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 Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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Book Review: The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
book review the running bibliophile the reunion dinner

The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the second book in the Busybodies Collection on Amazon Prime. It opens to an Asian American family gathering to celebrate the Chinese New Year when one of the guest unexpectedly dies. The cops are called, and the family matriarch is trying to figure out who committed murder.

I enjoyed the first short story in this series so much that I decided to read the next in the series. These are all stand alone stories by different authors and are available to borrow for free or purchase from Amazon Prime.

Unfortunately, I didn't care for this installment as the first one as I didn't care for the characters as much, and the main character seemed a little overbearing. However, I did like learning a little about the Chinese New Year, some of the food served, and a tradition or two. 

What kept me from rating this story higher is that I absolutely hated the ending of the story. I won't say more as I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read it. Three out of five stars is what I gave The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies Collection, #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

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