Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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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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