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: The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

book review the shadow sister lily meade

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade opens with Casey, her parents, and others searching for her older sister, Sutton, who has been missing for a week.  When Sutton suddenly appears, everyone is thrilled, but there's something different about her.  Sutton has amnesia and wants to spend all her time with Casey, which is something she never wanted to do before she went missing.  What happened to Sutton during that week?  The more Casey uncovers, the more confused she becomes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digital Advanced Readers Copy of The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade.  I was thrilled to have my request to read this book approved.  I received it for free in exchange for my honest review.

Not knowing anything about Lily Meade prior to this book, I wasn't sure what to expect.  At first, I found the story to be a little slow.  I found all the characters, with the exception of the dad, to be unlikable.  With that being said, I'm glad I stuck with it because approximately twenty percent of the way into the novel, it really started to pick up and piqued my interest.  And, I had trouble putting it down.

Throughout the book, things the reader thought were true weren't necessarily true as things are revealed.  It's hard to tell you what those things are without giving away major plot points.  However, I will say that I thought the "bad guy" was one person until I got further into the story and began to suspect another person.  The former was involved in something sketchy, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be . . . thankfully.  The latter ended up being the culprit behind all the missing girls.

I did have an inkling of what actually happened to Sutton but wasn't entirely sure until I finished the book.  I loved the investigating that Casey did as well as how much researching of their family genealogy played into the story.  Although there were some minor talk of magical elements throughout the story like Hoodoo, it wasn't until the very end that these things made a huge appearance.  The author did a fabulous job of tying everything together.  By the time I finished the story in the wee hours of the night, I had absolutely fallen in love with the story.  The core characters of the story that I didn't like ended up redeeming themselves, and I ended up liking and caring about them.

Five out of five stars is what I give The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade.  This debut novel is a fantastic story with a fabulous cover.  I look forward to seeing what other stories Lily Meade brings us.

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