just keeps getting better and better. This was so emotionally resonant and masterfully written—the communication between characters was so realistic, the funny parts were hilarious, the sad parts heart wrenching. Flashbacks done extremely well, which is hard to do!!! I think this is a perfect book.

This was cute! I loved the epilogue - it was so cute. The time jump worked well in this story. It did move a little slow at times though.

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

Paige and Liam – I loved them so much. SO SO MUCH. The character growth! The relationship development! The dual timeline of then and now! I'm obsessed, genuinely. I thought this story did such a great job of showing the way these two characters deeply knew one another, and knew when to hold space for the other vs. when to push and challenge them to go outside of their comfort zone. I also really liked the way that they actually TALKED to each other. So often in romances - and really, books in general - the characters simply don't have conversations, leading to all kinds of nonsense situations that could've been solved if they just SPOKE to one another and used their grown up words. I was thrilled that these two characters could articulate how they felt, when they needed to take space, and could come back together later to talk it out.

what a fun read! as soon as i started i ate this up! this is a first for me by gilmore, and it won't be the last. the banter, the music, the romance was fantastic. highly recommend. thank you netgalley for the arc!

Never Over by @claregilmorewrites

I’m writing this as I’m laying here in bed in the dark crying over the epilogue of this beautiful story. A story that is a love letter to love, to sisterhood, to family, to songwriting and the power of lyrics to fundamentally change someone’s life, and so much more. This was beautiful and perfect and sweet and sexy and tasteful and smart. So much maturity and communication. This is a forever too romance for me. Paige and Liam forever and ever. 💛

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc!
Pub date: 10/28/25

wow.

this is one of those stories where you finish it, love it immediately, and then—the next day you realize just how much it truly meant to you. it settles in your chest and stays there. a quiet gem that only shines brighter the longer you think on it.

i honestly can’t remember the last time a romance made me feel this much—especially one without any big, tragic event to hinge it on. the emotion comes from the characters, their histories, their hearts—and that makes it all the more powerful.

it’s a second chance romance (arguably one of the best tropes), but i’ve never seen it done quite like this. instead of watching two people fall in love again, it felt like watching two people who never stopped loving each other. their connection was so constant, so honest and true, it just picked right back up—like love paused, not ended. and while it didn’t have the typical butterfly “will-they-won’t-they” tension, it gave us something even better: emotional intensity, and toooons of yearning.

the flashbacks to their past were absolutely gut-wrenching. watching them fall in love only to see them fall apart was so painful, even when you understood why it had to happen. their feelings of not being enough, of trying and failing to hold onto something beautiful—it was all so deeply human. so many people will see themselves in those moments.

everything about this book just hit. it was emotional, but never manipulative in that flashy way some books tend to be. it was sweet and funny and heartbreakingly real. paige and liam were such vivid, lovable characters—i was completely invested in their journey from start to finish.

and the conflict at the end was one of the best i’ve seen in a romance. no overblown fight, no pointless misunderstanding—just two people working through something real, with grace and growth. it felt honest. it felt earned. it was perfect. i really don’t think i’ve ever seen two characters handle a disagreement with such maturity.

paige and liam, i believed in your love every step of the way. you two are the actual cutest.

and clare gilmore i adore you and whatever magic is going on inside your head. 🍓💌🎶⚾️💘

5 stars

3.5 stars
This was a very easy read. I ate this up and flew through it in no time. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I loved the romance. Overall I would recommend.

A simple second-chance-romance rife with the messy feelings that come with reconciling (or maybe, in our case here, colliding?) with the big love of your life? Sign me up. Paige and Liam are so precious, and Clare Gilmore created sparks between them from the very moment they met. These were characters that communicated and worked through their history as they rediscovered themselves, and so the emotional stakes paid off.

