Rating: 5/5⭐️
Pub day: May 9, 2023

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

After the death of her parents when she was just six years old, Clover moved to NYC to be raised by her grandfather. She is now in her early 30s and is a death doula who spends much of her time sitting vigil with people that are dying.

I finished this beautiful book on the last day of April and both the profound message and intricately crafted characters will leave a long lasting impression on my life. I’m not sure how to accurately express how deeply this touched my heart, but I will say that I cried both happy and sad tears on multiple occasions. The story did start a little slower, with a lot of background and character development but it only took about 20% until I was fully invested and loving every second of it.

This is a book that deals with the heavy topic of death so it might not work for everyone but I absolutely loved the journey and the feeling of hope after I finished the final sentence.

I did a combo of audio and digital, both of which would be great options. The audio was so good thanks to the narration by Jennifer Pickens. Her voice was so soothing and exactly what I expected.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc and St. Martin’s Press for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

*quotes from advanced copies may be different in the final copy.

If you are looking for heartfelt, uplifting story add Collected Regrets of Clover to your list. This story takes a unique approach to story telling but talking about one thing no one in American culture wants to talk about, death. Clover is a death doula, she helps people and families transition through the end of life. As part of her own journey Clover keeps notebooks of lessons along the way. It quickly becomes obvious that Clover is more.comfortable with death than living and taking chances. There will be times you will get frustrated with Clover but you will never give up rooting for her.

I received an electronic ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.
Clovis sees a lot of death in her profession. She is a Death Doula who is there with the dying to listen, care, and handle details. At first, it seems people stay away as they are uncomfortable with her career. However, as the story unfolds, readers see that Clovis, herself, is still deep in grief and regrets from her grandfather's death. I appreciate the way Brammer slowly reveals facets of her characters and lets readers draw conclusions that may not pan out as other characters and traits are revealed. Two deaths in the story are critical to Clovis figuring out how to move forward with her own life and let go of her own regrets and need to live in the past. She makes some major changes and learns to take risks and let others in to her life.
As much as I would love to see a sequel, I also appreciate being able to draw my own thoughts together as a reader.

Clover is a death doula, shepherding the dying to their next phase in this world. She has become severely detached from her own sense of self and emotions in the process, since her job requires every ounce of humanity she possesses. She writes down each dying client’s last regrets, confessions, and advice into notebooks that become somewhat like a guiding light for her. That is, until one day she has a client that opens her eyes to what more is out there in the world and how regrets should not be anything any human has in their vulnerable last moments. It forces clover to think about what she wants out of her life NOW and not only for the future. The book is incredibly poignant. I felt immensely for Clover as she flashes back to her childhood in an attempt to explain her current day personality. The discussions of death and dying could be a lot to handle for some readers, but I think that is the point and that the author uses Clover to make the note that death is just part of life. This book isn’t all doom and gloom, it is friendships, love, adventure, coming out of one’s shell, and coming of age all wrapped up in one excellent story. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and it will likely be one of my top books of 2023.

This is one of the best books I have read so far this year! This book takes you through Clover, a death doula's, life about finding herself, friends, love, and getting through her personal regrets after her grandpa's death. I loved almost every character in this book and how well the character development was. Even though Clover is SO good morally and so content with the life she was living, I love that all her clients still taught her about life and that everybody has work to do on themselves. 

I cried the entire last few chapters of the book, so be prepared!

Clover is a death doula who cares for people at the end of their lives. She stays with them, comforts them and keeps a notebook of their last words. While she is great at her job, she isn’t so great at living her own best life.

I loved the premise for this book, but unfortunately the story itself missed the mark for me. Prior to reading, I had never heard of a “death doula” although I find the concept interesting. I just didn’t enjoy the character of Clover; she was written as being a bit quirky, which I generally really lovedand relate to but it just seemed forced. She seemed lonely and it made me sad. I honestly had a hard time getting through this because it just felt kind of depressing, but I wanted to see if it got better.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! “The Collected Regrets of Clover” releases May 9th.

