An enjoyable read, for the most part. There are a couple of unlikeable characters in this story, Sammy and Josephine.

I struggled at times, especially near the beginning of this with the dynamics between Pip and her parents. I felt quite sorry for Pip but as the book goes on it was great to see her becoming stronger as a person and improving herself and her life.

A satisfying end to the book too and I look forward to reading more by Cecelia Ahern.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Life has never been easy for Pip. At sixteen, she fell pregnant and while her and her boyfriend Jamie wanted to be parents to their daughter Bella, their own parents had other ideas. They split them up and Pip’s mother took over, taking every opportunity to make her feel small and a disappointment. But circumstances are about to change - Pip makes a new friend who teaches her to look at the stars and imagine possibilities for herself. So Pip starts to find her voice but will she ever find her place in the universe?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have read another review that said they were rooting for Pip from the beginning and I couldn’t agree more. I was willing for her to break free from a life she never wanted for herself or for her daughter. And I celebrated whenever she had a win. How many and how big her wins are, you’ll have to read the book to find out!

I have always enjoyed Ahern’s books and looking back over her past publications, I feel like with this and “Into the Storm” she’s really showing what a versatile author she is. I look forward to reading whatever comes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Pip’s life is small, she’s living under the watchful eye of her parents and struggling under the weight of their expectations and their rules. Despite being in her 30s they still treat her like she’s a teenager - a pregnancy at 16 brought shame to her family that she’s never managed to outgrow. The price - her freedom and living her life how she chooses; forced apart from the boy she loves and unable to be a proper mother to her daughter.
Pip's story develops after meeting a stranger at work one day, and her self confidence starts to grow. She begins to take back the independence that her parents have denied her. It’s a story of hope, and showing that it’s never too late to go after your dreams.
Perfect character development (some you love, some you hate) some crazy sub-stories, and you just won’t want to put the book down because you need to find out how it all ends!
“Paper Heart” by Cecelia Ahern is published on August.28th 2025. Thank you Netgalley for my ARC.

Paper Heart, is an enjoyable and easy read. I haven't read any Cecelia Ahern books for a long time but thought this one was worth picking up as a review copy and it was your expected blend of fluffy and seriousness as is normal for chick lit** . One particular annoyance was the mother/daughter relationship. Had the book been set in 80 's Ireland I might have believed how domineering Josephine was , but in 2025 no, not sure this would have gone on for 16 years. The mother-sister dynamic again didn't feel true, I think a younger child would have better suited the story line as Pip's daughter and if we did need to have a teenage characters maybe a younger cousin could have came to stay. Aspects of the last 25 mins of reading stretched credibility to the max, however the epilogue leaves you with a sweet after taste. I am probably overthinking a mostly enjoyable beach read ; if you enjoy the genre and need something light you will enjoy 😉.

*Classic chick lit as defined in late 90's/ early 00's by authors such Keyes, Fielding and Ahern herself. Aimed at women, warm, often funny , emotive whilst challenging womens place in society in an easy/enjoyable to read format Not the modern reinvention where its more synonymous with romance (less)

Pip is 32 still living at home with a job at the local service station making sandwiches for the truckers and those passing through. For years she been hiding away and creating origami in her tiny room.

When an astronomer from the local observatory asks her to make him a sandwich an unlikely friendship begins with him teaching her to look to the stars and start living outside of her tiny room. Pip starts to open her eyes and her mind by doing the things that she wants and not what she’s told to do by her overbearing mother.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. Pip is such a lovely character and the growth she goes through in this book is so wonderful. Of course you have to have a few unlikeable characters and for me it was her mom and Sammy. I just love Cecelia Aherns writing and I thoroughly recommend reading this book.

I’ve been a fan of Cecilia since PS I Love You was first published, so I jumped at the chance to get an early copy to read. Told in her usual emotionally driven style, Paper Heart is a wonderful story about Pip, Jamie and Bella, a young family separated tragically through no choice of their own.

It starts off dark! 32-year-old Pip is living with her parents, treated as a child whilst they raise Bella in their own way, limiting her involvement. Jamie, sent away at 16 by his equally controlling parents, has little contact with his daughter and Pip. But when forced to return home because of a family matter, the spark is still there and thus begins their path to find themselves again.

Pip’s Mum was an awful person, so controlling, the way she manipulated and controlled her daughter and granddaughter made me so angry I almost abandoned the book on a couple of occasions. However, I stuck with it as I trust Cecelia. I am so glad I did.

