Chloe Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey is about Clover, a 46 year old overworked and overwhelmed people-pleaser. She finally decides to say F*CK IT and take the day off to focus on herself, doing and saying whatever she wants (a la Ferris Bueller style).

The cover and synopsis of this book caught my interest. Overall, it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and author for granting me an ARC. This book is expected to come out in January 2024.

What would you do if you could do anything you wanted for an entire day? Think Ferris Bueller but Clover Hendry! Having the entire novel set over the course of one day with the inclusion of flash backs was an interesting premise that was well done. Clover being an overwhelmed, overworked, people- pleaser is highly relatable and I found myself rooting for her throughout the novel. If you are looking for a quick and fun read I really enjoyed Clover Hendry’s Day Off!

I was given this book as an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Clover Hendry's Day Off by Beth Morrey is a delight for any age, but especially so for middle aged women. I happened to read this book on a day that I took off to just enjoy by myself and this was a perfect read.

Clover Hendry is a busy mom who is pulled in many directions by her family, her job, and life and her wants and needs tend to be the last priority for everyone - including Clover herself.

A day starting off like most others takes a turn and Clover ends up spending the day doing what she wants, saying what she really feels, and just enjoying herself while looking back at her life and how she has ended up the way she has.

While I don't want to get hit in the head with a briefcase, I'd love to take a day and reflect, do what I want and say what I want without consequences.

This book is for every woman who feels like she is always stuck making everyone else’s dreams come true. Clover is tired of saying yes, she is tired of making everyone else happy and she is really tired of not being noticed. Today everything is going to change, today Clover is going to put herself first. Join n Clover as she jumps headfirst into saying yes, even while ignoring the consequences. The question is, will it be worth it?

Though this novel is mostly comedic, there are so many poignant themes scattered throughout it.

As a middle-aged chronic people pleaser, Clover Hendry has never allowed herself a day off. But today is different, and she lets herself break every single one of her rules. I absolutely loved Clover and her antics throughout the day. Everyone thinks she’s crazy, but at the end of the day (literally), Clover just might find find herself.

If you’re a people pleaser, too, you’ll definitely relate to Clover. For me, I related to her and even found some freedom within her story. I highly recommend this novel to fans of comedic literary fiction.

Thank you to @Netgalley and the publisher for this book!!!

If you can’t tell from my internet persona (which is my real persona, just on the internet), I’m not a pushover. I hate pushovers and I’m of the opinion that if you have an opinion, you better damn well express it. Clover’s life was so SAD because damn girl, you really accepted this lower standard of life for 40+ years and didn’t have a mental breakdown sooner?! I’m also of the opinion that if someone tries making you do something you don’t want to do, you should make them so miserable that they’ll never ask you to do anything ever again.

Personal dogma (and just general lust for chaos) aside, this book was utterly hilarious. Clover’s new personality, while shocking and a little concerning, was the funniest thing ever. I think if more people lived like Clover 2.0, our world would burn but at least it would be funny. Basically, I’m saying more people should live like Clover 2.0. I’m an agent of chaos, what can I say?

While I’m the furthest thing from a people pleaser (seriously, what do you call someone who goes out of their way to bother people?), I think this book could be good for people pleasers. Again, I’m not somebody who needs to please others so I don’t know if it’s accurate for me to say that, but I do think this is an interesting read for somebody who does have Clover’s tendencies.

This was an outstanding novel that women of a certain age (such as mine) will get on an elemental level. Clover Hendley has been a people pleaser her entire life. She can't tell anyone no, ever. She crushes her soul trying to be everything to everyone, until one day, a combination of mixed medicinals and a head injury result in her not having one single f#ck to give about what anyone thinks of her.

This book is so completely acerbically witty and unapolgetically examining of the thing that happens to women approaching and into their 40s where they know exactly who they are at the moment society decides to dismiss them. This novel explores all of that in a way that pulls no punches but still packs in plenty of humor and truth telling.

The supporting characters are interesting and developed, distinct and purposeful. I loved Petroc!

It has a major element of mad-cap that made me think of Carrie Fisher if she had written a novel in the British accent she used in Star Wars when she suffered no fools.

My only note (and this did not appear with spoilers in my public review) - I did feel the middle of the book suffered from a mixture of slow pacing as the schtick with Clover saying and doing whatever she pleases started to grow stale just as she started getting drunk on her new-found power and acted like a bully.

The reader finds out the context of this behavior later when the sexual assault in revealed, but it was too late in my opinion.

Giving that the reader that context, or at least more of a hint of her past trauma and why she is permissive and how that has impacted who and how she is should have come closer to when she encounters the bunny, so that the reader has more sympathy for her during the third act when she becomes temporarily a monster. I didn’t have any other notes.

I loved how this book was wrapped up in the end, like a tidy, ass-kicking bow. The dialogue was excellent. The re-occurring use if anecdote and metaphor to develop the character and wrap up the chapter was excellent.

I hope this is a smashing best seller and women of a certain age have their day on the best seller list. This novel will stay with me for a long time.

While the premise of this book was interesting, I felt like it was a bit dragged out. A very specific audience will be understanding to the many directions in which Clover is pulled. I can understand burn out & snapping but some of her outbursts felt disrespectful and condescending. I liked how she stood up to some people who wronged her, however she wasn’t a character I liked all that much. I was rooting for her to even the playing field at some parts, but overall I wanted more from the story. And the entire novel taking place over one day just felt .. odd.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

Clover Hendry, after years of going with the flow and bending to everyone’s whims, decides that today is the day that it all ends. The book was a fun read, and it was extremely refreshing to see a middle-aged woman take the reins of her own life back.

