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: Tippy Toe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #2) by Leslie Meier

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book review tippy toe murder leslie meier
Tippy Toe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #2) by Leslie Meier is a little darker than the first book in this series. With the repressive heat of the summer, Lucy's ankles are swelling with her fourth pregnancy, and she's craving doughnuts. On top of her pregnancy, she's preparing her two daughters costumes for their upcoming dance recital. When a retired dance teacher goes missing from Tinker's Cove and a grumpy shopkeeper is murdered, Lucy can't help herself from getting involved in the mystery.

Where I enjoyed the second installment of the Lucy Stone Mystery book series, I wasn't expecting a cozy mystery to deal with child molestation and was startled by one of the details that was provided. This is an important topic for sure, but it could be a trigger for others reading Tippy Toe Murder.

I loved the fact that it dealt with dance and preparing for the annual dance recital. It brought back great memories of my dance classes and recitals, especially the things that always seemed to go wrong during the dress rehearsals. That always meant that we would have a good show . . . at least that's what the saying was, bad dress rehearsal means a good show. The dance teacher being stressed was right on the money too! 

At the beginning of the book, I wasn't quite sure where the author was going with the disappearance of the dance instructor, but it finally began to come together. If you're reading the book and find it dull, stick with it because it does get better and becomes a bit action packed. Other than it being a bit slow paced at the beginning and being startled by some of the details relating to the abuse of the child, the only other thing I didn't like about Tippy Toe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #2) was how Lucy Stone's husband treated her. It seemed a bit out of character for him compared to Mistletoe Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #1).

Four out of five stars is what I gave Tippy Toe Murder for all the reasons mentioned above. I enjoyed the book for the most part, and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment, Trick or Treat Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #3). If you enjoyed this book, you may enjoy Deeper Than The Dead (Oak Knoll, #1) by Tami Hoag.


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