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A review by bandysbooks
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Collected Regrets Of Clover was a book that I was hearing a lot of buzz about coming into May 2023. I saw lots of predictions that it would be featured by Book of The Month (which it was) and generally a lot of good feedback. I'm here to add to the chorus.
This book centers around Clover, a socially isolated woman who works as a Death Doula. As someone who is chronically stoic around death, I found Clover to be a refreshing character. She isn't overly emotional or full of flat platitudes about the next chapter in life. Instead, she is a real person focused on providing real comfort to people as they live out their last days. I also really found myself relating to her in a social sense. While I am not quite as isolated as she is in the start of the book, the segments of this book relating to her childhood and not understanding why people don't like her really hit home in a deep way. I'm sure most people relate to those moments to some degree as we all experience rejection in life.
As someone who is not at all a romance reader, I was a bit nervous when this book started to verge into the romance territory, especially the love at first sight trope. There was no need to worry though, as the romance was tastefully done and only a minor part of a much larger picture.
The main portion of the plot revolves around wish resolution for a dying client and while I did at times find myself a bit worried that it would delve into cliches, the book thankfully avoided most major tropes. Clover isn't magical and able to fix every wound. She doesn't snap her fingers and cause a dysfunctional family to start behaving in a more functional way. She just provides comfort and safety for the people who allow her to and I really liked that.
All in all, if you like contemporary fiction with a very relatable character, a sprinkle of romance and a lot of meaning, I think you'll enjoy this book.
The audiobook narration was well done. I found the narrator's voice to fit the story she was telling. She read very smoothly and was easy to understand.
* Thank you to Netgalley, Mikki Brammer, and St. Martin's Press for the Audio-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
This book centers around Clover, a socially isolated woman who works as a Death Doula. As someone who is chronically stoic around death, I found Clover to be a refreshing character. She isn't overly emotional or full of flat platitudes about the next chapter in life. Instead, she is a real person focused on providing real comfort to people as they live out their last days. I also really found myself relating to her in a social sense. While I am not quite as isolated as she is in the start of the book, the segments of this book relating to her childhood and not understanding why people don't like her really hit home in a deep way. I'm sure most people relate to those moments to some degree as we all experience rejection in life.
As someone who is not at all a romance reader, I was a bit nervous when this book started to verge into the romance territory, especially the love at first sight trope. There was no need to worry though, as the romance was tastefully done and only a minor part of a much larger picture.
The main portion of the plot revolves around wish resolution for a dying client and while I did at times find myself a bit worried that it would delve into cliches, the book thankfully avoided most major tropes. Clover isn't magical and able to fix every wound. She doesn't snap her fingers and cause a dysfunctional family to start behaving in a more functional way. She just provides comfort and safety for the people who allow her to and I really liked that.
All in all, if you like contemporary fiction with a very relatable character, a sprinkle of romance and a lot of meaning, I think you'll enjoy this book.
The audiobook narration was well done. I found the narrator's voice to fit the story she was telling. She read very smoothly and was easy to understand.
* Thank you to Netgalley, Mikki Brammer, and St. Martin's Press for the Audio-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Grief