The Paper Gardens

I'm going to start this review with my biggest problem with this book. If you have a serious, life-threatening medical condition...DO NOT KEEP IT A SECRET. There are so many parts in this book where I wanted to bludgeon Ana for being reckless and not saying anything about how she can't do anything to elevate her heart rate. I understand her wanting to be "normal", but when "normal" can get you killed...it's just an incredibly stupid choice to make, and it frustrates me to no end when characters do something like that.

But, maybe that's just me.

I wasn't overly impressed with the romance. It's sweet that Chance cares about Ana so much, and it was heartwarming that after she FINALLY told him something about her condition, he stepped up to take care of her rather than running away. But did it really need the "this is fate" element thrown in? Couldn't he just love her without all of those magical touch sparks, and the necklace? (The book gets brownie points for not throwing in an unneeded love triangle to try and create suspense, at least.)

The villain was also incredibly stereotypical. Greasy hair and acne...really? The idea of the villain in general though, the thought of there being those who would steal power instead of working towards it, was interesting.

Aside from the romantic one, I enjoyed the various relationships in the story. Ana with her family. Chance with his grandfather. These were strong, well-written relationships that didn't rely on "fate" to show that the characters really meant something to each other.

When Ana wasn't keeping her condition a secret and endangering her life, she was a very strong character. She grew stronger as the story progressed, and she stopped letting her condition rule her life. By that I don't mean that she started being more reckless, but she stopped thinking of all the things she couldn't do because of her heart, and instead focused on what she *could* do. Watching her mature as a character was incredibly satisfying, especially after her actions for the first half of the book.

I also liked the ending. The story didn't stop on a cliffhanger - while the plot isn't over, the story was very nicely concluded, with a very sweet moment between Chance and Ana.