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.

Having lost her parents at 6 years old, Clover, moves in with the grandpa she hardly knows in NYC. He's a quiet and reserved man but his love and care for Clover are always evident. When Clover finds herself traveling the world during college she receives the call no one ever wants to receive. Her grandpa passed away from a stroke. Clover is despondent. She can't believe she wasn't there for him in his time of need as he has always been there for her.

She moves back to the apartment he left her and decides to become a death doula. She's the friendly face and smile that ease people into the afterlife. She'll talk, she'll listen, she'll make arrangements - anything that will bring them peace on their journey. What she isn't doing is living a life of her own. She's basically all alone except for her elderly neighbor and her fur babies and she's convinced herself that these simple things are all she needs. That is until a new neighbor moves in. Sylvie, with all her exuberance and zest for life, are giving Clover second thoughts on her choices.

Then she meets a new client, Claudia, who has terminal cancer and maybe a month to live. Through their many conversations Clover finds out that Claudia was unhappily married her entire life and that her one true love she left long ago in France. That sparks something in Clover and she sets out to find Hugo. After sleuthing Google she finds that he had moved to the states decades ago and is living in Maine. This search has opened her eyes to a world of possibilities and perhaps even a love of her own.

I know this book has been hit or miss with readers but I found it quite heartwarming. Many people weren't able to warm to Clover. I did, though she did frustrate me at times, and I wanted to give her a gentle nudge to think of herself and open her heart up to other people. Her friendships with her elderly neighbor, Leo, her new neighbor, Sylvie, and her patient Claudia were all rendered beautifully. Claudia especially, oh how I loved her. This is a thoughtful story written with the gentle hands of Mikki Brammer. I was so worried I wasn't going to enjoy this but I can positively say that I did. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

Clover is a death doula in New York City. She helps people die with dignity and is no stranger to grief, having lost both her parents at a young age and more recently, her grandfather, who raised Clover after her parents died.

Now at age 36, Clover is painfully realizing she has been so willfully preoccupied with helping others at the end of their life that she’s ignored her own. Her latest patient, Claudia, is an older woman who isn’t without regrets, but the story she shares sends Clover on an unexpected trip, hopeful she’ll be able to provide some closure for Claudia. Along the way, Clover might learn more about herself and the life she actually wants too.

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

While I can appreciate that Clover was a late bloomer, I found her behavior so petulant at one point, I was afraid it would ruin the whole book for me. Fortunately, it didn’t, although I did not warm to her quite as much as I hoped to. The story moved slowly at times, though it was a sweet one, with the reminder that life can be short and we should make the most of each day — 3.5 stars

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mikki Brammer for an ARC of this book!**

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."- Norman Cousins

Clover has a strong connection to death and all that surrounds it: one that most people just can't understand. As a death doula, her job entails making the final days of her dying clients not only comfortable, but peaceful. While many would find this task emotionally taxing and depressing beyond measure, Clover takes comfort in these strangers she comes to know, and they give her connection in her otherwise isolated existence. She keeps notebooks containing some of the last words and regrets of her clients, and tries to apply this wisdom to her own life. After the untimely passing of her parents many years ago, Clover has been raised by her grandfather...until she one day loses him too, without getting the chance to say a proper goodbye....and she's never truly recovered.

Outside of her one elderly friend Leo who lives in her apartment building, Clover has little social life and takes comfort in watching her beloved rom-coms over and over and occasionally peeping into the window across the way at the happy couple who lives there. All of this begins to change, however, when at a Death Cafe meeting (basically a therapeutic and informational place where members gather to discuss death), Clover meets devilishly handsome cellist Sebastian...and he implores Clover to take on his grandmother Claudia as her next client. Once she does, Clover ends up entrenched in a mystery and hopeful to keep Claudia' out of her Book of Regrets, Clover (aided and encouraged by her new friend and neighbor Sylvie) finally ventures out of her comfort zone entirely. But is what she's destined to discover enough to erase a lifetime of living in the shadows? Can Clover revive what has so long remained dormant inside her and simply let life in?

Death doulas have been popping up more and more in fiction as of late, and my first experience with them was in Jessica Strawser's The Next Thing You Knew...an interesting book, but WILDLY different than this one.

And I have to say, despite the subject matter, despite this being a debut...Mikki Brammer's writing took what could have been a depressing and morose tale and imbued it with life, love, uncertainty, and SO much hope!

Brammer's writing is easy to read, and Clover is that sort of quiet, quirky heroine that many bookworms (myself included) will find relatable and lovable. I mean, not on EVERY level, since Clover's peeping tendencies are a bit off-putting...but her shy nature and tendency to let social anxiety keep her from TRULY living certainly felt like a page out of my own book (and one I too need to work to change!) I also loved the concept of the notebooks full of regrets and confessions: such a simple device, but it felt fitting for Clover and worked beautifully in the context of her story.

Although some of the people she met seemed a bit TOO perfect at times (a la the rom coms Clover adores) I did appreciate that there were some surprises in store. Perhaps Clover's immaturity belies her age in some areas and therefore borders on unbelievable, but in that sense she reminded me of another narrator that despite her quirks is quite beloved: Eleanor Oliphant. If her brand of quirk appeals to you, consider Clover your new potential literary best friend in waiting!

This touching, tender, and terrific debut will make you consider what your OWN words of advice or regret might be and if you can perhaps put them into action BEFORE they become frozen on a page. If we are able to save that magical and unnameable spark of possibility that lies in each of us from an untimely 'death'...then we can begin, at last, to FULLY live.

