It took me quite a while to get into this book and although I did eventually, unfortunately I don’t think this book was for me. I struggled quite a lot with the presentation of text without speech and this meant the story didn’t quite flow for me and felt a little confused at times. The book felt unnecessarily slow in parts and at other times seemed to gallop on - the pacing was a definite letdown. However I didn’t altogether dislike the story, there were some lovely moments but overall it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable Irish tale, for the full review go to https://joebloggshere.tumblr.com/post/669718643127500800/freckles-by-cecilia-ahern-anyone-who-knows-my

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK, and the author for an advance ecopy for this book to read in exchange for an honest review.
Cecilia Ahern always writes so beautifully and honestly and with heart. I loved her earlier books PS I love you and The Book of Tomorrow among many others. Freckles is her latest book, set in Ireland (Malahide and Kerry), and it was a pre-Christmas treat.
When Allegra Bird is told she is the sum of the five people she spends most of her time with she begins a quest to change those five people that leads to unexpected results.
Allegra Bird is difficult and confused and yet her brave attempts to find herself and where she belongs is a journey undertaken with honesty, with humour and at times excruciating embarrassment. Allegra faces pain and loss to find her true strength. She slowly wakes up to who she truly is and the people she truly cares about.
Recommended for a refreshing, down-to-earth yet romantic read with a little bit of poetic magic sprinkled throughout.

I’m a bit late reading this as I had heard so many great things about it so I just had to read it for myself. I’m so glad I did.

Initially I struggled with the fact that there are no speech quotation marks, but after a couple of chapters I got over this.

Allegra Bird was known as Freckles, clearly due to the amount of freckles she had. Whilst at boarding school she used to join the freckles up on her arm to form constellations, first using pen and then sharp objects when her pens were taken off her.

She was abandoned by her mother at birth and brought up by her ‘Pops’.

On discovering the whereabouts of her birth mother she gets a job as a traffic warden in the same part of Dublin, hoping to meet her.

Allegra takes her job as a traffic warden very seriously and keeps issuing a parking fine to the driver of a yellow sports car almost every day. She soon discovers the owner is a software developer called Tristan. He tells her that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with. This makes Allegra search for her 5 people. Obviously, Pops is her number one but who are the other 4?

This was sad, happy, enlightening, heartwarming, heartbreaking and even humorous in places. A story of discovery for Allegra and the reader.

I would recommend this if you can overcome the lack of quotation marks.

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for a copy of this book.

It took me a long time to read this book as I found it very difficult to engage with it.
I have read Cecelia Ahern’s books before and have enjoyed them but I’m sorry to say this one was not for me.

My initial impression of 'Freckles' by Cecelia Ahern, was that it was quite a slow read...however, shortly after I revised this to a 'steady' read. It's a study of personal growth, and therefore a story that I felt couldn't be rushed!
Allegra Bird, aka Freckles, is the only daughter of an eccentric father, and a Spanish mother. Abandoned by her mother when she was born, Allegra has been brought up by her father, but now in adulthood, works as a Traffic Warden in Dublin. As the story progresses, we become aware that she has come to Dublin to find her mother.
Allegra is a quirky character seeking to find herself, and her life appears almost entirely governed by rules and routines, perhaps in an effort to make some sort of sense of it. She is very self-aware, and during a chance meeting with a stranger, she has cause to reflect on what might have influenced her nurture to become who she is.

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

As Allegra reflects on people she would like to spend time and those she already spends time with, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, which doesn't necessarily end with a happily ever after, but certainly results in a greater understanding of the influences on her life that have made her who she is.

I enjoyed 'Freckles'. It was ponderous, thoughtful and reflective, and certainly caused me to think alongside Allegra of the five people I spend the most time with.

I give this book five stars.

Awkward and misunderstood, and often misunderstanding the situations in which she finds herself (on the spectrum?), our heroine nevertheless perseveres. Slightly painful to read, because one cares so much about Allegra, it was still memorable and hit all the right emotions.

I enjoyed this book about Allegra/Freckles who has moved up to Dublin to work as a parking warden. She is challenged by a disgruntled person that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with and this sets her off on a path of reflecting who were are her 5 people and who they are now. Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC

My thanks to #Netgally and #HarperCollin’s for the opportunity to review this book.
This was my first Cecelia Ahern book and I found it thought provoking., who actually shapes you into the person that you are.
Written in a warm empathetic way she draws you into the lives of the people on the page.
Although this was my first Cecelia Ahern book it won’t be my last.

I’ve loved all of Cecilia Ahern’s previous novels which I’ve read so this was another pleasant surprise. I adore her writing and find she really evokes emotions through her writing which is fluid.

The main character is adorable and I really connected with her.

A true my beautiful novel

A beautifully crafted, unique book - one which kept the pages turning and raised some smiles. Highly recommended, particularly for fans of this author.

