Lovely unique story with lots of emotion to it. I loved Alice as a character but wasn't keen on how the book jumped about in different times. It was very heartfelt and that came across in Ahern's writing. I did enjoy it but perhaps not as much as others I have read by her.

I liked the premise of this and initially I was excited to be reading it. However, I soon realised there is a confusing writing style to this, there are flashbacks and time jumps in place where it really is not obvious. This led to confusion as I tried to work it out and the flow and pace of the plot was disrupted which was a real shame. My other critique concerns the person who's colours Alice cannot see. It is well over halfway through the book until they appear and in all honesty the first part of the book felt pointless and redundant. Ahern, sadly, takes too long to get the plot going and I lost interest. Once the pace picks up, I did enjoy it again and I especially liked learning about the different people Alice encounters in her life.
'In A Thousand Different Ways' still has a touching, emotional plot and there were parts I enjoyed, there was just too much in the way of my enjoyment.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy.

"And I now know that if you don’t feel your own pain, you cannot recognise it in others. Our own suffering can cultivate the ability to help others."

Living a rather hectic home life Alice is the middle sibling, to older brother Hugh, and younger brother Ollie. Alice can see colours around people. She can see the best and worst in people. She sees what others don't. She feels things that others don't and is very often misunderstood by the people around her and struggles to understand her situation and abilities. Alice if from a single parent household, where her Mum Lily is struggling with severe mental health problems. This is a pivotal moment in Alice's world when she comes home from school one day to find her mum unable to be woken and surrounded by blue. A blue that overwhelms Alice. Her life is in no way easy and throughout she is faced with multiple challenges and judgements. Alice is sent away to a boarding school for disruptive children, due to her being so different to everyone else. The relationships within this book are very well thought out and executed, and the progression of the characters and relationships was a pleasure to read.


This was so much more than I ever expected it to be and something completely different to anything I've ever read before. There were so many raw moments in this story, so much hostility, but there is also so much hope, relatability and realness and this book will stay with me for a very long time. A truly beautifully complex. emotional read!

I think a follow on for this book would be great, as the ending was so beautiful and I'd love to have delved in a little deeper to that situation.


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of this book in return for my review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
This is a completely unique story, following Alice from an 8-year-old into adulthood. The author cleverly describes the way she sees people and the effect this has upon her: physical, mental and emotional, so that a clear image of her is formed by the reader. At the heart of the story is how development of relationships is affected, and her family, friendships and romance are fascinating. I couldn't put it down.

This was a charming novel. From the age of eight, Alice possesses the unique ability to "see" the colors of people's emotions. While this gift offers profound insights, it can also be overwhelming, exposing her to a constant barrage of often unpleasant feelings. This leads to a lifelong struggle with isolation, as her family and even she herself sometimes struggle to understand her experiences.

The novel beautifully chronicles Alice's journey, exploring her complex relationship with her mother and younger brother, while highlighting the unwavering support of her older sibling. While the pacing occasionally faltered in the middle, the novel ultimately offers an enchanting and thought-provoking exploration of empathy, connection, and the complexities of human emotion. Highly recommend.

This was not at all what I expected, but it’s a special read.
The main character can see the colours and aura of people around her, just imagine what that would be like.
No spoilers, but you should read this book.

A compelling read but I must admit I struggled to finish this. I found it hard to connect and there felt like a lot of jumping around which often left me confused. I wanted to like this so much more as I've always enjoyed Aherns books, most go to ps I love you but read The Gift that's excellent! This one sadly wasn't for me but I'm grateful for the advanced read 😊

The concept of synesthesia is really interesting, so reading a book where it was really brought to the fore was so interesting. I thought the way it was portrayed so was fresh and unique.

The book started to lose its pacing around 25% through, but it did pick back up thankfully. Overall, I found it to be well-paced, especially when it takes us the whole way through Alice's life from when she's 8 years old to her deathbed.

