Claire, Darling is a debut novel written by Callie Kazumi to be released on March 11, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Group and Bantam Books for the opportunity to read an ARC of the book; my review reflects my honest opinion. Life seems to be going well for Claire Arundale, she works at a boutique public relations company, and is engaged to the wonderful Noah Coors. To Claire, Noah is the most handsome, loving and understanding man she has ever met. She sees herself as plain, and as a result of a traumatic and abusive childhood not worthy of good things. She is also thrilled to have a friend in her coworker Sukh. Yet after her and Noah's one year anniversary of dating, he seems to just drop out of her life, not only that it appears he has been deceiving her the entire time they were together. Not wanting to spoil the book, that's as much of the plot that I will share. I found Part One of Claire, Darling to be a bit slow, however Part Two picked up steam and was captivating. The serious abuse at the hand of her mother, and the rather matter of fact way Claire's mental health issues were presented may be challenging for some readers. Claire Darling is certainly a satisfying read and a a fine debut novel. 3,75 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This book was tired and formulaic. I am glad it was a quick read and I only wasted a few hours on this boring “unreliable female” narrative. We have read a thousand versions of this at this point. I hate to be so harsh, but there was nothing new or interesting here.

This was a fun page turner. Through a series of present encounters interspersed with diary flashbacks, we get a front row seat to a spectacularly juicy breakup between Claire and her dreamy fiancé--as well as some background information about Claire and her upbringing. Did I see where this was going? Yes. Yes, I did. Quite early, in fact, But . . . . it still felt like I couldn't stop reading just to see how this was all going to play out.

I would say that the first half of the book is more engaging than the second. And I wasn't sold on the diary-effect: it felt a bit too contrived. But even so, the narrative makes you feel like a voyeur looking in on some hot gossip--and it's hard to look away.

This would be a great beach read or if you're in the mood for a fast page-turner.

Claire, Darling is the debut novel by Callie Kazumi and what a debut it is. It starts with Claire and her fiancé celebrating their one year anniversary. The next day, she and her work friend, Sukhi, deliver a surprise lunch to him at his place of business only to discover that he doesn’t even work there anymore and hasn’t for months. This sets off a string of events leading to the conclusion that her fiancé, Noah, has ghosted her. Left with no answers and no closure, Claire puts her detective skills to work to find out what has happened to her fiancé. Throughout the book, we get diary entries from her year with Noah and flashbacks of her time as a child and with her abusive mother. I loved this book so much. I could not read it fast enough. I desperately wanted to talk about it with someone the entire time I was reading it. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced digital copy.

Claire had been dating Noah for a while and she wanted to surprise him by taking lunch to him but ultimately she was the one surprised. I absolutely loved this book it has so many twists and turns and it makes you feel like you can’t trust anyone. Noah just basically was caught in so many deceitful lies. Clair’s mother is the one that raised her if you call what she did as raising? Claire had a lot of baggage due to her mom so when she found Noah and he was always there for her she was so in love. But who can you trust? I would definitely rate this book higher if I could.

I received this ARC for free from Netgalley, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Looooooved this thriller! Claire, Darling was one of my most anticipated March releases and it definitely lived up to the hype I created in my mind. Even though I guessed the twist pretty early on, I was still fully invested in the story. I loved the epilogue, especially. So fun!

This was a page-turner for sure - a character focused psychological thriller where we’re trying to find the truth of what happened between Claire and Noah. Childhood flashbacks made it easy to figure out what was going on, and at its core this is a story about trauma. However without spoiling anything, I did think some things used as ‘reveals’ were a bit distasteful as it deals with a lot of mental health issues and i always hate when that’s used as a ‘twist’ but overall it was a good story.

I'm usually not a fan of an unreliable narrator, but to my surprise, I was a total fan of this one. There were enough twists to make the readers second-guess themselves. At some points, I was curious why Claire didn't "do more" to get the answers from Noah, but I kinda let that slide because I liked the writing. A great read! Thank you, NetGalley!

A quick read. I flew through Part One, finding the plot too easy. I thought ok there’s a big twist coming…

I was disappointed Part Two wasn’t from Noah’s perspective.

All in all it was just ok.

This is quite a good read. We have our MC Claire who is blindsided by her fiancé Noah’s ghosting one fine day. Instead of just grieving and moving on she just can’t let this go! She decided to find out why did he ghost her. She becomes completely obsessed and refuses to believe whatever comes her way. She finds of what a manipulative her fiancé has been. We see how her mother destroyed her confidence from a very early age. This story got a murder and a trial so it keeps you wicked in pretty good. I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this eARC. All the opinions are my honest opinions.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a complimentary copy of this novel! This is a debut novel by Callie Kazumi. It’s a psychological thriller that I really enjoyed and kept me guessing until the end.

