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A review by cbthebooktrotter
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Every once in a while, I come across a book that engulfs me and consumes my every being; every where I go I am thinking about this book; where I cannot wait to find out what happens but at the same time I put off reading it because I don’t want it to end! As I got closer to the end of the book, I just found myself closing it up, and dragging it as much as I could. I wanted more!
Paper Palace, a story of a 50 year old, Elle, who has reignited her love with her childhood best friend, Jonas; a relationship that never came to fruition due to extensive trauma from her past. The book follows Elle over the course of 24 hours while she tries to make the decision of whether to remain faithful to her husband and children, or finally let herself see what her life would be with Jonas. The author sends us back in time during those 24 hours to understand what happened in the past to keep Jonas and Elle apart.
Paper Palace was exactly the book I didn’t know I needed. It was so beautifully written. The author used so much imagery I could feel like I was physically in the Back Woods. It was a beautiful, difficult, traumatic, heartbreaking book. I will warn you that there are some dark and heavy topics and this is not a book for everyone. Please research CWs on this one.
I can't explain why I loved it so much, maybe because I am a sucker for the friends to lover romances - especially the ones that happen at a certain time (one of my favorite books of all time is "One Day").
I see some reviews for this book that aren't great; and I understand that this is one of those books that won't be for everyone. But I loved it. I was torn with the ending though. I found myself at 72% of the book rooting for Elle to make one decision, then reading the last 28% and wanting her to make the other choice. And then I got to the end. I have been marinating the end for the past 24 hours and as much as I hate ambiguity, I feel, in this case, I prefer not having all the answers. I do also wish that we had more time with Elle and Jonas when they were younger to really fully grasp their love for each other. I think the author was so focused on all the bad that happened when they were younger that I feel there was some depth in their relationship missing from the story telling. Anyways, I have so many feels and so much I want to say and talk about with this book. For anyone who has read it and would like to talk about Elle's decision at the end, please DM me!
5 stars for my first book of the year! and definitely categorizing this one as one of my favorite books.
Paper Palace, a story of a 50 year old, Elle, who has reignited her love with her childhood best friend, Jonas; a relationship that never came to fruition due to extensive trauma from her past. The book follows Elle over the course of 24 hours while she tries to make the decision of whether to remain faithful to her husband and children, or finally let herself see what her life would be with Jonas. The author sends us back in time during those 24 hours to understand what happened in the past to keep Jonas and Elle apart.
Paper Palace was exactly the book I didn’t know I needed. It was so beautifully written. The author used so much imagery I could feel like I was physically in the Back Woods. It was a beautiful, difficult, traumatic, heartbreaking book. I will warn you that there are some dark and heavy topics and this is not a book for everyone. Please research CWs on this one.
I can't explain why I loved it so much, maybe because I am a sucker for the friends to lover romances - especially the ones that happen at a certain time (one of my favorite books of all time is "One Day").
I see some reviews for this book that aren't great; and I understand that this is one of those books that won't be for everyone. But I loved it. I was torn with the ending though. I found myself at 72% of the book rooting for Elle to make one decision, then reading the last 28% and wanting her to make the other choice. And then I got to the end. I have been marinating the end for the past 24 hours and as much as I hate ambiguity, I feel, in this case, I prefer not having all the answers. I do also wish that we had more time with Elle and Jonas when they were younger to really fully grasp their love for each other. I think the author was so focused on all the bad that happened when they were younger that I feel there was some depth in their relationship missing from the story telling. Anyways, I have so many feels and so much I want to say and talk about with this book. For anyone who has read it and would like to talk about Elle's decision at the end, please DM me!
5 stars for my first book of the year! and definitely categorizing this one as one of my favorite books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault