Wow - what an outstanding debut novel! I was hooked from the beginning and could not put this book down. It was an emotional rollercoaster - happy, sad, devasted, and then angry. The characters were well done and so easy to either love or hate. Poor Claire I felt so sorry for her. After such a bad childhood where she felt so unloved she now has the perfect life that she always wanted. But it turns out that Noah is not the loving man that she thought he was. So instead of planning her wedding, Claire is trying to find Noah to get an explanation about why he has ghosted her.
The story was very well done, with a dual timeline - present and past from her diary. I was not prepared for the ending and found it to be quite unexpected.
If you love a good thriller, I think that you will definitely enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Claire feels her life is finally moving in the right direction. She has a job, a work friend, and is engaged. Her fiance is amazing, understanding, and gets her. She can't imagine how she could be so lucky. When out with her work friend for lunch, she decides to drop off lunch for her fiance at his office. She is informed that he isn't employed there. She is shocked as she tries to reach him. Calls, texts, and more calls lead to nothing. She waits at home for him to arrive. He doesn't come home. Where could he be? Why isn't he answering her calls? Her wonderful, too-good-to-be-true fiance has ghosted her. Why? Claire decides she needs to talk to him. Why did he do this to her? They were meant to spend their lives together. The answers Claire finds only lead her to more questions. Claire may never get the answers she needs.

Claire is a tragic character you feel immediate sympathy for. Raised by a single mother in strange circumstances, Claire feels socially awkward. Meeting Noah brings Claire out of the shadows. Claire's perspective convinces us that she is wronged by Noah. This is a psychological thriller though and all is not as it seems. As events unfold, all that we have come to believe will be challenged. Stay on your toes, this is not a smooth ride.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an early reader copy of this mind-warping book!

This book was fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. This book will keep you on your toes. With every new twist and turn I was amazed. I didn’t know what was coming next. Some of the topics are heavy but I loved it. Two thumbs way up.

Holy debut!!!! I feel like this scenario really had me thinking... what would I do if I found out my fiancee wasn't where he said he was every day? Even worse, what if I couldn't get into contact with him? I loved the little glimpses into Claires diary, and the flashbacks were a nice way to break things up. This was quick paced and totally binge worthy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨✨ (3.75/5)

“She must bruise like a peach!”

“Love always, Your Claire.”

Thanks to Bantam for my #giftedcopy of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this was a fun read. Not a bad debut. I’m interested to see what she writes next. A bit over the top at times but still entertaining.

The story focuses on Claire a 30 year old virgin who has finally found her soul mate. Except, he might not realize he’s even in the relationship at all…or does he? This guy is a scumbag…or wait, is Claire crazy?

Claire comes with a history…filled with lots of emotional baggage. She also has one of the best friends you could ever ask for.

Claire was exhausting…soooo exhausting. The book was a little repetitive at times. I also got a little annoyed about the seemingly non stop references to her “chestnut hair” like I’m so over hearing about the hair color.

Kudos to the author for how she ended it though. It brought my rating up almost a whole Star! The ending of this one was pretty fun lol. In the end I sorta change my opinion a little and was like ok I see you Claire lol.

I had high hopes for Claire Darling when I first started reading it. The obvious conclusion was so glaringly clear that I assumed it couldn’t possibly be the twist—yet it was. I kept holding out hope that the author would take the story in a different direction, one that would make the ending more rewarding, but unfortunately, that never happened. I was left disappointed by the lack of a fresh conclusion—just the same tired storyline I’ve seen over and over.

The story might have been more enjoyable if there was at least one character to root for, but unfortunately, they were all so unlikable. I powered through, hoping for something new, but ultimately, it just felt like more of the same.

Enjoyed this book. Quick read. Kept me guessing. Is it real or not?!? Even til the end I wasn’t sure if it was real. The court case was quite interesting.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for my copy of Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi! Debut novel?! Are we being serious right now?! Mind blown! It was so hard not to connect to Claire's character and feel so bad for her, both for Noah's double life and for her b**** of a mother! If you know me, you know I love dual timeline, and this one was done seamlessly. As we got to the end of part one, I'll be honest, I had my doubts about what all could possibly go into a part two, but I was pleasantly surprised. And, the twist, I'm still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. Lastly, a friend told me the other day that she never used to read eilogues, PSA - ALWAYS READ THE EPILOGUE, this one absolutely killed it! 4.5/5

Callie Kazumi’s CLAIRE, DARLING should be in everyone’s beach bag this summer. This one had me scratching my head from the first page and my scalp was raw by the last.

CLAIRE, DARLING is excited to celebrate her one year anniversary with the love of her life, Noah. When she takes lunch to his office as a surprise, she’s told he does not work there. WHAT? How can that be? CLAIRE, DARLING begins calling and texting Noah to find out what is going on. Was she ghosted or is Noah a ghost? Then she finds out that Noah has a beautiful girlfriend and lives in a lovely home and she basically begins to stalk him in the hopes of learning just what is happening. When she confronts Noah in a restaurant, she does little more than give weight to Noah’s argument that she’s crazy. With the help of her BFF. Sukhi, CLAIRE, DARLING begins to put the pieces together about Noah’s past and how and why she fit into it.

