The Collected Regrets of Clover is a sentimental and moving debut that challenges life and death. Highly rec this one to all readers - would be perfect for book clubs!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC - The Collected Regrets of Clover is out now!

Clover Brooks is very familiar with death. In fact, it's a huge part of her life. Orphaned at six, she grew up with her grandfather, a kind, gentle man who instilled many of his ideas in her. While in Cambodia for herstudies, her grandfather died, leaving Clover bereft, and still grieving thirteen years later. Deciding to try to deal with her guilt over not being with him when he died, Clover decided to become a death doula, offering her services helping those close to death prepare themselves, and to be there as comfort.

Clover also spends some of her time going to a variety of Death Cafes around New York City; she has no friends except for an elderly neighbour in her apartment. Clover has deliberately isolated herself to prevent the inevitable hurt she'll experience when people discover both her calm acceptance of death as an integral part of life, and her profession.

All this begins to change when she's hired to sit with a man's grandmother; Claudia is suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer, and Clover is quite familiar with the progression of a dying person's mental health and failing body as they approach their death. Clover finds Claudia to be a kind, forthright woman, and their friendship, as well as a slow friendship with a new neighbour in Clover's apartment begin opening Clover up, challenging her need for isolation and forcing her to confront her own regrets accumulated over thirteen years. That, and a trip to deal with one of Claudia's regrets push Clover out of her shell and into a new lease on life.

Clover is a wonderful character, a little quirky, sad, a little standoffish, and kind. Her journey from her desire to avoid anything other than surface contact with others to fully engaging with her new friends and surroundings made for a heartfelt, sensitive, affecting and lovely story, and is one of my favourites so far this year.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I didn’t know much about it, and the cover looks like something that could be hit or miss for me, but I don’t know, this one just worked.

Clover is a death doula, and I found it so fascinating to read a novel from her perspective. Like many, talking about death is not something that I feel comfortable doing. So it was interesting to read about death this way, and I actually found it quite healing.

I loved the friendships that bloomed and the romance that blossomed, but more than anything, I loved Clover’s journey within herself.

Although I do want to mention - I’m noticing more and more that “bad” love interests have a defining characteristic that they don’t like to read. On behalf of my husband, who is the sweetest man alive but does not enjoy reading, I would just like to say that this is not a toxic trait.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!

It's been a while since a book packed such a punch that I was genuinely lost for words. That's how I felt about The Collected Regrets of Clover. When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read a book that really dove into death, dying, and grief. Yes, it's a main theme since her career is a death doula, but this book is so much more than that.

It's a book about living with no regrets, it's about getting over fear, it's about being and feeling seen, it's about finding your voice and owning who you are. It's a book about embracing all the moments of life and living in the now. As someone who is always worrying about what's next and the future, some of the passages were so poignant that they made me take a step back and remind myself that now is more important than the future. Living each moment to its fullest makes a life that doesn't have regrets.

When I finished this beautiful book, I sat and closed my eyes, trying to absorb the beauty and messages within.

Read this book. You will laugh, you will cry, and you get angry, but most importantly, it will remind you to live life with no regrets.

Thank you, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Oh I loved this story! It is sweet and touched my heart. This one gave me a different perspective of life.

Clover is our thirty something main character. She's working as a death doulah which most people have a difficult time understanding but Clover finds it to be a satisfying field. She believes firmly that being there for people in their last hours is priceless and an honor.

Throughout the book, you learn that Clover has experienced a great deal of loss herself over the course of her short life. It's possibly one reason she became a death doulah. Much of her life has been spent surrounded by and dealing with death in some way. So, she's rarely spent time pursuing any other personal goals or relationships.

When Clover takes on a new client that she becomes particularly attached to, she starts to explore new experiences and meets other people. She finds that she is actually missing out on things in the life she's living. But until later in the story, she doesn't understand just how much.

It's simply a beautiful and touching novel about life and learning to live it. Many of the quotes about grief and poignant and quite accurate so I found myself highlighting quite a few. As sad as the premise of this book seemed to be, it left me feeling uplifted and hopeful. A lovely piece of work.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a hopeful and optimistic story about death and reinventing yourself, and it was such a special reading experience.

Our MC, Clover, is one of the most lovable characters I’ve come across in a long time. When we meet her, she’s a death doula working in NYC. She has no friends other than her 87-year-old neighbor, she’s never been in a relationship, and she’s living in a glorified time capsule of an apartment - unable to let go of her late grandpa who passed 13 years ago. Over the course of this story we witness her grow into a more self-assured person, able to start to let go of the past and embrace the future. I loved her journey and I loved all the people she met along the way.

Death can be a scary topic to read about, but this book approached it with grace and tenderness. You wouldn’t expect a book about death to be classified as a feel-good read, but this book definitely made me feel warm fuzzies all over as I finished the last page. I’m glad I learned a lot about letting go and moving forward from this book, because I had to use those new skills to move on from these amazing characters who I became so attached to! 😭 My heart was so full as I finished this beautiful story.

This book made me want to push myself out of my comfort zone and enjoy living my life to the fullest - and I’m so grateful for that 💕

Mikki Brammer's story about Clover, a death doula, coming to terms with how she feels about the life she has lived is a touching, moving, and thought-provoking story. Clover has studied death and how it is perceived amongst different cultures. She decides to become a death doula after her grandfather, who raised her, passed away by himself while she was traveling in Asia. She accompanies the dying in their final moments and tries to bring them peace as they approach death. In a curious case, she encounters Sebastian at a death cafe, and he chases her down for his dying grandmother, Claudia. Claudia's story and questions probe her as to whether she would be happy with her life in her final moments and prompts her to take the risks she would regret not taking. Overall, it is a story that makes you question your thoughts, actions and beliefs and can easily lead you to put yourself in Clover's shoes.

This book is hard to write a review about. I loved it and saw myself in the main character. I’m also in my thirties and extremely introverted and mostly afraid of the world. With that being said this book is deep and will make you think hard about the life you are living.

I also gravitate toward books about death and this one was a great look into that. I mean hello, BOTM picked it and everyone’s loving it!

A lovely story about death and what it means to truly live.

Read if you enjoy:
- discussions about mortality
- the midnight library
- deep conversations and thought provoking moments
- fiction with a small sprinkle of romance (does not overtake the story)

This was such a quick read and definitely a thought provoker!

You guys...This. Book. It’s taken me a long time to put together my thoughts for a review, and everything I write doesn’t seem to do my feelings justice. This is a very special story that will stick with me for a long, long time. After a very scary medical emergency nearly ended my life 7 months ago, I’ve thought a lot about death, life, and what it’s really all about. I’ve wondered why things happen the way that they do, why we come across the people we do, and if “everything happens for a reason” – even the bad stuff. This book addressed all these themes thoughtfully and beautifully.

My one and only critique – and I hesitate to even acknowledge it because I loved this book so much – is I wish Clover had been 26 instead of 36. Some of her nativities and extreme reluctance to put herself out there in the world would have made more sense to me if she were younger.

It was poignant, well written, and beautiful. I loved this book!!

The Collected Regrets of Clover follows Clover Brooks, a death doula in New York City whose job is to assist individuals go peacefully through the process of the end of their life. Her whole life revolves around the dying until the final wishes of an elderly woman send Clover on a trip across the country. Along the way she struggle to navigate romaine and friendship and her own life in general. This book is all about self discovery and finding happiness in your life. It looks at life, death, and how to enjoy the time you have left in this world.

Clover was an interesting main character. She’s very quirky, awkward, and introverted, with her whole life focusing on death and dying people. She only has one friend - her old neighbour Leo who was friend’s with her grandfather. It was fun to watch her grow throughout the story and make new friends along the way. However, I did feel her character was a little all over the place. Yes, she was awkward, but this also came off as immature at times. I also did not like that she spied on her neighbours with binoculars - this was a little off-putting for me.

As for Claudia, the elderly woman that Clover is assisting, she is a bad bitch, and I loved her and her stories. I loved the journey that Clover goes on to help Claudia find the love of her life.

