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: Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair

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middle grade book review face off girl talk 2 by le blair

Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair opens with Katie Campbell skating with her friends at the ice skating rink and thinking about how her father taught her how to skate and play hockey . . . and realizing how much she misses it. Tired of being the perfect daughter, Katie quits the flag team and tries out for the boys hockey team.

This particular book took me back to my childhood. There were so many situations that were realistic such as the girl's talking about bras in the locker room after flag practice. I remember overhearing conversations about bras in the locker room when I was in middle school, so I could totally relate to this particular scene in Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2). Other realistic examples were how the girls acted around the boys they liked and how the kids acted at the restaurant & cafeteria. I loved the fact that the game Girl Talk was played during the sleepover. I had completely forgotten about those little red stickers that the players had to put on their face to represent zits.

When I was a kid, there weren't too many times that a girl attended a try out for an all male sports team, let alone made the team. Nowadays, you see more females on a sports team dominated by males like football. I enjoyed the fact that Allison stood up to the hockey coach on Katie's behalf and mentioned Title IX. As a kid, I had no idea what this was, much less that it was a law, and was glad that the author included an explanation of it as I'm sure that other young children don't know about it. The only complaint I have about Face-Off! (Girl Talk, #2) is that I felt like the pacing was a bit off.

Four out of five stars is the rating I gave Face-Off (Girl Talk, #2) by L.E. Blair. If you enjoyed this book, I recommend Wild Hearts (Wild Hearts, #1) by Cherie Bennett.

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