Thank you netgalley and to the publishers . I really enjoyed this arc copy. It’s a little bit different from what I normally read so it’s nice to read something different for a change , I don’t think I’ve read anything like this one yet? I will be reading more from this author in the future

Claire, Darling is an absolutely gripping psychological thriller! Callie Kazumi's debut into the literary world is a fantastic exploration of obsession and betrayal.

This is full of suspense and intrigue from beginning to end. I had a suspicion about what was really going on, but was still completely entertained, and that epilogue was one of the most surprising I've read in quite some time.

Although the pacing was a bit slow initially, once it gained momentum, I was hooked! The combination of flashbacks, diary entries, and present day kept the plot moving along nicely. All at once, you're finding out more about her past with her abusive mother,
learning about her relationship with Noah and seeing how everything is playing out in the current timeline.

This was one of those books that will totally mess with your mind and have you trusting absolutely no one. The lines between reality and delusion blur, making this a tense read. I definitely recommend this book for psychological thriller fans. It's a bingeworthy unputdownable book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Claire can't believe it when her sweet and perfect husband has ghosted her. Not only that, she learns that he's been living an alternate life, he has a girlfriend living across town. But Claire has never been one to give in so easily. She will fight for her husband, get him back, forgive him and pick up where they left off. She will do this at all costs, the gloves are off now.
So why is it that as she investigates her husband's story, no one seems to believe her? Welcome to Claire's psyche, a sick and misguided reality that encompasses you to the last page.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is March 11, 2025.

Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi is an absolute five star debut psychological thriller! This novel has a great plot and explores the themes of identity, obsession, and what could happen after a betrayal.

Claire is engaged to Noah who is perfect for her in every way. He is charming, kind, handsome and loves to leave little origami love notes for Claire around their house. When Claire decides to bring lunch to Noah at his office, she is thoroughly confused when the receptionist says he hasn't worked at that office in months. Immediately reaching out to Noah she gets no response. With the help of her friend Sukhi, Claire starts to figure out where Noah has gone and why he has ghosted her. But when Claire finds out that Noah has been in a relationship with the stunning Lilah since before Claire and Noah even met, Claire's perfectly constructed world starts to fall apart.

I was hooked immediately and could not put this book down! I really loved the diary entries and flashbacks throughout the story, it all created a delicious sense of unease throughout. All of the characters are very well written even if you don't necessarily like some of them. Definitely surprised that this is Callie Kazumi's debut! I am absolutely going to be keeping an eye out for more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Callie Kazumi, and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine- Bantam for this ARC. Expected publication day is March 11th 2025.

When Claire goes to drop lunch off for her fiance, she finds he moved jobs without telling her. Now he isn’t answering the phone and apparently has a beautiful home and girlfriend she didn’t know about. As Claire tries to unpack his lies and their life together, she plunges into a journey of obsession.

This is the perfect thriller for me. It hooked me immediately and I couldn’t put it down. A lot of it takes place in the court room, which was exciting as so much was revealed. There were several twists, especially the last that truly shocked me. You have a creepy feeling the entire time you’re reading that something is just not quite right…

“I’m so exhausted by being everyone’s obedient little puppet. I’m sick of being Claire, darling.”

Claire, Darling comes out 3/11.

Wow. What a fantastic debut psychologic thriller! This is the first one in awhile where all of my predictions were wrong and I am not mad about it. Claire is….interesting. I wouldn’t say she was a very likable FMC (atleast not to me), but the girl deserved some answers and work be damned, I was not stopping until she got some! I won't say much more than that as I highly recommend going in blind for this one!

I had a hard time connecting to this one. The bones were there, but I found Claire to be a difficult protagonist to enjoy, and the interstitials with her mother didnt quite add up to me. Overall, the concept worked, but the execution for me didnt quite hit the mark.

