THE COLLECTED REGRETS OF CLOVER by Mikki Brammer is an emotionally moving novel, but unfortunately the pace drags a bit in the middle. Clover Brooks is a death doula, helping others to have a peaceful death. She is also a loner and rather lonely herself, having lost her parents at a young age and been raised by a somewhat reclusive Grandfather. Brammer, an Australian journalist based in New York City, provides a masterful description of Clover's self-examination and growth, introducing several supporting characters along the way: energetic neighbor Sylvie; plus, a possible love interest named Sebastian, and his dying grandmother, Claudia. The beginning and end of this debut novel are wonderful, but readers may want to shake Clover out of her lethargy during some middle parts of the story. Two favorite quotes encapsulate Clover’s comfort with being alone and her increasing willingness to step out of that comfort zone: "the headphones ... were also a mental retreat. I didn't usually listen to anything – it was the feeling of being enclosed that comforted me. Sliding them on was like escaping to a private space of my own, observing the world rather than participating in it." and "If you want something you don't have, you have to do something you've never done." THE COLLECTED REGRETS OF CLOVER received a starred review from Kirkus ("a beautiful tale of a vulnerable, compassionate woman who finds that, in order to care for others, she must also let herself be cared for."). 4 stars if you are willing to be patient.

While I enjoyed this book, I know there are others who enjoy it so much more than I did. It was okay, and I don't regret reading it, but I wish it would have focused more on the storyline that happens at the very end of the book. Maybe that's still to come? I do appreciate the journey Clover was on with her career as a death doula, working through her own grief, and finding her new circle of people in life.

A sweet book about a NYC death dula who while helping people through their deaths has forgotten how to live. I loved that this book focused on a multitude of types of relationships. I really enjoyed this book!

If you would have told me at the begging of the book I would have cried towards the end- both happy and sad tears, I would not have believed you. I wouldn't have believed I would even finish the book.
The beginning is slooooowww and redundant. Think depressing after depressing after depressing thoughts with no change. But then Claudia is introduced and changes the whole book. I only wish she would have entered sooner or the beginning of the book could have been reduced down without losing the meaning or a sense of her life.
But like I said, I shed some tears in this book, so I was hooked enough on Clover.

The Collected Regrets of Clover
Author: Mikki Brammer
St. Martin's Press
Release Date: May 9, 2023

I love originality in books, and Brammer delivers just that in her debut novel. Clover, the main character, is unlike any I've ever read about. She is a death doula, who helps people in the last stage of their lives. In keeping a notebook of her clients' regrets, she tries to honor them by actually carrying out something they missed out on in their lives. Brammer's development of Clover is deep, explaining Clover's background and what led her to become a doula. Clover is based in New York, but her travels are part of who she is and what she hopes to accomplish.

Instead of being depressing, this novel is warm and full of relationship building and personal growth. I found the book to be heartwarming and full of depth. It is a book that will stay with me, leading me to think about what is the most meaningful and important in my life, and how to live it without regrets.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader's copy. My review is my own.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Collected Regrets of Cl0ver by Mikki Brammer. This book is about Clover, a death doula who, over the course of the book, learns to take chances and live life to the fullest. Childhood trauma had made that hard for Clover to do. It was really satisfying to see her overcome those experiences and start living the life she wanted.

The first person Clover saw die was her Kindergarten teacher, but unlike the other children who panicked, Clover held his hand. Thirty-one years later, Clover has now watched ninety-seven people die. At the age of six, Clover went to live with her Grandfather after a tragic loss. Clover is intrigued by death and travels the world to study death in other cultures in her twenties. While on her journey she loses her beloved grandfather and years later still spends her days trying to make up for his dying alone. It was destined that she become a death doula, but in becoming a death doula she spends all of her time waiting for someone to die and has forgotten how to live. Clover never wants someone to die alone, she knows what it feels like to be lonely and she knows that it’s something no one ever chooses. Clover has three notebooks titled Regrets, Advice and Confessions in which she documents her clients last words and memories. Determined not to get close to anyone again because she’s already suffered so much loss, Clover choses to observe rather than engage, helping to keep her emotions in check, but hope has a way of healing and Clover’s journey is about to change. Trying to honor her newest clients words, Clover sets out to not let the best parts of life pass her by because she is scared of the unknown and finds out that the secret of a beautiful death is living a beautiful life. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most of all, Clover’s story will help you learn how to live❤️ Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an Arc of this book.

