Wow, this book was so thought provoking for me. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with (not including family) Definitely made me think, for sure and had some great conversations with friends and colleagues about this!
Another absolute winner from Cecelia Ahern, laughter and tears. -loved it.

I love Cecelia Ahern books but this just wasn't one of my favourites, I think I just didn't really warm to the main character. I also found the way it was written a bit confusing (should this sentence be in speech marks or should it not was my thought a lot of the time). It's a bit of a slow burner but the ending was quite heart warming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I normally love Cecelia's books but this one just didn't wow as much as her others.
Allegra was a hard character to like and it took me a while to get into this book.
The lack of punctuation when people were speaking definitely made it hard to follow sometimes, I felt I just had to check sometimes that someone was speaking.
Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book

I enjoyed this book but I didn’t LOVE it!

Despite the book following Allegra on her journey I didn’t feel like I really knew who she was or that she had any major character development, I just craved a little more depth from her. This, to me, hindered me really feeling connected to her and her story.

The story had some profound and thought provoking moments like most of Cecelia Ahern’s books, which I did enjoy. It made me reflect on who my five people would be and how they’ve impacted and continue to impact my life.

What a beautiful story. As someone that spent a lot of time in life not knowing where I fitted i could really feel this book and every emotion that she went through. Almost cried at the end but I won’t spoil the ending. Sometimes we just don’t see what is right in front of our eyes and genuinely this book really made me think. Would highly recommend reading.

This is a story about loneliness, friendship and the importance of human connections. Admittedly, I found it difficult to engage with the story. There were a number of different storylines and something about it didn't quite come together for me. This is a complex story with lots of seemingly unconnected occurrences. While these happenings are connected, the connection seemed rather tenuous for the majority of the book and I felt I had to wait quite a while for everything to come together. I really enjoyed the aspect of the story that focused on Tristan and Allegra. I would have loved to see more of their story arc and less focus given to Becky and her family. I’m secretly rooting for a novel focusing on Allegra and her true core five. Freckles the sequel, yes please!

I found this to be a very easy read and enjoyed the palpable Irishness that the narration styles bestows. The characters are not particularly likeable. Every single one of them has their flaws but that is an aspect of the book I really like. My favourite character is Tristan. A character I strongly disliked in the beginning but whose character development and growth is something to be greatly admired. He genuinely learns from his mistakes and puts what learns into practice in order to be a better person.

While I found a lot of this story somewhat sluggish, the ending of this novel is absolutely lovely. It is uplifting, encouraging and life-affirming. I just wished the book had captivated me with such intensity throughout and not just in the final pages. It leaves us on a thought-provoking note and encourages some self reflection. I wonder, who are my five people?

This was my first experience of a book by Cecilia Ahern. I can see why she’s so popular! In this lovely book, we meet Allegra, AKA Freckles. She has been raised by her Dad, whom she adores, but she has always had a Mum-shaped hole in her life. When we meet her, Allegra is a parking attendant and ferociously good at her job. She has a run-in with serial parking abuser, Tristan, who tells her that we are all the sum of the 5 people we spend the most time with, and that her 5 people must be awful. Allegra is thrown by this and launches into a project to curate her 5.
Emotional yet light-hearted, this is a lovely read that will make you value those close to you.

3.5 stars
This is a difficult book to review. The first thing I think I should mention is the lack of punctuation. Ahern has not written like this before I think it’s only fair that people should not expect this to be like all her other books.
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of the Ahern pure loveliness in here. There’s a character searching for something. There are a lot of beautiful personalities in the mix.
There’s just something that didn’t feel right about this book for me. Usually, her characters are likeable and her books are generally happy and positive. This will make you feel really sorry for the lonely and lost character.
At times I felt really down and I don’t usually feel that way.
A mixed review. If you can get past the confusion of the punctuation situation and you’re not worried about an overly negative mood, then this one might be for you.

