3.5 stars

In The Incredible Kindness of Paper, a friendship and more begins with a pen pal assignment in elementary school. I knew I needed to pick this one up after reading the synopsis. The set up was so unique and I loved the overall message of how one small act of kindness can make all the difference in someone’s life. It was so interesting to see how fate pushed and pulled Chloe and Oliver together and apart. It was also fun to see all the different people woven into their story along the way.

The book started off really strong and I was hooked right away. The magical realism was a fun addition and the story unfolds through chapters in the present, as well as ones at various points in the past. Some chapters also focus on a specific side character and how the paper rose touches their life and intertwines with the lives of our main characters.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book felt choppier and more disjointed than the first. Scenes that showed the hand of fate in Oliver and Chloe’s lives were reduced to quick sentences telling us of a missed connection versus actually getting to experience those moments. It made the revelations less impactful. Oliver’s behavior when Chloe reappeared in his life also bothered me and I would have loved more grovel after everything that happened. The ending felt abrupt, but was very sweet. The entire book is filled with pining and longing, and not fully seeing the payout (perhaps in an additional chapter or epilogue), left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. I still enjoyed this magical second chance romance, but not as much as I was hoping.

OW/OM notes: The FMC has a situationship (a non-exclusive relationship) with an OM for the majority of the book. There is a brief, on page (not detailed) intimate scene between them.

CW: job loss, financial insecurity, grief, con artist parent, incarcerated parent, breast cancer (past, secondary character), work related injury to parent resulting in permanent use of wheelchair.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

The Incredible Kindness of Paper
A Novel
by Evelyn Skye
Five stars!

If you love a sweet romance, a little magic, a community of misfits who become family, and an overall uplifting book, this one’s for you!

Chloe is incredibly optimistic, but it isn’t annoying because she knows that about herself. She isn’t gullible, just prefers to expect the best out of everyone. She is very altruistic and while life doesn’t always hand her roses, she makes her own. (pun intended) I loved how she brought a community of people together (much like Claire Pooley), and I love the believability of her magic.

The characters are well written people you’d like to have in your life. Oliver, the other main character, is almost the opposite of Chloe, but with good reason. The way their story unfolds seems inevitable, although while you’re reading it’s just amazing how everything comes together. I haven’t read Evelyn Skye before, but will be checking out her other books!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Evelyn knocked it out of the park with this. This is my third book of hers that I’ve absolutely loved. Chloe is so easy to root for, and Oliver my dear boy…I just wanted to give him a hug throughout the whole book. If you enjoy a book that’s about magic and doing good things for people, this is the one for you.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Incredible Kindness of Paper is a wonderful read about the impact of small acts of kindness in our busy world. In the end notes of this book, the editor comments that reading this book is like getting a warm hug. I totally agree! I loved these characters and their heartwarming story. Evelyn Skye has created a multifaceted story with many characters, different POVs and a mixture of flashbacks and present day.

Chloe and Oliver grew up together and fell in love as teenagers. Oliver’s family had an emergency requiring them to leave in secret and stay on the run, so he left Chloe without an explanation when they were 16. Fast forward fifteen years, and they are both living in New York City and happen to run into each other multiple times.

Chloe has been laid off as a school guidance counselor, and is struggling to find a new purpose in life. She starts making yellow origami roses with positive messages and handing them out around the city. Her roses find their way to many people who need an extra boost of confidence/inspiration, and her yellow rose project grows quickly and exponentially. I love how Chloe stayed true to herself throughout the story, and helped so many people.

With the help of the yellow roses, Chloe and Oliver find their way back to each other. Skye ties up loose ends and creates a beautiful, touching story from beginning to end. The Incredible Kindness of Paper shows us how small efforts can spread hope and positivity and improve many people’s lives.

Thank you to Evelyn Skye and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for an advance reader’s copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Evelyn Skye delivers a quiet, powerful story that lingers long after the last page. The Incredible Kindness of Paper is a beautifully written novel that explores the tenderness of human connection, the healing power of small gestures, and the quiet strength found in vulnerability.

Skye’s prose is lyrical and gentle, like a letter from an old friend. There’s something incredibly grounding about the way she weaves together everyday moments with deeper emotional truths. The characters feel real and imperfect in the best way—flawed, hopeful, and achingly human. It’s not a story driven by high drama, but rather by the slow unfolding of hearts learning to open again.

The metaphor of paper—fragile, enduring, and capable of carrying so much meaning—adds a lovely layer of depth to the story. It’s a reminder that kindness, even when written in the margins of life, can change everything.

While the pacing may feel slower for readers looking for more action or plot twists, those who appreciate introspective, heartfelt storytelling will find this book quietly profound.

