What would you say to me if we met one day: PERFECT FIT.

Perfect Fit: A Novel by Clare Gilmore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While these characters were only in their upper 20s, I like Clare Gilmore books because they feel like grown up romances, with a focus on business settings and (sort of) the real world (more on that later).

It also features a great quote:

"I sometimes wonder how much of myself I let Corporate America take. How much I could take back if I stopped participating."

(If you work in Corporate America, that hits hard.)

Josie has been running her clothing business, Revenant, since college. She's now the CEO, and her business comes first, above everything. Will runs into Josie--literally, his bike hits her car--the two haven't seen each other since an ill-fated kiss in high school that ruined Josie's relationship with her best friend, Zoe, who happens to be Will's twin sister.

But, as Will discovers that Josie is on the search for a consultant for Revenant, he figures out a way to get the job, and the two wind up spending plenty of time together, even if he is based in NYC and Revenant is in Austin, TX.

Will and Josie ooze chemistry from the beginning, even if they refuse to act on it at first. It's almost as if that kiss was yesterday and not 10 years ago. Josie is a poster child for guilt and anxiety. After the incident with Will, she faced a lot of social media backlash, so she avoids it, taking each angry comment or negative news article personally. She wants to be all things to all people. Will, meanwhile, feels he breaks what he touches, particularly relationships.

The Austin vibes in this book are extra strong, and the diverse cast of characters is great, especially Josie's BFF/co-worker and her "Biker Gang" pals. Will seems like the perfect guy with basically no flaws, so you can't help but want him and Josie to get together.

My only issue here was that while I loved the business angle, as the story progressed, eventually it felt a bit like a fantasy world, with two folks in their late 20s with plenty of money and the ability to take leave from work, follow their dreams, etc. Not exactly typical of most mid-20s experiences anymore.

Still, this was a fun and different read, exploring the fashion industry and the trials of anxiety. It had some very smart commentary on the power of social media and the ability to go viral--for both good or bad. 3.75 stars, rounded up.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin in return for an unbiased review.

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