This story follows Clover, a death doula, who is called to stay with those right before they pass, often when they have nobody else. Over time, she has recorded her clients’ advice, confessions, and regrets in separate notebooks. Clover slowly realizes that her life has far too many regrets. She tries opening herself up to new experiences, but struggles finding the courage along the way.

I really enjoyed the “death doula” aspects of this book and how she guides her clients through death. I hope these people exist in real life.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Oh, friends. I absolutely loved, loved, LOVED this book. If I had a physical copy of The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, I definitely would have hugged it after finishing. No doubt about it, Clover Brooks has a spot on my list of very favorite characters. I adored her. She’s a bit of a loner, reserved, a little quirky, and has a very unique profession. She’s a death doula who cares for others at the end of their lives in whatever form they need. Sounds interesting, right? Perhaps a tad morbid too, but just you wait…You will fall in love with Clover too.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Slow-moving, emotional, and feel-good reads
- In-depth character studies
- Low-key, quiet, and introverted characters
- Themes of loss, grief, and healing
- New York City setting
- Unexpected friendships

I was not expecting to love this one as much as I did, so it really was the highlight of my week. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical as it obviously deals with some heavy subject matter. But in some miraculous way, the author made it tender, thoughtful, and heart-warming. If you enjoyed books like Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove, or The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I think you’ll adore this one as well. The Collected Regrets of Clover is out now, and I highly recommend it! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚.”

Read this book. Trust me! 5/5 stars!

"You can find meaning in anything if you look hard enough; if you want to believe that everything happens for a reason. But if we completely understood one another, if every event made sense, none of us would ever learn learn or grow. Our days might be pleasant, but prosaic."

The Collected Regrets of Clover is an extremely poignant novel. No one wants to talk about death because everyone is grieving. But who asks the person who is dying as to how they feel? Clover is a death doula who supports people dying. It's a hard job, and people around her do not understand it much.

This book is about grief, regrets, and hope as well. Regrets about things unfinished but also a life which we lived with those regrets. I really liked this book. The last line sums up this book. A simple truth : "We are here."

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this book.

Clover is a death doula: helping the dying come to terms, helping them with any closure, be with them as they need, and recording their last words. By nature, she's happy being solitary with her books and rom-coms. Then she's suddenly finding herself with a neighbor who refuses not to be a friend, a guy who she can't decide whether he's being friendly or aiming for a relationship, and a client whose love story challenges her.

This book really felt like an evolution with Clover rather than watching her go through her paces. It was beautiful and callous in the way death is discussed in the honest way people tend to go about it. I feel like the book closed well and that I could read a next book about how the ending continued. This wasn't the book I thought it was going to be and was also so much better.

#arc
#netgalley
#thecollectedregretsofclover

A beautiful exploration of a woman finding connection and meaning in her life, even when she already had purpose. It was a quick read, with a calming and thoughtful voice. I connected with the main character, related to her isolation and grief, and was brought to tears in parts. Cathartic and healing.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

“The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”

Ever since her kindergarten teacher died in front of her class, Clover Brooks has always felt closer to the dying than the living. She lost her parents at a young age and was raised by her grandfather, who eventually died alone while she was away traveling. These experiences led her to become a death doula, someone who helps the dying through their last days and hours. Clover spends so much of her time with the dying that she isn’t really living and spends her free time holed up in her apartment spying on neighbors and watching (and rewatching) her favorite scenes from romance movies. When Clover meets Claudia, a terminally-ill, feisty, old woman, Claudia’s stories of love and regret force Clover to look at her own life with a fresh perspective.