If I had to have a gripe here, a big one for me is that the story is told in an alternating timeline between the flashback and present, but I'm not sure in this case whether it was the most effective. While I appreciate it was to build up the backstory between the characters, I kept getting thrown off the momentum of the present day scenes or the flashbacks as we jump back and forth, and it did take me a while to fully sit with the characters and the story because of this.

i dnfed 80% of the way through — unfortunately, this does not compare to how amazing "perfect fit" was

I am a self-proclaimed Clare Gilmore stan, and somehow, each book just keeps getting better. No, seriously, I’m genuinely scared of what she’s going to release next because how can it top this?
Never Over is an emotionally raw second-chance romance about two people trying to figure themselves out and realizing they might still need each other to do it. I loved watching Paige grow into herself and fully step into her songwriting career. And Liam? He’s the sweetest book boyfriend: supportive, steady, and so easy to love.
Clare is the queen of healthy communication, and that absolutely shines here. And the epilogue? It DESTROYED me in the best possible way.

Hi so um. Oh my god. This book. One of my top romance reads of all TIME!!!! I think this book was written for me 🤚🏼 (the Robin Hobb mention????). I knew from the first few pages that this would be a five star book. Clare’s writing SOARED in this book and had me feeling everything. It was the perfect length - although I could’ve read hundreds more pages of this (need another book soon pls Clare).

She wrote the setting PERFECTLY and it makes me love my home even more!!! But these CHARACTERS???? The chemistry jumped off the page and punched me in the face. Liam is in my dreams now and his banter is sooooo good. & Paige might just be me!!!! I related so deeply to her. & their communication and vulnerability was so strong to me, and they really have just the purest, strong love. I felt like I was highlighting every single page. The sisterhood dynamics & dedication!!!?!!? Friendship???? So many layers to this story and it is absolutely stunning. The epilogue absolutely annihilated me — I think it might be the best I’ve read.

Liam and Paige are the blueprint!!!!!! Also go vols!! I need this book in my hands nowwww. Thank you to SMP for the advanced copy, go buy her on October 28!!!!!!!

Claire Gilmore is great at writing a solid, real love story. Like previous books by this author, I found myself getting a bit bored at times but overall still very enjoyable. Strong characters, would still recommend!

Loved this extremely sweet, extremely healthy love story about two people whose love helps them be fully themselves and about the power of curiosity, connection, and generosity of spirit.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the advanced reader copy!

Thanks to NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its release.

Overall, this book was a cute second chance lovers trope with a fun twist of a character in the music business but in a non-traditional way. Being from Knoxville and having a majority of the plot take place in Knoxville, it irked me as a reader. I say this because Gilmore would name drop A LOT of places in Knoxville but not describe those places at all. Since I have gone to each of those locations, I know what they look like and can leverage my five senses to imagine those places, but thinking as a reader who has no knowledge of Knoxville, it left me feeling disconnected to the book. There was a lot of telling instead of showing overall in the setting and plot, which I think, if edits are still available, Gilmore could easily expand upon. She has the character development and story arcs dialed in, but being able to show instead of tell will truly wrap the book together nicely.

Never ever getting over “Never Over.” Clare Gilmore. She’ll break your heart and stitch it back together from one beat to the next (and she’ll write in a way that’s way less cliche than this paragraph right here).

I’m probably repeating myself from past reviews but she has a way with words that is almost unparalleled in the current romance landscape. Every book she writes at least one line or paragraph that stops me in my tracks because of its beautiful, quiet brilliance. This time it was “two clicks of a metronome pass” where most authors would have just said “a moment” or “a second.”

This book was unputdownable. It’s Clare’s deepest work yet. I usually get so nervous with dual timeline stories because it feels like an extra dose of drama and heartbreak I can’t handle, and Clare certainly brings that here, but in the gentlest, most necessary way for Liam and Paige’s growth both as young individuals forging their life paths, and as a couple.

And oh, the epilogue. I won’t spoil anything, but this epilogue is such a tribute to the power of words and song.