4.5 stars

Since her kindergarten teacher died when she was five, Clover has been fascinated with death. That fascination leads her to get a master’s degree in thanatology and then to her career as one of the only death doulas in New York City. Besides her dog, two cats, and her elderly neighbor, Leo, Clover is alone. But a chance meeting with an enigmatic man turns into a job preparing his grandmother for death makes Clover realize that there is more to life than death. With the help of a new friend and her client, Clover starts navigating the often tricky road of romance and friendship. Will Clover be able to open up to people finally? And will she have the courage to go after what she wants?

So, I will admit this; I hadn’t planned on accepting the invite for this book. I would decline it after reading the email and continuing with my life. But I wasn’t paying attention (I had a couple of emails in a row from the publisher), and I accepted it before I realized what I was doing. Since I got the invite at some point in 2022 (I am not going to look, and yes, I am lazy), I put off reading The Collected Regrets of Clover. When I saw that it was coming up on my reading schedule, I was going to put it off again and decided that enough was enough, and I would read it. Well, I am glad that I did. This book was great; I regret putting it off for so long.

The Collected Regrets of Clover’s storyline centers around Clover and her gradual realization that there is more to life than focusing on death. I have never heard of a death doula or even getting a master’s degree in thanatology before this book. I did some research after reading this book and both subjects fascinate me. But I am not here to discuss how fascinated I am by this subject. We are here to talk about the storyline. So back to the subject.

I thought The Collected Regrets of Clover’s storyline was well written and kept my attention on the book. The book does split into two storylines for a while. One storyline details Clover’s early life up to when her grandfather dies. The other is the present day which shows how lonely Clover is. The author was able to merge both storylines later in the book. Usually, I wouldn’t have liked the dual storylines, but in this case, it worked. I got to see how Clover was shaped into who she was, and I got to see how she was dealing in the present day.

For a book about death and dying, I didn’t feel that the focus was solely on that. The author did a great job keeping Clover’s issues (and her awkwardness) front and center while she tended to her client. Never, at any point in the book, did I get the feeling that this book was morbid. I thought it was a beautiful homage to dying.

I liked Clover, and I did form a connection with her. I was slightly amazed that she never had a relationship with anyone her age (which I put between 35-39). There was a point in the book where I did get an asexual vibe from her (which was fine with me), but then the author did a 180 with that. I was also amazed by how naive she was. There was only one thing that weirded me out: she constantly spied on her across-the-street neighbors. But it was explained, and she did use their relationship as a comparison. But still, it was weird.

The end of the book was thoughtful. I liked how the author wrapped up the storylines. It was respectful and very touching. I also loved seeing Clover’s growth. The Clover at the beginning of the book would have never been able to do what the Clover at the end of the book did.

I would recommend The Collected Regrets of Clover to anyone over 21. There are nongraphic sexual situations, mild violence, and language.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Mikki Brammer for allowing me to read and review The Collected Regrets of Clover. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a real treasure. If you think a book about a death doula will be morbid or depressing, it is the complete opposite. Clover may be an unusual person but I found her to be a. breath of fresh air. Too many people don’t think about how they are living- or dying- enough. It may have taken her years to get there but thru her career, she learns how to live her life to the fullest. This is definitely a book I will recommend to many people.

Clover is unpleasant. She is great with dying people, but terrible with living ones. Her past comes out and she really had some great people around her. So, this is the book where the unpleasant and shy loner is pursued by a bunch of people at once and learns to live in the world again. The problem is that most of the characters just aren't people I wanted to read about. The dying are the most interesting people here.

I typically prefer romance or romantic suspense, but occasionally a blurb will catch my attention, and I’ll try another genre. Never having read this author’s work previously, I decided to give in to my curiosity and was more than pleasantly surprised. The writing had me invested from the first chapter, and walking alongside Clover on such an emotional journey made me loathe taking a break from reading. With some hints of romance, this character’s path from only existing to genuinely living was poignant, entertaining, and, eventually, heartwarming.

From the first sentence I loved this book and I kept loving it all the way through. The settings and the characters all really came alive and the pacing was just right it was a quick read but not shallow at all. Looking forward to more books by Brammer

Bravo, bravo, bravo Mikki Brammer !!! What an excellent debut novel! Are you sure you've never done this before🤔? Such a sweet, poignant, treasure of a book.

Clover's quirky temperament on a daily basis and gentle nature when it's most important, endears her to readers from page one. Her incongruous personality is what made this book so captivating - I just never knew what to expect from her!

This was such a quotable book to boot! So I was super grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this gifted e-copy! The ability to easily highlight the best quotes on my Kindle makes me so happy!

Here are just a couple of my faves:

"𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆... 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔... 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏."

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆."

So, if you're a fan of either Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine or The Midnight Library, you're bound to love this one, too!

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. This book grabbed me from the very first line where Clover discovers her fascination with death after seeing her Kindergarten teacher drop dead while reading Peter Rabbit. As someone who has unfortunately had a lot of experience with death, I have always had a deep fear of what happens when you die. This book addresses that and so much more. Clover is a death doula, whose job is to keep the dying company until their final breath, While most people would be terrified of a job like this, Clover embraces it and instead is terrified of maintaining relationships with people who will actually stick around. Her entire mentality changes when she meets Sebastian, and he hires her to keep his dying Grandma company. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and really question how one should feel about their relationship with death. I adored it.