I really wanted to love this book but I just feel really indifferent about it. It didn't make me feel anything.

It took me an age to get through because it just never picked up. The most action happened at the end and that felt so intense and rushed. There were parts of the book where I could see that Cecilia Ahern magic simmering under the surface but it just never broke through.

Freckles is a gem of a book. Allegra Bird is a young woman working as a traffic warden in the city. A chance encounter with an irate card driver leaves her questioning everything and everyone she holds dear to herself. “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” he tells her. This stays with Allegra and as she tries to figure out who her five people are, she discovers in herself a deeper understanding of who she herself is. A wonderful story, I loved this book.
Thanks to #NetGalley for my #ARC of this story. 5⭐️
#Freckles

Not the usual crisp, observant story from this popular author. It is very slow, doesn't build to anywhere and what limited story there is gets lost in too many words. It might be perceived as clever to use one word sentences and then long sentences but as the author herself criticises some characters in the opening chapters of too much 'waffle' and going on and on so this reader criticises this book. The lead character is interesting but she develops so slowly and any plot gets so lost in the cumbersome words that it becomes a tedious read. Not at all what I would expect but her recent books have been going this way. Regular readers will be so disappointed

Quite the uplifting read. This novel started out a little muddled and slow, but soon hotted up. Very interesting and different characters. Set in Ireland, with Dublin and Valentia Island in County Kerry being the big city life style verses country life. The daughter of a single Dad seeks her mother. Freckles is the nickname given to the daughter Allegra, she has a Spanish mother so has thick dark hair, but a freckly skin from her Dad's Irish origins. She works as a traffic warden, she is very dedicated in her pursuit of parking violations. She knows her patch and even tries to help out offenders. One offender, Tristan says something to Allegra in anger and she takes it to heart. In the end this comment leads her to see her life differently. But also make me think about my 5 influential role models and influencers. A happy ending, not quite what Allegra sort, but one with which she will be very happy with I'm sure.

Freckles is the nickname given to our heroine/narrator as a child, having inherited her father’s complexion. Freckles, AKA Allegra Bird, is brought up by her father (who she calls Pops) as a single parent; she has never known her mother. Living an unconventional life on Valentia Island, County Kerry, her Pops worked as a music professor and has a bit of the ‘mad professor’ about him – he’s certainly eccentric. It’s at boarding school that she gains her nickname and spends her time after lights out joining freckles on her arm to mark out star constellations. Initially she does this with pens, graduating to piercing the skin when the teachers take her pens away, which leaves her with scars as a permanent record of the constellations Pops has taught her about and which fascinate her.

In the present day Allegra has moved away from home to Malahide, near Dublin, where she works as a traffic warden. Her dream was to be a Garda, but her application was rejected, so becoming a traffic warden is the next best thing. She is meticulous in her task and her strict interpretation of the rules, is a creature of habit to say the least (possibly obsessive compulsive, possibly on the autism spectrum), and in many ways is very child-like – so much so that those areas in which she isn’t child-like come as quite a shock!

A turning point in her life is when a very angry victim of her meticulousness as a traffic warden tells her, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”, and that her five must all be losers, like her. Having difficulty in identifying her five satisfactorily, Allegra sets about contacting some people in the public eye who she admires, in the hope that their influence might have a positive effect on her. In her child-like manner she fully expects them to respond and I felt I wanted to protect her from the disappointment of her letters remaining unanswered.

There are oblique references to her having moved to Malahide on some kind of mission and it is some way into the book before our suspicions of what it might be are confirmed. As Pops seems to be suffering from mental ill health, it begins to look like she might have to leave before completing her mission. She does make progress, however, but her sometimes naïve, sometimes downright stupid actions left me feeling both sorry for her and infuriated with her.

On the whole I found Freckles an enjoyable read. And I found her ultimate five perfectly satisfying.

I have been a big fan of Cecelia Ahern for a long time and this is a better book than some of her more recent novels, however, it is still not as good as 'PS I Love You' and 'Where Rainbows End' .

Allegra Bird got the nickname 'Freckles' because of her freckles. Intrigued by these as a child, Allegra took to joining them up using felt pen but when the teachers at her boarding school discovered this and took the pen away, Allegra took to cutting the route between the freckles instead leaving her scarred with the constellations that she repeatedly mapped out on her body. Now an adult, Allegra has moved to Malahide to find the mother who left her alone with her father just after she was born.

Frustrated at not being able to join the Garda, Allegra goes for the next best thing: traffic warden. It is in this job that she meets 'Rooster' AKA Tristan, a Youtuber who develops video games. After ticketing his car, Tristan is mean to Allegra and tells her she is a compilation of the 5 people she spends most time with so her friends must be horrible because she is horrible. Allegra takes this idea to heart and spends the bulk of the novel trying to populate her list of 5 people. As Allegra struggles with social awareness (and probably undiagnosed Autism which is hinted at but never directly addressed) she embarks on this in an inappropriate way - by writing to four famous people that she wants to be in her friendship group.

Inevitably, Allegra ends up in the sphere of her mother but without being honest about who she is....

This is a good story and it did keep me wanting to know what happened next. Some of what happens is so well telegraphed that it is no surprise when it eventually happens. Having said that, Allegra is a character that you do feel sympathy for. Some characters are genuinely hateful, I'm thinking about Jazz, Daisy and Becky in particular and some are so thinly sketched that you don't know what to make of them.

The end is so saccharin and schmaltzy I actually groaned out loud! Up until that point it had been an ok read and I am sure that some will really love it.

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

Sadly, this book did not live up to my expectations. From the title, I expected a fun, lighthearted read, but it wasn't really that.
Disappointing

Woah! This was a surprise. There was a time when I would read every book which Cecilia Ahern wrote, and then I just grew out of them. And so when I saw this book was available I surprised myself when I requested an advance reader copy. I’m so glad I did as I couldn’t put it down!

I like the new, grittier and more real style of writing. There’s still a positive message and a sympathetic (lovable?) heroine, but this story is more than that. It’s a genuinely good story, without the magical fluff of some of the previous books. There are unpleasant characters and awkward situations to be faced by fearless Allegra.. It’s well paced and with light touches of humour along the way.

Great holiday read if you’re looking for something engaging and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with however Allegra Bird aka Freckles doesn't really have anyone apart from her pops who bought her up in the absence of her mother, the book centres around Allegra as she seeks out answers about her mother and her five people.

Personally I did not warm to Allegra, there are moments where I really disliked her, this made the book a slow read for me… it picks up in the last 3 or so chapters however when you don’t really feel for the main character it’s just a bit of a letdown. I also struggled with the way the book was written with the speech mixed in with the tense & I couldn’t always work out if it was someone speaking.

Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Allegra Bird is a traffic warden in Malahide an upmarket suburb of Dublin. She really wanted to be a Garda but failed the interview because of her inability to read social situations. It's never explicitly stated but it looks as though she has an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Whatever the reason she finds it hard to get on with other people and this isn't helped by her rigorous adherence to the rules when giving out parking tickets. When one victim of her rules lashes out at her telling her 'you're the average of the five people you spend most time with' and tells her she's a nobody, this hurts and she begins a quest to find the perfect five.

This was a very uneven book. Allegra is not an easy character to like or to empathise with. In many ways she's Elinor Olliphant's younger, less likeable younger sister. I kept thinking I'd give up as it seemed to go on and on with nothing much happening and indeed nothing much happened until about 70% of the way in. The introduction of Daisy, a popular girl Allegra had been at school with, livened things up though. After that it was pretty predictable and certainly more enjoyable than the beginning. But overall I'm underwhelmed by this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A cute little tale which was the perfect antidote to the last (very grim) book I read. The only part which jarred slightly was the sexualisation of Allegra - her nude modelling and wild sex life seemed to be completely at odds with the thoughtful, childlike character presented to us at all other times. That aside, I’m a fan of a sweet tale like this which is nicely tied up in a pretty bow at the end. This ticked 4/5 boxes for me :)

I was not sure if this would be my type of book after being given a copy by netgalley
It's an uplifting story and I found myself drawn into the story of a traffic warden in Dublin on a journey of discovery which by the end will leave you wanting to cheer from the rooftop
If you enjoyed PS I love this book is the one for you

I have read and enjoyed other Cecelia Ahern novels, so knew what to expect. Eccentric story, eccentric characters, and lots of love.

Allegra, or Freckles of the title, is a socially awkward parking warden in a Dublin suburb. When she has a run in with a car owner about a ticket abuses her about being the average of the five people you spend most time with, Freckles reassess her life.

Allegra realises she can’t even pin five people into her life, let alone them leaving their mark on her. But through this, and a side story of looking for her mother, Allegra develops and comes to realise that sometimes what you were looking for is what you have all along.

Split between the Dublin suburb of Malahide and the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast this novel left me questioning who my five were.

Allegra Bird aka Freckles is a very lonely character who has obviously been affected by her mother giving her up to her father at birth. Her father obviously loved her and did his best to care for her however Allegra attended boarding school from the age of five and whether by nature or nurture her social skills are lacking. She moved from her small Irish island home to Dublin on a mission but the life she lives there is small and she lacks the courage to see her plans through until an encounter with an angry car owner leaves her questioning just who she is.

I felt Allegra is an amazing character, her need for routine and the small life she has constructed, with a few quirky surprises that leave you never quite knowing what she’s capable of. The contrast between Dublin Allegra and hometown Allegra showed how much she’s clearly changed but trying to figure out her five influential people was what most showed us who she is. This is quite a slow story but it was well worth getting into.

A good story, I liked the character of freckles but she was of our time - very much of the Eleanor Oliphant ilk. I enjoyed it over all but the lack of speech marks made it extremely difficult to read and I wouldn't read another of the author's books (if she is not going to use speech marks any more) It's a shame, I loved some of her other work.

Freckles is a story about finding your way in the world and realising who is the most important to you in life. Although I found it hard to relate to Freckles at the start, she definitely grew on me. The last few chapters of the book definitely made it worthwhile and although I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘typical’ Cecelia Ahern book it was certainly just as heartwarming as her other books. Would recommend to others :)

I enjoyed reading this book. An interesting plot that makes you think about the people around you and those who chose to have you in their lives.
I would reccomend.

Freckles works as a traffic warden in Dublin. She went to boarding school and while there got her nickname as she drew between her freckles- so much so that it has left lines that can be seen even now. She lives in the garden room of a couple whom she babysits for frequently. Her real name is Allegra, named by her musician father meaning lively and bright. Written in the first person this tells of Freckles and of her being told that you are the average of the five people you spend most time with. She knows her father is a big influencer on her life but as for the other four? This is an interesting concept. Who are the five people (other than family) who we spend most time with? It made me think and wonder and smile. Allegra is finding her way in the world away from what she found familiar at home, going further afield to pursue a dream- one that didn't take quite the shape she imagined. There's something endearing about her. Maybe being the new girl and then coming up against false personas whilst trying to find herself- something most of us have been through one way and another. Trying to find her mother who hasn’t been in her life at all and hoping, just hoping that things will turn out right. Of being yourself and true to yourself. Of growth and discovery and a certain “ je ne sais quois” . Loved it.
(rest of links on publication)

What an absolute delight, a really lovely read with some great charecters it was a pleasure to get to know and a really story, bit gutted it's ended

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ <b>5 stars</b>

<blockquote><I>"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."</I></blockquote>

Sometimes, the right book finds you at the right time. <b>This was it for me.</b>

Allegra Bird, parking warden and aspiring Garda, moves to big-city Dublin to discover her roots and dip a toe into her future. After an orthodox childhood being raised by Pops on Valentia Island, Allegra, AKA Freckles, is somewhat of an unconventional protagonist. Neither hero, nor villain, Allegra is easy to simultaneously root for and frustration inducing. The novel is entirely character driven, with all speech told from the POV of Allegra, rather than distinguished character speech.

Cecelia Ahern's books and I are hit and miss, I liked Lyrebird, did not like Roar, and decided to take a chance on Freckles. As you can see from the full row of stars, I'm glad I took that chance.

Tristan, a friend of Allegra's, once described his game in the novel as its magic being in its simplicity. This to me is a true reflection of enigmatic Allegra's character in general: <b><I>"its simplicity is its magic."</I></b> There feels like there is no real plot, but rather an unfolding of events that either happen to Allegra, or that she inspires, with a character driven novel, it felt natural, it felt like I wasn't just watching these event occur in my mind's eye, but participating in them, too.

The pacing is slow, but the ending is swollen with emotion. Have you ever gone to a fair and participated in the hammer game? You have to pick up the hammer and whack it down onto a pad, the aim is to whack it hard enough that a puck flies upwards and hits the bell. This is what the pacing of the book felt like. A bit of waiting around getting to know the feel of the hammer in hand, some adjusting, holding the hammer high above the head and <I>whack</I>, bringing it down with all the possible mustered strength in possession. <b>The ding of the bell is reserved for the last chapter specifically. </b>

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