I adored this book and hope that so many other people do too! It’s character-driven and slower-paced, but so well-written that I can’t believe it’s her debut! It’s being compared to The Midnight Library, but I didn’t really like that one so if you didn’t either, don’t let that keep you away from reading about Clover. I think I found more similarities to The Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot! For a book about death and regrets, I found it so hopeful and encouraging and can’t wait for more people to read it. Thank you to the publishers for my advanced copies!

I have such mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked the story, the idea behind the beauty of death. We always focus on the sad, depressing and dark side, but it is just as easy to focus on the beauty and the life lived (not just lost!) But, the main character Clover just bothered me. I never connected with her. I honestly found her kind of annoying and whiny. She was so focused on those dying and giving them an easier end and closure to their life, yet she had no life. Overall, I enjoyed the book - I listened to it and read parts of it. I would recommend doing both :)

In a Nutshell: An interesting debut work. The main character generated pretty mixed emotions, so your enjoyment of the novel will depend on how much you like her. Smooth and straightforward read. More of a contemporary drama than romance, which is always better for me.

Story Synopsis:
Thirty six year old Clover’s grandfather (who raised her) passed away when she was travelling. To compensate for her guilt at not being by his side during his final moments, Clover becomes a death doula in NYC. She has always been fascinated by death, and was a student of thanatology (the study of death from various perspectives), so choosing to be by people’s side as they die ought to be a more rewarding experience than researching death.
Her latest client is the feisty ninety-one year old Claudia, who speaks to Clover about her first love and her regrets. Through Claudia’s journey, Clover begins to question her own life choices. Has she been so obsessed with death that she forgot to live?
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Clover.

Bookish Yays:
✔ The secondary characters in the book, whether they get meaty roles or tiny ones, are fascinating. Claudia, Leo (Clover’s old neighbour), Clover’s grandpa (in flashback appearances), Sylvia (Clover’s new neighbour), Bessie (The bookstore owner) – so many wonderful and varied characters, each with their own charm and flaws. Many other readers seem to have disliked Sebastian but I liked him too. He was very clear about his intentions, he didn’t deceive Clover any time, and he was the only one who had the guts to tell her straight to her face what a sham she was.
✔ This is the first book I have read focussing on a ‘death doula’. The intricacies of choosing this as a career option are brought out well by the plot. I loved how Clover kept three notebooks – Regrets, Confessions, and Advice – and used these in her own life. Though the book is full of death, it still works as an ode to life and is hardly ever morbid or depressing. It was also interesting to learn that there are places called ‘death cafes’!
✔ I loved the underlying theme of the book. We all hear of regrets on the death bed, but do we plan to change anything about the way we live our life? Though the ending is also quite guessable because of this, I appreciate how the book showed Clover making changes in her life because of regrets, both of hers and of her clients.
✔ Though Clover’s thoughts do turn to seeking a potential romantic partner in one character, the romantic angle isn’t given the primary spot in the story. The main angle stays on Clover’s journey of self-discovery, which involves romance as well.
✔ There are some truly amazing lines and analogies in the book, especially about death and grief. The one that compared grief with a dust storm was just outstanding.
✔ The ending is good, though a bit too sugary sweet.

