Thank you to @Cecelia_Ahern and @HarperCollinsUK for this advanced copy of Freckles in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

Allegra Bird (Freckles) hasn’t had a conventional upbringing and when she reaches her early twenties, she decides to make the bold step and move from her small town to Dublin. Failing to get her dream job she settles for becoming a parking warden and when on her patrol, a stranger tells her that she is the average of the five people she spends the most time with.

This hits a chord with Allegra; who were the five who made her who she is today and who are the five who will shape who she becomes?

General Thoughts 🤔

This book turned out to be nothing like I expected which is a bit odd because I don’t know what I expected. What I do know is that I really enjoyed it. It was a story about being human and vulnerable and putting yourself into situations that involve risk and bravery.

Freckles was a slow burner but I felt it was right for the story. The story is about Allegra and her journey to find herself and her five and that isn’t something that can be packed into two chapters. I thought that her story was uplifting and heart warming but also heart breaking at the same time.

Characters 👭👬👫

Allegra is obviously the main character and I liked her straight away; awkwardness and all. No matter what other people told her or how they judged her, she continued on her mission with her head held high (most of the time). She was understandably troubled and I don’t think I would have been as brave as her if in her shoes so I had the upmost respect for her.

There are lots of other characters in the story that either help or hinder Allegra but my favourite one was Tristan. I love books where there are characters that don’t turn out to be anything like how you expect them to be. Tristan was that for me. From an outsiders perspective, he seemed to be arrogant and ignorant but once the layers started to peel back, it became clear that he was just as vulnerable as Allegra.

Writing Style ✍️

Freckles is written completely from Allegra’s perspective and in her voice. I loved her voice. The back and forth of her internal monologues was fantastically written and made me giggle at even the moments when she wasn’t her happiest.

I enjoyed that that story was hinged on the “five people” phrase and at times dictated Allegra’s actions before coming full circle and concluding the story with the five people theme. It was a lovely way to conclude.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

I really enjoyed Freckles and loved her character. There are certainly things that happened to her that I can relate to in my own life and therefore empathise with her. I laughed and felt sad during the course of reading this book so it was a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but I’m glad that I went on the ride.

I am a huge fan of this authors work - ive read a lot and this book was written just as well as the others. This book is about Allegra or 'Freckles' as she is known who goes on a bit of a mission to find her five - from the phrase 'you are the average of your five people you spend the most time with.' This was very good. Freckles is quite unique in her outlook on life - shes had some bad experiences and these are very evident in her outlook on life. This book was written without speech - just prose and it took a bit of getting used to but it fitted the character really well. She likes her routine, its very real life and i found her a bit sad and lonely. All in all a great read.

As always, an excellent book from this author, well written with characters you could relate to, loved the plot and the way it played out, I've never read a bad book by this author

In Freckles we are introduced to the complex and unique personality of Allegra Bird, (aka Freckles) . The character is contradictory in so many ways, but still totally believable. She is fragile and vulnerable due to the abandonment by her mother at birth, but works as a traffic warden, diligently handing out parking tickets and taking the wrath of motorists.

She desperately wants to belong and seeks the love of her mother, but despite moving away to be close to her, will she ever get the courage to introduce herself?

She is fascinated by a man who drives a yellow Ferrari and has no respect for the parking regulations outside his place of work. Despite a very rocky start Freckles and Youtuber Rooster strike up a unique friendship. He tells her that ‘you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’ and this leads Allegra on a journey of self discovery.

The book is told through the voice of Allegra with a strong Irish accent coming through brilliantly. There are no speech marks which could be off putting for some, but didn’t bother me at all.

I like the mix of humour and heartbreak , love and loss, friendship and family. The end is particularly heart warming and the characters are all vividly portrayed.

What a lovely book which had me finishing it with tears in my eyes. Allegra has left her home behind to come to Malahide where she works as a traffic warden. She has order and routine in her life but when an angry car owner insults her she takes it personally and takes a close look at her life and tries to change it for the better. With an interesting cast of characters from Tristan, Spanner and Pops issue trying too hard to find something that is there all along.

As always a clever, interesting read with a twist of quirky.

Freckles by Cecelia Aherne was just WOW!! This is up there with all of her books, I just love this author and devoured this book like every other of her books in one sitting. It captivated me from the first sentence and made me think about how we are all the average of the five people we spend the most time with…. Which five people would you choose? A fab, fab read.

Allegra has made a life for herself in Dublin, working as a traffic warden with a side-line as an artist’s model. She enjoys the routine and the rules, but she’s in Dublin for a reason and needs to pluck up the courage to see her mission through. A chance encounter with an angry driver makes Allegra re-evaluate her life and gives her a new purpose. A light-hearted, humorous tale with some darker undertones, Freckles is sure to appeal to a range of readers.

Allegra Bird is a woman who has spent much of her life being defined for what she has (Freckles) without knowing who she really is. When she meets Rooster, he tells her that we are the sum of the five people we spend time with and that they influence who we are. Allegra has been on the lookout for one main person who has been missing from her life since she was born, but also is struggling to realise that her special 5 might have just been around her the whole time and she was the one who did not realise their value. At times gut wrenching, this novel about quirky Allegra (who you will alternatively despise, love and feel sympathy for), her freckles and her life as a parking warden was very well written and the end left me satisfied with how the story played out.

Thank you for my advanced copy.
I really enjoyed this story. . At times I really felt for Allegra and her haphazard way of managing her life.
Ending was slightly predictable but overall 4/5.

