challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

I was honestly interested in this book because the cover was so pretty. I mean look at it. And I'm happy to report the actual words are just as nice!

This book is melancholy but in the best way possible. Clover is a character I think most people can see themselves in while her situation is rare her conflict with regret is familiar. An emotional read with a hopeful and inspiring ending.
I'd recommend to fans of a Man called Ove or Before the coffee gets cold if you're looking for something a little less sob inducing.

"The Collected Regrets of Clover," by Mikki Brammer tells the story of Clover Brooks, an awkward, 36 year-old loner who works as a death doula, caring for people at the end of their lives. Despite helping people tie up loose ends when they are dying, Clover has spent most of her life in solitude, reading, watching romantic comedies, and spying on her neighbours. However, her perspective on life changes when she meets a new neighbour and is hired to care for Claudia, a photojournalist in the 1950s. Slowly, Clover comes to reflect on her life and confront her own deepest regrets..

Unfortunately, I was not fond of this book. I found it unbearably slow and at times I wanted to shake the main character, who seemed to wallow. I also could not understand why, after caring for so many dying people that it was Claudia who finally lead to personal growth. It is not a book that I would recommend.

Nevertheless, thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This was a wonderful book about death and how people grieve. All people process things differently and Clover, a death doula, helps people not be alone as they pass from this life to another. Finding friendship and love in the end really kept me going to see what would happen next for Clover.

When socially-awkward death doula Clover finds herself being thrown into new friendships, she has the chance to reflect upon the regrets of her own life. But will she learn and grow from these new lessons, or remain comfortably sheltered?

This was definitely a heart-warming and emotional read. At times it felt a little lengthy (mostly Clover's ruminations on her past), but overall my interest never really waned. I adored the characters I was supposed to love and was irked by those I was supposed to find grating. I only wish we could have had more Claudia related stories or chapters! This would make a great TV show/book club book. I see this one becoming very popular in 2023 for sure!

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a beautiful, heartfelt exploration of grief and loss. Clover is a death doula who spends more time with the dying than the living. But even though death is something she faces day in day out, she's been unable to fully face the loss of the most important person in her life: her grandfather.

With vivid characters and heartwarming and heartbreaking moments in equal measure, I would recommend this to anyone interested in big conversations around life and death, the meaning of life, different cultural interpretations of death, how we process (or avoid processing) loss, and how we talk (or don't) about death and grief.

It's poignant, emotional, and touching, with so many sprinklings of wisdom throughout and ends with such a lovely, hopeful message.

I adored the way the author incorporated the final words of so many of the people Clover helped at the end of their lives as little reminders to the reader to take life by the horns and live life to its fullest. Because while there may be no way for us to come to the end of our lives with zero regrets, at least we can know that we tried and that we lived.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me an ARC of this beautiful book! I was deeply moved by this story.


Trigger/Content Warnings: death, grief, terminal illness, loss of a parent, drug abuse

In Mikki Bramer's debut novel, she creates a very relatable tale of a vulnerable, compassionate woman who finds that, in order to care for others, she must also let herself be cared for. This fictional story gives us a window into the life of Clover Brooks, a death doula, that much like a midwife assists pregnant women with labor, she helps the dying with death. From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover felt a stronger connection with the dying than with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process. Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty woman client send Clover on a trip to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

Hear me out -- once you start reading this intriguing book, you won't be able to put it down. I started reading this book on NetGalley and was so fascinated by it that when the reading time ran out, I sought out the book on Amazon and bought it because I liked the story so much and wanted to finish it. I'm so glad I did and it's a keeper in my home library! You should definitely add it to yours as it's a worthwhile and heart warming read.

The Collected Regrets of Clover has left me with a mix of emotions. Clover is portrayed as sweet, naive, and bright but also a very lonely person you want to hug. Then you realize that Clover is a thirty-six-year-old adult behaving like a YA book. This was a total turnoff.

The pacing of The Collected Regrets of Clover was very slow. While I appreciate a slow burn that delves into character backgrounds and histories, it took until about 75% of the book for the pace to pick up, and then suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place magically.

The initial ten pages held promise, but then the story felt flat/boring until it suddenly regained momentum towards the end. I had hoped to form a connection with Clover, but instead, I found her to be a contradictory character, making it difficult for me to love her.

Clover Brooks has always felt a strong connection with the dying. As a small child she watched her kindergarten teacher dropped dead. She has a job as a death doula. She meets one interesting lady who challenges her to take an interest in art and photography. Clover lost both of her parents at a young age and her grandfather raised her. She is searching for love in New York City. Eventually she finds love and a new career. This book was a page turner.

I loved this book so much! It really makes you think about what you want from your life. Clover was awesome.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

I really loved this book.

Clover does not have many friends, aside from her elderly neighbor, but her talents lie as a caring and comforting death doula.

One professional encounter, a new neighbor, and a 'death cafe' are about to change Clover in ways she never expected.

LOVED LOVED LOVED.

I maybe should've seen this coming due to the topic, but I wasn't expecting to sob my way through the last quarter-ish of this book. Whew.

