I generally enjoy a Cecelia Ahern as she is a wonderful writer, but this one was just not for me.

The story focuses on Alice. Alice lives with her Mum Lily and her two brothers, Hugh and Ollie. When Alice is 8 she discovers that she can see the colour of people's emotions and inner self - their aura for want of a better description. Her mum has an angry aura, swirling purples and spitting reds that seem to reach out and infect Ollie, but Hugh's pink aura protects him from his mums turmoil. Alice struggles with her new found power and finds the world too bright for her to cope with. Sent to a school for problem children, Alice meets and develops a friendship with one of the students and in him she finds someone who helps her understand her skills.

We follow Alice through life as she leaves home for London, works as a cleaner, then in a call centre then in a garden centre and so on and so on. She develops a friendship with a reiki instructor who lives next door and from her, learns to seal her aura and create an aura shield to protect her from other people's aura's. Delighted with her new found skill, Alice is soon wearing her aura shield every single day and slowly wearing herself away in the process. One day she meets a man who doesn't appear to have any colours - or if he does, she can't see it. She sets out on a mission to find this man convinced that he is meant to be something special to her.

I didn't particularly care for the mystical elements of this story and I found the pacing extremely slow. I struggled to resist the urge to skip ahead to try and hurry the story on. Some people will love this but for me it just didn't hit the spot and I was left feeling disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cecelia Aherns books are always a bit different and this doesn't disappoint. I found it quite a struggle to get into, the manner in which it is written is not my favorite, but once I got into I quite enjoyed the main character and the idea based around the premise of synesthesia. I felt it was handled quite sympathetically and was very thought provoking whilst providing a good narrative. Well worth a read

I think that this book is brilliant.
The principle character of the book is Alice who has Synesthesia, has a difficult childhood, but an interesting adult life.
The book probes how people that are different nowadays are seen and treated. It perhaps shows that although some of the differences have become accepted there are lots that haven't.
One of the problems is that whereas empathy was encouraged in previous generations, in today's world which is an exclusive world rather than an inclusive world, if you don't think, act or speak like someone else they are often quick to call you on social media or join with their 'friends' against you.
The book addresses all of these issues in a sympathetic way, and the elements of 'fairy tale' are in my mind a wish list for the future.
I have a friend who has Synesthesia and he has had many of these issues, and I hope that this book will help people like him lead a better life.
The story is brilliantly told with fantastic characters. Many many thanks for a wonderful read.
My thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy for honest review.

My first Cecelia Ahern book. Perhaps not the best choice for my debut with this author.

Pet hate number one: present-tense narrative. This just didn't work (it never, ever does) and especially when used during a flashback.

There was a lot of toing and froing between past and present, but there was no indication of the change, so it got very messy and confusing. There was a dramatic leap in the last ten per cent, where the main character went from being pregnant with her first child, to then having three children, then eight grandchildren. Bish bash bosh…all done in a few pages.

It's an intriguing story about Alice, who sees people's energies and emotions in colour: synaesthesia, and how it affects her. Well executed and for the most part well written. The present-tense narrative was a big negative for me as were some bad grammatical errors…even the editor didn't pick up the misuse of 'less and few' amongst them.

Despite the reader being totally overlooked in the author's acknowledgements (we do matter, you know), I was somehow quite immersed and I was impressed by the writing. The big question is, will I read more of this author? Hmm. Maybe. Hopefully, the next book won't be the ghastly present-tense narrative.

In a Thousand different ways by Cecelia Ahern was just the book to hook me back to my reading after a very dry spell. Credible, magical and moving. Cecelia weaves a real human interest story of complex relationships and self discovery around Alice. The ugliness of life is exposed but along the way Cecelia introduces us to beautiful souls in Gospel, Hugh, their wives and of course Andy. A truly delightful, absorbing read that gets 5 stars from me

I have been running out of patience with Cecelia Ahern lately as her books have struck me as too airy-fairy, but this one has given me pause for thought. The character of Alice is so sympathetic, especially given her challenging circumstances, and the description of her special abilities has just enough root in reality to be , if not completely believable, at least engaging. A good, easy read.

A thought provoking good read.

Alice Kelly is a child with a difference, she starts to see colours, in and around people. Why does she see this?
Will this stay? How will it define her life?

Alice grows up in a dysfunctional family. As a child she has this new experience with colours, and I can’t really divulge anything more about that, as I don’t want to spoil the book for other readers.
The book has made me see things in a different light, no pun intended. How would I feel if I were like Alice?
I like how the book explores different situations, and again I pondered how that could make you feel?
A book of family, friends, feelings and love.
The back end of the book, and the ending, were written with some lovely words, and I felt it all, all the feelings.
I enjoyed reading this.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about this book are entirely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC.

I’ve always read Ahern’s books. If you don’t know, she’s usually quirky with her ideas. This one is no exception.

Alice can see your colours. Feeling sad? You’ll be blue. Feeling jealous? You’ll be orange.

But this comes with many problems because the feelings rub off on her, altering her mood too. And it’s not just limited to people. The ground has memories too, so going to new places also overwhelms her.

There is a lot to like in this novel. It follows Alice from childhood as she navigates a world that is not made for her.

We experience the complex relationships that she has with all of those around her. It can be frustrating, as people can take advantage of her and this hinders her progress at times.

My only complaint is that the last 10% of the novel is too rushed. I’m sure it covers decades in just two chapters. But if you can forgive that, then this is a lovely book.

Such a wonderfully written, totally unique storyline. Absolutely loved viewing the world through Alice's eyes. Leaves you wondering if synesthesia is a blessing or a curse and certainly puts a different stance on our muddled, diverse world.

You can't go wrong with Cecelia Ahern when it comes to powerful emotive prose and in this, her newest novel, she is at her best once again!

I found it hard to get into this book and stopped and started alot, with Cecelia's books you never know what you might as all her books are so different and I am disappointed with this book as I was really looking forward to this one when i saw it come up on netgalley. It just wasnt for me unfortunately.

Wow! What a different book, so unusual. I always look forward to reading Cecella Ahem books and have read most. Everyone is different so don't expect more of the same with this author.
I won't repeat the synopsis here but just to say that this is the story of an unusual and gifted woman who finds it hard to fit into the world as the rest of us see it. This is a beautiful story with a deep understanding of what we might call 'disability' or special needs. A wonderful book for a book group to ponder and discuss.

A wonderful book. It tells the story of Alice who has had a difficult childhood. She sees and understands things differently than others and life gets complicated for her. The novel is dark, sad, tender and yet inviting. It was easy to become invested in Alice, her character is so beautifully written, so heartwarming, She is unlike anyone I know, yet she is so easy to identify with.
I can only imagine the complexity of writing a book like this, getting to a position of understanding and developing Alice's character and making it so believable to readers.
Alice's story covers most of her life and by the end of the book, Alice is someone I didn't want to forget.. I will recommend this book to my friends and in my opinion as one of Ceceila Ahern's best.

Such a lovely book, packed with highs and lows, this transported me to a different place and I had to keep reading. I was in tears by the end - an excellent piece of writing.

Alice is different, she knows that, and her mother would rather she wasn't. The middle child, between lovely older brother Hugh who is studying hard so he can get away from the family home and Ollie, her mother's favourite, Alice is seen as trouble.
But the main trouble is that Alice sees people's emotions as colours. Life is so intense for her she shies away from people, wears sunglasses when she can. And being different is hard when you're growing up.

This book follows Alice as she grows up and finds her own way to live with her difference, finding friends and a family of her own. A gripping read, this is a great book to buy.

Cecelia Ahern is one of my favourite authors as you never know what type of story she is going to reveal.
This strangely didn't feel like it was penned by Cecelia and I had a hard time getting into this book.
I've stopped at 30% and just feel like I don't know where the story is going and am I invested in Alice or not? Right now I'm going to DNF this book and may come back to it. Feeling a little bit deflated and disappointed as I was really looking forward to this one

Wow! What a fantastic book!
It’s a fabulous book for a book group to digest and discuss. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone.

I have really enjoyed previous books by Cecelia Ahern so I was excited to read this one - and I wasn't disappointed. It was right up my street. Beautifully written, with well rounded believable characters and a fascinating storyline.

Since she was 8 Alice has had a gift - she can see people's Auras - their colours around them which change according to their mood, their character, and whether they are telling the truth or lying. It's not just people though - she sees the auras around every living thing - she can even see what plants and trees are healthy and which are diseased, and when they need water. Her family are disfunctional, apart from her wonderful older brother Hugo, but they see her as the odd one. Unfortunately she is also empathic, so negative energies and thoughts can cling to her, and she takes them on herself, so she closes herself up from the world - wearing gloves, covering her skin and wearing sunglasses to mute the colours. The story takes you all through Alice's life, and shows what happens when she meets the one man with no discernable colours.

A really fascinating story, well told. Another triumph Ms Ahern.

I’ve enjoyed a lot of Cecelia Ahern’s writing and also enjoyed this novel. I felt that the beginning of the book felt very different from her usual writing but it felt a bit more stereotypical as it continued. Alice’s troubled upbringing felt very realistic and her struggles with her colours initially were convincingly portrayed. I found the end almost a bit too happy ending-like and maybe the revelation regarding Ollie would have made more sense earlier on - it felt a bit contrived where it was.

Well I have finished this book and am not sure what to say about it. I did enjoy the book and found it quite interesting. Alice can see colours in people from an early age and know how they feel, whether they are kind, unkind and even if they are in a childrens park watching children. She felt this was a curse rather than something she could use for the greater good. I found the story very sad. Alice grew up with her brothers in a volatile relationship with her mother and the guilt she felt when she eventually left home made her mind very difficult to calculate. She did not like hugs and went out covered up, gloves etc never having a loving relationship at home struggled to accept it as she grew up.. Alice led a very problematic life but as time went by things changed for her and she became happy having married and had children. Her husband had no aura colour wise at all and she found this a comfort. What I did not like about the book was the toing and froing – going from her young life to present day and then school life until present day. There did not appear to be a chapter change, it just changed in the middle of another scene. On saying this I really took to Alice as a character in the book and did enjoy the dialogue about her brothers and indeed her husband. It is definitely worth a read and is an interesting concept

As usual cecelia Ahern does not disappoint is her latest novel. Its sharp, witty and a great read.
Follow the main character, Alice as she finds her way through life twiats and turns