Claire and Noah have been together for a year, and they’re now engaged. It is their 1-year anniversary since they’ve been together, and Claire wants to surprise Noah by dropping lunch off where he works. But when she gets there, she is told no one with that name works there. Now, suddenly, she’s frantically trying to reach him, but all calls and messages go unanswered by Noah!!! Claire has been ghosted by him for no obvious reason and now she wants to know why! As Claire does some research, she finds out Noah has another life. A beautiful Swedish girlfriend named Lilah and a beautiful house. Claire becomes obsessed to get answers of what is happening. This novel is told in present tense, but also goes back to her childhood with her narcissistic mother and diary entries of Claire’s. Why did Noah ghost Claire? Was Claire able to get revenge on Noah? To find out what happens, look for this novel AVAILABLE March 11, 2025!

Congrats for this astounding debut, Callie Kazumi! I love your style and can't wait for the next book from you! A desperate psychological thriller as Claire searches for answers in the first 50% of the book when her fiance, Noah, ghosted her. The last 50% is a courtroom drama pursuit for answers. I enjoyed it 100%! Even though you see where it is advancing to, it is well worth the answers with a sudden twist in the end.
Claire is madly in love with Noah. They share a small flat together, as he remodels a home in an upper scale neighborhood in London. When she drops his lunch off at his office, she is shocked to find he doesn't work there anymore. When she calls him, he doesn't respond. He doesn't come home.
Understandably, Claire spirals out of control. Her friend Sukhi helps her to locate him, since he has blocked her on social media, but Sukhi can see it. They stalk him, finding an interesting chain of events, places and people...a new life.
From Claire's POV and journals, you visualize a past no child should have to endure. With an abusive and manipulative mother, she grew up with no confidence or maternal love. In her school years, she was constantly bullied by her classmates that still haunts her into adulthood.
It comes together with a shocking ending that will make you rethink what you have read.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unputdownable! Full of toxic relationships packaged into a short book of short chapters- this book is quite a ride. Perfect for a short flight or a beach day.

Claire found the man of her dreams in Noah. She’s anxious to get married and start the family she always dreamed of.
But while dropping off lunch for Noah at work she’s stunned when the receptionist informs her he no longer works there. Huh? He never mentioned changing jobs.

Now to add to the confusion, Noah doesn’t answer Claire’s calls…or reply to any of her texts. In essence, she has been ghosted!
But Claire isn’t going quietly into the night! She wants answers. No, she demands an explanation!

Careful what you ask for Claire, are you prepared for the answer? I didn’t think so!

Absolutely loved the premise. I wanted an explanation for Noah’s actions as much as Claire did! I recommend going into this book as blind as possible. The blurb gives away far too much detail.

Congrats Callie Kazumi on a great debut!
I’ll be watching to see what this author has in store for us next.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley

This was a doozy of a thriller! And for a debut, I was really impressed! Claire is a complex character and I was just heartbroken for the awful childhood she had with her emotionally abusive mother. I had so much compassion for her just wanting a normal life, with people who loved and cared for her. I had so many questions and had no idea what was actually true. Ultimately, it was such a sad story with an unsettling ending, but I really enjoyed it. I cannot wait to read what this author writes next!

I liked this debut. I would’ve loved it if it were more thrilling. I guessed the twist early on, so maybe that’s why I got bored. Probably would’ve been five stars if there was more suspense & drama instead of so much reminiscing on Claire’s childhood. The epilogue solidified the book as a strong 4 because it was eerie. Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

Author Callie Kazumi’s promising debut novel, Claire, Darling, features an unreliable narrator who has endured an abusive mother, childhood bullying, and a rather lonely life until she meets the handsome and charming Noah Coors in the wine section of a bottle shop.

The shocking opening of Claire, Darling is the aftermath of the story’s major event. From there, Clarie tells her tale through present day narrative and the historical journaling of her relationship with Noah from the first meeting to his ghosting of her. Claire’s character development is exceptional throughout the first half of the book which culminates with the opening scene. While I found Claire unreliable and a bit cringe-worthy in the first half of the book, I found the courtroom trial fascinating. The enlightening tidbits that made both the jurors and me question the validity of Claire’s perceptions as well the cunning cross-examination by the defense that opened chasms of doubt in the witnesses accounts.

As a frequent reader of psychological thrillers, I was not surprised by the big twist, but I enjoyed the journey there as well as the chilling epilogue! Claire, Darling is a worthy debut novel, and I look forward to Ms. Kazumi’s next novel.

I received an ARC of this book. I found this story to be intriguing initially. It's well written with unusual characters. I enjoyed it but I wish it had been less predictable toward the end.

A murder, a trial, an unreliable narrator combine in this nicely zippy thriller about a woman who discovers she's been ghosted and sets out for answers. Noah made Claire's life so much better but it turns out he was never really there for her. This moves along different timelines to tell her story, including her toxic relationship with her mother. You might guess where this is going but Kazumi make it an interesting journey. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

Disappointed because I stayed with the book thinking I hadn't figured the whole thing out at the very beginning. But I did. I thought surely there will be a great twist. There wasn't. I feel like I've read this story many times before so it wasn't for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.