Pip’s world is small, but the stars are calling. She’s spent years folding herself into the background, living quietly and carefully. Then she meets an astronomer from the local observatory who shows her how to look up. Suddenly, the universe feels wide open, full of possibility and light. As stargazing turns to something softer and deeper, Pip begins to wonder if there’s more waiting for her than just quiet nights and quiet dreams. A gentle, luminous story about finding love, taking up space, and letting your heart lead the way.

Another cracking read from Cecelia Ahern.
Pip is in her early thirties; she loves with her mum, dad and her 16 year old daughter who treats her more like a sister. Her life isn't really hers, it's her mother's.

Initially, it took me a while to get into the story - I wasn't really familiar with Irish bogs but very quickly the characters envelope you and I found I couldn't put the book down! It's emotional, engaging and with enough twists and turns that it's not predictable. There's a slight extraterrestrial twist I'm not certain about but it is well worth a read.

Such an interesting read with a fresh combination of issues explored (teenage pregnancy /family abuse / construction safety mica style cover up) which All sounds a bit grim but it isn’t. What could be depressing becomes a lively tale of a family rediscovering each other and themselves with a couple of slightly weird twists.

This book was difficult to read but thoroughly enjoyable. Watching Pip bloom was so satisfying, literally like a flower. Io was a delight, and I’m so glad Jamie came back and helped Pip find her voice.
This book is full of anger, sadness, and some very funny parts, but most importantly it is full of hope. Please go and read it; you won’t be disappointed!

Loved this book, a tale with themes of family dynamics and self discovery while touching on some difficult issues along the way. Loved the wee twist at the end.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Set in Ireland. Pip lives at home with her parents and daughter Bella. Pip’s mother Josephine controls the family interactions. Pip would like a better relationship with her 16-year-old daughter, but Josephine prevents her from having a better relationship.

Pip works at Ballybeg Service Station, working at the deli counter preparing food.

Pip escapes into an imaginary world of daydreams and enjoys writing poetry and folding paper into origami, shapes. The poetry and origami are the aspects of her life she can control.

A chance meeting with a stranger encourages Pip to improve her life.

I loved the way Pip gradually starts making friends and rebelling against her mother.

This was a love story about families and life in a small town.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Harper Collins for a chance to read and review this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I had high hopes for this latest book from Cecilia Ahern, having enjoyed all her previous books. However, I struggled to get into this tale of Pip and her daughter Bella and sadly I didn’t complete it.

Cecilia Ahern does it again! The perfect romantic, life affirming, heartwarming book! “ Pip’s world is small. But it’s about to become a whole lot bigger.

For years she’s tucked away her dreams, shrinking herself into the space left behind – like the delicate origami she creates alone in her room.

Then hope comes from an unlikely place: an astronomer from the local observatory. He teaches her to look up at the stars, and to see a world far bigger and more beautiful than she ever imagined.

And perhaps in that big, beautiful universe there’s someone waiting for her. If she can find the courage to open her heart.

Pip never stopped dreaming, but now it’s time for her to live – and maybe even to fall in love”

You instantly fall in love with Pip and root for her throughout. She’s loveable, flawed and we all have a bit of Pip in us!

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as it’s not usually the sort of thing I go for, but I found it genuinely enthralling. The story follows Pip, who had her daughter Bella at just 16. Set in Ireland, it explores the shame her parents felt around teenage pregnancy, leading them to force Pip into a life dictated by their rules. Bella’s father, Jamie, was sent away to Liverpool to live with family, reducing his relationship with Bella to weekly phone calls. Despite the distance, Pip and Jamie never stopped loving each other, they were simply forced apart by their parents. The damage caused by her parents' control is especially visible in her relationship with Bella. Bella doesn’t call Pip “Mum” and even tells her new boyfriend they’re sisters.

Now in her 30s, Pip is still under her parents' control. She lives with them, never finished school, and works jobs they arrange for her. She doesn't drive and relies on them for transport. Both she and her mother work at a local observatory, but when 16-year-old Bella needs a job, Pip is pushed to working at a petrol station. This change, though seemingly small, becomes a turning point. It gives Pip some space from her parents and introduces her to new people who help her rediscover herself.

