There is a hidden message in this book, it’s we all should live our life at its fullest. No regrets! I don’t know anyone who hasn’t done or said something they regret.. Clover, the protagonist in this story certainly has. She is a death doula. She helps people pass and whilst helping a certain person she learns life is all about living. A lovely warm book that makes you think.

A feel-good novel of living your best life as you don’t know how long you have. Clover helps people to die in the best way possible but she needs to heed their advice of what they would do differently. This is a sweet romance with added bits.

Clover is a death doula; one who accompanies people through the process of dying. We are introduced to Clover through a mixture of flashbacks and present-day narrative, starting as a frightened 5-year-old girl and growing to become a complacent, lonely woman, with little going on in her life besides the naturally ephemeral demands of her job. The theme of death, as expected, runs strong.

Clover is a sometimes frustrating but ultimately loveable main character, and her flaws make her much more interesting to follow. The cast of people in her life are small in number but distinctive and charming. The writing got the story across well enough, but it was really the characters that kept me engaged.

Having said that, for a narrative that is driven largely by the dialogue between characters, the dialogue isn’t very convincing. All characters speak in detached, general terms, indistinguishable except for a few choice catchphrases. Given how interesting the characters’ lives and personalities are, it is disappointing that none of them have a particularly distinctive voice.

To me, the message of this novel - that we should live life to the fullest - didn’t really come through in the first 90 percent of the book, and when it did come, it was more like it was told directly than shown through the narrative. An issue I had with this book in general is so much of the story and characters was told very explicitly, rather than being left in the subtext (for example, I know that Clover is a social outcast because she directly told me perhaps fifty times in the first fifty pages). A tortuously analysing character can work well, but there should be some legwork left to the reader.

In all, perhaps my sparse experience with death and grief held me back from really resonating with this book.

Publishing of review to follow.

As someone who has recently lost a loved one I resonated with the underlying messages in this book about not living life with regrets and taking chances and I’d also never heard of a death doula so that was interesting. However, I found the main problem with this book was the main character Clover who I didn’t feel very connected to.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet book, narrated in the first-person. Our protagonist Clover has quite a special relationship with death. She witnessed her first death when she was five, lost both her parents before she reached the age of ten and was then brought up by a loving grandfather, who died when she was away travelling. This left her with intense feelings of sadness and guilt.

We meet Clover at 36, working as a death doula – in her own words a person who helps someone die with dignity and peace. Being a death doula helps to fill a void in her life, her deep sense of loss over her grandad’s death makes her feel at home in the company of those who are also grieving. She lives her life with a moral compass like no other but is also astutely aware of her own social awkwardness, her loneliness, the way how she observes life rather than participating in it, whilst constantly craving emotional connection.

This is about to change when Sylvie, a new neighbour moves in and then when she meets Claudia, a new client. Claudia’s life story makes Clover realise that she doesn’t really live her best life by slipping through it unnoticed: she doesn’t take chances, closes off her heart and exists out of habit. When Clover decides to help Claudia trace the love of her life, she acutely feels the void in her own. Claudia’s story gives Clover a glimpse of a life with fewer regrets and more risk-taking, inviting love and human connection back in.

I found this to be a thought-provoking book and also a very satisfying read.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Viking UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just so lovely, and funny and life affirming. And I was so grateful for the romantic twist, it made everything so perfect.
Working as a death doula, Clover helps people who are living their final days to deal with their journey. Most people have regrets, and this wonderful story gently incites us to think about making changes now and living fuller, happier lives.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Collected Regrets of Clover
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Mikki Brammer
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 6th July 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 11th June 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 5/5

”During my first couple of weeks, I’d felt overwhelmed with sadness seeing the unfortunate circumstances of these people, finding it hard to see past their debilitating illnesses and slowly wilting bodies. But I gradually began to realize that pitying them wouldn’t take away their pain. The kindest thing I could do for them was to look them in the eye and simply acknowledge their presence as human beings. That’s when I’d promised myself I’d never turn away from someone’s pain, no matter how much I wanted to.”

I absolutely adored this.

After reading the first chapter, I knew this would be a special book, one that would stick with me as time continues to move forward, a book that I could come back to for originality and comfort.

The Collected Regrets of Clover introduces to its main character with the words:

”The first time I watched someone die, I was five.”

Clover then grows up to become a death doula, somebody who coaches a person and their loved ones through inevitable death.

I am now literally obsessed with Clover. She is such an earnest and socially awkward main character, with strong morals and even stronger caution. Reading her character arc had me weeping. She is sublimely described and felt everything with such depth even if she didn’t understand it.

The story itself is such a tender, respectful, and hopeful exploration of death and grief. The author normalises the conversation of death and yet shuns societal ideas of grief. Other cultural traditions with the death of their loved ones are demonstrated in this story and quite honestly, death has never looked so interesting.

As a trainee mental health nurse, I found this story so refreshing, relatable and applicable to real life. I know a few nurses who believe that when a patient dies in a hospital, we need to open the window so that the soul doesn’t get trapped. If that’s the kind of information that resonates with you, then you will love this story.

—Kayleigh🤍
@ Welsh Book Fairy🧚‍♀️✨

What a fabulous book. At first glance it could appear a morose and gloomy tale of Clover who is an introverted, lonely, death doula. The more you read the more you realise why Clover is the way she is and what happened in her past to lead her there.

The writing is wonderful and so descriptive that I read the book in one sitting, I literally could not put it down!

A true coming of age book complete with the realisation that it is never too late to change

Clover’s life is death. As a death doula, she ushers people out of life, recording their advice and regrets as she goes. When she meets Claudia, a vivacious client with unfinished business, Clover vows to help her, learning some lessons about herself along the way. This book is so heart warming and was such a pleasure to read. I loved seeing Clover develop throughout the book, and she was accompanied by characters full of stories and trajectories of their own. I would definitely recommend for everyone who wants a feel-good read.

It may sound unusual to say how much I enjoyed reading this book, considering its theme is death and dying, but this book is written so well. A book I will always remember.

Clover Brooks is five years old when she goes to live with her Grandfather in New York City. Her Grandfather is her whole world.

I found this to be an extremely clever book, very thought provoking and thoughtful.
Clover’s grandfather teaching her about life, made me think about life, assessing life in general, in all its good, and messy ways.
People in life can tend to put labels on other people, and it’s so wrong. You can’t always judge a book by its cover.
I really liked the writers style, use of words, and some very poignant powerful one liners.
I could not put this book down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about this book are entirely my own.

Reading The Collected Regrets of Clover has been utterly wonderful. It’s felt like therapy and existential coaching rolled into the pages of a book, really.

This is the life-affirming story of Clover Brooks, a woman in her thirties who became a death doula in New York City after her beloved grandfather died alone when she was travelling.

However, while spending so much time with the dying, Clover realises she’s ignored her own life. That is until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send her on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story – and perhaps, her own happy ending.

It’s not a book to speed through in a single weekend, but it is a thought-provoking, heartwarming story to retreat into that’s packed with life lessons.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. I also chose this book as my Book of the Month for June: https://tolstoytherapy.com/book-club/

This was such a lovely story, I'm fascinated by things like this, and really enjoyed Clover's journey. It was sad in a lot of places, but spot on in how it was written. Just shows that life is too short for regrets. Thank you netgalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! It was not what I expected, nor what I usually read but I ended up loving it. It was slow in pacing, but it really got right into Clover's character that I felt like I really knew her.
I would recommend this to everyone to read.

What I liked:
• The beautiful, poetic yet emotional way death was spoken about.
• The ideology of Clover with her three notebooks and how she used them in her daily life.
• Clover’s memories with her grandad and the wisdom he always imparted.
• The growth of Clover’s character.

This book has left me speechless in the best possible way. The Collected Regrets of Clover was heartbreakingly stunning. Somehow, this book managed to break my heart and piece it together all in one go.