Pip and Bella were fabulous characters – I loved watching them grow in confidence as the story progressed.

The story itself was well plotted and there was a good variety of supporting characters to keep the story fresh.

I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but only the epilogue as it seemed too short and it would have been good to know how the stories end for some of the other characters. This is my only negative though. I’d 100% recommend it to fans of contemporary fiction and, of course, Cecelia.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Pip, this book’s heroine, is a single mum in her thirties living at home with her parents, who seem to want to control her in every way. She takes solace in her origami and a new friend who works as an astronomer helps her to regain her confidence and move on. Sad and moving, but a bit slow going.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Despite the fact that 'Paper Heart' is I think about the 20th novel published by Cecelia Ahern it is only the fifth I have read over a period of twenty years.

The protagonist Pip is thirty two years old and still living at home, with her parents and sixteen year old daughter. They are both controlled by Pip's parents, in particular her mother. Life at home is unimaginably stressful until Pip starts to question why she is living her life like this'

In conclusion I must honestly say that 'Paper Heart' disappointed me. Parts were enjoyable but I found the origami poems somewhat boring and the storyline generally was so depressing. Josephine, Pip's mother was an absolutely despicable character and it angered me that Pip took so many years to finally stand up to her.

With thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review.

'Origami girl/ Has an origami heart/ She folds it/ And folds it again/ Disguising it/ As a triangle/ Makes it so small/ No one can see it/ Or find it...'

Pip is a 32 year old single mother who lives at home and makes sandwiches at the local gas station. Life is pretty ordinary, '...consistent as a drip from a leaky tap...'. It wasn't always like this. She used to be in love, she used to have dreams, but when she fell pregnant, the shame and humiliation she was made to feel, the forced separation from her boyfriend and daughter's father, the continued erosion of her confidence by her narcissistic mother left her feeling very, very small. Daily, 'Her pen finds words she can't say out loud, her fingers find the shapes, the shapes form feelings she can't express in any other way'. She is an origami girl. However, after she meets a newcomer to town and bumps into her old boyfriend, Pip starts to wonder what might happen if she dares to unfold her heart again, if she dares to live her life off the pages she fills each night.

I enjoyed reading about Pip's paper heart and her journey of self-discovery. I particularly enjoyed the emotive writing in the first half of the book. Although I avidly cheered Pip on in becoming more assertive and confident, towards the end of the book, I felt it became slightly fantastical and lost some of the story's lyrical rhythm. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book and I'll continue to read whatever Cecelia Ahern writes.

Pip, now thirty-two, still lives at home with her parents and daughter Bella after falling pregnant at sixteen. Her youthful dreams with first love Jamie were crushed when their parents forced them apart, leaving Pip under her mother’s controlling shadow. Art has always been her passion, but it survives only in secret—through delicate origami figures and poems she hides away. Everything begins to change when Pip meets Io, a scientist whose quiet encouragement opens her eyes to the vastness of the universe and the possibilities of her own life. Slowly, Pip begins questioning the limitations placed on her and rediscovers her own voice and strength. The contrast between Pip’s tiny folded paper creations and the infinite night sky is both symbolic and poignant, reflecting her journey from containment to expansion.

The novel doesn’t shy away from showing the messy realities of family control, lost opportunities, and the aching regret of unfulfilled dreams. Yet, it balances this with hope, charm, and a subtle romance that feels secondary to the true love story—the one between Pip and herself.

Paper Heart is a tender and thought-provoking novel about second chances and the courage to reclaim your life. It is moving, hopeful, and quietly inspiring—an uplifting story of transformation and self-discovery.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Uk, HarperFiction for this early copy.
This book is a lovely heart warming book of a somewhat smothered Pip who had been advised and helped when found pregnant in her younger years and her parents took over, meaning well at the time , as the parents of the baby. She didn't really have the choice. Its seems she only really started to live and love at the age of 32 and started to see where she was in the world and what love really was.
The book was alittle slow at the start, but picked up. A great 4 star read!

The book follows Pip on a journey of discovery. She has been sidelined by her own family and given no credit for being capable or able. Her mother is controlling and it all stems back to being pregnant as a teenager.
Meeting someone at work allows her to see beyond her current life and believe she can be more and gives her the power to do it.
A great read.

I've nothing negative to say about Paper Heart by Cecelia Ahern but I didn't find it as consuming as her other novels. I found it quite hard to warm to any of the characters and didn't engage with it easily. But these are personal responses not criticisms of the book.

