This was not what I expected from this author. It has been years since I read one of her books so maybe I've outgrown her books? This book was disappointing. I felt sorry for Alice. She was struggling to cope with being different and seeing aura's. I felt the writing was choppy. The story jumped to much between past and present, which made it hard to follow. The book wasn't for me. It was a struggle to finish it.

I really enjoy Cecelia Ahern’s books and was looking forward to reading this one. Sadly, this wasn’t one of my favourites.

First of all, I did find it quite fascinating to find out about Alice’s synaesthesia. I have heard of it before and come across it in a few other books. In Alice’s case she can see people’s colours which tells her instantly about their moods. She can read danger, fear, love, joy and any other emotion from looking at people. She is also hugely affected by these moods which can rub off on her and so she is reluctant to have much contact with people. In this sense of being different, Alice has much in common with many of Cecelia Ahern’s other often quirky characters.

I had a lot of sympathy for Alice’s family situation. She was brought up with one older and one younger brother by their mother, Lily, who was bipolar. Life was very difficult for the family and Alice’s experiences were hard to read about. She was effectively a carer to her mother and younger brother, Ollie, which was really too much to expect of a young girl. Life didn’t get much easier as she got older and her mother experienced serious illness while her younger brother went off the rails. Thank goodness for the people who brought light and understanding into her life: her brother Hugh, schoolfriend Gospel, neighbour Naomi and another who I won’t mention for fear of giving away spoilers.

What this book lacked for me was what I think of as Cecelia Ahern’s trademark warm humour and the romance which is usually a major feature of most of her other novels. This book was much darker as it explored a dysfunctional family, neurodiversity and mental illness. The romantic element I wasn’t expecting didn’t come until well on in the book and wasn’t as much of a focus as in Ahern’s previous books. I also thought that having spent much time on Alice’s early life and her adulthood until perhaps her thirties, the last couple of chapters seemed to cover all the rest of her life in a rush.

So this book didn’t really hit the mark for me but of course, you might be different. I have certainly read many glowing reviews of the book so why not read it for yourself and see what you think? It won’t put me off reading Cecelia Ahern’s books as I have loved so many of them and I will hope that the next one is a winner for me.

You cannot but help fall in love with the character Alice in this story. It is one of those books that take you on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey as you watch Alice from childhood to adulthood dealing with the overwhelming and all consuming issues that she has to face day in day out. She sees colours around everyone she comes in to contact with, noting their energies and auras and taking it all on board until it overwhelms her leaving her totally drained.

As a child she is seen as odd and weird, and doesn't have the adults around her to help guide her with the issues she's facing. Her mother is an alcoholic and has poor mental health so is not often a use to anyone, whilst her older brother does all he can to care for Alice and her younger brother, but he has his own life to lead. So we watch over Alice and the family as they go through life with various challenges faced at different ages and it is impossible not to feel the angst and fear as she tries to cope in a world that doesn't understand her.

She likes to live 'safely' so always goes for the safe option but she finds herself having to go things alone and finds comfort in taking care of houseplants and a garden and I just adored her attitude and compassion. No matter how she was treated by others she always has that feeling of responsibility and not giving up on others, no matter what she's going through.

She receives wise advice along her journey from people she meets along the way, and I adored how she'd take time to listen and take on board new ways of looking at things and how to approach her 'gifts' and to stop being afraid of it and it's one of those stories that totally consumes you and I'm still thinking about Alice now!! Tears were shed too!! A beautiful book!

This book absolutely broke me

I loved everything about it, it tackles so many taboo subjects in its own little way, it was absolutely magical. The story development, character development with flashbacks when needed this book was beautifully written and an absolute MUST

Thank you so much for letting me read this book!

Alice sees people in colour. Their mood and personality is shown to her in colours energies which she attracts. This can be overwhelming in busy places and cause stress. Add in her family problems, and she has a hard time growing g up. We discover how she copes and harnesses her skill.
I found Alice's story fascinating along with coping being a young carer for a parent with mental illness. Alice and her brothers cope very differently.
Do make time to read

I had to wait a day or so to review this latest release. The last chapter hit me hard emotionally. Ahern's work usually moves me, but this one did so even more deeply. I am going to share my views with no spoilers, so bear with me if things seem vague.

As I progressed through the chapters, I understood the significance of Alice's ability to see people's true colours. The storyline is refreshingly unique, and the characters created by Ahern are captivating. Despite encountering some unpleasant characters, I rooted for Alice throughout the story. Alice's journey drew me in. Although her experiences may not be relatable to everyone, it is the way she responds to them and the impact they have on her that makes her so endearing.

Ahern's writing style is engaging and addictive, making for an effortless read. I expected nothing different from this author, and I was not disappointed.

I highly recommend "In a Thousand Different Ways" to book clubs and fans of the author. This thought-provoking read is a must-read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ive read all of this authors books however, i just could not get stuck into this one and it took me a long while to complete the read. i hope that the next book she writes is better than this.

