“Does letting go mean losing everything you have, or does it mean gaining everything you never had?”
If you were captivated by The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller – the tangled relationships, family secrets and haunting summer setting – you’re probably looking for your next unforgettable read. This list of best books like The Paper Palace is packed full of emotional, character-driven stories that explore love, betrayal, memory, and our complicated decisions. Whether you’re drawn to multi-generational dramas, novels with complicated female protagonists, or atmospheric fiction full of depth and tension, these recommendations here at What We Reading will resonate long after the final page. Similar to The Paper Palace, each of these books delves into the intricacies of relationships and the secrets that shape our lives. If you’re wondering what to read after The Paper Palace, this is the list for you.
Commonwealth – Ann Patchett
First up on our list of books like The Paper Palace is Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. This multi-generational family saga starts with a chance encounter at a Southern California christening party, where an uninvited guest kisses the mother of the baby, setting of a chain of events that will define two families forever. As the children from both marriages grow up, their lives become increasingly entangled, shaped by shared summers, betrayals and long-buried secrets.
Delivered with Patchett’s signature grace and sharp emotional insights, Commonwealth explores the ways in which one moment can reverberate through decades, altering the course of many lives. It is a quietly powerful novel about how we reckon with our past – and how the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, become a part of who we are.
Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is a gripping and emotionally layered novel that welcomes readers to the seemingly perfect suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. The story follows two very different families: the orderly, privileged Richardsons and the enigmatic mother-daughter duo, Mia and Pearl, who rent a home from them.
When a local adoption case splits the community in two, tensions ignite between the families, exposing buried secrets, conflicting values, and the fragility beneath their carefully curated lives. As the story unfolds, so do the quiet betrayals and moral dilemmas that challenge ideas of motherhood, privilege, and identity. Similar to The Paper Palace, this novel explores how the choices we make – especially the ones we try to hide – can shape generations. With its vivid characters, tangled relationships, and questions around belonging, Little Fires Everywhere is a powerful, thought-provoking read that stays with you long after the final page.
Check Out The Best Books Like Little Fires Everywhere
We Are Not Like Them – Christine Pride And Jo Piazza
Christine Pride and Jo Piazza’s We Are Not Like Them follows the stories of Riley, a Black television journalist, and Jen, a white woman whose husband, a police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager through two alternating perspectives.
As the story is told through both of their lenses, their best friend bond is put to the test by grief, public scrutiny, and the painful reckoning that emerges from their differences. The novel delves into what it means to truly understand someone else’s experience, even someone you love. It examines morally complex situations, the weight of long-held secrets, and the emotional consequences of difficult decisions, much like The Paper Palace. With honest, heart-wrenching dialogue and deeply human characters, We Are Not Like Them is both timely and timeless, making for a compelling read that invites reflection and conversation.
Ask Again, Yes – Mary Beth Keane
Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two rookie cops in the NYPD, living next door to one another on the outskirts of the city. What happens behind closed doors – from the loneliness and isolation of Francis’ wife, Lena, to the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne, soon lays the foundation for the explosive events set to come in Mary Beth Keane’s contemporary novel, Ask Again, Yes.
Ask Again, Yes is a profoundly moving novel about two families, the bond between their children, a shocking tragedy that echoes over the span of forty years, the daily intimacies of marriage, and the enduring power of forgiveness that is sure to resonate with anyone who loved The Paper Palace.
The Most Fun We Ever Had – Claire Lombardo
Another one of the best books like The Paper Palace, The Most Fun We Ever Had, follows the Sorenson family – four sisters and their parents – through decades of love, rivalry, loss, and personal discovery. At the centre of the story is the enduring marriage between Marilyn and David, whose seemingly idyllic relationship casts a long shadow over their daughters’ messy, complex lives.
As secrets unravel and long-held resentments boil to the surface, each sister is forced to come to terms with their past and find their own way forward. Lombardo’s storytelling is both witty and profoundly insightful, capturing the quiet moments and emotional upheavals that define a family. Similar to Miranda Cowley Heller’s novel, this novel explores themes of memory, forgiveness, romantic entanglements, and the lifelong consequences of our actions.
The Wildflowers – Harriet Evans
The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans is another sweeping, multi-generational family drama filled with glamour, secrets, and emotional depth. It tells the story of the Wilde family – famous, theatrical, and deeply fractured – who once spent idyllic summers at their beachside home in Dorset.
Yet, behind the facade of a perfect family lies a tangle of betrayal, heartbreak, and long-hidden truths. When daughter Cordelia returns years later, memories resurface, and she begins to uncover the complexities of her parents’ relationship and the weight of the past she has been carrying. With its richly drawn characters, lush coastal setting, and slow-revealing narrative, The Wildflowers echoes The Paper Palace in its exploration of memory, complicated family ties, and the last imprint left by childhood wounds. It’s a beautifully-told tale about the stories we inherit, and the ones we choose to rewrite for ourselves.
Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising is a sun-soaked, emotionally charged novel set in 1980s California, where four infamous siblings gather for their annual end-of-summer party – only for everything to fall apart over the course of one unforgettable evening. The Riva siblings are the children of legendary singer Mick Riva, but fame and beauty can’t shield them from the wounds of their past.
As the resentments and rivalries bubble to the surface, each of the siblings is forced to contend with their own identities, legacies, and the meaning of family. Reid deftly blends glamour with vulnerability, creating a story that is just as much about personal reinvention as it is about loyalty and survival. Malibu Rising is a novel that explores complicated family dynamics, emotional scars, and the way one pivotal moment can change everything.
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The Paper Lovers – Gerard Woodward
The Paper Lovers by Gerard Woodward is a quietly unsettling and thought-provoking novel about desire, secrecy, and moral ambiguity. The story follows Arnold Proctor, a married man and literature professor, who embarks on an affair with one of his students – an affair that is as intellectual as it is physical.
What starts out as a seemingly controlled dalliance soon spirals into obsession, revealing the fragility of the lives both characters have carefully constructed for themselves. Woodward’s prose is sharp and psychologically rich, dissecting the motivations behind infidelity, the illusion of control, and the emotional consequences that follow. Much like The Paper Palace, this is a novel that delves into the murky territory behind forbidden love, the weight of consequence, and the lines people cross in the name of longing. The Paper Lovers is a story of interior lives and quiet betrayals – subtle, haunting, and devastating in its emotional accuracy.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
