Paper Heart by Cecelia Ahern

                                                  

Ebook:  359 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Irish Fiction, Romance,

Publisher: August 2025 by Harper Collins

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentences: Life usually ticks along, consistent as a drip from a leaky tap, but today is different.

Setting: Ireland

Review Quote: An immersive, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting rollercoaster read. Her best yet' Patricia Scanlan

My Opinion: 

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.

Previous Reviews:   Thanks For the Memories   One Hundred Names.  Into The Storm

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

From the bestselling author of PS I Love You comes a story of finding yourself – and finding your way home.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 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.

Author Profile:         

                                                     

                                                  Courtesy of Amazon

Cecelia Ahern was born in Dublin, where she also grew up on September 30th 1981. After completing a degree in Journalism and Media Communications, Cecelia wrote her first novel at 21 years old. Her debut novel, PS I Love You was published in January 2004, and was followed by Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) in November 2004. Both novels were adapted to films; PS I Love You starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Love, Rosie starred Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Cecelia has published a novel every year since then and to date has published 18 novels; PS I Love You, Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How To Fall in Love, The Year I Met You, The Marble Collector, Flawed, Perfect, Lyrebird, ROAR, Postscript and Freckles.

To date, Cecelia’s books have sold 25 million copies internationally, are published in over 40 countries, in 30 languages.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.   Goodreads Author Profile.   Facebook - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern - Author's Official Website   Twitter Profile

Into the Storm by Cecelia Ahern

                                          

Ebook:  346 pages Kindle edition

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Irish Fiction, Mystery 

Publisher: October 2024 by Harper Collins

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentences: The rain against the windshield is relentless. It buckets down from the heavens as if somebody or something is angrily and deliberately attempting to wipe them all out, like demonic toddler with a waterman over an ant hole.

Setting: Ireland

Review Quote: ‘Outstanding… I simply couldn’t stop reading. One of the two or three best novels I’ve read this year and without question the best book I’ve ever read by Cecelia’ JOHN BOYNE

My Opinion: 

It is twenty years since I first read and enjoyed Cecelia Ahern's debut novel, 'P.S. I Love You'. A few years later I read 'Thanks for the Memories' which disappointed me, then in 2012 I read a third 'One Hundred Names'. As this is only the fourth one out of her many published novels I cannot say I am a regular reader of her novels. However when I got the opportunity to read 'Into The Storm' the Irish setting and the blurb attracted me and I decided to read this contemporary mystery.

'Into The Storm' was inspired by a 'Rag Tree' a concept that many cultures believe connects heaven, earth and the underworld and this story is about the protagonists stormy journey and her eventual healing. Enya Pickering has suffered a devastating trauma and how she deals with the aftermath makes for an immersive read. 

In conclusion an emotional novel which is rather dark but well worth reading. I am sure I will be reading more from this author in the future.  With thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review.

Previous Reviews:   Thanks For the Memories   One Hundred Names

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Surviving the storm is only the beginning…It is a wild night in the middle of December, and GP Enya is crouched over a teenage boy, performing CPR in the freezing rain. She found him on a mountain road near Dublin, the victim of a hit-and-run.

The boy survives, but Enya goes to pieces. She leaves her husband, her son, and everything she knows to start a new life in remote rural Ireland.

But even in the quiet of Abbeydooley, beneath the boughs of an ancient tree, Enya is still haunted by that night in the rain. Can the stories of strangers and a land steeped in legend lay the ghosts of her past to rest? Or will the storm she's outrunning finally catch up with her?

Author Profile:         

                                                     

                                                  Courtesy of Amazon

Cecelia Ahern was born in Dublin, where she also grew up on September 30th 1981. After completing a degree in Journalism and Media Communications, Cecelia wrote her first novel at 21 years old. Her debut novel, PS I Love You was published in January 2004, and was followed by Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) in November 2004. Both novels were adapted to films; PS I Love You starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Love, Rosie starred Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Cecelia has published a novel every year since then and to date has published 18 novels; PS I Love You, Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How To Fall in Love, The Year I Met You, The Marble Collector, Flawed, Perfect, Lyrebird, ROAR, Postscript and Freckles.

To date, Cecelia’s books have sold 25 million copies internationally, are published in over 40 countries, in 30 languages.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.   Goodreads Author Profile.   Facebook - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern - Author's Official Website   Twitter Profile

One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

Hardback:  327 pages.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction.
Publisher:  Harper Collins 2012
Source:  Tywyn Public Library, Wales.
First Sentences: She was nicknamed The Graveyard. Any secret, any piece of confidential information, personal or otherwise, that went in never, ever came back out.

Favourite Quote: "Every single ordinary person has an extraordinary story."

Review Quote: ‘An exquisitely crafted and poignant tale about finding the beauty that lies within the ordinary. Make space for it in your life.’ Heat

My Opinion: The idea behind the names is a good one but I did find it rather fragmented.

Having only previously read two of Cecelia Ahern's novels I cannot say that I am a particular fan of hers as she has written I believe fifteen at least. The two I had already read are probably her most famous ones, P.S. I Love You, first published over ten years ago and which I liked. A few years later I read Thanks For The Memories which I was very disappointed with. You must be asking why I decided to read this then, well against all I say about never judging a book by it's cover, this is exactly what I did! The cover of the edition I borrowed from the library is covered in names and it was these names that intrigued me. The idea behind the names is a good one but I did find it rather fragmented although the author does manage to link it all together eventually.

A brief précis of the story without spoiling it for you is that Kitty Logan, the female protagonist that I did not feel sympathetic towards at all, is a journalist that has had her career destroyed by scandal. She seriously needs to sort her attitude out and I think her mentor knew this as she rescues Kitty from her downward spiral. Constance is Kitty's mentor and friend and as she faces her death due to a terminal illness, she sets the young woman a task to write a story that she herself never had a chance to complete. This is where the list of names from the cover come into play as Kitty tries to solve the mystery her friend has left her to turn into an article. It is a daunting task and one that teaches her a few things about herself, but to find out if she succeeds you will have to read for yourself. 

In conclusion then I am glad the cover attracted me enough to want to read this and it was a pleasant read. Recommended to those looking for contemporary fiction that is will uplift your spirits as you discover that "Every single ordinary person has an extraordinary story."

Author Profile

Cecelia Ahern was born on September 30, 1981 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the daughter of the former prime minister  Bertie Ahern. On 14th December 2009 it was announced that Cecelia had given birth to her first child with partner David Keoghan, a girl named Robin. The couple secretly married on 11 June 2010 in County Kildare, Ireland. Her older sister, Georgina Ahern is married to Nicky Byrne of Irish pop group Westlife. Cecelia also has a musical background and was a member of the Irish pop group Shimma. She attended Griffith College Dublin and obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. 

Cecelia Ahern wrote her first novel, PS. I Love You when she was twenty-one. It was published in 2004, the number 1 bestseller in Ireland for 19 weeks and sold in over forty countries. The book was adapted as a motion picture directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and released in 2007 in the United States.  For a full list of her publications please visit the link I have included below.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing. 

Amazon Author Page    Goodreads Author Profile    Books by Cecelia Ahern    Facebook - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern - Author's Official Website