I was totally bored by this book. I only finished it because it was an ARC and I had promised to give a review. I have enjoyed previous books by this author but this one was totally boring

Freckles I'd quite an irritating character, but over time one begins to see why.
She's left her island home and moved to Dublin to join the police but she has an ulterior motive.
Her father, her rock, starts to come from his moorings and her childish plan to ask Amal Ckooney and others to form the five people influencing her life is less than ideal. But as layers peel off we find why she is such a mess and can begin to root for her.
This is most unlike other Cecil's Aherne books but does have a father figure heavily and by the end is hard to put down

Freckles by Cecelia Ahern is an uplifting story a loud young woman, Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles. The storyline is about how she wants to change her life and when someone talks about having five people in your life, to make those changes, Allegra is on a mission.
Highly recommended

Took me a little to get into this, but when I did boy did it give me some food for thought. It very gently, touches on self harming and as you get further into the story other issues surface. I recommend this book.

Wow! What an unusual book. Being neurodiverse myself, I was really excited to read this and find out how Cecilia Ahern has understood and portrayed neurodiversity. Freckles is a completely believable character, whose limited understanding of the neurotypical world leads her to find out about people and their ideals, following the principle that you are made up of the characteristics of the five people closest to you. This is done alongside her humdrum job of being a traffic warden, to which she attaches great importance and tries to do the job to the best of her ability. I really identified with Freckles, and I loved her story. A must read for anybody who is neurodiverse and struggling with the world. Reminded me very strongly of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time.

A story about Allegra aka "Freckles' and how through trial and a fair bit of error she finally finds the five people in her life that that are most important to her and help mould her into the person she is. This book is an easy read and would make a good holiday book. I didn't realise how invested with the character I had been until the ending made me cry. No giveaways to those who haven't finished it yet, whether this was a good thing or bad thing! Thoroughly recommended!

Oh my I loved this book, found it totally absorbing.
Freckles has been raised by her father , her mother having left at birth. We join her as she walks the streets of Malahide, Ireland in her role as a parking warden. Her nemesis is the yellow Ferrari and its' owner, who never has a parking ticket. Freckles, real name Allegra, is challenged one day when she finally has a confrontation with the Ferrari owner, who are her five people, those who shape her, who influence her life?
This book made me smile and on two occasions, cry. And the ending is just joyful.
Thanks to Netgalley for the early read.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles, it turns her highly ordered life upside down. In her current life as a parking warden, she has left her eccentric father and unconventional childhood behind for a bold new life in the city.

I have read a few of Cecelia Ahern's books and enjoyed them but this book is a slow burner that smoulders to the end without really getting alight. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it, it was ok. I think it will appeal to readers who like books set in Ireland with quirky characters. It is a story of family and friendships.

Freckles - Cecelia Ahern

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles, it turns her highly ordered life upside down. In her current life as a parking warden, she has left her eccentric father and unconventional childhood behind for a bold new life in the city.

But a single encounter leads her to ask the question she’s been avoiding for so long: who are the people who made her the way she is? And who are the five people who can shape and determine her future? Just as she once joined the freckles on her skin to mirror the constellations in the night sky, she must once again look for connections.

I find Cecelia Ahern’s books very enjoyable to read so as I soon as I saw this one was available to request I couldn’t resist and it did not disappoint. It is a refreshing book to read and is heartwarming tale about friendship and connections.

I enjoyed reading this book from start to finish and I honestly think the whole concept is very intriguing and definitely had me thinking who my five people would be. I have seen many mixed reviews, but I can honestly say that I would recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of Cecelia.

Rating 4/5

Lovely story about Allegra, trying to find her community and place in the world. Freckles begins with Allegra tracing her freckles on her body to make the shape of the constellations whilst at boarding school, initially, she uses a pen but the ink becomes soo ingrained, the pen is taken away from her and she begins to use sharp objects to trace the stars.
Freckles is highly descriptive, its not the traditional love story that Ahern is known for, however Freckles is heart warming, funny and really poignant.

This book is beautiful in so many ways - the inner character of Freckles, her real name Allegra, the language used by the author, I literally cried for Freckles - tears of sadness but ultimately of joy. The characters are all well depicted. The book literally carried me along as I shared her journey. I am sure everyone will be able to relate to some of Freckles’ story. The idea of being defined by five people in your life is such an interesting concept which made me think of the people I have in my life and people I have lost. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this brilliant book. I shall definitely reread it!

Freckles is a story of friendships and connections. For me it was very slow and predictable and I did abandon it a couple of times. It took me quite a while to get into it. I think it was I couldn't relate to the characters and didn't find them very likeable. I did finish the book and it was an OK read for me. I enjoyed Cecelia Aherns previous books but unfortunately not this one as I felt it dragged on for me sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review