The Collected Regrets of Clover

 

“The Collected Regrets of Clover” by Mikki Brammer
Published by St. Martin’s Press
 
“The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”
 
Clover is a Death Doula in New York City, collecting people’s final words within her notebooks titled “Advice”, “Confessions”, and “Regrets”.  While helping others prepare to die and hearing of their regrets in life, she actually learns a little more about herself, challenging herself to live a fuller life.  It’s similar to a coming-of-age story but not quite.  What I enjoyed most is the way the author took something scary and sad and turned it into something peaceful and beautiful.  This book isn’t for everyone – if you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, this might not be the right time to read this.  But if you won’t be triggered by that, I would recommend it.
 
Finished 12/31/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#thecollectedregretsofclover #mikkibrammer #stmartinspress #2025reads

Wild Dark Shore

 

“Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy
Published by Flatiron Books
 
Well, this is another one in which my rating is lower than others.  So many people loved this book, but I just found it to be OK.  I think part of the issue for me was the descriptiveness related to the seeds.  I know the seed bank itself plays a large part in the storyline, but I found myself skimming through paragraphs about the seeds themselves.  Some would call it beautiful writing, but to me it seemed like unnecessary fluff to lengthen it from a novella to a novel.  Obviously, just my opinion though.
 
Side note – this is my 100^th book read in 2025 (62 physical / 38 audio).
 
Finished 12/21/25 – 3/5 stars
 
#wilddarkshore #charlottemcconaghy #flatironbooks #botm

Becoming

“Becoming” by Michelle Obama
Published by Crown
 
The United States has had many First Ladies come and go but Michelle Obama is by far my favorite so far.  Politics aside, she is not only a strong, well spoken, intelligent woman, she is kind, compassionate, and down to earth.  She strove to provide her daughters with as normal a life as possible, outside of the limelight.  She also strove to help all children live healthy lives and provided opportunities for them to see their own potential.  In this autobiography she shares with us her childhood in Chicago, her courtship and marriage with President Obama, their family life, and of course, her job as First Lady.  I listened to the audio that she narrates herself but also had a copy of the physical book to be able to see all the pictures.  I definitely recommend it.
 
Finished 12/12/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#becoming #michelleobama #crown #2025reads

The Attic Child

“The Attic Child” by Lola Jaye
Published by William Morrow / Harper Collins
 
This isn’t just a powerful book, it is an emotional one as well.  And beautifully written too.  It is the story of two young children and the people they become.  One is a young boy taken from his home in the Congo, brought to the UK to become a gentleman’s companion, only to later be locked in an attic and forced to become a servant.  The other is a young girl who loses both her parents and is then locked away in the same attic by her stepmother about a century later.  They both must find a way to escape, struggle to find their self-worth, and to find love for themselves so that they can then love others.  Their struggles will take you through a multitude of emotions.  And although I enjoyed both storylines, I absolutely love the Dikembe/Celestine character.  He pulled on all the heartstrings and I believe he will stay with me for a long time.
 
Finished 12/11/25 – 5/5 stars
 
#theatticchild #lolajaye #williammorrow #botm #2025reads

These Silent Woods

 
“These Silent Woods” by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Published by Minotaur Books
 
This book has all the feels - sympathy, empathy, compassion, fear, trepidation, gratitude, love, loss, joy…. the list is long.  And the setting is gorgeous – rustic cabin in the woods, in the middle of nowhere.  My family had a very similar cabin we would go to every summer and absolutely loved the peace and quiet of nature all around us.  We weren’t hiding out from the law though, so a much different experience in that sense.  In this story, a man loses his partner in an accident and her parents try to have their infant daughter taken away by the authorities.  What does he do?  He takes her to hide away, living in isolation for years.  Their father, daughter bond is so strong and healthy, and he will do whatever is needed to protect her and keep them safe.  I loved it and highly recommend it.
 
Side note – some of the genres tied to this are mystery and horror, but it is neither of those.  It is suspenseful, but there’s no real mystery and it’s definitely not a horror.
 
Finished 12/5/25 – 4/5 stars
 
#thesesilentwoods #kimicunninghamgrant #minotaurbooks #2025reads

You Watched in Silence

 

“You Watched in Silence” by H Lee Justine
Published by Blackstone Publishing
 
This one wasn’t for me.  I don’t feel like I can 100% blame the book itself though because I’ve been sick, which affects my reading.  If it were a page turner, I think it would have been a different experience, but it truly dragged quite a bit in the middle.  I think the concept of the storyline was good, but I found it unrealistic at times. Don’t trust my reading experience for this one though – if you like psychological mysteries, read the description and other people’s reviews to see if maybe you would enjoy it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this honest review are completely my own.
 
Finished 11/21/25 – 2/5 stars

The White Hot

 
“The White Hot” by Quiara Alegria Hudes
Published by One World
 
I initially thought this was going to be a great book – the premise of the story sounded good, and the writing flowed beautifully, but then everything changed.  The majority of this book is a letter from a mother to her daughter.  A mother that abandoned her daughter at age 8 and wrote a letter for her to open when she turned 18.  In this letter, she explains what she did during the 10 days she had disappeared prior returning to then just drop her off at her father’s house (that she didn’t know).  Initially the letter was fairly normal and seemed like she just needed a break but then it just got stranger and stranger.  Some people loved this book, I’m just not one of them.
 
Side note – there are no chapters in this book.  There are breaks in pages, but no real chapters.  Although the book is less than 200 pages, I know that will bother some people, so I wanted to mention it.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and One World for the complimentary copy of this book.  As always, the opinions expressed within this honest review are completely my own.
 
Finished 11/9/22 – 2/5 stars
 
#thewhitehot #quiaraalegriahudes #oneworld #netgalley #2025reads