Pip had her daughter, Bella, when she was 16 and Bella is now 16 herself. Pip has never been allowed to forget the shame she brought on the family and her mother, Josephine, has dominated her life and taken over raising her child. However, after meeting the enigmatic Io, Pip starts to unfurl and find out what she wants in life and to fight for it. Loved this story of family bonds, growing up in a small community and reaching for the stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. Paper Heart may be my new favourite book from Cecelia Ahern. A heartbreaking yet beautiful story that had me in tears quite a few times. PiP is such a wonderful character and she never gave up on her hopes and dreams. A story about families, love, friendship and most of all courage. This story will stay with me for a long time. The ending was perfection! Highly recommend 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc

I didn’t feel like this story had much going on. I couldn’t stand Josephine and just felt enraged at Pip for not standing up for herself ever. Yes, she slowly gets out of her shell but I don’t love this book

Pip, living in a quiet Irish town, became a mother to daughter Bella at the age of 16. With her teenage love banished by his family to Liverpool, Pip's parents Josephine and Phillip took over parenting Bella, even changing her name. Now at the age of 32, can Pip reclaim her life, with the help of visiting astronomer Io?

As usual for a Ceclia Ahern novel, she had some wonderful characters, those you love and those you hate. I detested Josephine, I just couldn't understand her at all, although I appreciate people like her are out there! I liked Phillip's development, how he began to understand his daughter. I didn't feel like there was a huge amount of substance to the story, but it was easy to read, with a predictable but warming ending. There was one element to the ending that I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take it - no spoilers. but it was quite odd!

Paper Heart by Cecelia Ahern is a beautiful and emotional story about reclaiming yourself, finding courage, and standing your ground after years of being silenced.


We follow Pip, a 32 year old single mother who had her daughter Bella as a teenager. Still deeply in love with her first love and Bella’s father Jamie, Pip has spent most of her life under the crushing control of her emotionally abusive mother Josephine and the passive influence of her father. Living in a small Irish town, every decision she makes is dictated by her parents in the name of avoiding shame.


From the moment Bella was born Josephine took over. She even changed Bella’s name on the birth certificate, controlled when Pip was allowed to hold her, and raised her to call Pip by her first name instead of Mum. Pip’s voice and independence have been folded away, symbolised by her hidden origami poetry, until a series of events and new friendships push her to finally open up.


The book is a deep and often heartbreaking look at identity, control, and the long term damage of emotional abuse. But it is also a story of hope. Watching Pip grow from timid and self doubting into someone who knows her worth and is not afraid to fight for it is incredibly rewarding. The shifts in her relationship with her father, and the bittersweet hope for her bond with Bella, make the emotional payoff even stronger.


Josephine is an all too familiar figure in Irish fiction, obsessed with appearances and blind to the real harm she causes. Sammy is exactly the kind of date you wish you could scrub from your memory. Io, the visiting astronomer, was a refreshing platonic presence, a friend who helps Pip rediscover her own strength rather than distracting her from her journey.


And then there is Jamie. His return brought the story full circle in the most satisfying way, restoring not only a romantic connection but the sense of family Pip had been denied for so long.


If I have one criticism it is that the ending felt a little rushed and too neatly tied up after such a powerful build up. But that does not take away from the fact that this was an incredibly moving and empowering read that will stay with me for a long time.


A profound and heartfelt exploration of self worth, courage and love.

It's a good job my heart isn't made of paper because this book would've torn it into tiny pieces - ok, it would've then glued them back together, as all of Cecelia's books do, but I'm glad mine is made of sterner stuff all the same.
There is a dark side to this story with people doing terrible things, some of them with good intentions and others are just plain bad. The book does a good job of showing that it's hard to know which is which when you're in the middle of it or don't have all the information. The power we can give others to impact our lives is a strong theme throughout, and the arc of Pip in particular was great to read. Hers felt like a situation many people could find themselves in and not have the strength or belief in themselves to get out of. Often, you don't even realise what your situation really is until you have your eyes opened, and that is definitely the case here.
There were two relationships that I especially loved in this book. The first is between Pip and her daughter, Bella. Parents know that maintaining a relationship with a teenager is tough, but imagine if you didn't have any foundational relationship to start from - watching that unfold was lovely. The second is between Pip and Io, which was just a selfless, mutual-appreciation thing. They both got what they needed and gave just as much to the other...perfect.
Does it get a bit over the top towards the end? Yes, but my heart was in my mouth and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see how it all played out.

