The Paper Palace is going to be a 'love it or hate it' for a lot of people. For me there are two main reasons why it wasn't  'love it'. Let me start with what I liked about it though. Luscious language paints the gorgeous backdrop of Cape Cod for most of the story and that at least was enjoyable. That and I liked the concept of  a 24 hour period running parallel to the MC's past catching up to that day.

So why didn't I love it? The first eason is that I just couldn't look past the pacing being so off. For me the first half was just dreadfully slow to the point that I put the book down for a couple of months before reluctantly picking it up again.

The second ireason is the vulgarity and explicitly of some very uncomfortable details. I honestly wish publishers would start putting trigger warnings on their books. This book had almost every trigger warning i could think of, I am not going to list them all, but if you are sensitive like me then you might want to avoid reading this book. Otherwise it was alright. 2.5 stars.

“The Paper Palace” is probably my favorite novel in 2021, all 400 pages of it, right next to Yaa Gyasi’s “Transient Kingdom”, two very different types of novels admittedly. It broke the spell for me in being bored by almost all novels I started this year. This was the book I had been waiting for this summer, I loved Cowley Heller’s exquisite writing, a debut which is hard to believe, very fluid yet literary in tone, multi layered and boy what a captivating story about family, love, secrets, swimming, traditions, shame and courage, I am sad it is finished now .
Elle Bishop is spending her summer with her family in the “The Paper Palace”, a slightly decaying set of cabins in the Back Woods of Cape Cod which has been in her family’s possession as long as she can remember and where she has spent all her summers. Something irreversible has happened last night during this year’s summer party which is the opening of the novel. Meandering through 50 years of Elle’s life and leading up to the day where she has to face her past and comes to the crossroad of her life, the novel held me captive to the last page, recapturing her childhood and family history, her first love to Jonas, her perfectly happy marriage to Peter, her formidable mother Wallace and the dreadful incident that nearly destroyed her life. I had to reread the ending twice…. …. Enough, no more details , publishing July 8th in the US by Riverhead, in the UK by Viking, go buy a copy, I guarantee you a great page turner .

This is the kind or read you just can't put down. Once I started it, it had to be finished. The characters are so vivid and the read so charming.

This book had a lot going on and I certainly had to concentrate. A little slow to engage with at the start but I perservered. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

A complex story set over different timelines. Unfortunately it jumps around a bit and I struggled to get into it. The characters were interesting, but this one is not an easy read. My thanks to NetGalley the publisher and the author for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Loved loved loved this. It was beautifully written and very engaging. I liked the structure of the back and forth through time. One of my best books this year

I love coming of age novels like this that are full of the beauty, tenderness and humour. A classic to be read on a beach with a cocktail in hand.

A slow burner read which took me a while and a few attempts to engage with but I'm glad I persevered with the story of Elle which unfolds over a 24 hour period and explores her feelings as she finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Elle is dealing with the aftermath of an impulsive decision which leads to much reflection on her part as she has to grapple with potentially life changing decisions about her marriage and friendships. I would recommend this book and exhort and potential readers to persevere with the slow start as it unfolds into an enjoyable piece of fiction which is worth reading.

This is a book for those who appreciate long books about character's interactions with each other being the sole focus.

I do enjoy those books, and there were parts of this narrative that soared. The writing, particularly around the memories of youth, is at times beautiful, full of a hazzy atmosphere and something akin to nostalgia.

Which I think is what so made this book one that I found jarring - because it will then suddenly be harsher prose, something entirely less literary than it is elsewhere and at times needlessly and purposefully shocking with its causal sexual violence.

Overall, I would be excited to read more by this author, I just found that there were parts of this book I loved and parts that made me want to stop reading and I struggled to balance those out.

It took me a while to get into the book. It had a good storyline and was well written in parts however at times became disjointed and didn't flow well which I felt was due to the emotional aspect of it. It is set in two time frames and tells the story of secrets and lies and relationships. I would recommend it to others to try
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

have just finished The Paper Palace. It was an immersive read, full of lyrical, poetic description of the summer house, the landscape on The Cape, brimming with life and luminous scenes and of the events that have shaped the narrator's life.  It felt very alive and real and the choice she felt forced to make was skillfully pictured as was the young overwhelming love she feels for a childhood friend while fully involved in a happy family and marriage. In another novel I might have felt irritated by her hesitation but the storyline gradually unfolds and it feels as if events unfold as they truly would. The characterisations and the vividness of the people in the novel means it feels as if I have been immersed in someone else's life. I search for novels like this which take you into another world, one where the senses are continually involved. I could see the local lake, watch the raccoons and know what it was to be in her world for a while with all its tumultuous feelings plus life's sadnesses and bits of joy.  I do recommend this beautiful evocation of a summer at the Cape.

