Claudia Carroll’s Remember, I Love You is a poignant yet uplifting exploration of grief, connection, and the enduring power of love. Set in Dublin, the novel weaves together the lives of several individuals who have experienced profound loss, drawing them into a supportive community at the Leesom Street Café. Through their shared stories and budding friendships, what evolves is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, reminding us that even in the darkest times, hope and healing are possible.

The story centers on Luke, a recently widowed father, who, alongside his young daughter Amy, is struggling to navigate life without his wife, Helen. Connie, mourning the loss of her mother, finds solace in the café, while teenage twins Alex and Lucy grapple with the absence of their father. Their paths converge when Lucasta Liversidge, a renowned and somewhat bonkers author with the ability to communicate with the departed, enters their lives, offering a glimmer of possibility that their loved ones might still be near. As they come together, the characters delve into the complexities of grief and the human desire for connection, while trying to support each other recoup their strength and resilience.

Claudia Carroll writes with such heart, about grief and friendship and family. I loved how each of the characters came to be a found family while grieving in their own ways. Such a simple idea to use multiple narrative voices, each telling their own story that somehow fits seamlessly into 3ch other's.

I have been in Connie's shoes. I think the need to hear mom's voice one more time may be universal. Even now, a quarter of my lifetime later, I dream of getting a phone call from my mother.

The most clear message to me: "Because it's your mother who's making these wondrous miracles happen in your life. No question about it. So much more effective too, don't you think? What a wonderful lady she must have been." 🥹

I think I could have highlighted the whole book. The hike in chapter 38, though, was definitely a standout. Bittersweet joy, melancholy laughter, and a view from the summit.

Keep taking the steps.

For a book about such a heavy subject, it's surprisingly light hearted and hopeful.
Loved Lucasta's story, eccentric and selfish, but kind behind the facade.
Connie's connection to her mum even after death is strong.
The Bereavement Cafe is the meeting place from Lucasta, Connie, Luke, who's recent loss has very much pulled the rug out from his and his young daughter Amy's live, Stella and the twins Alex and Lucy.
There were some stories only touched on, like the twins or Wiil from the cafe (maybe they are fr future books?), but a lovely read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review

Claudia Carroll does a great job making this story so enjoyable while dealing with some subject matters that can be very difficult. A well written book, once again, and I loved reading it.

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.