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: Surprise, Surprise! (Horse Crazy, #4) by Virginia Vail

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book review surprise surprise horse crazy virginia vail

Surprise, Surprise! (Horse Crazy, #4) by Virginia Vail opens with Emily Jordan being excited that her parents and brother are coming to visit her at Webster's Country Horse Camp. Much to Emily's surprise, they brought her best friend Judy with them.

The fourth book in the Horse Crazy book series was written extremely well for the target audience. I remembered loving this series as a child and had to reread it as an adult. It brought back all the feels, and it made me wish I had attended an overnight horse camp when I was a kid. And, I didn't remember anything about this book, so it was like reading it for the first time.

Major themes of the book included jealousy and feeling left out. The way that Virginia Vail dealt with these topics was done perfectly because who hasn't felt like Emily at some point in their life? I loved the fact that the author had Emily and Judy discuss how they were feeling because it teaches kids that communication is key and not to assume things. A minor theme was that people or things aren't always what they seem, which is the case with Caro. I loved that there was some major character development for her, and it made me like Caro a little bit better.

If you have a child that loves to read and loves horses, then I highly recommend Surprise, Surprise (Horse Crazy, #4) by Virginia Vail for those who are between the ages of nine and twelve. In fact, they'd probably love the entire series. I gave this book five out of five stars. If you liked this book, I recommend Welcome to Junior High (Girl Talk, #1) by L.E. Blair.

 

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