A warning before you start reading - you’ll quickly become hooked, and between the past and present, you begin to wonder where exactly the real truth lies in this twisted psychological thriller. The opening scene grabs you with powerful, and a bit bloody, imagery, from there the story continues at a good pace, switching between Claire’s past and present, and her quest for answers, and maybe a little vengeance. The fact that part of the story is told through Claire’s diary entries adds a nice additional layer to it, along with adding a bit of intrigue and mystery to it all. The characters have plenty of depth, and some of them you’ll love, some you’ll hate. At times, you’ll find your heart going out to them, and shortly after you might question if they truly deserve your compassion. Cannot recommend enough for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers!

I enjoyed the basic concept of this book but the execution left me wanting. The first half of the book set the scene in a deliberate manner and was a slow read until a critical event halfway through the book. The second half has a much quicker pace and a couple of twists, however I think it could have been more exciting. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance cop in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine for the book #ClaireDarling by #CallieKazumi. This book is about desperation and lies and I read it in one sitting. Claire and Noah have been dating a year and are celebrating together. The next day she takes him lunch and he isn’t there. He won’t answer her and he doesn’t work where he said he was working. Claire is devastated and goes looking for answers. She is desperate not to be like her mother. Can she figure out what is going on and fix it?

This was a solid debut novel from Callie Kazumi (3.5, rounded up to 4). Claire, Darling was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read. I thought I had everything figured out, but I was happy when I realized that I did not. I'd enjoy a story about Claire's childhood or one from mother's POV.

Claire is finally happy. She has a job she loves, a fiancé she adores, and plans for a house an area she’s always dreamed of. But when one day she goes to deliver lunch to her fiancé and finds out he no longer works there Claire’s live starts to unravel. Nothing is how it seems and when she gets mixed up in a crime suddenly she is fighting for her freedom too.

This was a very enjoyable book to read with the story of how awful Claire’s mother was interwoven into the story of Claire’s adult life really gave a good idea to how Claire ended up the way she was.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Claire, Darling is so fast-paced you can practically feel the wind blow past you. You don’t know who to believe, what to believe, who is sincere, who is not as perfect as they seem on the surface. Yes, Claire is definitely weird, but who wouldn’t be with the childhood she had, the mother she had, the father she didn’t have, the treatment she received. She’s needy, insecure, can’t help the horrible memories of times with her mom from flooding back when she least expects them. But now she has new memories, good ones, and a new life with Noah. She can’t believe her luck. He’s perfect. If she had ever dared to dream and pray, he would be the answer to those dreams and prayers. But is he?

Noah is handsome, successful, dotes on Claire. Sure, he keeps parts of his life and himself secret, but he’s a busy young man on the way up. Claire knows nothing of that life and believes him when he says he has to attend late night meetings, go on frequent business trips. Why wouldn’t she? He treats her so well, gives her such thoughtful gifts – and now they’re engaged! Could life get any better?

Well, it could certainly get worse. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Noah ghosts her. Says he doesn’t know who she is, tells her to leave him alone. With the help of a friend from work she does some snooping and finds evidence of another relationship Noah is in, one that predates her time with him. How can this be, how can he betray her like this? Theirs is true love. They belong together. Claire’s determination leads to tragedy and the slow, painful, suspenseful unraveling of that great big ball of truth or lies.

Thrilling, gripping, stunning. You won’t be able to put it down and you’ll be confused and amazed and surprised and completely satisfied. Thanks to the Ballantine Bantam Dell | Penguin Random House Group for providing an advance copy of Claire, Darling via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC.

This book was a weird ride. You were not sure who to fully trust, you did not know who was in the wrong, and you were not sure who to root for. Ultimately, I saw the majority of the plot twists coming, but was still fun.

Why is Claire's fiance Noah ghosting her? Claire is on a mission to find out why, all of a sudden, Noah seems to be avoiding her. This was a fantastic debut by Callie Kazumi! I was riveted throughout the book with the short chapters and diary entries. The twists were exceptional and I loved the wild ride the author took us on. I am excited to read what the author writes next.

