Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Paper Palace

2 stars

I don’t know where to begin. First, ALL of the trigger warnings you can imagine. Second, this could have easily been 100 pages shorter. Third, I didn’t need a billion characters, especially when one reappeared at the end and I had completely forgotten about them.

The two stars are only because the setting and its descriptions were beautiful and perfect for the summer. Also, I was transported into this summer trip, even though I didn’t know what I was signing up for. I definitely need a palette cleanser after this.

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chapterchatswithcaroline's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Paper Palace had been sitting on my TBR ever since this book came out and was hyped.

The story follows Elle, who is vacationing in Cape Cod at her grandfather’s family home called the Paper Palace, along with her family and long-time best friend. When she is met with an unexpected situation, she must choose between her long-awaited love or the life she has with her loving husband and three children.

The book is certainly beautifully written, but there wasn’t anything that wowed me much about it. I felt the author played it safe. However, it was a story that kept me hooked because I wanted to see how it would end and who Elle would ultimately choose. That curiosity was a good enough reason to keep me engaged.

The book was a slow burner, and some chapters dragged on. The dual timeline also got confusing at times, making it difficult to distinguish between past and present, especially since 80% of the book is written in flashbacks. Additionally, dividing the book into five parts with three parts named after the main characters seemed unnecessary, as the story continued in the same style and was told from Elle’s point of view. If the story had been told from multiple points of view, this division might have made more sense.

The characters were okay, not much to love or hate; they all had their own secrets, lies, and burdens to carry. The book is full of trigger warnings and explicit sex scenes that readers should watch out for when picking this one up.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, especially if you’re not in a hurry and looking for a slow-burn, character-driven book.

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jessiehg's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

In a lot of ways it’s great
- the time cuts exploring a similar theme across generations are so close to being too obvious and trite, but there’s enough complexity and difference that they work well
- the characters verge on 1 dimensional, but they’re also not overwritten which I’m grateful for
- Elle’s motivations and the deep rippling effects of her childhood on her choices are very well done, as is the reasoning (absolution) behind the affair finally occurring
- the end will bother some, but I think it was the only option
- I saw most things coming, but you could take that as well constricted and neat rather than obvious

There’s something here about starting in a simplistic idea of lifelong longing finally acted upon, and then simultaneously strengthening the reader’s belief in that “cosmic connection” and (through an unreliable narrator) revealing flags of the flawed, bad (but not in the way they think they are!) people who would in reality not ride off into the sunset but likely hurt each other like all partners do. Jonas is a dick to his wife, Elle is obviously coping with her mistakes and explores those things (eg lying, distance to husband).

Once I hit about halfway I found it difficult to put down. I was deeply affected. But I didn’t LOVE it.

This may be better on screen than on paper - what verges on flat in the book could be fleshed out with great acting.

It helped me to keep reminding myself that this is my parent’s generation, and in a lot of ways her reactions are very well written for that.

Starting this book in the affair and love triangle is indicative of the target audience. The average airport/rom com reader wants empty longing and sex as a hook to then become invested in the real story. Personally, the real story is what it took for me to give any amount of shits about the affair. An understandable and commercially wise choice, but not to my liking.

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