There were a lot of complex and unlikeable characters in this book, Ollie as an example of the unlikeable and Lily one of the complex ones. I really loved the relationship between Alice and Hugo.

One complaint I did have was that the leaps in time are not always well presented. Quite often they are just inserted into the narrative with no indications, so the reader is just expected to KNOW we're in a different timeline.

Overall this was a great book.

I've adored Cecelia Ahern since I first ever started reading. This book was beautifully written and a refreshing format to read. I loved the use of colours and descriptions. A wonderful read.

I’ve been reading Cecelia Ahern books since PS I Love You came out, I adored this and Where Rainbows End and having been hoping for another to fall in love with and sadly In a Thousand Different Ways wasn’t that book.

It’s a clever concept, main character Alice, see’s people’s emotions in coloured auras, it gave me The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender vibes but I think I struggle with the sprinkling of magic Ahern is famous for.

I found Alice’s family life most interesting, we meet her aged 8 when she discovers she has the condition and follow her grow up navigating both the condition and family challenges as she becomes a caregiver for her alcoholic, bi-polar mother and difficult relationships with her brothers.

The book is well written and the character develop well throughout, it’s enjoyable and thought provoking. I rated it 4 stars on good reads at the time but it hasn’t stayed with me in the way some books do.

"She knows your secrets. Now discover hers…
You’ve never met anyone like Alice. She sees the best in people. And the worst. She always seems to know exactly what everyone around her is feeling: a thousand different emotions. Every. Single. Day.
In amongst all that noise, she’s lost herself."

I usually love Cecelia Ahern books, but this story was something completely different and I struggled with it from the beginning right through to the abrupt ending. I thought the writing was good and the concept of someone seeing someone's aura and being able to read them a fascinating idea. However, I am not sure it translated very well onto the page, but despite that I liked Alice and Andy.

This was a phenomenal book. So unusual and so well told. I could feel Alice’s anxiety and fear. I absolutely soaked up the story, finishing in a day because I couldn’t put it down. My only slight criticism is that the latter part of the book felt quite rushed after a steady build up.

Late reviewing this book but I enjoyed it. With good writing and characters, plus a good storyline, it’s a nice read.

I couldn't read this as an ebook for some reason so will get it when it comes out! Sorry! (Leaving a 4 star review to be fair.)

Another absolutely superb emotional rollercoaster from Ahern. Brilliant writing and intelligent characters that are hugely relatable and beautifully observed. I couldn’t put this down.

Unusual book. I could not really get into it but it was sensitively written. It moved a bit slower in bits. It wasn't my kind of book unfortunately..

Thanks Netgalley.

Eight-year-old, Alice Kelly struggles to have a normal life. Her father has left the family, and her mother Lilly sleeps a lot. Leaving Alice to look after her younger brother. Her older brother helps when he can. Alice has a difficult relationship with her mother.

Alice’s life falls apart when she starts seeing the moods and feelings of people expressed in colours, Alice is exhausted by all the different colours she sees around people.

Fast paced with lots of twists and turns. This was about mental illness, families and friendships.

I loved the descriptions of colours that Alice sees floating around people.

A beautiful, colorful story with characters you fall in love with. Ahern always manages to sprinkle some magic over the plot, in the best possible way.

Thought provoking story which I enjoyed and was caught up in to read over a few days - quite quick for me these days! The story spans the life of the main character Alice who sees auras, and about how she lives with this. The story jumps between the pertinent points in her life, sometimes back and forwards, with only a few actual chapters so written in unusual format. However the ending came quite abruptly and succinctly. It was almost as if the author had a deadline to finish it off and couldn’t add more to it, so I do feel a bit disappointed by the speedy finish.
Overall a nice, engaging book.

I enjoyed Ahern's writing style and the concept of seeing colours representing emotions. Initially I was veering towards 3 stars - but I realised this was a little unfair. I was going for that because the protagonist's childhood story made me sad - not really a good reason to underscore an innovative, well written story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing house for an ARC in exchange for an honest and impartial review.