This was a quick-paced psychological thriller about a girl whose fiancée ghosts her and she decides to take action to find out. As we dive deeper into the story, many details come to light. I was not surprised by the ending, but I still enjoyed learning about the character. This was a quick and easy read and would recommend if you enjoy an unreliable narrator.

I had mixed feelings about this book, but I’m glad I stuck it out! It was my first-ever ARC (thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for that), which made it exciting from the get-go. I really love a book with flashbacks or multiple perspectives, and Claire, Darling provided that in spades. The second half of the book was largely told through trial testimony, so while Claire was the only narrative voice, we got to see the perspectives of others through her eyes. Claire was a great unreliable narrator.

The main part of the book I didn’t like was the writing in the diary entries (and the sheer number of diary entries). The writing felt a little cheesy and left me thinking “does anyone REALLY write like that in their diary??” Ultimately, though, by the end of the book I started to appreciate the diary entries, because it becomes clear both why they are important and perhaps that what I initially assumed was poor writing was really done on purpose as a plot device.

The last thing I’ll add is that while I appreciated the final plot twist, I think it could have been made twistier and scarier. I didn’t feel as freaked out by it as expected, perhaps because I very much saw it coming

* ⭐️⭐️.75 🚫🌶️
* Received this as an eARC. Published on 3/11.
* Psychological thriller. Claire innocently goes to bring her fiancé lunch at work to find out he hasn’t worked there in months. And now he’s just gone.
* Goes in between Claire’s diary entries starting from when she first ment Noah and present day over a year later when she’s trying to figure out what happened and where Noah went.
* Claire’s mother was emotionally and physically abusive, she was horrible. Claire was the weird/odd kid in school and that bullying never left her
* The audacity that Noah has.
* The moral of this story is- guys aren’t sleuths or stealthy. Woman will find out where your fourteenth grandmother twice removed was born and what her favorite coat was. It still amazes me how men don’t understand that woman, especially if empowered by other women - will find anything they want out. We have FBI CIA and homeland security skills in our double X chromosomes.
* Love the UK words: trainers, loo, trackies (track outfit), the till
* Good twists

Bantam eARC
I should’ve listened to my gut when I wanted to DNF at 40%. I thought the first part was a bit slow, but I also wanted to know what happened. I was hoping for something fresh and new, and that’s not what I got here. I did like the second part and how the courtroom scene was set up. I was kept intrigued and engaged, and I was excited that I stuck with it because I was looking forward to a solid ending. But the ending was where I wanted to throw it across the room. Cannot stand the way the author chose to go with this. 😬

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
This is a wild ride through the darker corners of the heart!

Callie Kazumi makes a dazzling entrance into the literary world with her debut psychological thriller, "Claire, Darling," a gripping exploration of obsession, identity, and the aftermath of betrayal.

Meet Claire, a woman whose world comes crashing down when she discovers that her fiancé, Noah, is living a secret life. Seriously, what is wrong with these guys? 😒

At first glance, this story seems like a familiar tale of deceit, but don’t be fooled! It rapidly evolves into a psychological saga that dives deep into the complexities of human relationships. The clever back-and-forth between past and present reveals how our childhood experiences shape adult relationships. Kazumi balances pulse-pounding tension with psychological depth, captivating the reader.

Although the pacing was a bit slow at the start, I was absolutely hooked once it gained momentum! As a die-hard fan of thrillers, I did find some twists a tad predictable, yet I was completely invested in Claire’s journey of emotional turmoil. The ruthless ending was so brilliant that I couldn't resist bumping up my rating!

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that prioritize character development or revel in the complexities of past traumas intermingling with present-day dilemmas, you won't want to miss this book. Prepare yourself for a dark and twisted ride through love, obsession, and the lengths we’ll go to unveil the truth!

Thanks to the author and Ballantine/Random House for the ARC provided VIA NetGalley. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.