A tender, soul-soothing novel that celebrates connection, empathy, and the quiet magic of everyday kindness.

I first want to thank Netgalley and Atria books for providing me this arc in exchange for a honest review.

I wanted to love this. There were moments I loved where my heart yearned for Oliver and Chloe, but as a whole the book was all over the place. Constantly switching timelines. Chapters in other peoples POV. And honestly felt very unrealistic.it was hard to remember who was who when more characters kept being introduced and I found myself wanting to pick up the book less and less the more I read. Definitely heart warming if you are someone who needs that, but it nearly put me in a slump.

This is a fun and easy read. However, as some other reviewers mentioned, I find it hard to believe that Chloe wouldn't have recognized Oliver at all. The premise was cute, albeit unrealistic, but again it's a quick and fun read.

Thank you Net Galley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested this ARC. The premise was so unique to me. I loved Chloe’s quirky optimism and Oliver’s cynicism. There were a few plot points that I thought were expected. But overall this book gave me so much happiness while reading, and was a great quick happy read. Would recommend, especially for people that love a combo of magical realism and second chance love. ❤️

This was the perfect book to get me out of a reading slump. I've never read anything like it. I loved the message and I think it will stick with me for a while. The characters were loveable for the most part, or at least had depth and intrigue. The plot was so unique and heartwarming. Loved everything about this.

"But why can't we just do things because we want to? Even if there's nothing in it for us, other than being nice? When did we start being revenue-maximizing machines and stop being human?"

3.75 Stars

What a sweet story!

Chloe and Oliver are magical pen pals who eventually meet and become inseparable in each other's lives. Until one day when Oliver's family up and disappears without a trace.

Now in the present day, Chloe is living in NYC helping kids as a guidance counselor but internally she feels very lonely in the large city. Her origami flowers bring hope to her students, and so in an attempt to cheer herself up she writes one just for herself. But in the hubbub of her building it gets lost, until a neighbor finds it who needs the message inside its petals. Chloe realizes she can bring more hope and happiness to people and starts her project of creating flowers and leaving them around the city.

Ironically, Oliver is also living in NYC but his path has never crossed Chloe's.... until the origami flowers start making their way around town. A specific one finds Oliver but he's not quite ready to read the message... however, the flower just won't leave him alone. Suddenly his grumpy life has some brightness that just might lead him back to Chloe and his heart.

The ultimate grumpy and sunshine story! Chloe is so nice, and hopeful, and just sunshine personified. And Oliver? He's the biggest GRUMP ever. I didn't like him for about half of the story because he was so angry and withdrawn. But once he found Chloe again he let down his walls and you couldn't help but want him to find his way back to love.

I also really loved the chapters from origami flower recipients. It was nice to see their point of view and how the flowers were changing their lives.

This book reminded me in some ways of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, being in NYC, and with pen pals. The element of magical realism was great too!

Such a really nice book. You can't help but finish it with a smile! My only critique is I wish there had been an epilogue! I wanted to see each of them working in the fields they wanted and of course building their life together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a sweet and unique story! In the current climate of the world, we really do need a story that makes us believe in human kindness and magic.

I absolutely adored Chloe. She was incredibly likeable and her optimism was contagious. She's a sunshine girl but she's also not naïve. Her character felt very real to me.

Oliver and Chloe were so sweet. They were very invisible string coded. I also really liked the pen pal arc. You don't see much of that these days and it was super cute.

The story itself is also beautifully written. Many lines were highlighted!

A wonderful book about kindness, love and resilience.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book, and was my first Evelyn Skye read. I would definitely recommend this wonderful book to family and friends. The author does an excellent job of weaving a web of intrigue between all of the characters, and showing how wide our impact on the world can be. It is a great story of how sharing positivity and joy in the world can help lift others up. Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this and give my unbiased opinion.

A syrupy sweet story for fans of serendipity and second-chance love.

After losing her job, Chloe begins folding yellow origami flowers and writing encouragement inside them to hand out to people or leave places for others to find. Her flowers become a sensation, connecting people of the Big Apple and beyond, including reconnecting Chloe to her childhood love, Oliver.

There is some clunky writing at times and the serendipity often felt forced or too obvious. I also had a hard time believing that Chloe wouldn’t recognize Oliver if they had been best friends from ages 7-16, and then run into each other at 32…

That said, I’m a sucker for a grumpy/sunshine pairing. I also like that Zac, her situationship, is never villainized in Chloe’s eyes. This speaks well to Chloe’s overall positive and loving attitude that stays consistent throughout the story. While Oliver’s sour attitude is very off-putting initially, the author does a great job building his backstory gradually so you begin to feel compassion for him. Finally, I love the messages about avoiding monetizing kindness and reminding readers that most people are good, they might just need a little push.