Focusing on Clover and her occupation as a death doula was fascinating! The story explores many faces of grief and they way it changes a person. To learn the reason why Clover does the job she does was so bittersweet. The pain she held onto for such a long time really tugged at the heartstrings alongside learning how she never experienced true friendship and love until now. Clover deserved the world and to see her story progress, realisations come to light and changes be made was beautiful.

Every character had their own contribution to the storyline and I loved every single one of them. Each contributed to Clover’s growth and the relationships she formed with them all warmed my heart.

The way Brammer wrote and explored death and grief was breathtaking. Some of the scenes utterly destroyed me while others uplifted me. There are many quotes in this book I adored and that will stay with me for a long time!

Although this book is fiction, it unintentionally felt a little like a self help book. I really reflected on people I have lost and the grief I still feel today. It really opened my eyes and it feels refreshing and comforting to know all the feelings that come with death and loss are normal.

With Brammer’s writing and the emotion packed into this book, you would not think this is a debut novel! I can’t wait to pick up a physical copy, but also to see what is next for her work! Definitely an author in adding to my auto-buy list!

Meet Clover, a wonderful literary character, who works a death doula while still grieving for the grandfather who reared her. A meeting with a new client, Claudia, causes her to question how she is living her own life. Clover keeps three notebooks where she records the last words of her dying clients. They are labelled Regrets, Advice and Confessions. She opens them at random and tries to take on board what is written. However in trying to help Claudia come to terms with a lost love a whole new world opens up for Clover, primarily learning to let other people into her life.
This is book that will leave you reflecting on your own life and making yourself promises to live life just that little bit better. I would have given it 5 stars only about three quarters in its tone changed somewhat and became a cliched romantic novel with hints of Mills & Boon but that might not bother everyone.
I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for this honest review.

An interesting premise, executed well.
I have been interested in death doulas since reading Jodi Picoult's The Book of Two Ways, and in this book too, Clover's profession definitely holds the irony of her life in it too.
I loved the characters, they were definitely this book's strength, and listened attentively to the audiobook.

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a remarkable book in that it makes you reflect upon life and regrets without being maudlin.

Clover is a Death Doula. Like a birth doula but she spends time with those who are about to pass. Whilst not part of her job she collects their regrets and carries them as part of her own. She has lead an insular life until she meets Sebastian and Claudia. Claudia is Sebastian's grandmother who is preparing to die who wishes to address her own regrets before she passes and we follow Clover and Sebastian on this journey.

This is a thoughtful story of self discovery and regret, that lets you pause and think about life and death and how we approach it. I must admit I had never heard of a Death Doula but of course it makes sense to have someone to accompany you in your final journey.

Thanks so much to the author Mikki Brammer and the publisher for an ARC of this beautiful book. I loved the story of Clover and young women living in New York City working as a death doula . Clover lost her parents at a young age and went to New York to live with her beloved grandpa . This a story about how events help shape us and we can see things differently as we age and grow . I loved it and will be thinking about it for a long time !

I had never heard of a death doula before and did not know that death cafes existed so this aspect of the book was new to me. Clover was quite a sad character at the beginning of the book but it was interesting to see how her character developed as the story moved on. More of a romance than I expected but endearing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading The Collected Regrets of Clover it's been a bit like a roller-coaster ride. Seen the blurb(the NetGalley one) I thought it was an interesting premise and I was looking forward to read about death and about people dealing with their last days on Earth. But then it become evident that it was going down the romanticised path of self-discovery as a consequence of dealing with death and regrets. So it kind of lost me, but then I am a woman, and I might not watch romantic comedies but hey who can resist a cute love story, eh?!

Clover is a likeable character, despite her coldness and lone wolf attitude. She develops nicely in the course of the novel and she does learn her lessons. I particularly liked her relationship with her grandpa, such a lovely and full of love and wisdom grandpa he was. What I didn't really like was that once again we have a romantic take on death and more of a romance rather than a novel about grief. But all in all, an enjoyable read!