Book Review: Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi

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Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi  was published on March 11, 2025 by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Bantam. It opens with Claire finding out that her fiancé, Noah, isn't working where he said he was and is now ghosting her. Claire must find out why. Book Review: Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Bantam for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Claire Darling by Callie Kazumi for free in exchange for my honest review. I was absolutely thrilled when my request for a copy was approved because the synopsis was so good. From the beginning, I absolutely loved the main character of Claire and her work friend named Sukhi. Throughout the novel, we learn about Claire's past and how terrible her mother was towards her. I kept hoping that somehow we would learn who Claire's father was and would eventually connect with him. It's really no wonder Claire had no self confidence as an ad...
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Book Review: Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich

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sizzling sixteen janet evanovich stephanie plumIn the latest installment of the Stephanie Plum book series, Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich, Vinnie Plum has run out of luck. His gambling debts caused him to be kidnapped and put his business, Vincent Plum Bonds, in jeopardy. Vinnie's employee and cousin Stephanie ropes coworkers Lula and Connie into helping her find Vinnie.

Although, I thoroughly enjoyed Sizzling Sixteen, the one thing that I was confused about throughout the entire book was that Lula kept mentioning her car (a Firebird), and I thought it was destroyed in Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Stephanie Plum, #15). I kept telling myself that maybe she purchased a new Firebird, but she sure didn't act like it. I go back and forth between liking Lula and disliking her. There are some books where she just gets on my nerves, and this is one of them.

With that being said, I did enjoy that Connie was featured more than normal and that we learned a little bit more of her. I hope we get to see Connie featured more as the series goes on. And, I enjoyed getting to know Stephanie's cousin Vinny more as a full fledged character instead of being just a minor player in the series. I'm glad that his character description of being a weasel was expanded to show us how he was a weasel instead of just being told he was one. I think my favorite part was when he was locked out wearing only Stephanie's underwear and her utter horror of the situation. What I loved even more was when Morelli showed up with a replacement pair for Stephanie.

Have I mentioned that I really want Stephanie and Morelli to end up being married? If they got married, I feel like the story line could be advanced a bit without ruining anything.  I've seen it done in other book series, and it really worked out well. Furthermore, as much as I enjoy the character of Ranger, I'm growing bored of him being a distraction for Stephanie and getting in between furthering her relationship with Morelli. And, Ranger's character hasn't grown much since he quit working for Vinny.

All in all, I enjoyed Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich and gave it four out of five stars. I can't wait to see what happens in Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum, #17).

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