I absolutely loved this book, I could not put it down!
I felt it wasn't your "typical" book but that's what made it good.

This was a really good read. Easy story to follow, charming setting and great characters. Really enjoyed it.

Allegra or Freckles is a young woman finding her place in the world. She doesn't relate well to others but enjoys her role as parking warden in Dublin. It is whilst doing her job she meets someone who tells her something she cannot forget. Her quest is to find the five people who define her. Told from Allegra's viewpoint, the reader has intimate knowledge of Allegra's often confusing world. The story has many layers and believable characters. Allegra draws the reader's empathy, and you want her to succeed and be happy. Allegra develops as a character, learning from each encounter, and by the story's conclusion, she knows herself.

The ending is poignant and uplifting and gives the reader hope that Allegra's future is hopeful.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Slow, easy going enjoyable read.

Nothing really stands out but the characters are good and well developed.

Good easy read.

Oof, the latter half of this book pulled it up to a 3 stars but it was a slow and hard slog getting there.

The characters were well developed and memorable but they weren't enjoyable to read about unfortunately. We were inside the main characters head all the time, and she was so judgmental that I struggled to have any empathy for her. And so many rambling thoughts about nothing really took up most of the book.

We eventually did see some progression in the story and character arc, the idea the book was based around was interesting (the 5 people thing), and the ending did warm my heart. I just wish
this had happened a lot sooner.

I am new to this author and this was not what I was expecting at all!
I found this book extraordinary, it is so thought provoking and beautifully written, Freckles has so much depth to her character and the self harming aspect of her joining the dots on her skin intrigued me and drew me in.
Her relationship with Rooster and how strongly his almost throwaway line about being the average of the five people you spend the most time with effected her was fascinating and it also made me think about the same thing!
Excellent thought provoking read.

I found this different than her other books and it was a slow read for me.
I liked the character of Allegra and she faced many challenges at times in the book but i felt it was an emotional and uplifting read which I enjoyed.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a gifted copy in return for an honest review.

It took me a little while to get into this book, all the early events seemed pretty random and I wondered what the point was. All emotions erupt towards the end of this story in a revelation of clarity and wonder. For most of the book, despite moments of bravado and humour, I felt the desolate sadness of Allegra. Personally, I struggled a little with the presentation of text without speech, confusing the tense and voice at times. However, by the end, I applauded the characters and their resilience.

I struggled with the plot most of the way through. At first, I felt engaged with this small town, her life as a traffic warden and the strict routine of the day, but it lost its shine with repetitiveness. By half way, the pace was slow and I'd lost interest. I didn't feel much by the culmination. A heartwarming story of friendships and connections.I enjoyed reading this book although it took me quite a while to get into it,l think this was because l personally didn’t take to Allegra.

I started off really enjoying this. I found the story quite different to anything iveread before. However, I did think the story was dragged out a little. I really liked the ending though, super cute!

I have been a huge Cecelia Ahern for years and she has only written 2 books I haven't read yet! There are a few titles that I didn't enjoy over the years but Freckles did not disappoint! A lovely story about a girl trying to make her way in life, working out where she fits into her world and figuring life out!
This story takes you through the twists and turns of 'Freckles' life and how she finds out exactly who her 5 are!

Sad in parts but absolutely uplifting, it was an emotional one to finish! The ending does not disappoint!

A must read!

I’m a huge fan of Cecelia Ahern so I’m always excited to learn of a new novel from her. Freckles felt different from her previous novels but I still really enjoyed it. Allegra Bird, known as Freckles, is quite a sad and lonely young woman. She wanted to join the police but was rejected so now she’s a traffic warden. One day someone tells her that everyone is the product of the five people closest to them and this sends her on a journey to surround herself with five strong people. I felt quite an affinity with Freckles, she is lost and searching for a connection and meaning in her life. Her mother abandoned her and her father is an eccentric man who did his best but Freckles has always felt absence in her life. I was rooting for her to find what she needed to feel complete and happy. I did find this novel a little hard to get into but once I got there I just didn’t want to put it down. I adored Freckles and I still keep thinking of her and wondering what she’s up to now. I recommend this one!

I have red all of Cecelia Ahern’s books and was excited to be approved for Freckles. I liked the main character, Allegra, and her relationship with her dad. However, I found the book quite slow and not very much seemed to happen. It took me a couple of weeks to read the book as I didn’t feel compelled to pick it up. That said, I’m glad I read it and will read the next Cecelia Ahern.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eArc of this book.

Another successful read by Cecelia Ahern. I listened to the audio book in the first instance and found it to be enjoyable and then I read the book which revealed lots of little nuances I’d missed on the other medium. As is always the case with Cecilia Ahern it was very entertaining and based round a novel and interesting concept. It shows many facets of being human. Well worth reading. .

From the author of PS I Love You comes a coming of age story where we follow a young woman, in this instance Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles, as she struggles to find her place in this world. Leaving behind her life on the rural Valentia Island, Allegra moves to Dublin and hopes to pursue a career in the Garda and find her mum who abandoned her as a child. However, she gets rejected from the Garda, is working as a parking warden and still hasn't reconnected with her mum yet so she feels dejected and there's a sense of detachment as Freckles' expectations for her life haven't come into fruition. Her life is tipped further on its axis after an encounter with a civilian who parks incorrectly who tells her "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with", but Allegra is stumped - she's lonely, and doesn't even know what five people have shaped the way she is, but she's determined to confront the situation and sets about assembling her group of five and maybe tackling her intentions along the way.