In this book, we follow Pip, a 32 year-old woman who lives with her parents and the daughter she had when she was sixteen. Slowly, she starts to realise how her parents have infantilised her and starts making her own decisions about how she wants to live.

This was another heartfelt novel by Cecelia Ahern. Pip initially comes across as a bit of a doormat, but we see her start to wake up to the realities of her life. I would have liked to see some of the secondary characters be more developed. but ultimately the story is very much intended to be centred on Pip so they are only relevant insofar as they help her move forward.

A recommended read for fans of Cecelia Ahern and delayed coming-of-age stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good story but I found it incredibly frustrating that Pip just went along with doing what she was told and had done for 32 years!
However, it was lovely to see her finally growing stronger and standing up for herself. I think I just found it more infuriating at the start but enjoyed seeing pips character develop.

Whew, this one really took me on a journey.

We follow Pip, a 32-year-old Irish woman whose life got turned upside down when she became pregnant at 16. Since then, it’s like she’s just been… surviving, not really living. Her parents stepped in, took over raising her child, and pretty much decided everything for her. In their eyes, she could do nothing right… she might as well have been invisible.

But here’s the thing, Pip’s story isn’t just sad. It’s about change. Little by little, she starts reclaiming her life. And oh my gosh, watching her find her voice and step into her own power? I was cheering her on like a best friend in the front row. It’s the kind of character growth that makes you want to stand up and just start clapping.

Yes, my heart broke for her in the beginning, because sadly, what she went through isn’t rare, but it was also so uplifting to see her confidence bloom and to watch her accomplish things she never thought she could.

And the ending? Totally unexpected, but in the best way. It tied up her story beautifully and left me with that warm, satisfied, “okay, life can be good” feeling. This book reminded me that even when you feel stuck in a life someone else wrote for you, there’s always a way to take the pen back.

A beautifully crafted story about a woman trapped in a situation, and how she finally breaks free.
Pip is a 32-year-old woman who still lives at home with her parents and 16-year-old daughter, Bella.
She has spent the last 16 years living a life filled with guilt at having fallen pregnant so young, conforming to all the ideals her parents wish to portray.
Her only saving grace, besides her beautiful daughter, is her passion for art, origami and poetry, which she keeps hidden from everyone.
Many threads run through this tale, but a strong one is shame, as Pip's mother has never really got over her child having a baby so young. Then there is control, where Pip has spent most of her adult life relying on her mother and father, as they have never fostered a sense of independence in her, and how a local wealthy family holds power over the family, as well as regret, stemming from Pip's non-existent mother-daughter relationship with Bella.
I don't want to regurgitate the story, but it comes full circle, and it is a joy to see Pip finally grow a backbone and begin to live the life she should have been living all these years.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC.

A touching family story of a girl who got pregnant too young and the harsh way their families dealt with it. There was always going to be fallout from it. So many lives touched. I loved the origami and poems. The gradual awakening of each character as the story unfolded was beautiful.

Pip is 16 and madly in love with Jamie when she falls pregnant but Jamie's family moved away leaving Pip being controlled by her mother who is ashamed of her daughter's pregnancy and takes over the raising of her granddaughter.
Sixteen years later her mother is still in control and Pip has no confidence, then Jamie returns and wants to know his daughter more than a phone call and Pip finally gets a voice and gets to know her daughter.
I felt so sorry for Pip and the way her mother controlled and belittled her.
A brilliant sad story on controlling families and hope.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

When I start reading this book I could not believe the unpleasant way Pip's mother treat her.After so many years to be suppressed like that it's just tragic.
Was thinking to give only one star,but around the middle of the book Pip did found some backbone,and start to stand for herself.Then Jamie come back,to finally try to have some relationship with his daughter,took him long enough.I understand when he was a teen,and they send him away,he didn't have choice,but as grown up he took his time.Weak excuses.Ugh.