Freckles is a book that I finished and couldn't decide if I liked or not. Upon reflection, there are many things to love about this book. The story is told by Allegra, a complex, socially awkward and possibly autistic young woman, searching for the mother who abandoned her at birth. She's a parking warden. And nude life model. Allegra is unintentionally hilarious with her caustic put downs and observations about people.

A yellow Ferrari owning idiot annoys her with his blatant flouting of parking laws. She takes pleasure in ticketing him - repeatedly. But when he (Tristan) angrily confronts her, something he says, makes her world spin on its axis. A business guru says we are influenced by the 5 people we spend most time with. Allegra is stopped in her tracks.

She doesn't have 5 people. She's lonely.

She wants to know more.

Who knew this one sentence would change her world forever.

There were many reasons this book did not work for me. I have read the author many times in the past few years and usually enjoy her books. There was one surprise, though, I decided to stick with it all the way through to give it justice, and I think it had a very good ending. A learning lesson, if you will.
Freckles(Allegra Bird), as she calls herself, has had a disturbed upbringing; she has always found herself at a distance from those who are considered more mainstream. This has left her feeling like an underachiever, and it was almost painful to see the kind of experiences she puts herself through to reach a truce with herself.
She is leading a remarkably mundane life (or so we assume) when she is proposed an idea about the closest people surrounding a person influencing the way they are. The idea grips her like nothing before, and she sets out trying to make sense of her own list.
It is not a bad book, and her experiences are not to be scoffed at; they sound very realistic. I did not enjoy the reading experience because of all this. The lead character is not likeable, even with all the self-doubt and her growth arc was slow (even if it reached a satisfying conclusion). I have seen quite a few glowing recommendations on the blogosphere to know that I am probably just the wrong kind of audience for a book like this.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I love Cecelia Ahern, her books are so easy to get into and this was no exception. She does it again. I would recommend this author time and time again.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with. Who are your 5? Freckles, really made me stop and think about this. Who are my 5? And who do I want to be my 5?

Freckles, was a bit of a slow burner for me. I found it much more slower paced than Aherns previous works however I loved how it all connected up (much like the freckles) at the end and by then I must admit I shed a little tear. For although the book is slow paced the characters are wholly and wonderfully developed and I felt like I knew them all, even the side characters of the story. And so I truly enjoyed reading Freckles. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Apologies for the late review, my review must not have saved.
I have enjoyed many Cecelia Ahern’s books but unfortunately this was not among my favourites.
To be honest, it was so slow for the first quarter (or more) that I’d have possibly DNF’d if I wasn’t reading it for Netgalley. The book got better but I never really connected with or cared about the main character.

I didn't know where this book was going, but I felt oddly compelled to continue. And I am so glad I did. This book has really made me think about how your life is shaped, and how you and your life can be influenced without your realisation/intention. I thought the last few chapters tied everything together beautifully and think that it made some of the earlier struggles worthwhile. The fact that life is unpredictable makes sense when this story was being told, as I couldn't quite work out where the journey was taking us. The last chapter gained this book a star by itself because it was the turning point / stand out moment I'd been waiting for.

Beautiful, beautiful story!
I’m ve read almost all of the author’s books and always looking forward to what she comes up with next. Freckles didn’t disappoint one second. I loved the interactions so much, the inner dialogue was perfect for a younger adult life Freckles and all her adventurous story to find herself and her life in a world full of strangers but also people close to her.
If you want to get lost in a great story , read this book!

This was such a slow starter for me, it took me a while to understand where it was going due to lots of information at the start of the book. I also found it difficult to read as there were no speech marks to indicate when characters were talking. It was very refreshing reading a book about someone who has struggles and finds happiness in such an interesting way. It certainly got me thinking about which sum of 5 I would have. Overall, it was a fulfilling and uplifting book, I almost gave up on this one but I am very pleased I didn’t.

Having enjoyed previous novels by Cecilia Ahern, I desperately wanted to enjoy Freckles. Freckles is the story of Allegra Bird, nicknamed freckles due to the constellations of freckles she traces on her arms. Allegra moves to Dublin to achieve her dream of joining the Garda however ends up becoming the “second best thing”, the local traffic warden. I won’t spoil the ending of the story by poorly retelling what happens or Allegra’s purpose for going to Dublin in my review but essentially, Freckles begins to re-evaluate her close friends and life after being influenced by ‘Rooster’, a youtube star she meets during her job.

Similarly to Cecilia Aherns other novels, Freckles is descriptive and fantastically written exploring identity and the relationship between friends and family. Freckles isn’t a particularly relatable character, she clearly struggles with her relationships and social interactions, she is quirky and different in her own way (aren’t we all!). Whilst this is part of what makes her charming towards the end of the book (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I found I initially really struggled to connect with the characters and engage with the storyline. Unfortunately, Freckles for me started as a “I really should try a bit more” book rather than one I just couldn’t put down. I was in the mood for an easy, effortless read and I think Freckles has a depth you really need to be in the mood for!