I really enjoyed this one. It features some great characters who all have experienced grief in the recent past and are looking at ways to contact their loved ones. They are brought together by Will who runs a bereavement cafe and they find friendship and happiness.

In this charming and heartbreaking new release, readers follow recently widowed Luke, his six-year-old daughter Amy, and his extended family as they cope with the loss of his wife and Amy’s mom Helen. However, Luke stumbles into a community of people drawn together by their individual stories of grief -- Connie’s missing her mother, twins Alex and Lucy miss their father but cope in very different ways -- at the Leesom Street Cafe. None of them are prepared for a second chance at happiness, since the grief is just too recent, but life continues anyway. As readers join them on their journeys, they too will discover how goodbye might not be the end of their stories. Incredibly emotional and deeply personal, the characters alternate narrating chapters, allowing readers to see how their trajectories change and develop as they try to cope and move on. The characters’ different stories of loss are well-written and touching without overwhelming the other stories, which readers will love. The complex characters and heartbreaking backstories, when paired with their heartwarming futures and possibilities, is poignant, powerful, and immersive, drawing readers into Luke, Connie, Alex, Lucy, and the rest of their community’s stories in this fantastically emotional tear-jerker of a novel.

A Heartfelt Story of Grief, Hope, and New Beginnings

💖​ Heartwarming | ​😊​ Unexpectedly uplifting | ​🇮🇪​ Dublin

Recently widowed Luke is struggling to hold things together for his daughter, while Connie longs for one more moment with her late mum. Twins Alex and Lucy miss their dad but can’t find the words to share their grief. In the heart of Dublin, the Leesom Street Café becomes a haven where love, loss, and friendship collide — and where they just might discover that goodbye isn’t always the end.

Remember, I Love You by Claudia Carroll is a beautiful story about love, loss, and the connections that keep us going, even in our darkest moments. Set in Dublin, the story centers around Luke, recently widowed and struggling to hold things together for his young daughter, Amy. Connie, grieving the loss of her beloved mum, longs for just one more conversation. Meanwhile, teenage twins Alex and Lucy desperately miss their dad but struggle to express it. Their paths cross at the Leesom Street Café — a quiet refuge where friendship, grief, and laughter gently intertwine.

The story unfolds through the third-person points of view of Connie, Luke, and Lucasta. I found myself especially connected to Connie. Having lost my own mother about a year and a half ago — someone who was not just my mum but my best friend and housemate for years — I saw so many parallels between Connie’s grief and my own. Her emotions felt raw and real, and I truly appreciated how sensitively Carroll handled her storyline.

What surprised me most was the tone of the book. You don’t expect a novel centered around grief and loss to be light, funny, and even warm — but that’s exactly what Remember, I Love You delivers. There’s a beautiful balance here: the heartbreak is there, yes, but it’s softened by moments of humor, kindness, and hope.

It’s impossible not to feel empathy and curiosity for these characters. Their individual journeys tug at your heart, and it’s their humanity that makes the story so memorable. That said, I did wish there had been more backstory — not just for the main characters, but especially for the ones they’ve lost. I found myself craving a deeper connection to the deceased characters who shaped so much of the living ones’ grief. A few more layers would have made the emotional stakes even richer.

One downside for me was the ending. While the pacing felt steady throughout, the resolution came a little too quickly and neatly. Each character’s storyline lingered in the same emotional space for most of the book, only for everything to wrap up rather conveniently in the final pages. It felt a bit rushed, and I would have loved a more gradual, in-depth resolution to their journeys.

Still, this is a tender, charming, and surprisingly uplifting read about learning to live with loss and finding new beginnings in unexpected places. A perfect choice if you’re looking for a heartfelt story with warmth, humor, and just the right touch of bittersweetness.

I was so excited to read again a book by Claudia Carroll! And I was not disappointed! The story is about death and grieving... but don't worry, even though the subject can seem a bit serious and heavy, the story is a fun one with a bit of spirituality and emotional moments. This book is really a joy to read! I highly recommend it!!!

Remember, I Love You is an utterly heart-wrenching, yet beautiful read that explores love, hope and bereavement throughout.

We meet charcters such a Luke, a widowed father of young children who is trying to navigate his own grief alongside helping his children through it too, something which I have to say is done so beautifully.

With an array of characters who all face their own struggles, each of them are so well developed its almost impossible to not feel a connection to them throughout.

A poignant story that will definitely stay with me for a very long time.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.*

Heart-wrenching, uplifting and immensely enjoyable, Remember, I Love You is the unmissable new novel from bestseller Claudia Carroll.