I enjoyed Paper Heart. It follows Pip and Jamie following a young pregnancy. I found it quite hard to get into at the beginning but really enjoyed the ending and I loved Io!

Thank you to NetGalley, Cecelia Ahern, and Harper Collins Publishing for providing me with an advanced ARC copy of "Paper Hearts" for my honest review. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review this book through NetGalley, as I have been a fan of Cecelia Ahern since reading "P.S. I Love You." However, I think my expectations may have contributed to some disappointment.

I had difficulty connecting with the characters Pip and Jamie. Although their story is sad and tragic in many ways, I struggled to feel a strong connection to them. Additionally, the storyline involving Io felt a bit unconventional for my taste. While I did enjoy "Paper Hearts," I felt that it was missing the spark I was looking for.

A lovely, emotional, romantic tale. Paper heart follows Pip as she grows and changes and learns to become herself. She lives where she always has, with her parents and her daughter who she isn’t really allowed to parent.

Brilliant characters, I love Krish and Io, and Jamie and Tala, as well as the main characters. The story is one of growing, of making choices and finding your feet. It deals with issues of family, relationships, growing up, parenting, deceit, jobs and trickery.

Pip’s life has always been complex but now she is starting to see she has choices, and a better understanding of those around her.

A beautiful love story of Pip who lives in the middle of nowhere with her parents who still treat her like a kid and Bella her 16 year old baby but who sees her as a sister. For years Pip has had no voice and no life thanks to her mother but a chance meeting of a new friend is about to open her eyes and her mouth as she tries to take her power back and the return of Bella’s dad makes everything different. This is Cecelia Ahern at her best great characters that you fall in love with and some you hate and a story about love and family. Perfect read!

Paper Heart is a quiet triumph—gentle, luminous, and full of emotional truth. Cecelia Ahern has once again crafted a story that feels both intimate and expansive, reminding us of the quiet strength it takes to step into the world with an open heart.

At the centre is Pip, a character whose small, carefully folded life mirrors the delicate origami she creates. She’s someone who’s learned to shrink herself to fit the spaces left behind—but when she meets an astronomer from the local observatory, her world begins to unfold. What follows is a beautifully told journey of self-discovery, courage, and the quiet magic of connection.

Ahern’s prose is graceful and evocative, with moments that feel like stargazing—full of wonder, stillness, and unexpected beauty. The relationship between Pip and the astronomer is tender and understated, but it’s the emotional growth Pip undergoes that truly steals the show. Her transformation is subtle, believable, and deeply moving.

This isn’t just a love story—it’s a story about learning to see yourself clearly, to dream again, and to believe that even the most fragile heart can find its place in the vastness of the universe.

If you’re looking for something heartfelt, hopeful, and quietly powerful, Paper Heart is a story worth treasuring.

With thanks to Cecelia Ahern, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was just not for me. It took me a long time to get into. The writing style just didn’t suit me, I’m not a fan of third person present tense. I get the book is about Pip’s growth and development and her developing a backbone but I just could not get behind a woman who gives up her job just so her kid can have a summer job. I’m sure this book is for someone, it’s just not for me

3.5

This seems to be a return to more of a romance novel than Ahern's last two books, which felt a bit edgier to me. For me, it's not as engaging but you can make your own mind up. Traditional Ahern fans will surely love it although even they may have to suspend their belief for some parts.

Pip is 32 years old, her daughter Bella is 16. However, Pip doesn't run her own show, that's left up to her mother, Josephine and father, Philip, who Pip and Bella live with. Sixteen years ago Pip got pregnant with the love of her life, Jamie, but the families sent Jamie away and Josephine took over the mothering. But things in Ballybeg are changing. Pip is getting tired of being treated like a child; she wants her independence. Will she get it at her dead-end job or will handsome and rich Sammy Wolverson come to her rescue? Just to throw a spanner in the works a new customer with a strange name has appeared and Bella's father is back to support his own family.

Paper Heart is a romance with a story of rural Ireland wrapped around it. Cecelia Ahern does bring up serious issues such as turf cutting, quarrying in rural areas along with violence against women but she handles each sensitively enough.

I'm afraid I found the slightly out of this world element a little forced and the showdown at the end was quite farcical. If you can suspend your disbelief you will love it.

Great for fans of romance and (dare I say it) traditional chick-lit. It would make a great summer or book club read.

Thankyou to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the advance review copy.