She was frustrating at times, seemingly over the top, but deeply relatable in a way that made me understand why she was doing what she does. There were several moments when I found myself laughing, ready to see what she was going to get into next.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for the ARC! Clover Hendry's Day Off was an enjoyable read with a lot of "girl power" vibes. Clover is a BOSS for how she handled herself throughout this book, and if you know me, you know I love a strong female protagonist! I also appreciated that she wasn't the typical 20-year old character who we see time and time again.

While Clover could be frustrating at times. I really enjoyed her narratives of what had happened in her life to get her to where she is now. This book is good fun and was the perfect escape from reality. Thank you Beth Morrey for a fun book!

Thank you NetGalley for the early ARC for this January 30, 2024 release!

Clover Hendry's Day Off is what I'd summarize as a chick-lit "discover your inner power" Britain-based book about a professional mom who's had issues with being a people pleasing doormat to her friends, colleagues and parents (mostly her mom).

Clover Hendry is the primary character - a married woman with a nice husband, twin teen boys, and a decently successful career in TV production. Clover wakes up one day with a migraine and takes a handful of painkillers and decongestants from the "leftover med" jar in the kitchen. After feeling a little out of it on the train into work, she gets accidently hit by a flying briefcase, and then her day takes a major detour. No more work; instead she takes Clover Hendry's Day Off.

The book is written in three parts over a single day- morning, afternoon and evening - with an alternating chapter structure highlighting Clover's day today vs. a day in her past. Clover has a sister she loves, and a mother who is terrible. She doesn't trust many people, but has a couple of close friends, and says yes when she mostly means no. At 336 pages it is a great length.

The author, Beth Morrey, is British, and there are language and regional references that some US based readers won't get, but it all works out. I loved her writing and the sort of humorous, but very relatable, commentary on various relationships in Clover's life. The premise is simple, which makes it a nice approachable book, but it has real teeth to the messages within. Who can't relate to the awfulness of being a people pleaser? The challenges of midlife with kids, work, parents, spouse? Who wouldn't love an excuse to do whatever you want and tell it like it is? We can take inspiration from Clover!

There are side stories with various characters, all of which are pretty satisfying, and could have been even more featured IMO, to make Clover a bit less of a focus for the entire book. 5 stars!

This book was cute. I love the cover and the bunny. The FMC gives strong independent woman vibes which is so nice. This book was an easy read for me and kept my attention.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, but it became a bit tedious and repetitive. Although there were some funny moments, as the story progressed, the MC became increasingly unlikable. This could be a fun read for some, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a good fit for me.

I haven't hit my 40's YET but when I do I want to be like Clover Hendry on her day off! This is such a delightful book and I noticed that I was smiling ear to ear while reading. If you want a book with a relatable heroine and have enjoyed the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, then read this one!

Absolutely charming, perfect book. Fantastic writing, excellent details, and fantastic, really intelligent humor. So well done, lovely book I'm so happy I got the chance to read.

A throughly entertaining book that surprisingly got pretty deep with generational trauma, motherhood, and loss of identity that comes with it. Would absolutely read again.

I found this book very charming while also being thought-provoking as one wonders what they might do if they took the day off from trying to be everything for everyone else all at once.

Clover Hendry has a bit of a chaotic morning that sets off an entire day of essentially responding to happenings around her and to her exactly how she wants to without worrying about being ‘polite’ and ‘accommodating’. She frequently does everything she can not to make waves, but today, she’s going to be an entire hurricane.

There are a lot of humorous moments throughout Clover’s day, but there are also a lot of introspective moments. A lot of examining why we, especially females, demure toward not pushing back on things, not demanding our worth both professionally and personally, and the feeling like we need to do everything without asking for or accepting help. There are a lot of interesting family dynamics woven into Clover’s day as well that help answer some of the previous questions for her specifically. Additionally, there are moments that show that sometimes even when speaking the truth and standing up for yourself or your loved ones, there is still a need for consideration on the delivery.

The biggest issue I had was the flow of the story was at times chaotic as it jumped between Clover’s present day and pieces of her past that framed what ‘Old Clover’s’ reaction to the moment was or would have been compared to ‘New Clover’s’ choices and actions. I understood the purpose, but it threw me off on occasion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was refreshing and original.

Interesting story about what you can when you just want to say what you’re actually thinking at work one day. Clover takes her husband’s pain pills and spends her day going about her normal activities with a twist. Some laugh out loud parts but some bring moments of reflection as to how often we let things go just to get along. Good read.

This was a fun book. I could relate to some of the things Clover was going through. You would think it would be easy to say no to others and yes to yourself, but it’s really not if you are a people pleaser. It was fun to go through it with Clover. While going back to the past and seeing how Clover was and dealt with situations was pertinent to the story, I’m just not a fan of flashbacks in general. But other than that, it was a great story with great characters.



Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was full of him our and realness. The realness I can imagine comes with being middle aged and having teenagers as kids. I liked the back and forth in time lapses between the present and the past, it gave more perspective in terms of wondering if during your life you’ve made the right choices. The dinner scene had me cackling!