Bookish Nays:
❌ Clover. Sigh… How do you solve a problem like Clover? In many ways, she had her good qualities. She was caring and understanding with her clients, she used her ‘regrets’ notebook to make amends for their regrets, she adored her grandfather and her old neighbour Leo,… At the same time, the list of negatives is much lengthier. Clover doesn’t prove herself a trustworthy person in any sense. And the problem doesn’t just stop at the usual character flaws such as lying. No! Clover has to spy on a neighbour with her binoculars. Clover has to judge every person she meets based on their physical appearance – every single one, no exceptions. Clover has no concept of client confidentiality, and reveals their personal disclosures to anyone interested. Clover lies to anyone and everyone, but hates it when they are lying to her. As the titular character who is narrating the story to us in first person, Clover is the cornerstone the book rests upon. But when the foundation itself is so shaky, how will the plot surpass Clover’s flaws? The secondary characters do help to some extent, but ultimately, this is Clover’s show. So if you don’t connect with her, there goes your reading experience.
❌ The above are problems in Clover’s personality. But even greater is the lack of consistency in Clover’s character detailing. She is shown to be a thirty-six year old who has been brought up by an aged grandfather, is intelligent, and has travelled the world independently in her early twenties. All this should point to a person who ought to be aware of life and practical in her outlook. Yet Clover is written as an immature and naïve woman who doesn’t know the basics of love or life, and hasn’t kissed anyone romantically, ever!? I can understand how she may not be more socially open because of her introverted grandpa and still grieving because of his sudden death, but surely her solo travels and her long professional experience equipped her to face life in her mid-thirties.
❌ The romantic track (the actual one, which begins pretty late in the book) is too convenient and too instant to be believable. I found it quite unconvincing, clichéd, and unnecessary. Surely a woman character can develop her self-worth and confidence without the aid of romance!

Overall, this debut work does have its pros. Through the strong premise and the myriad secondary characters, you too will start wondering if you are living your life well or are just existing.
A part of Clover reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant or Molly from The Maid, two nicely-written socially awkward (non-neurodivergent) fictional characters of recent times. But Eleanor and Molly made me root for them despite their anti-social tendencies. Clover made me want to knock some sense into her. If you do pick this up, I hope you like Clover so that the book clicks better with you.
Recommended with reservation.

3.25 stars.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Collected Regrets of Clover”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Clover, Clover, Clover...
What can I say that will truly portray the beautiful significance of Mikki Brammer's debut novel about grief, death, love, friendship & so much more.

We follow Clover, who is a death doula (not me googling if people really do this IRL....- FYI: they do, and down the rabbit hole I went for an hour in the middle of writing this review). She assists in end-of-life tasks, even as simple as holding ones' hand while they pass.

Over the years, she has collected many things from those she has helped: their stories, wisdom, regrets, & life experiences. All while helping others grieve for their losses, she is grieving a loss of her own- her grandfather. All it takes is one client to help Clover realize that in order for her to have a fulfilling life with minimal regrets, she must open herself up to others.
Powerful and poignant, Mikki breaks open the societal stigma to keep 'hush hush' surrounding the taboo subject of death- making this such a heartfelt and relatable read for anyone.

*The audiobook was fantastic as well, narrated by Jennifer Pickens - engaging voice and wonderfully immersive experience!

What a beautiful, beautiful book. Clover is a 36 year old death doula, living in NY. She is a loner by nature but deeply understand people and spends her working days sitting with people as they die and offering them comfort as she collects their confessions, advice, and regrets.

Clover first watched someone die in kindergarten, as her teacher died in front of her class. A year later, her parents died in an accident, sending Clover to live with her grandfather. Through the novel Clover comes to term with her grandfather's death, and her life.

I adored this book! It was a beautiful tribute to grief and to the end of life. But, it’s also a celebration of all that makes life beautiful too. I loved watching Clover grow and open herself up to new experiences and new people. I had a number of quotes I highlighted but one of my favorites: “…I learned a second important life lesson. Looking other people’s pain in the eye was much easier than facing your own.”

First and foremost, I have to say that The Collected Regrets of Clover is one of my favorite reads so far this year. It was beautifully written and so poignant that it brought me to tears a few times. I loved being able to watch Clover learn and grow and come out of her protective shell. The relationship she had with Claudia was so sweet, as was the one she had with her grandfather's friend, Leo. I loved all of the characters in this book--even Sebastian, who annoyed me somewhat by not understanding all she had been through in her life and how that affected how she saw the world. And when she finally meets the younger Hugo, my heart soared because I knew she was finally going to see what she was missing. I absolutely loved this book so much and I cannot wait to read more from Mikki Brammer!

This was a very interesting book. I’ve never read a book by this author before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story and the characters.