This one was an edge of your seat thrill ride as Claire tried to figure out what was going on. I felt her embarrassment and shame as she missed the red flags and cheered her on as she uncovered more of Noah’s manipulations and lies. I saw that this was a debut, and thoroughly look forward to where Callie Kazumi takes me next. I can’t wait.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

This was a wonderful debut! It was definitely a page Turner that I could not put down. I wanted to know what was gonna happen so I just kept reading. The only thing that I will say is when someone leaves you, let them go!! I kept saying that out loud as I was reading. I was thinking of Taylor Swift lyrics that go “sometimes giving up is the strong thing.” I was like Clare girl be strong. All in all it was a good book. Thank you to NetGalley, Callie Kazumi, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi is an interesting suspense novel, Claire and Noah are celebrating their one year anniversary and are engaged, Claire decides to surprise Noah and drop by with his favorite lunch, her co-worker joins her as well.

When she arrives at her fiancée’s job, she finds out he’s not there and hasn’t worked there for awhile. Rather shocking news seeing as they live together and he’s never mentioned it,

She begins a journey of trying to track Noah down, and the farther she goes into her search for answers the more her life starts to unravel.

I felt this was well written and went in a direction I did not at all see coming. The genre seems to be a mesh of literary fiction, suspense and a dash of legal suspense.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi keeps you hooked till the very end.
A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
A quick and fun read that I finished in a few hours.
The characterization was superb, the writing pacey and flowing, and the tension delivered in a series of shocks and twists along the way.
This is a tightly written story, with well developed characters and enough suspense to keep you reading.

I’m not sure what I just read, I thought that I was reading a thriller but it’s not really that. It seems it’s more of a literary fiction read. The writing was good and it moved somewhat quickly. I’m just a little disappointed that half way through it kind of switched gears and became a courtroom drama. It’s not bad but I was expecting more of a thriller.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest review.
3⭐️

Oh what a twisted, twisted story!!

Claire has found the man of her dreams in Noah. She’s engaged and so anxious to get married and even start the family she has dreamed of! One day while dropping off lunch for Noah at his work she’s stunned because the receptionist informs her he no longer works there. This can’t be true because he never mentioned to he changed jobs. When she calla Noah he doesn’t answer Claire’s calls…or even answer her texts. Is being ghosted?
But you see Claire isn’t going away quietly she’s demanding answers. With her friend Sukhi’s help and some social media sleuthing, they uncovers Noah’s secret social median accounts, which of course he lblocked her, and she soon learns that he works at a different company and may be cheating on her with a beautiful wealthy blonde. The more she digs , the more Claire soon realizes Noah is about to marry this other woman, Lilah!!They even live together in a house in the most upscale part of town.

Claire and Noah have the perfect relationship. After celebrating their one-year anniversary, Claire decides to surprise Noah with lunch at his office. But when she arrives, she’s hit with a bombshell: he no longer works there. Worse, he’s vanished without a trace—ignoring her texts, blocking her on social media, and leaving her completely ghosted.

That’s all I’ll say because this is a book you need to go in blind for. From the moment I started, I couldn’t stop. It’s that bingeable. A fast-paced, twisty thriller packed with obsession, deception, and murder, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.

Unreliable characters? Check. Toxic relationships? Check. Deep, unsettling trauma? Double check. The flashbacks through Claire’s diary entries add an extra layer of suspense, making the unraveling of this story even more chilling. And just when you think you have it all figured out—trust me, you don’t. If you pick this one up, be prepared to question everything and everyone.

This was an average read, certainly not the "taut psychological thriller" as advertised. Follow along with Claire as she hunts down her missing boyfriend, and wait until the final 5 percent for the "big twist"! Here's the problem: there is no twist. This storyline is predictable. It is so boring any savvy reader knows what's coming, otherwise the book wouldn't be marketed as a "taut psychological thriller. "

Thank you to NetGalley, Callie Kazumi, and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the eARC. This novel truly embodies the 'psychological' aspect of a psychological thriller. I love when a thriller delves deep into real psychological elements! With its fast pace and countless twists and turns, this is an absolute must-read.

This was a fun psychological thriller!

While I was able to guess some plot points, it was still an enjoyable debut read. My favorite part was the MC, Claire, and how far she was willing to get the truth about Noah even when it exposed her own secrets. I would read more by this author.

TYSM for the e-arc!

What a debut novel! This story follows Claire whose fiancé Noah ghosts her and she ends up on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Sounds wild but there’s enough twists and layers to the story that kept me hooked until the end!

Wow, what a fantastic debut novel. I absolutely loved this psychological thriller! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Claire has decided to bring her fiancé Noah a surprise lunch at his office. When her and her coworker Sukhi arrive they are told by the receptionist that Noah does not work here anymore. Claire immediately tries to call and text Noah, but he does not respond. He has totally ghosted her and now she must find out where he has went. You can’t even imagine the road this story takes you down and I can’t tell you. This book was just published March 11th. Make sure you add it to your TBR and find out where Noah went.