I had so much hope for this book,but I guess it's just not for me,to depressing.Moving on.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for arc.

Firstly, I just want to say I was extremely excited to receive this ARC, as when I was younger my favourite book was ‘Where Rainbows End’ and I had Cecilia’s entire collection on my bookshelf. So to be able to read this one before publication was something I was really looking forward to.

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.

“There are people you can spend a lifetime trying to warm to, and there are those who feel like old friends on a first encounter.”

That is until she meets Lo - who gives her the confidence to try and expand her life. The boy she loves is also back in town, now a man - will they be able to reconnect? Or will her mother drive a wedge between them again?

“Where would we go?’
‘Wherever you like. You can go anywhere you want to Pip. You’re going to go to a lot of places, I know it. And not just by living them through customers’ stories. You’re going to experience things yourself.’”

This was a beautiful book - the way Pip took charge of her life, understanding her mom’s manipulations and finally started standing up for herself was inspiring. The way she was treated was so heart wrenching and so much was taken from her when her mom took over.

I really liked her friendship with Lo and how he brought her out of her shell. Just so wholesome! The way he enabled her to take her life back without doing it for her - I.e. he gave her the confidence to stand up for herself and make changes herself, he didn’t act for her but gave her the emotional hard standing to let her build her own foundations.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would defintely recommend.

ARC copy provided by Harper Collins & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

"Paper Heart" is a life-affirming story of a woman breaking out of the shell in which her parents have encased her. Pip fell in love as a teenager and had a daughter when she was only 16. Her mother took over, in the belief that Pip would not be able to raise a child herself. This story demonstrates that we should all have hope, and never give up on our dreams. This is another wonderful read from Cecilia Ahern.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is just as you'd expect from Cecilia Ahern, a person's dreams turn into heartbreak before they become love. A catchy read from the start.

Really good book which I will recommend to others.

Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

Thanks for the ARC from Netgalley.

I wasn't sure what to expect - but as the story progressed, it felt more and more like my life, especially the infantilization portion. The way Josephine reacts, talks, thinks, I could have sworn she was writing about my mum, unfortunately. Defensive about everything, always thinking she is right, and using the "i did it for you" excuse to explain every decision she did to belittle you or criticise you.. I physically cringed when Pip confronted her mother at last, because it was so real and I can relate to it.

I was cheering Pip on throughout towards the end, to get her independence and on her own feet. I am slightly still confused about Io and what he was really doing in her town??

I enjoyed the book - just because I could relate so strongly.

Another heartfelt novel from Cecelia Ahern. We follow the story of Pip a shy small town girl who lacks confidence and hasn’t yet had the opportunity to grow up and become who she has the potential to be, she had a daughter at 16 and her parents then took over and raised her as her own and pushed poor Pip out of the mothering role. Pips life changes when she meets a kind stranger at work who gives her the confidence she needs to look at her life from the outside and to make some changes for herself.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I know I love Cecelia Ahern and I always say this but this one is so good. There is so much more to Pip’s story than first appears and I absolutely loved getting pulled into her world.

Ahern’s writing is exquisite. I honestly don’t know how she does it. I love the way she weaves little bits of magic into an otherwise very realistic story and it just works.

I loved Pip. I really felt for her and seeing her grow as a character was so heart warming. This is honestly such a wholesome story, I absolutely raced through it because it was just so readable.

This would be a lovely holiday read if anyone is going away for a bit of autumn sun, it’s such a nice easy read.

I have no complaints at all, another hit for Ahern.