Books & Coffee No. 6, The Paper Palace • love beauty thrive

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Welcome to the 6th edition of Books & Coffee, love beauty thrive’s monthly book feature series. Earlier this week, we talked about this year’s vision for the blog and all of the upcoming, exciting changes you can expect to see soon. And here’s the first, an exciting revamp of Books & Coffee!

Our updated blog series, a monthly book feature, connects us in the experience of impactful storytelling, personal growth, and meaningful conversation, one book (so good it keeps you up all night) at a time. If you’re ready for the perfect up of coffee and the best in books, join us each month between the covers of a great read . . .

What’s Books & Coffee?

As part of the new love beauty thrive, Books & Coffee is the first of several brand new and updated series that will be recurring regularly on the blog. It’s a revamp of our original monthly book feature series Books & Coffee. A newly designed book-of-the-month feature for a newly designed love beauty thrive.

It’s a rebrand of Books & Coffee (of sorts), a fresh take on the series with a few changes that I think you’ll love. You can think of it as a monthly book pick that you’re invited to stay for coffee and read with us too! It also kicks off our Book Club content, a new section of the blog dedicated entirely to all things book talk and is now available in the top menu (alongside Life, Beauty, Wellness and Series).

Each month’s Books & Coffee (announcing that month’s book selection) will be posted the first week of the month and will generally follow this format . . .

The Book Pick. It’s this month’s anticipated book selection revealed!
What’s It About? A concise summary of the book quoted from it’s cover.
On the Charts. Is it a New York Times bestseller? An award winner? A famous book club pick?
Book Talk. My thoughts on why I’m going between the covers of this book (and why you should too)!
Read It! Get your hands on a copy and read along with us this month.
Need More? All of our book picks, just a click away. Find previous editions of Books & Coffee here.

Let’s get to it! Here’s what I’m reading this month (drum roll, please) . . .

The Paper Palace

The Paper Palace: A Novel, by Miranda Cowley Heller.

“This house, this place, knows all my secrets.”

Cowley Heller, M. (2021). The Paper Palace: A Novel. New York: Riverhead Books.

What’s It About?

It is a perfect August morning when Elle Bishop awakens in the Back Woods Cape Cod cabin where her family has spent every summer for generations. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend had a secret passionate encounter outside in the darkness while their spouses chatted away inside. Now Elle will have to decide between the world she has made with her much-loved husband, Peter, and the life she’d always imagined would be hers with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event had not forever changed the course of their lives. Spellbinding and surprising, The Paper Palace unfolds over twenty-four hours and across fifty years, as decades of family legacies, love, lies, secrets, and one unspeakable childhood incident lead Elle to the precipice of a life-changing decision.
The Paper Palace (2021).

On the Charts

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller is a Reese’s Book Club pick (July, 2021) and an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Here’s what Reese had to say about The Paper Palace . . .

A deeply emotional love story . . . the unravelling of secrets, lies, and a very complex love triangle . . .
Reese Witherspoon (July, 2021)

Book Talk

I can’t resist a Reese’s Book Club pick and so of course I had to get this paperback! It’s said to never judge a book by its cover, but this gorgeous cover drew me in even more (a peaceful summer landscape at dusk, the colours, the beautiful alliteration and simplicity of the title). I was definitely drawn to the evening summertime feel and depiction of the setting.

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller reviewed as “a magnificent page-turner”, I was intrigued to learn that this is the author’s first novel. Will Elle stay with her husband? Will he find out? Or was she always meant to be with her childhood love (and find her way back to him for good)? An epic summer love story, set in gorgeous, lush, summery surroundings . . . I truly can’t wait to read it.

Read It!

Read with us! Are you ready to go between the covers with a book you can’t put down? Get your copy of The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller on Amazon (and pair it with a hot coffee for best results)!

Need More?

The Paper Palace is the sixth edition of Books & Coffee (check back the first week of March for our second book feature pick)! If you can’t wait for more, you can read love beauty thrive’s original Books & Coffee series, in the meantime, available in the archives.

You can read Books & Coffee No. 1, Becoming here, Books & Coffee No. 2, Finding Freedom here, Books & Coffee No. 3, Untamed here, Books & Coffee No. 4, Atomic Habits here, and Books & Coffee No. 5, Educated here.

Quarterly Book Review

After reading The Paper Palace, join us here again in a few months for a quarterly book review of the books we’ve read together that season. You’ll get a review, a rating, and the chance to join the conversation and share your thoughts on the book too. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

The Paper Palace is the first book to be included in our upcoming book review. Stay tuned next month for love beauty thrive’s next pick for Books & Coffee (to be included in this quarter’s book review too)!

What’s Next?

What’s next on Books & Coffee? The next monthly edition of our book feature will be posted the first week of March. Check back soon on the blog for the latest pick and to read along with us! If you need a hint, I have a deep love for non-fiction (especially at the beginning of the year, when I’m so inspired to create positive life change).

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