This was such a feel-good fiction debut by an Australian author to watch!

I loved Clover and really enjoyed learning more about death doulas. Perfect for fans of books like The brilliant life of Eudora Honeysett and fantastic on audio narrated by Jennifer Pickins with an author interview included at the end.

Clover will make you re-examine your life and tackle any regrets you might have or wish to fix while you can. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Librofm for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book! Oh what an unexpected surprise. I have been in a bit of a reading slump, and this novel is out of my normal genre, it is just what I needed. The author brought the characters to life. It is reflective, poignant and a true tearjerker. I felt invested in the characters from page 1. The story takes on the hard topic of grief and brings a bit of peace to death. 5 stars

This is wonderfully written story about life and death. Clover is a death doula. She helps people prepare for death. Ever since her kindergarten teacher died during story time and her parents died a year later while on an overseas trip, she has had an interest in the topic of death and even studied it in college. She studied abroad and visited different countries to learn about the rituals related to death in other cultures. After her grandfather died 16 years ago alone in his office while she was away, she returned to NYC and dedicated herself to helping others peacefully approach death.

Clover moved in with her grandfather after her parent’s deaths and her only friend is an elderly neighbor. Her grandfather didn’t socialize, so she never figured out the friendship thing with her peers and it is hard to change her habits now. Through a chance meeting and a new neighbor, she starts to expand her horizons and rediscover the wider world. This is a really moving story and it will stay on my mind.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Clover is a death doula. She helps people at the end of their lives prepare for what is to come. When a new tenant moves into Clover's building and she is hired by the grandson of a new client, Clover starts to realize that while she's helping people at the end of their lives, she's not really living her own.

I really enjoyed this one. Clover is really likeable and the story of her and her grandfather is so sweet. The relationship between Clover and Sebastian is wonderful and Sebastian's grandmother Claudia is exactly what Clover needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available May 9, 2023.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

Have you heard of a death doula? That’s what Clover does, she takes care of people as they get ready for death. Sometimes for a night, sometimes for weeks or months leading up to it. Clover spends all her time soothing, caring for and assisting people get ready for the one thing most people fear.

This book was incredibly thought provoking. Clover is a powerful character. She is a lonely woman who has protected herself so thoroughly that she doesn’t have many relationships in her life. She is a bit stubborn and stuck in her ways. Until a series of people and events have her changing her ways begrudgingly.

I adored her grandfather and his thoughts on life. This book was heartbreaking but also so insightful and sweet. It had amazing reminders about making the most out of life but also how okay it is to grieve in your own way on your own timeline.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the audiobook and @stmartinspress for the ebook! This is out on May 9th.

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Clover is a death doula, shepherding people gently through their last days or hours of life and into death. She is also deeply lonely – a shy introvert by nature, with her beloved grandfather and only living relative passed on, she keeps to herself. If others reach out, she chooses to reject them before they have the chance to reject her, as they normally do when they find out what she does for a living. But a new neighbor and a new client open up her life in ways she never expected – and though it’s not always easy or comfortable, for the first time in years she finds herself willing to try.

Clover is someone for whom reaching out to others and leaving her comfort zone does not come naturally, and her introversion and sensitive nature is only made worse by the emotional trauma of a life of repeatedly getting her hopes up and being rejected, the anxiety that stems from that trauma, and the blame she places on herself for being out of the country when her grandfather died. She’s a complicated character, and I didn’t always find her easy to like, but I felt like that made her journey more compelling. I also liked the way the book explores how we think about dying, and how we treat the sick and the elderly. Overall it was a sweet novel with some poignant lessons about life, and a satisfying ending.

