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: Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman

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Book Review of Knot a Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman

Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman opens with Casey Feldstein meeting with one of the owners at the Vista Del Mar to discuss an upcoming retreat.  Madeline has come up with an idea of combining a murder mystery game with the typical yarn retreat that Casey normally does.  When one of the guests ends up being murdered, things go awry.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and and Beyond the Page Publishing for approving my request to read this novel.  The synopsis including a bit about a murder mystery game that sounded similar to playing the board game Clue really intrigued me.

Having never read a book written by Betty Hechtman before, I wasn't sure what to expect as cozy mystery novels have always been hit or miss with me.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find Knot A Game to be well written, engaging, and an all around fun read.  I enjoyed it so much that I'm looking forward to purchasing all the other books that came before this one in the series.

Most of the characters were likable with only a few being unpleasant, which is nice for a change.  There are so many times where this isn't the case.  I felt like I lived in the little town and knew all the characters that lived there.  The pacing of the story had a nice tempo and didn't seem to drag one bit.  I enjoyed all the red herrings and clues that the author planted throughout the book to keep me guessing the entire time.   

Five out of five stars is what I gave Knot A Game (Yarn Retreat Mystery, #9) by Betty Hechtman.  This novel includes some recipes of food described in the book along with instructions on how to knit the hand warmers the characters made in the story.

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