Overall, the story was very well written. It contained so many life lessons with some great quotes to go alongside them. It was very thought provoking, and it made me reflect on my own life and choices. I think that this book will resonate with a lot of people.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer is a story about a death doula, who sits with people during their final days and allows them to share whatever they need with her before they die. Clover ends up learning so much from all of these people, though, more than she could ever realize. This book is so heartwarming, so beautifully written, and I loved it so much. I highlighted so many different passages, Here's one of my favorites: "Grief, I'd come to realize, was like dust, When you're in the thick of a dust storm, you're completely disoriented by the onslaught, struggling to see or breathe. But as the force recedes, and you slowly find your bearings and see a path forward, the dust begins to settle into the crevices. And it will never disappear completely--as the years pass, you'll find it in unexpected places at unexpected moments. Grief is just love looking for a place to settle." Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

It was very brave for Mikki Brammer to write her debut novel on the subject of death. A topic that many find uncomfortable to talk about, read about, or even think about...

Somehow though, she has written a story about death that is uplifting. A hopeful, authentic story about overcoming your fears, finding a way out of loneliness, celebrating the life we've been given... in other words, 'living your best life'. She expounds on the validity of grief and how we must almost embrace it to endure it in a healthy way. Even when others are hoping we'll 'get over it' to make them feel more comfortable.

Clover Brooks, our protagonist, is a 'death doula'. She actually had a master's degree in thanatology. A word I had never heard of before reading this book.

At thirty-six years of age, she lives alone in a West Village, New York brownstone, and despite the fact that almost nine million people live in New York City, she has only one friend - her eighty-seven year old neighbour. Other than her dog and two cats, Clover is a loner who loves to read and dislikes socializing because she feels inept in social situations. She came to live in the brownstone at six years of age after her parents death. Her grandfather brought her up and she adored him.

"It's easy to glamorize the path you didn't take."

This was a novel that I'll remember for a long time. It addressed some very interesting issues such as loneliness, fate, interconnections, and welcoming change into your life.

The ending was beautiful without being saccharine or unrealistic. An outstanding debut! Highly recommended!

Great story very well written. Clover is a death doula and she helps people die with dignity and ushers them onto the next stage. Along the way she meets a woman Claudia who helps her recognize that maybe she really isn’t living and does she have the same regrets as someone who is dying?

As a fellow introverted loner, I found Clover to be a very relateable character. That being said, I didn't really feel any one way of the other about this book as a whole. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away or anything. It's definitely slow-paced and character driven, since we mostly just follow Clover's day-to-day activities. I did enjoy the second half more than the first though, since that's when the plot picked up some.

The flashbacks of Clover's relationship with her grandfather were cute. Death is a big theme of this book, with Clover being a death doula, but I would say the vibe is more hopeful than depressing.

Overall, I'd recommend if you're looking for a character-driven book that will make you think about how you've lived your life so far and taking chances.

I read the ARC of The Collected Regrets of Clover a few months ago and absolutely loved it. I wasn’t sure about the premise that centers around Clover who happens to be a death doula but what I discovered was a thought provoking, beautiful story.

For thirteen years Clover Brooks has worked as a death doula helping her clients to find comfort and peace as they die, recording their last words into categories of advice, confessions and regrets. This beautifully written novel follows Clover as she attempts to expand her solitary life by following the words of her former clients. Outside of her profession Clover’s life centers around reading her books, taking care of her pets and rewatching 90s romcoms. But she is finally ready for more. I enjoyed every page of Clover’s journey to a more fulfilling existence. THE COLLECTED REGRETS OF CLOVER by Mikki Brammer gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Absolutely charming. Beautifully written, unique premise, easily readable yet has substance. Perfection.

The Collected Regrets of Clover was an interesting look at Clover, a death doula. That's not a term I'd heard before, but related it to my experience of my mother being on hospice care at my home at the end of her life. Clover's career was similar to the wonderful angels who helped my mother and our family during such a tough time.

I loved many of the secondary characters and the impact they had on the story as it unfurled and had we spent more time with them, I'd have enjoyed this book more than I did. I never really connected with Clover, but the book was a good read.

I think this is definitely a book that will impact people differently at different times of their lives and I certainly recommend giving it a read. It's unique, not for everyone, but I do think it has something for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.