This is a novel whose premise focuses inherently on growth, and how the people around us can provide depth to our character and shape us. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped because the pacing was a tad slow for my liking, and the constant hardships and struggles Freckles faces are hardwearing and heavy. While the title Freckles lent me the idea that this would be a lighthearted and frothy read, instead its synonymous for the story's theme of connection, but also as when she's younger she attempted to connect the freckles on her arms in the shape of the constellations as means of grounding herself.

This is an intricate look at perception and our view of ourselves, and personally I would've liked more humour and uplifting moments that I love so much in Cecelia's other books, and if you're not in a fantastic headspace reading this (like I was) it can feel overwhelmingly morose.

DNF, I couldn’t connect with the story nor the characters. I was expecting to find something with the same vibe of “Ps I love you” or “Love Rosie”, but this wasn’t it.

Also, it makes me cringe every time authors use Spanish parents and catalogs them as dark and sultry. I was expecting that someone from Dublin would know that we’re Europeans, not POC.

Freckles by critically acclaimed Irish author Cecelia Ahern is a warm and unforgettable story of coming to terms with who you are and learning how to feel comfortable in your own skin. It tells the story of Allegra Bird, who was nicknamed Freckles as a child, as she tries to navigate her way through an uncertain and often difficult world.

Abandoned by her Spanish mother at birth, Allegra has been brought up by her father on a small island on the coast of Ireland. Spending most of her childhood away at boarding school, Allegra has always dreamed of working for the Gardai and becoming a detective. But when her hopes are dashed, she decides to leave everyone she loves behind and begin a new life as a Traffic Warden in Dublin.

Allegra is a quirky, often undeniably charming young woman who has an inncoence about her that I found incredibly endearing. When she has an encounter with an angry motorist, she is left reeling when he tells her ‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’. Stunned by what he’s said and unable to stop thinking about it, Allegra sets off to find the five people who she believes will help shape her future.

What follows is an emotional, thought provoking and incredibly human story that left me with a warm feeling of hope as I turned the final page. Allegra is one of those characters who somehow manages to get under your skin, her voice coming through loud and clear in her own unique and honest way. Cecelia Ahern’s writing is beautiful and, although the writing style may not be for everyone, I thought it worked incredibly well here as it brought Allegra’s raw intensity to life, making the story feel believable and authentically real. I absolutely adored it!

Cecelia Ahern’s writing just keeps on going from strength to strength and, for me, this is her best novel yet. A touching, heartwarming story that’s filled to the brim with warmth and humour, Freckles is a book I would highly recommend.

This is a book following Allegra (nickname Freckles) navigating the highs of troughs in life. She has not quite achieved what she had hoped to. She also doesn't have as many friends as she would have liked. She works as a Parking Ticket attendant and during her work encountered the obnoxious (?) owner of a yellow Ferrari who kept parking without a ticket. From one of her encounters, he said 'they say you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with... Doesn't say a lot about the company you keep, does it'.
This hits her quite hard and she sits back and reflects about her life and what she needs to do to make this better.

I grew to love Allegra and felt all the emotions she felt - my heart was also pounding reading this waiting to see what would happen next. I felt anger at some of the characters and how she was treated, routed for others. I loved this book and was so invested in it and in Allegra. This book makes you sad, make you cry, but most importantly gives you hope that all will be well in the the end.

I am extremely grateful to have received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A great read.

Freckles is the nickname of Allegra. She is a parking warden in Dublin, and a chance encounter leads her to meet serial parking offender Tristan. He is angry with her and tells her she is the average of the 5 people she spends the most time with her. When she realises that she doesn't even have 5 people she sets out to change this by reaching out to people. One of these is the mother she has never met and the reason she is in Dublin, but as everything around her seems to fall apart, who does she have to count on?

I would have liked to have seen more of an epilogue to see what happened next.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this book before its release. Many years ago I said that if I ever had the opportunity to read a Cecelia Ahern book before its release I would gotten to exactly where I wanted to be. Thank you for making that dream a reality. Cecelia Ahern is one of my ultimate favourites. She is one of those authors where I don't need to even read the plot before I pre order! Once again her amazing descriptions and loveable characters attach themselves to me like glue. ❤ Adored it. Allgera Bird is like no other,I related to her in more than one heart breaking way,we are quite similar. Awkward, unusual and was raised by her father. Her dreams haven't worked out the way that she had planned and things are a little higgledy piggledy. A story about how light can be found in even the darkest of places.

Allegra Bird is not the most conventional human on the planet!

She’s left her eccentric father behind to move to Dublin, where she works as a traffic warden and a part time life model. Because she needs to be in Dublin to connect with a special person from her past.

Then a random encounter with a stranger leaves her wondering who are the 5 people in her life she spends most time with. Allegedly we are all the average of those 5 people!

And so begins Allegra’s journey to confirm who her 5 are and who she really is!

A heartwarming story of love, friendship and basically trying to work out who you really are.

A wonderful read, I laughed, I cried, I wondered and I think deep down there’s a wee bit of Allegra in us all.

I loved this book, a worthwhile read.