Representation: POC characters, bi/pan and polyamorous character

When I heard death doula, I immediately had to read it. The Collected Regrets of Clover wasn’t entirely about being a death doula like I anticipated, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Clover has been acquainted with death since her childhood, when she lost her parents and was sent to live with her grandfather whom she didn’t really know. She keeps her heart guarded, letting no one in; she doesn’t even have friends. When a new client and a new neighbor come into her life, Clover realizes that through her work and her clients last words, there’s more to life than she’s been living. I found it to be endearing and sweet and loved her last client to pieces.

The Collected Regrets of Clover will be published 5/9. Thank you to the author Mikki Beamer and St. Martins Press for my review copy.

A beautiful book that explores the lessons learned of a death doula. Her journey to make sure people are not alone in the act of dying leads her to learn maybe she doesn’t need to be alone either.

Who knew a book that centers around death could be so cozy and heartwarming?

It also happens to be an insightful tearjerker so it offers something to satisfy a wide variety of readers.

I really enjoyed getting to know Clover. There were many aspects of her personality I found relatable and her character’s reflections on grief felt spot on to me.

The story goes just deep enough to satisfy intellect while remaining sweet throughout. It doesn’t take the path of least resistance, as the author had a few surprises up her sleeve, and I think she managed them quite well. I’ll admit the romantic aspect was making me nervous. I was quite pleased with how the author finally eased my concerns!

I found The Collected Regrets of Clover to be comforting, despite the difficult topic it tackles. I’d never heard of a death doula before and now see it as a beautiful service - one that I’m interested in possibly getting certified in one day. Ultimately, I gained so much from this meaningful book about loss.

I am immensely grateful to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

The Collected Regrets of Clover was a beautiful and thoughtful read. It inspired thoughts around life and death, love and loss and the lessons that we learn through all of those stages of life. This is an emotional read that I would recommend for any reader who likes their books a little melancholic.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this arc! This book was probably one of my top five for the year! I would highly recommend this book to anyone that may feel they need something heartwarming and reflective. How clover deals with grief in the story is often reflective of many of us. I seen myself a lot in clover and I think others might be able to as well. Every character was so beautifully written and easy to connect with and feel like you had a bond with them as well. This book is a five star read to me.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for the free copy.
This book is about Clover, a death doula. I had never read a book from this perspective, so I was intrigued as soon as I read the synopsis. I thought this profession was so interesting the more I learned about it from Clover. Death is such a hard thing for so many different reasons, so Clover's story and job were eye-opening, and I think lots of readers will learn about death and grief while reading this story. I enjoyed how Brammer wasn't afraid to talk about death in so many different forms and aspects. She had Clover dig deep into this topic, I think not only to help herself, but to engage the reader in thinking about this hard topic. She was able to illustrate death and grief in natural ways without making this story too depressing. It was heavy, but I didn't find it to be overwhelmingly sad. My only complaint is the detachment of Clover throughout the first 70% of the story. I wanted to feel a bit more than I was. But the ending did help make up for this.
Jennifer Pickens did a wonderful job capturing the tone and feel of Clover. Her performance brought this character to life and kept me wanting to listen so I could see how Clover hopefully grew. I don't think there's a better person to do this character - so great job!

Clover is death doula and her life revolves around death. Her parents died when she was young and she was raised by her grandfather. An outsider her entire life, she tends to not get too close to anyone because at least that way she can’t lose them.
One evening at a death cafe she runs into a man who will change her life forever by introducing her to his dying grandmother.
I thought this story was so sweet! In the beginning Clover was a very frustrating character because she kept everyone at arms length, but as she helps others work through their thoughts of death and processes her own grief you see her grow as a character.
This book is beautifully written and has some passages that I want to remember forever!
I received an eARC via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

The Collected Regrets of Clover was a feel-good novel taking on the uncomfortable subject of death. I thought this was a really unique novel that included a career choice (death doula) and social engagement (death cafe) that I was not aware existed. I liked that there was a little bit of romance without that being the center of attention in the story.

I felt like the main character, Clover, got in her own way too much. She seemed to some extent unrelatable which was disappointing considering her career choice. Overall, I would add this to a TBR list for someone looking for a unique contemporary fiction.