The Incredible Kindness of Paper is a heartfelt and uplifting story both about spreading kindness and about a second chance at first love.
Chloe and Oliver grew up as best friends after meeting via school pen pals, but one day, at the age of sixteen, Oliver and his family disappeared without a trace. Chloe is devastated and heartbroken, but eventually picks herself up and moves on with her life. Oliver is devastated and heartbroken as well, but he experiences trauma due to his dysfunctional mom and makes the decision to close himself off to any new friendships or relationships. He finds solace in doing math and providing for his dad and brother. Through both outward happenstance in Chloe’s and Oliver’s lives and some sort of magical, soul-level connection that they’ve always shared, this book is the story of how they find their way back to each other.

Overall, I liked the pacing the author used to interweave Chloe and Oliver’s history with their present-day circumstances. It was also beautiful to get details of the stories of others who were uplifted by Chloe’s messages in the origami flowers. I could feel the difference between the lonely beginning, and the blossoming of community, which is something everyone wants - even the closed-off Olivers of the world! So many of the characters grew personally in some way throughout the book, and that fills my heart in a way I can’t describe. Doesn’t everyone want that in their lives?

Some criticisms: The nemesis-at-work schtick was a bit Hallmarky and the secondary characters seemed to be too well-connected to be believable. It also felt like there were some parts that weren’t quite clicking yet as far as characterization and descriptions of scenes - it swung between feeling unrealistically cliche-like to feeling very down to earth and relatable. For now, I’m chalking that up to reading an advance review copy. Maybe there are a few scenes that will be reworked before publication?

Some other positives:
I found it redeeming that Mr. Not Right was not completely villainized and was given a more complex character than some romance books would.
Though parts of Chloe’s characterization felt a bit exaggerated to me, she was also a really loveable protagonist. I really appreciated how she stuck to her principles and refused to take advantage of how popular her origami flowers became.

As far as content warnings go, there are a handful of four-letter words sprinkled throughout (that I could always do without). Sex is alluded to euphemistically or at least vaguely with no open-door scenes, which is a huge plus for me when reading romances!

If you’re looking for a generally clean read, a sweet (if somewhat unbelievable) love story, and a feel-good message, this book is for you!

This book is *chefs kiss*

The whole premise of spreading kindness, things happening for a reason, and the connection of people in this book had my heart so happy!!!!! Just imagine if this is the way more of us lived our lives!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book.

Release Date: August 12, 2025

A wonderful story about hope, love, and encouragement. This book should be on everyone's TBR list as it offers support and a sense of community that stems from origami roses. A delightful book with a dash of sweet romance and the beginnings of new and unexpected friendships.

A sweet and enjoyable book about the power of kindness. For me it took a little too long to develop, though I liked the characters.

“A connection.

A spark of sameness.

A pause to remember we are all human.”

Thank you Net Galley and Atria Books for the ARC. I so enjoyed this sweet story of Chloe, Oliver, and the paper flowers.