I found the first couple od chapters slow, but once I got into the story I was captivated. - perfect read for summer, take it to the beach you will not regret it..

When I first finished the book I was going to give it 3 stars but then when two days later I was still thinking about the story and the characters in the book I realised that meant it totally deserved 4 stars. If I am left with a strong impresson of the characters, so much so that I find myself continuing to ponder them and even wonder things about them then I know the book was well written

This book is definitely what I would call a family saga. Spanning from Elle's childhood right up to her life now as a Mother. All the flashbacks to the past basically slowly answer the questions as to why Elle has suddenly decided to have sex with her childhood friend/love Jonas after all these years.

The writing is powerful and strong and the characters are rich and full. I was left with a real sense of them as people and could even picture them in my mind, Wallace, Anna, Peter, Gina, Jonus and Elle, even Leo, Conrad and Rosemary. All of them felt real to me in their complex flawed ways that humans are.

This book does require some Content Warnings though, particularly for Rape, Sexual Abuse and Cheating.

Also a quick note on the covers. The one featured here and I believe the USA cover is absolutely stunning and I think captures the rawness of the story. The UK cover is far to chintzy and gives the book the air of some sort of summer romance novel which is definitely not. It is far darker and raw than that.

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I enjoyed it. It does swing backwards and forwards in time but once you realise what is happening in each time it's not a hard read. The story of Elle from a child up to an adult with three children, it's a tale of how decisions we make affect us forever. I recommend this book although I wasn't too sure of the way it ended.

Overall this book had a good storyline but I felt it was hard to get into at times and the story didn't flow very well. When reading this book you definitely have to stay focussed.
Thank you to Miranda Cowley Heller, NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was lucky enough to go on holiday to Cape Cod in 2019 and I fell in love with the place. I could absolutely understand how the main character Ellie is so attached to her family holiday home there - The Paper Palace.
So to the book: It is a complex and powerful story that focuses on just one weekend, but goes back to events over the previous 50 years to provide an understanding of the here and now. I loved it. Clever, passionate, sensitive and sad, the Paper Palace does not shy away from some very difficult issues. It is the fall out from Ellie's childhood experiences that provides us with such an intriguing and tragic story. This is a book that is going to stay with me. (As well as reminding me of why I want to return to Cape Cod as soon as I am able.)
Highly recommended, I will definitely be buying this for my friends.
Thank you to Miranda Cowley Heller, her publishers and @NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.

Firstly thank you NetGalley and Penguin for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I did enjoy this book, however the memories felt choppy and the book sometimes could have flowed better. The book is not an easy read.

The book begins with an act of infidelity and through memories the book delves into how the characters are in this situation and how they will.move forward. The love triangle between Elle, her husband Peter and childhood sweetheart Jonas has very intriguing plot points and the main questions of does Elle leave Peter or never know what could have been with her childhood sweetheart.

The story started off slow and I struggled to get into it, however as the story went on I enjoyed it more.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I found this story difficult to get into as it jumped around quite a bit which I find difficult to read on a Kindle. The characters were interesting but I found it difficult to like them that much. Not a book for me.

I am not too sure about this book mainly because it jumps around a lot. Elle and her extended family visit camp for the summer which she has been to for years. The place is falling apart but the memories are very important and there is a pond which she loves to swim in. The camp as been called The Paper Palace for as long as she can remember. The story unfolds and becomes complicated. Elle is there with her husband, Peter, and her three children and then a friend from her childhood arrives named Jonas. She has loved Jonas for as long as she can remember but they missed chances to be together. In the same of a few hours their lives changes and Elle has to make huge decisions about her future. Things carry on, breakfast with family etc but all she keeps thinking about is Jonas. The families mix and get together over the summer and it becomes more and more difficult as she shares a secret with Jonas but not with Peter so is drawn to Jonas. Days fly by and she is torn into making the biggest decision of her life. I liked a lot of the characters especially Elle’s mom who says what she thinks and gets away with it. It does all come together at the end but in a fussy way

The Paper Palace is quite a complex story and is set over different timelines. I always enjoy these kind of stories because you get to find out so much more about the characters. The story delves into Elles past from her childhood to married life. With lots of secrets to come out this is a thought provoking read.. It's a slow burn read at times but it held my attention throughout.