This is a very different read and as I’m currently grieving, I found it a particularly difficult and emotional one.

Alice lives with her mum and two brothers and the story begins when she is eight years old and plagued with seeing colours and not understanding why? This isn’t helped by the lack of care from her mum and the school doesn’t help. As the story progresses we learn the auras are moods and that Alice not only sees them, but, also absorbs them which is traumatic and exhausting.

The story continues through Alice’s life and is a funny at times, sad, heartbreaking read that I read in one sitting.

I’m grateful to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to preview this powerful book. A 3.5* scored up to 4 as I’m very aware my current state may have negatively impacted my enjoyment.

Another great read from Cecelia Ahern. Alice is a little different from other people as she sees peoples emotions and feelings as colours around them, we go on a journey with her throughout life and it made me feel a lot of different emotions and it made me think about things a little differently. Absolutely loved this, would recommend to everyone.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alice is a unique character who has very specific issues. She sees people as colours and can understand them. She has learned to come to terms with this and uses it to keep herself and others safe . It is not an easy read and you may need perseverance

Cecelia Ahern does it again and finds a way to find something so abstract and turn it into something beautiful.

I loved being a part of Alice's life journey and the prisms of colours through her life. I couldn't stop the tears flowing at the end.

I listened to this on audible and don't know if it was the narrator or the storyline or both but this really didn't work for me.

The narrator when she did the voices for the male characters and Lily the mum sounded more like The Wicked Witch of the West and it was so off putting.

I struggled to connect with Alice, the main character and although the subject of seeing colours and auras is interesting I just didn't enjoy this story.

Cecelia Ahern’s magic is back. I’ve felt her most recent books have lacked that magical spark that her earlier books have and I’ve missed it.

I did feel the ending was a bit rushed. I would liked to have seen more of her life with kids and getting older.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m excited for its official release.

* thank you NetGalley for the ARC *

I empathized with the main character Alice from the beginning due to her home situation. I was intrigued by her ability to see people's emotions in colour and how she saw her older brother deflecting her mum's emotions and her younger brother absorbing her mum's emotions. I like Cecelia's style of storytelling and this was evident throughout.

WoW!!!!! In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern and Narrated by Amy McAllister was a beautifully written. it was a book just took "My breath away" from start to finish I wasn't sure of this book but the cover caught my eye and I am so glad it did, it's beautiful.
The narrator Amy McAllister was perfect. Cecelia Ahern is a wonderful storyteller and I will be looking out for her books in the future.

I highly recommend this book. I loved it.

Big Thank you to NetGalley, Cecelia Ahern, and HarperCollins UK for my advanced copy of In a Thousand Different Way.

A gorgeous cover, alas the book did not live up to it. This was pretty poor and one for diehard Cecelia Ahern fans only.

Alice Kelly has a gift (or curse, depending on your perspective). She sees an aura around people, sensing their emotions and moods, owing to a condition called synaesthesia. She grows up in an unhappy home with a bipolar mother who neglects Alice and her brothers. This is the story of Alice’s life and ultimately, it’s a rather odd, humdrum and depressing one.

The first 60 or so pages start off reasonably promising with Eleanor Oliphant vibes and some nice writing. Unfortunately, it quickly fizzles out, becoming very maudlin and predictable.

Synaesthesia is an interesting condition and it has worked well as a plot device in a few books that I’ve read in recent years, but hanging the entire story on synaesthesia is not really a runner. It becomes very repetitive - there are only so many ways of describing how colours appear - the red mists, the murky browns, the swirling purples. Less “a thousand different ways” and more a case of, well, just a few really.

By the time the romance angle is introduced, the book descends into the most saccharine, sentimental prose I’ve read in a long time. The last chapter rushes through the last few decades of Alice’s life at breakneck speed as the colours begin to drain out of it. For a novel centring on colours, I’m afraid this was terribly bland, or hummus as Ahern might describe it. A promising start but that’s about it I’m afraid.

*Many thanks to @harpercollinsire for sending me a copy of the book. As always, this is an honest review.*

I enjoy Cecelia Aherne’s writing and I found her last book Freckles to be an excellent, well written story. However her latest book In A Thousand Different Ways wasn’t for me.

The idea of people seeing colour is very interesting and unique but the inclusion of bi-polar disorder along with other storylines in the book all felt too simplistic. I didn’t really enjoy the story but appreciate Aherne’s talent in storytelling.

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this book. Engaging, compelling and utterly unique. With a fantastic central character who I found myself willing on all the way, this book is amazing.
Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

One of Ahern's better works in recent times. A really interesting premise where the main character can see emotions / auras? And how to navigate a world where nothing is really a secret to you. The character was wonderfully written.

Such a beautiful book I listened to the narrated version and read this one. Each gave me unique experiences ! I loved Alice’s journey and felt like I was experiencing the journey with her in all its amazing glory! This book had me feeling every emotion. The description and language used was so clear and poignant Absolutely loved every part of this book.