What really stood out to me was how evocative the writing was. The characters felt real and alive, and you could genuinely feel the tension in the family dynamic. Watching Pip slowly break free, find her voice, and ultimately choose a life that’s hers was beautiful to witness.

I don’t want to spoil the story because it’s so well woven that even small details could give too much away. But I would thoroughly recommend this book if you enjoy stories about complex family relationships, rich characterisation, Irish humour, and the journey of a woman finding her independence.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publishers, for allowing me to read this book.
I had huge expectations from Paper Heart, especially because Cecelia Ahern usually knows how to tug at the right strings. The book started strong, and for a while, I thought it was going to be one of those emotional, beautifully crafted reads that stay with you. But somewhere along the way, it lost a bit of that spark. It didn’t quite live up to what I had hoped for. That said, it’s still a good read—just not the standout I expected it to be.

I love Cecelia Ahern but this book fell short for me and unfortunately didn't finish. The characters just felt too scripted which is unusual for this author as they're usually so well done.

Cecelia is a favourite author of mine. This book describes the way in which 2 teenagers had their lives changed overnight. Their families stepped in to make the best of what they thought was a bad situation. Over the years both have been treated very badly. Phillipa has found a way to cope with her disappointment using origami and poetry to describe her feelings. She keeps this coping mechanism to herself. As so often happens, life events bring situations to a head. Explore this story through the eyes of family, friendships and love.

I loved everything about this book. It’s one of my favourites this year. It gripped me from the 1st page, and despite finishing it a few weeks ago, the plot has stayed with me. It’s beautifully written, heart warming and thought-provoking.

Pip finds her voice. Pip had a daughter at sixteen. Her controlling mother took charge, mothering her granddaughter Bella and smothering Pip, who takes refuge in origami and her poetry. Then something makes her rebel. A bit convoluted at times but a good read and a dramatic ending.

I am 30% through this so far and I really really wanted to love it. Cecelia Ahern is one of my favourite authors (Where Rainbows End, Ps I Love You and The Book of Tomorrow, being my favourites by her) but I just couldn't get into this at all. It just doesn't feel finished and feels jaggedy (don't know if that makes sense) so for the time being I do have to DNF but may pick it back up before it's release date in August

I absolutely loved this book and found it so hard to put it down!
The characters are fantastic, a lot of people will be able to relate to them and the story itself.

Thank you so much for providing me with an early copy of this book. Cecelia Ahern was the author that got me obsessed with reading and her earlier books hold a special place in my heart. When I saw that she had another book coming out I couldn’t help myself. I knew I had to read it. I have mixed feelings about Paper Hearts. I loved the characters. I loved seeing Pip grow with each and every chapter. I found myself felling so many different emotions for her. I couldn’t help but feel so sorry for her and Bella for the relationship that they were never allowed. I loved Jamie and I really enjoyed seeing them come together as a family again. I just didn’t understand the side story regarding the quarry. It just felt out of place and took me away from the story that I was enjoying. I feel like Cecelia really creates her characters with so much depth and warmth it’s virtually impossible to not build a relationship with them but I felt like the size sorry team my from that away from me. I also can’t help but be a little bit disappointed by the ending. I would have loved to have seen more. Bella’s reaction, her parents reaction. Just that little bit more instead of dropping the news and then ending. I feel like there would have been room to do that if we didn’t focus so much on a side story. However that doesn’t take away from the fact that I loved these characters, their development and the journey that they go on throughout this book. I would be super interested in account book with these characters.

I absolutely adored this book. Cecelia really gets into the heart of characters in her own unique way. The characters are so well written, the nice ones, corrupt ones, timid ones and the struggles they are facing and I was rooting for a few reckonings! An absolutely beautiful book, I devoured it.

16 years ago, aged 16, Pip had a baby. Her domineering mother took charge and has done ever since, constantly showing her disappointment. Is now the time to rebel and take charge of her own life, and that of her daughter? A wonderful story of enduring love. Cecilia Ahern never fails to please .

Pip was 16 when she became an unmarried mother in a backward part of Ireland. That her daughter is mow 16 and she twice that age has not been noticed by pip, her domineering mother or her doormat of a father.
A chance event which causes the “guilty” father of the baby to return home triggers an upheaval in all of their lives - especially Pip”s

It's different, topical and a bit unexpected too.