Thank you to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I’ve loved every single one of Clare Gilmore’s books, but this one is in contention for my favorite yet. She just gets it—the messy feelings, the quiet moments, the tension that builds so naturally it practically hums off the page. I was hooked from the very first chapter.

And here’s the thing: I never gravitate toward music or musician-themed romances. They usually feel a little too outside my world. But somehow, in Never Over, I barely noticed. That whole backdrop just felt like texture—rich, real, but never overdone. The writing and the emotional depth of the story are what carried me. Gilmore has this way of making you feel like you are the characters, living every moment with them.

Paige and Liam wrecked me in the best way. The whole “date me so you can break my heart again” premise is wild, but it weirdly works. Their connection is so strong, so layered. The chemistry? Electric. But it’s the quiet, vulnerable moments that got me the most. Liam was so obviously gone for Paige, even when he was trying not to be, and I loved watching them slowly peel back those protective layers they built up over the years apart. Every scene between them had me either swooning or feeling a little shattered—or sometimes both.

The emotional growth? Beautiful. The pacing? Perfect. The writing? I highlighted so many quotes my page was just one colorful block. And don’t even get me started on the epilogue—goosebumps and actual tears. It was such a powerful reminder of how art (and love) ripple outward in ways we can’t always predict. I finished the last page and just sat there, full of feelings, not ready to leave their world behind.

If you love second-chance romances, beautiful writing, or stories that leave your heart a little fuller than it was before—you have to read this. Gilmore really outdid herself.

There is no one who writes a green flag MMC the way Clare Gilmore does. GAWD, Liam Bishop. I don't even care about baseball, but Liam can make me care about anything, Put me in, Coach.

Never Over is told from alternating timelines: four years ago when Paige and Liam met, and later when Paige seeks out Liam to help her with her songwriting. There's a lot in this plot that is very emotional: Paige is very shy and uncertain about her music, and always puts herself last behind her sisters and best friend; and Liam has spent a lot of time seeing his identity as only a baseball player. The way Paige and Liam fall in love is so tender, you feel like you're falling in love too. They support each other so much, and it's such a pleasure to see two characters ENJOY each other. That's what makes their breakup so difficult, and it's beautiful the way Clare Gilmore writes their hard work to make each other love and trust each other again.

All of this set against the backdrop of a summer concert tour, and really beautiful song lyrics. This book was so good to my heart.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for this! 4.5 /5 stars

I don't know how Clare Gilmore has yet to really hit mainstream. Her men are NEXT level good (Liam, Alex, Will: perfection. PURE perfection). Her banter is SO enjoyable. Her interiority for her characters is always SO well developed. All her women have real, deep, career driven obstacles and motivation: they feel SO well rounded. So hard thought: she should have SUCH a bigger following

For this book: I just really enjoyed this. I love second chance romance, the baseball/song writing duality just really worked for me, and the dual timeline/flashback scenes were really well done. There was a bit of suspended belief needed for the original moment that drives Liam and Paige back together, but in a way, I can see soulmates needing any excuse to spend time together.

This is also such a strong story about sisterhood, friendship, and family. From Paige's awful relationship with her childhood best friend, the connections (and sometimes lack thereof) that she has with each of her sisters, to Liam's really impactful grief journey with his family. This book really explored different facets of "love" and how we express, and embrace, love. It was really insightful and just beautiful.

The epilogue was really cute. Wraps the whole thing up in a really heartwarming way.

Clare is an auto-buy author for me and seriously never misses. This book features some of the healthiest, sexiest communication I’ve read and two people who are truly each others’ biggest supporters even if that causes pain. It’s a perfect second chance romance, and dear lord almighty if we could all have a Liam we’d be unstoppable!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for letting me read this ARC by one of my favorite romance authors 🫶🏻

and going three for three! another amazing release from Clare Gilmore. I have read all of her releases and this officially takes the cake for me. amazing story about getting a second chance at love, self discovery and family dynamics. I can wait for more from clare gilmore.