The bottom had fallen out of Luke’s world when his beloved wife Helen passed away. With his daughter Amy to bring up single-handedly, getting through each day is a struggle for the pair of them. Luke would do anything to have just one more moment with Helen, but he knows that all his wishing and yearning will not bring the woman he loves with all of his heart back. Connie is also dealing with her grief after the loss of her beloved mother, who was her entire world. Her mum was her best friend, confidante and the best housemate she ever had. How on earth can she go on without her? Teenage twins Alex and Lucy are also missing their dad desperately yet neither have the words to articulate how much his absence from their lives is affecting them.

But just when they think that all is lost, the four of them stumble into the Leesom Street Café and, alongside the other patrons, form a community of people willing to support, elevate and champion each other. As Connie, Alex, Lucy and Luke learn to smile again, will they find everything they seek in this most unlikely of places? Are they willing to look forward to the future? Or will their fear and pain prevent them from healing?

Claudia Carroll’s Remember, I Love You is an exquisite page-turner that will have you sobbing your heart out on one page and laughing out loud on the next. Written with style, sensitivity, intelligence and wit, Remember, I Love You is a stellar tale about love, loss, grief, hope, despair and friendship that is up there with some of Marian Keyes’ finest works.

A book you will want to recommend to all your friends and family, Remember, I Love You is an absolute triumph for Claudia Carroll.

In Remember, I Love You, Claudia Carroll takes us on an emotional roller-coaster as we follow the lives of those struggling with loss and longing.

Luke and his young daughter Amy have barely managed to keep going since the death of his beloved wife, Helen. He would do anything to feel her near again.

Connie, too, is grappling with the absence of her mother—the one person who was always there for her, in every sense of the word.

Teenage twins Alex and Lucy are desperately mourning their father, yet neither knows how to make peace with the grief that haunts them.

Set in the heart of Dublin, this beautiful story weaves together the lives of a group of individuals, brought together by the memories of their lost loved ones. In a community where laughter and friendship slowly heal old wounds, they come to learn that goodbye doesn’t always have to be the end.

With heart-rending moments and unexpected humour, Remember, I Love You is a book that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Claudia Carroll explores relationships in such a deep, meaningful way, keeping you wondering what could happen next.

If you love stories about the power of love, friendship, and second chances, this is one you won’t want to miss!

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Remember I Love You is a quick read about a group of people dealing with grief after losing loved ones. They all end up at this cafe where an eccentric author who can contact the dead, shows up with a few messages. I enjoyed the story; it nails home the "you never know what someone else is going through" trope. The characters are well done, although the children were a bit much, thankfully they are not the main characters. All in all, it is a good read.

Remember I love you was a pleasure to read, a true heart-wrenching and heartwarming story that isn’t all sadness, it’s still full of love and hope. I thought the idea of bereavement cafes / grief cafes was wonderful and I didn’t know they existed, but how wonderful there is a safe space for people grieving to find solace and healing.

I loved all the characters, but my heart had such a special place for Luke, widowed and with young child to raise single handedly whilst also trying to work, my heart just melted for him. I loved them all because Claudia writes with such empathy and sensitivity. Overall a simply beautiful story dealt with compassion and heart.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Take bereavement and add humor, hope, and a little mysticism and you have Remember, I Love You. Claudia Carroll has written a book about death that is both realistic and heartwarming. Thanks #NetGalley #Boldwoodbooks

This is a lovely novel with grief at its core. A group of strangers come together weekly at the Bereavement Café. Here, under the guidance of Will, they share stories and talk about their loved ones. It is sensitive and hopeful.

I loved this! Luke's story particularly resonated with me. Great characters and I enjoyed the way the author explored communication with the deceased. My attention was held throughout by this story, it was very well written. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Claudia Carroll has crafted a touching and humorous story that includes a touch of spiritual magic, addressing the heavy topics of death and grieving in a way that is genuinely enjoyable to read. Despite the serious subject matter, the book is filled with humor, featuring scenarios like loved ones reaching out while in the bathroom or a dearly departed mom giving her child dating advice. I felt that the author never trivialized or belittled the healing process.

Have you ever lost a loved one and spent time with friends and family sharing funny stories about them, laughing together? That's the feeling this book evokes. While we miss our loved ones after they pass away, we need not worry about them; they are always with us.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Remember, I love you
A group of strangers, brought together by grief. An eccentric author who can communicate with the dead. A Bereavement Cafe, a place of healing and hope.
"Remember, I love you" is a lovely novel that looks at some of the ways people deal with grief and survive loss. This book is beautifully written and the stories of the various characters weave together beautifully. It's a story of hope.
A lovely, easy read on a chilly Winter evening.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. Always lovely to read new material from an Irish author too.