I adored Allegras character and related to her in so many ways especially with having a small circle, the vulnerability, the feeling of loss. She lands herself in some sticky situations and I was almost shouting at the book because you don't want her to do it. I enjoyed going on her quest to find these five people only for the realization that they are right there. It made me reflect on similar situations and Allegra has this missing/empty feeling sometimes that can get so overwhelming that she will fill it with meaningless people and tasks but until she looks closer it might already be there. It got deeper into how we connect to people and friendships good and bad. Also the realisation that not what you always want will be yours.

The author did a grand job with craving such a quirky, complex and relatable character. Some characters you will love some and some not so much but again beautifully crafted that they each hold their own identity and relate to the story really well.



This will be such a good bookclub read choice as you can have so many discussion points and it will curate different types of view points. It is a real emotional rollercoaster of a read but I just loved it

REVIEW
⭐⭐⭐
Freckles by Cecelia Ahern

Allegra simply wants to belong; her mother abandoned her when she was born so she sets herself a task to find her.

But when things don't go to plan she feels more lost than ever.

In this novel, we follow Allegra's journey as she finds herself and comes to a realisation of her own.

I've read a couple of Ahern's novels and this one was very different to what I'm used to. At first, I wasn't sure about it; however, in the end, I found it meaningful and beautiful like all the other books by this author.

At times this novel was sad, so sad I held back tears and at one point had to put it down. But this author has a uniqueness to give us something raw and real and get us thinking at the same time.

It got me thinking (like all of her novels) about 5 influential people around me and to question a lot also. A very deep and thoughtful book.

It took me a little while to settle into this one. Allegra is a traffic warden in Dublin and an encounter with a persistent parking offender causes her to evaluate who are the 5 people who most influence her. She does a lot of soul searching and reaching out and you get to know what has moulded her life up to the present time

I struggled to identify with Allegra sometimes. As one reviewer said, is she slightly autistic? In some parts yes, in others definitely not. An unusual story line but I didn’t feel it flowed too well.

I really enjoyed this audiobook!
I am a huge Cecelia Ahern fan and I was so excited to receive this through NetGalley. She is a writer who I will buy without even looking at the blurb, and she writes characters that are SO unique and special, they feel like friends (maybe 1 of my 5 people?!)
It was a fascinating premise, which centred around the idea 'you are the average of the 5 people you spend most time with', and this made me think a lot about my own life- the main strength of Cecelia's writing.
Allegra/ Freckles was a wonderful character, whose activities really took me by surprise, and her layers were gradually peeled away with every chapter.
The narrator was excellent, she managed to convey the humour and poignancy in the book superbly well.
A really great read, though doesn't overtake 'Where Rainbows End' for my favourite Ahern book.

I found this book slow moving, but did enjoy the storyline. There are no speech marks in it, but the story is all told by the main character.

I've not read anything by Cecelia Ahern for quite a few years, but this book has made me want to look for more written by her to read.

"They say you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

Cecelia Ahern has done it again. Freckles is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day: warm, comforting and uplifting. A story about finding yourself and your tribe, it was a joy to read, reminding me why she is one of my auto-buy authors.

Allegra Bird longs to fit in but has always felt like an outsider. Known as Freckles because of the freckles that scatter her arms like stars from the sky, she has moved to Dublin from her small town to make something of her life. Only it’s not going to plan. Instead of the Garda job she’d always dreamed of, she works as a parking warden. And she hasn’t mustered up the courage to fulfill her main goal since moving there. So when a stranger tells her that we are all the average of the five people we spend the most time with, it hits her right in the heart. What if you don’t have five people? Who shapes who you are then? So Allegra set out to find her five people, taking us on her journey of self-discovery.

"Even though it may feel like it, this is not where it ends. I'm not dead. I'm crushed and oozing. A smithereened Allegra Bird. You can't fix the broken outer shell. But you can rebuild."

Allegra is a great protagonist. As someone covered in freckles myself, I felt an instant connection with this quirky, warm and endearing young woman. She’s a lonely soul who feels like she’s on her own in the world apart from her beloved father, and thrives on rules and a rigid routine. Unfortunately, these things only serve to make her appear ‘strange’ to others and she struggles to make the connections she longs for. I think most of us know the pain of feeling like an outsider. And we all just want to fit in and find those people in life who love and accept us. Through this and that special spark that Allegra has, the author expertly creates a connection between her and the reader, making her someone you really care about. The background characters were also well written and had some interesting stories to tell. I loved her sweet and close relationship with her father, her bumpy relationship with Tristan, and thought Spanner was always entertaining when on the page.

Fresh, witty, compelling and achingly real, Freckles is a magnificent story that goes straight to your heart.

What a lovely feel good easy read. I love Cecilias books as they really relate to life. Loved the way this girl tried to get to know here mum became a part of her life without firstly introducing herself.
Couldnt put the book down

Allegra, confused and misunderstood. Never stated but she seems slightly autistic, her Father says that they are both different and Allegra finds it difficult to read people.
The life of a traffic warden, disliked by most people, but she has a job to do and she does it to the letter. After a confrontation with the owner of a Ferrari, alleges rethink her life with surprising and sometimes amusing results.
A light, thought provoking read.

Love Ahern's books and this one is no exception. Great story that grips you with its characters and invites you to their world. Emotional and heartwarming. Loved it.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I enjoyed the beginning and was intrigued by the main character but as the story developed I struggled to stay connected to any of the events. The writing was good, but I found that the lack of connection with the characters made carrying on with the story a challenge.

I have heard many great things about Cecelia Ahern and will not hesitate to pick up another one of her stories but this one just was not for me. Thank you for the ARC and allowing me the opportunity to read the story and provide a review.