Book Review: Assault and Buttercream (Lexy Baker, #16) by Leighann Dobbs

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Assault and Buttercream (Lexy Baker, #16) by Leighann Dobbs opens with Lexy Baker thrilled to have been selected to cater the annual Brooke Ridge Falls Dog Show. Unfortunately, her excitement is short-lived. When Lexy brings her dog Sprinkles to the Doggy Diva Pet Salon for grooming, she discovers one of the employees dead behind the counter. As if that weren’t enough, a robbery has occurred at Farradays Jewelers down the street, a dog has been kidnapped from the retirement center, and someone is even stealing K-cups from the senior center. Alongside her grandmother and their group of senior-citizen amateur sleuths, Lexy soon finds herself pulled in multiple directions as she attempts to untangle all these mysteries. This installment of the Lexy Baker series was more engaging for me than some of the earlier books. Most of the characters were very likable, and while there isn’t a great deal of character development, that didn’t bother me. I was in the mood for a fun, easy read, and As...
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Book Review: Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi

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Suspense NetGalley ARC Book Review of Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi
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 adult, but I really empathized with her and liked her. 

Sukhi is the best friend that a woman could ask for! She always has Claire's back no matter what and sticks by her. I disliked Noah immensely. He's a complete jerk who is constantly cheating on everyone! As for Lilah, you couldn't exactly blame her for the way she acted and didn't deserve what happened to her.

Throughout the entire story, I was totally team Claire and was rooting for her. That is until the end of the book, which totally blindsided me. I dislike unreliable characters intensely. I know this is a bit of a spoiler, but I have to mention this was the reason I ended up giving Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi only four stars out of five stars ... well, that and I hate bad endings. It gave off vibes of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Up until the ending, I was completely enchanted with the story and couldn't wait to find out what happened. 

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