Mikki Brammer writes about an extremely sad character with an extremely sad life story...but somehow infuses it with laughter and light and love. This is a story of hope -- that it's never too late to change your life, and that people really *can* change their own lives, given the right set of circumstances and support. It's also a story about the importance of finding community, whatever that might mean for you, and to look your fears straight in the eye.

I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
"The Collected Regrets of Clover" by Mikki Brammer was a beautiful & touching debut novel that was about life & learning to live it.
I highly recommend this book & I can't wait to read what this author decides to write next.

Clover is a thirty something woman who works as a death doula. She has led a rather isolating life after her grandfather, whom raised her, died when she was traveling. She begins making connections with a few people who help her start living her life again.

I loved this book and it is one of my favorites so far this year. I really enjoyed Clover and I felt the moments with her when she was trying to overcome social anxiety. The author’s writing style was wonderful and the overarching message in this book makes you stop and think and evaluate if you are living the life you want to lead.
I love a story of a woman finding herself.

🍀death/dying
🍀 female lead character

I recommend this to people who like books with a quirky female lead (such as Eleanor Oliphant or The Maid).

“If you want something you don’t have, you have to do something you’ve never done.”

“Don’t let the best parts of life pass you by because you’re too scared of the unknown.”

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first two chapters. I was hooked right away. Then the beginning started to drag. As an extrovert it was challenging (and a little depressing) for me to read multiple chapters about Clover's life and choices. Once the story started along though with Claudia I really enjoyed it. I thought the relationship between Sylvie and Clover was great. I also enjoyed the interactions between Sebastian and Clover, despite them being awkward on several occasions. It is a good reminder that we do not have to click with everyone we meet and I thought it did a good job of breaking a typical trope . I really loved the second half of the book and would recommend it to others. I thought the themes and discussions around death were very interesting and there are some great quotes and ideas brought up.

Clover Brooks is a death doula. When she’s not spending her days ensuring people comfortably pass into the afterlife, she lives alone with her pets, and has her regular game of mahjong with her only friend, a senior named Leo who lives in her building. After she meets Sebastian, a man her own age, she is hired to be the death doula for his grandmother, who tells her a story about the love of her life–the one who got away–and Clover makes it her personal mission to reconnect them one last time. During this journey for Claudia, she begins to confront her fears and regrets around her self-made isolation that have festered after witnessing death all her life.

While unsubtle at times, this is generally well-written, charming, and introspective. The characters were the strongest part of this novel for me, each with palpable personalities and defining traits. I became so attached to each of them that by the end I was sad to see them go.

Through Clover’s POV, Mikki Brammer touches upon deep loneliness, the desire for invisibility and isolation, fear of connection after experiencing the pain of loss after loss, and the regrets you take with you to the afterlife. While witnessing Clover run away from every social interaction, and ultimately realising her loneliness is her own fault, I thought to myself, I have had ENOUGH with these authors reflecting my self-sabotage back at me!

Overall, I felt this was a great debut novel and I’ll definitely check out whatever Brammer publishes next.

Thank you St Martin’s Press for this wonderful ARC!

3.25⭐️

This book was a good look at how people deal with grief and the choices we make. Clover explores the regrets, advice, and confessions of her clients while grappling with loss in her own past. Started a little slow but the background was important to understand her journey.

This was extremely well written but timing is everything here and won't be for everyone due to the overall topic. Clover is a death doula and has experienced great tragedy in her own life, losing her parents at a very young age. Before that, she witnessed her kindergarten teacher dying while reading to the class and it had a profound effect on her as she navigates her own path. She spends so much time with the dying that she really doesn't focus at all on living. Until of course one particular woman has some final wishes that send Clover on an unforgettable journey. Deeply profound, this is one I won't forget. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an advance e-copy. The Collected Regrets of Clover will be available on 5/9/2023.

This was such an unexpectedly refreshing book for me. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Clover and her story. I truly admired the author undertaking death and a lot of its caveats as one of the main themes here.

This story follows Clover who is a death doula. What is a death doula you ask? They are the people who sit with people who are on their way out. Clover had unintentionally been around death at a young age and ended up studying it in college. After her grandfather who was also her guardian passed away alone, she realized that she wanted to help avoid people dying alone as much as she could. She shepherded them through the process of death whether that was through discussing regrets or getting advice or talking about the best moments of their lives. What an absolute honor she has with these people. We learn that Clover is a bit of a recluse. She has no friends and no social interaction beyond the people she works with.

She meets Sebastian at a death club who ends up hiring her to assist his grandmother through the final stages of cancer. Clover meeting Claudia changes everything for her. She realizes how much she has been living for other people but not herself. She realizes that she wants to experience more in her life so that she doesn't have a lot of regrets before she passes. She ends up embarking on a mini adventure to help Claudia but ultimately ends up finding herself in the process.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book. It is a perfect fast summer read! Enjoy :)

I had to mark this as a did not finish/could not get into. I've tried a couple of times and my heart just isn't into it. It's definitely the type of story you need to be in the right mindset to read.

I cannot finish this. I'm very sorry to say, as the premise and the story are so good. But I cannot stand Clover. Nor am I interested in a romance in my death heavy book. Especially one that starts with stalking and a dying grandmother. No thank you.

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC**