I am a huge fan and I truly loved tbis character but the writing style lacked tje usual magic of her previous books.

This is the story of Allegra Bird, having the nickname Freckles you can see why as you get to know Allegra, she likes to join the freckles on her arms up like they are constellations in the sky. She is a parking warden and there are some very funny encounters that she has with a certain person that did make me chuckle. When someone tells her You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with she decides to leave her life and go and live in the city. As she is moving from Dublin to London, when she is speaking you can imagine her with her Irish accent, I love the way she has followed her dream and branches out on her own to give herself the best life she can. This is such a hopeful and life affirming story that will touch many a heart.

This way a touching, poignant and affirming. Allegra, our narrator, tells the story vividly with continual themes of self discovery and family, would recommend!

Firstly, I would like to thank #netgalley, Cecelia Ahern and the publishers for the ARC of Freckles in exchange for an honest review.

For me, Ahern is at her best in P.S. I Love You and Where Rainbows End. This novel was more in the vein of The Gift.

Allegra Bird, nicknamed lovingly, Freckles, is told she is the sum of the five closest people around her of which she is the centre of that somewhat average group. Freckles is tasked with defining her 'five' and is forced to evaluate the people in her life, for better for worse, that make her the sum of all her parts.

The plot is average. We see a young girl journey through her life in order to be where she is today. There is character development, a back story and a message about unlikely connections.

The book is well-edited. I spotted no errors and the book had a good pace. It would make a good holiday read for the average chick-lit read. The resolution was somewhat predictable. It's a book I'd read once then put in my local free library to recycle to other readers. It's unlikely to be a story that stays with me long after reading.

I am a big fan of Cecelia Ahern so I was excited to receive this advanced copy of her new book!
It initially took me a few chapters to get into the flow of the story and get used to the main character.....and then I was gripped by the concept.of the storyline.
It certainly got me thinking who my 5 people are!!!
A fantastic and heart wrenching read..
Release date 21/09/21

This is an emotional read about a 25 year old woman named Allegra. She was brought up by her father after her mother left when she was a baby. Allegra has moved from her home village to look for her mother, and takes a job as a traffic warden after failing to get into the Garda, taking her job seriously. The story revolves around her daily routine and those around her - her landlady, the landlady’s family, Genevieve a local artist, Spanner the baker, Paddy her colleague, Tristan who owns his own tech business and her mother who runs the local salon. As she goes around her daily life, trying to figure out how to introduce herself to her mother, Allegra’s life slowly unravels as she is unable to stop it.
A story of self discovery, friendships and family.
I did enjoy this book - it reminded me a little of the Marble Collector as the characters are all flawed and, at times, unlikeable - just like life really. Well written with wonderful descriptions of people and places, along with a few cringeworthy moments!

Freckles is named Freckles because of the marks on her skin - her real name is Allegra Bird.

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.

Allegra is raised by her pops as she has never known her mother, she wants to become a member of the Irish police but fails, subsequently, she moves away from her home to seek alternative employment.
Allegra ends up becoming the next best thing - a traffic warden where she strictly controls the parking in her town. She encounters the same yellow sports car every day, where the driver fails to display a ticket and this is where the story really begins to come to life. The reader learns that Allegra is keeping secrets, there is a reason for her move to the town.
It's Allegra's relationship with the owner of the yellow car (Rooster) that shape her decisions. Rooster - also known as Tristan is a youtube gaming star and he tells Allegra 'you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.' This turns Allegras life upside down and she begins to question her life and the people that she shares it with.
Freckles is highly descriptive, its not the traditional love story that Ahern is known for, however Freckles is heart warming, funny and really poignant.

The story of Allegra (Freckles) Bird, a parking warden looking for her mother.

Not my favourite of Ahern’s by far, but an entertaining read. Not a huge fan of the only foreigner being a villain...

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

TW: graphic scene of self harm (MC isn't intending to self-harm but she does cut herself on her arm purposefully), sexual scenes, alcohol misuse, homelessness, violence in a video game, mentions of lecturer-student relationship, mentions of sexual harassment, child abandonment (MC's mother did not want her and left her as a child to be raised by her father, she finds her as an adult and the mother still doesn't want her)

Thank you to Harper Collins UK/Harper Fiction for allowing me to read an eARC of Cecilia Ahern's new book, Freckles. All opinions and views discussed here are my own.

This is a difficult review to write because I love Cecelia Ahern but this book just wasn't it for me; it wasn't a terrible book because at no point did I consider DNF'ing but it just wasn't a winner for me. Let me first talk about what I did like; I loved the concept of this book and the idea that we are shaped most by the five people we spend our time with. I definitely believe who we are as individuals are shaped and impacted by those in our lives; whether in a good way or in a bad way. I can recall traits or sayings that i've picked up from different people over my years and always wonder... if i hadn't done X or met Y, would I be the same person I am now? The concept honestly really drew me to the book and in the end - this is done well, although I did find Allegra a little bit frustrating along her journey.

My main issue is the main character, Allegra, I just didn't find her that likeable or captivating a character. Whilst I can acknowledge that she's had a difficult time with knowing her mother abandoned her as a child, I definitely found her a difficult character to like. I honestly can't tell you much about who she is or what she likes; although the book is entirely focused upon her I never feel like we actually find out who Allegra is. She doesn't really seem to have much of a character development throughout the book (although she does impact and change those around her - not always in a good way). We see bits of her life but I never felt connected to her; I know books like to have unlikeable characters as main characters lately, but you've got to give me something redeeming about them. Not being annoyed that the ex-boyfriend that you didn't love anyone and just left without telling has moved on (yes I know it's with her "best friend" - who she hasn't spoken to in months and honestly seems like a shit friend to - but she didn't want him anyway). She makes a comment about how she thought their lives should just be on pause and it seems to sum her up that she feels like everyone should just arc around her needs and wants.

That said, I do like her relationship with Tristan and Genevieve and how we see those develop; they definitely felt like real relationships and fleshed her out as a character but I just ended up liking them more than her. She's also definitely a bit power happy by the whole Traffic Warden thing. I did find it very sad when Allegra finds her birth mother and the mother's response is to slap her... that was difficult and it definitely gives you more of a picture of why she is like she is - there's definitely a sense of abandonment and loss in her and I kind of wish they'd focused on this more than the weird side-plot her living in some garage and that family drama. That side of things kind of let the book down for me because it didn't seem to have any point to it and didn't develop the story in any real way.

One thing I really wanna drill down on though is the fact that the book really glosses over the actions of Allegra's father. First we find out that Allegra's father was a lecturer and her mother a student when they met and had what appears to be a very brief fling - Allegra insists that he wasn't her mother's lecturer but it doesn't really make it okay. Also the fact that Allegra's mother went through with her pregnancy but wanted absolutely nothing to do with Allegra... but goes onto have kids later in life - it just definitely all felt a bit uncomfortable. And then later in the book he gets reported to his boss/the priest by a woman who felt uncomfortable and harassed by him - we learn that he invited her over to have a drink and touched her leg - to be fair to Allegra she does make it clear that it isn't acceptable, but the whole thing really felt glossed over and i'm not sure on the reasons why this was included!? Nothing comes of either situation so it honestly felt entirely pointless and just honestly worked to make her father look like a creep...

The last perhaps 30% of the book I did enjoy and the last couple of pages were a winner for me - if it had that tone throughout the rest of the book I think i'd have enjoyed it more but this just sadly wasn't one for me. Out September 2021 for you to create your own view!

I have love all Cecelia’s books & this was no exception. She is such a great author. Her books are emotion packed. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A story set in Ireland. An older women is a loner. Things haven’t gone the way she planned. Through trying to find five friends and lost family. She figures out what is most important in her life.