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...

Book Review: Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano

Book Review Finlay Donovan is Killing It Finlay Donovan #1 by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano opens with a stressed out single mother of two named Finlay Donovan, and her babysitter is a no show.  Finlay meets with her book editor, and when they are overheard discussing the plot line of the book, Finlay is mistaken as a contract killer and accepts an offer to kill someone's husband inadvertently.

This novel was chosen as the August read for the book club I belong to.  I knew this book was a popular book but not one I would have picked up on my own despite it being in my favorite genre.  I struggled with the first 125 or 150 pages of Finlay Donovan is Killing It because the premise of the book was so far fetched.  It was almost a "Did Not Finish" for me, but I didn't want to show up without finishing the book.

With that being said, I was happy that I finished the book because there were parts that I ended up enjoying, but I'm not sure why people thought this book was funny.  It was a extremely dark book, and it reminds me a bit of the television show Good Girls.  This was a fast paced novel that I finished quickly over the weekend, and I would consider it a beach read despite the dark matter.

What I found interesting was that the twenty-two year old babysitter, Vero, seemed so much more together than Finlay, who was thirty-one.  I also thought it was strange that Finlay was in her thirties but had nothing in her wardrobe other than t-shirts, jeans, and sweats.  How do you not have any business casual clothes or dresses?

There are things I did enjoy about Finlay Donovan is Killing It.  One such thing is the relationship between Finlay and Vero.  I think it was great that Finlay had someone she could implicitly trust.  The romance part of the mystery was a fun part of the storyline and trying to figure out if Finlay would end up with one of the men she was "dating".  There is also a line that says something to the effect of women needing to support other women.  This is something I completely agree with, but not in the instance of killing someone.

Despite the farfetched storyline and the main character making really stupid mistakes, I gave Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano four out of five stars.


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