Rachel Hanes's Reviews > Claire, Darling
Claire, Darling
by
by

Now this is how you write a debut novel!! 👏 I had lots of things I needed to get done (work included), but none of that was happening until I finished reading this book. Oh Claire, Darling�
This story starts off with Claire going with her coworker, Sukhi, to surprise her fiancé at work with lunch. When Claire arrives at her fiancé’s office, she is informed that he no longer works there and he hasn’t worked there in months. Where in the world has her fiancé, Noah, been going every day? And why isn’t Noah answering his phone and returning any of her text messages or phone calls? It seems as if he has totally ghosted Claire after they have spent a loving year together.
After Claire does some investigating of her own, she finds out that Noah might not have been so loyal to her after all. Through this we also get to read some of Claire’s diary entries from when her and Noah met, and also their time together. We even get flashbacks from Claire’s childhood of her time with “Mother�. Because of her mother, Claire was made to feel unlovable, unwanted, and unworthy. But Noah changed all that, and she couldn’t wait to prove to mother that she could be desired too.
I hate to admit that I resonated with a bit too much in this book. Like Sukhi, I wanted to be a friend to Claire as well. There was a twist in the end that I didn’t suspect, and it really threw me for a loop! 🤯 I really enjoyed this debut novel, and could not turn the pages fast enough!! I definitely recommend reading this!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random Publishing House/Ballantine, and the author for a DRC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (adult), Mystery &Thrillers
This story starts off with Claire going with her coworker, Sukhi, to surprise her fiancé at work with lunch. When Claire arrives at her fiancé’s office, she is informed that he no longer works there and he hasn’t worked there in months. Where in the world has her fiancé, Noah, been going every day? And why isn’t Noah answering his phone and returning any of her text messages or phone calls? It seems as if he has totally ghosted Claire after they have spent a loving year together.
After Claire does some investigating of her own, she finds out that Noah might not have been so loyal to her after all. Through this we also get to read some of Claire’s diary entries from when her and Noah met, and also their time together. We even get flashbacks from Claire’s childhood of her time with “Mother�. Because of her mother, Claire was made to feel unlovable, unwanted, and unworthy. But Noah changed all that, and she couldn’t wait to prove to mother that she could be desired too.
I hate to admit that I resonated with a bit too much in this book. Like Sukhi, I wanted to be a friend to Claire as well. There was a twist in the end that I didn’t suspect, and it really threw me for a loop! 🤯 I really enjoyed this debut novel, and could not turn the pages fast enough!! I definitely recommend reading this!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random Publishing House/Ballantine, and the author for a DRC of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (adult), Mystery &Thrillers
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
Claire, Darling.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
January 15, 2025
– Shelved
January 15, 2025
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 20, 2025
–
Started Reading
January 23, 2025
– Shelved as:
advanced-reader-copy
January 23, 2025
– Shelved as:
from-publisher
January 23, 2025
– Shelved as:
netgalley
January 23, 2025
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 66 (66 new)
message 1:
by
Darla
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Jan 17, 2025 07:54PM

reply
|
flag

SLR, I’m only a few chapters in, and I think it’s going to be a winner! I hope you get this ARC too! 🤞


Thank you, Jayme! 💗 Glad it was a winner for both of us!

Thank you so much, Cara!! 💗 I hope you love this book too! I can’t wait to see your thoughts on this one!! 🤗😘


Thank you so much, Tara!! 💝 This was a debut novel, and I thought it was fantastic! I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future. :)

Thank you very much, Cindy!! 💗


Thank you, Jan! This is definitely an author to watch out for! :)

Thank you, Rosh! 💝 This debut novel certainly hit the mark! The pacing and the characters were done exceptionally! I am so glad that I read this one. :)

Thank you, Maureen! 💝 This was a great debut!

Thank you, L.A.! 💗 I hope that you receive this book and enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Thank you, Tina!! I think you should read this one, as it is fantastic!! 🤩

Thank you, Mary Beth! 💗 This book was a winner for me! :)

Thank you so much, Shelley! 💝 I hope you enjoy this book as well!

Thank you, Barbara!! I hope that you enjoy this one too!

Thank you, Debbie! I hope you enjoy this book too! 🤗

Thank you, Jan! I hope you enjoy this book too!! :)


Lori, this is really good!! My year is starting off great so far with books! :)

You’re welcome, Kim! I found this to be a real page-turner, and I hope that you do too!! Enjoy! :)