A charming and hopeful read that gladdens the heart. Despite the characters gathering together at a Grief Cafe due to their own grief journeys, the book isn't a heavy read. It focuses on the love and friendships that pull us through difficult times. The characters are all learning to live again and listening for messages and signs along the way from their deceased loved ones. Such real characterisation and absorbing stories made this a fast read. #rememberiloveyou #claudiacarroll #netgalley

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

I found the book a bit strange at first with comprehending the fact that it was dead people talking but once I got into the story I was hooked.

A sweet, hopeful tale focusing on grief with themes of the supernatural with a lovely finish.

I enjoyed the read and will definitely read more from this author.

Oh my goodness what a beautiful story and what a tear jerker. I was so emotional reading this all the way through. The relationships in this wonderful story was so lovely. A lovely book to read and perfect to curl up to on a wet day. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Death. It’s inevitable and yet no one likes to talk about it. Luke lost his wife and mother of their six year old daughter and has been struggling to work and be a father. Connie lost her mother, who was also her best friend, and things have been all wrong ever since. They and others like them, who have lost someone important and are not okay, are all drawn to the Bereavement Cafe. A place to talk about the people they miss, the feelings they experience with other people going through it too. But some of their loved ones want to say goodbye and they might find someone to help them do so.
This was a sweet story about finding a way forward after loss. An ensemble piece, we get to watch people at different stages of grief, grieving for different relationships, help each other. With a little supernatural sprinkled in.
Thank you to @theboldbookclub and @netgalley for letting me read #rememberiloveyou a bit early. Look for it Feb 12 2025
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #booknerd #readersofinstagram

Claudia Carroll is a new-to-me author, and I liked the title of this book. I really felt for all the characters in the book. For Luke and his six-year-old daughter Amy, after their wife and mother Helen died. I also enjoyed the developments between Luke and Stella. Stella has her own harrowing backstory.

Connie’s story had a small supeernatural element which was linked to something modern, which I liked, as it was an imaginative way to have this element without making it too predictable. Connie’s mother, and what she said and did in the afterlife made me smile and laugh. She was an amazing mother to Connie, and that came across so well. I especially like how they lived together and got on so well, even when Connie was an adult. Even I was comforted by how she treated her daughter, and how Connie didn’t think twice when turning to her for whatever she needed.

The twins Alex and Lucy also had a backstory that I was interested in, being a twin myself. They miss their dad so much. Each twin’s personality is so different, with Lucy being the most chatty and outgoing and Alex being quiet yet more hostile in her approach to life. Although there wasn’t a twin who was the person who had died in this book, the fact that there are twins still stirred up the lifelong sadness I feel at not having my identical twin sister by my side. It reinforces how much I miss her and the experiences only twins can share that we never had together.

I was drawn to various things: first, the characters and their backstory and wondering howthey’d all be connected. Then, to how each of the characters arrived at the Lessom Street Café. I found the idea of a bereavement café intriguing.

I did like the characters and plot. I found the pacing a little slow, and thought not much happened at times, but then people were just going about everyday life in the best way they could.

What’s clear though, is how much each character who lost a loved one still feels their loss so deeply. I know from experience that it happens like that, and I could identify, and sympathize, with all the characters, as I still feel the loss of my own loved ones, and always will.

It’s impossible not to feel curiosity, sadness, empathy and sympathy with the characters in this novel, and for me they and their stories are what makes it so. memorable. I’d have liked more detail for each of their backstories throughout the novel, though. What was really missing for me was backstory for all the characters in general, but especially for the deceased characters.

I liked Clare and her personality and commitment to Luke and Amy was heartwarming, as was every time Amy saw Clare’s daughters. I was happy at how they loved being together and got on so well.

Remember, I Love You is a heartwrenching, heartwaring and moving novel. It is wordy and there are a word echoes especially towards the end (one example is “at that “). In general , I feel there’s too much emphasis on the fact that Stella wears trouser/ pant suits, and that the mobile/cell phone Connie carries around is old and clunky. It was nice to witness how close the characters became as the story went on, as they are linked through all having experienced loss.

The epilogue was abrupt and felt rushed.

Thanks to Claudia Carroll and Boldwood Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

3 stars.

This was such a beautiful read yet sad at the same time. Which covers the themes of grief and loss and takes the reader on a journey of each of the characters and how they are all brought together through the bereavement cafe.

A story of love and loss but with hope for the future and how light can be found in the darkness through the power of friendships and community.

An emotional and heart wrenching read with a spiritual feel.