The Incredible Kindness of Paper is a whimsical story about destiny and love and the life changing power of a few kind words.

Chloe and Oliver are pen pals as children which grows into something more as teenagers until Oliver disappears from her life, leaving her heartbroken. As adults, Chloe is now a defunct high school guidance counselor who makes origami paper roses for her students with uplifting messages inside. One day one of the paper roses accidentally blows away and ends up being found by her neighbour, who reads the kind message inside and changes his life for the better. Soon Chloe begins making origami roses with sweet messages and gives them to strangers and leaves them in random places, with a mission to spread kindness across New York City. Through a series of serendipitous moments, Oliver comes across a rose with a special message that brings him closer to Chloe, not realizing she is the one behind the mysterious paper creations.

I liked the whimsical nature of this story, with the magical paper roses connecting two people who are meant to be together. The origami was a clever way to discuss the intricate ways fate folds and sculpts lives. It was refreshing to read about a character whose goal was to spread positivity considering that majority of books out there have darker themes. This was a feel good story that was a little schmaltzy and would do well as a Hallmark film. Personally, I am not a fan of high school sweetheart stories but I was able to look past that in this story because the originality of the magical origami flowers was intriguing.

There are some things that I found a little unbelievable- how is it possible Chloe did not recognize Oliver from the start? Chloe and Zac's relationship was unrealistic, I just didn't buy it. Also, I don't believe someone would read a generic self help quote and dramatically change their lives like some of the characters did in this story. I love magical realism but even some of these aspects felt a little too far fetched.

Overall The Incredible Kindness of Paper was a feel good story about fated love involving magical origami flowers with secret messages, destined for the ones meant to read it.

Interesting and creative story of a woman making magical origami flowers to spark kindness. Chloe has always been able to write message that were unknowingly targeted or special for the recipient, even as a child. It’s how she met Oliver, a pen pal through school. They became inseparable until a family crisis split them apart as teenagers. Years later, Chloe is making origami flowers with special messages to pass the time after getting laid off. This act of kindness starts a whole movement and connects her and Oliver in fate-filled ways. It’s a touching story that showcases just how it truly is a small world. This isn’t quite 5 stars for me as I felt the pacing was inconsistent. Additionally, while I understand the subplots with Oliver’s mom, it felt like a different tone of story compared to the rest of the book. I’m reading as an early ARC, so this may be cleaned up in editing. Either way, still worth checking out.

Thank you Atria Books for providing book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a cute read! From the very beginning I was hooked, it's full of hope, love and some magic sprinkled through. Highly recommend if your looking for a happy read! :)

If you need a book that's going to lift you out of a bad mood, this is for you. Also, do not make the same mistake I did and start reading this book before bed, because you will want to finish it in one sitting. It's a love story but more importantly it's a story about purpose, and how your job isn't what necessarily defines you in life.

This was such a sweet love story! Chloe is sweet and kind, and she does her best to not let the world bring her down. She works so hard to spread joy and kindness with no expectation of anything in return. Oliver has become jaded by his life experiences though you come to find that he still has a heart. There are other characters whose stories are intertwined into the main story which is a fun writing style twist. There is also an uplifting message of the ability for humankind to shower others with kindness, and this in turn may cause others to change their attitude or situation. Even one small act of kindness can potentially change someone's life. The story line is a little cliche ,but it's still sweet and satisfying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.25/5)

Thanks to the Emily Bestler Books ~ Atria for sending me a #gifted copy of this one.

The premise is just lovely. However, this one was hard for me to rate, I loved the beginning and the end but my attention waned in the middle and I started to feel disconnected from the characters.

The ending 15% or so sucked me right back in because we get to hear more about what really happened to “end” the friendship between Chloe and Oliver (the MCs). I almost cried when everything wrapped up, so clearly I became invested again at some point.

That being said I am prob not the top audience for this book, I would say this is more for lovers of #sweetromance #magicalrealism and #destiny #fated kind of books.

Lastly, I would 100% bet that as a movie adaptation this book would do very well. I know I’d be excited to check it out.

Do you see what I mean!? Totally conflicted.

#TheIncredibleKindnessOfPaper #EvelynSkyE #EmilyBestlerBooks
#AtriaBooks #AtriaBooksInfluencer #UpcomingRelease #GoodBooks #SweetRomance #Coming-of-ageNovel #NewYorkNovel #Best-sellingAuthor #WhatAreYouReading #endlesstbr

This was such an adorable book. I absolutely loved Chloe and how kind she was. The message behind this book is beautiful and I loved the magical feeling you got from it.