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: The Party by Natasha Preston

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Book Review: The Party by Natasha Preston
NetGalley ARC Book Review of The Party by Natasha Preston
The Party by Natasha Preston opens with Bessie and her boarding school friends preparing to sneak out for Spring Break to throw a huge party in a rundown castle. Things start to go awry when a huge storm hits and keeps them secluded in the remote castle and the friends begin to be killed. Who is doing this and why?

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Party for free in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be approved for this book because I enjoyed The Island, at least until the ending, and thought The Dare was just okay, and I wanted to be able to compare her latest novel to the ones I had already read.

Preston did a fantastic job of having a lot of diverse characters. Despite there being quite a few characters, it wasn't too hard keeping them straight. However, I did have trouble remembering who Raif was at one point because he hadn't been mentioned in a while. Additionally, the characters weren't very developed, but that's to be expected with a Young Adult (YA) Horror novel. Surprisingly, there were quite a few likable characters. The only one I didn't really care for was Allegra. But again, I did end up changing my mind on a couple of the characters by the end of the story.

There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, but I did figure out the identity of the killers and wasn't surprised in the least bit by their motive. However, The Party ended just as abruptly as The Island did. I don't care for abrupt endings and wanted a proper ending. It makes me wonder if the author had trouble wrapping up the ending.

All in all, I did enjoy the novel as it reminded me of the Point Horror Books from the 1980's and 1990's. It made me want to go back and reread some of my favorites from my childhood. If you have a tween or teen who likes horror, then they should enjoy The Party by Natasha Preston. And, if you're an adult like me and want something similar to read to the books they grew up with, you should enjoy it as well. The expected publication date is December 3, 2024 in the United States. Four out of five stars.


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