A stunning, wonderful, powerful tale: Alice lives with her mother and two brothers, one older and one younger. Alice has synaesthesia (to see or feel in colours)only this isn't recognised until she is older and sadly she is seen as being different and a trouble maker. She sees the anger in her mother and the calm in her older brother. Imagine being able to see and hence make a judgement of someone by the colour surrounding them. When there is a crowd you are overwhelmed, when seeing strangers you can make a call. When Hugo, her older brother, goes to university and her younger brother is on the wrong side of the law it is left to Alice to look after her mother as she is now in a wheelchair.

Cecelia has a rare talent. One that has the ability to draw the reader in without them really knowing it. There isn't a plot as such, it is a story of Alice’s life, but you can't help but be drawn to her and knowing you can't give her a hug (it's too much for her to cope with) I felt protective of her. Anyone having had a toxic parent will sympathise and understand her conflict let alone with the confusion and disruption of colours as she was growing up. A wonderful, poignant at times, emotive story and one that left me with a tear. To quote Oscar Wilde “ Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways”. Stunning

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What a beautiful book. I adore Cecilia Ahearn and In a thousand different ways will stay with me for a long time.
So descriptive and enthralling, it captivated me from the start. Truly lovely. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review. Highly recommend.

What a fabulous book! I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down. Alice lives in a chaos of other people's emotions which she sees as colours and which affect her own feelings unless she protects herself from them. The character descriptions are so beautifully written, the grief, love, violence and ambivalence that people feel throughout their lives and which Alice sees and interprets as their colours battle against her desire for peace and solitude.

My only criticism is that the last part of the book is too fast but that's probably because I really didn't want it to end, I was completely absorbed.

I read this in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I loved it - every second of it. I should have expected it from this author, but it still took my breath away. It was so unusual. The story twisted and turned. Who knew where it was going to lead you. But in the end it took me to a touching ending, once that had me crying. I can't recommend this enough. It was a wonderful read. Thank you.

This was my first title by Cecilia Aherne and I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and am now keen to discover more of her writing.

From her extraordinarily difficult childhood, we follow Alice throughout her life, dealing with her strange gift which she cannot describe, therefore nobody can understand, and consequently has her labelled a troublemaker. Relationships with her siblings and her mother are complicated. Her school days are fraught with problems due to her condition preventing her from making friends, until she finds people she can relate to in a special school, just one of many breakthrough moments in the story.

I found all of the characters well rounded. We get to know them well through their impact on Alice. Her meeting with Naomi is a turning point, where she learns that her life can be different. Her relationship with Andy, after an idyllic start, becomes troubled at times, but they learn to deal with each other's idiosyncrasies. Her love of being out in nature and her growing understanding of plants through seeing their moods and colours was fascinating and and, for her, life-changing.

There are some big leaps forward in time, but for the most part I didn't felt that I needed to know the detail of what had happened in the intervening years. It's only towards the end, when suddenly there are children and grandchildren, that it feels too rushed.

Alice is a wonderful character who could have been overwhelmed by the problems she faces, but she finds her place in the world, through her own determination and with a little help from her friends. Despite some very dark subject matter, particularly involving Alice's mother and her younger brother, this was a delight to read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Another great read from this fabulous author. Great characters, great storyline and wonderful read.

What an absolutely beautiful book! Ahern weaves stories so skilfully you’re drawn in from the very start and hooked until the end. Alice and her synesthesia make this such an interesting read, and as we follow her and see the impact this has on her life you can’t help but love her.
A definite must read.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Completely captivating and a beautifully crafted rollercoaster of emotions. I absolutely loved it.

Another classic from Cecilia Aherne. I thoroughly enjoyed this, her latest, novel and would heartily recommend it.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this novel. It's written in first person, present tense, something I often find off putting.. Except when the prose is so well written that I forget about the tense. It only took a paragraph or so for me to know that this was one of those books.

The author doesn't waste time on backstory but gets right to the situation at hand. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I love the way reality and the unlikely or even impossible blend together here. It's a neat trick and one which few writers manage to pull off.

This is a story about family and not fitting in and, well, fitting in differently. Recommended.

I have to admit this is the first book I have read by Cecelia Ahern, and I could not put it down. A Thousand Different Ways tells the story of Alice who has synaesthesia and is seen as been different and difficult as she tries to navigate her way through her life with her mother and brothers.
This book from the very first page drew me in and made me want to know more with every page turn I couldn’t recommend this book highly enough.

I adored everything about this book! Alice has a special gift and can see people's auras in colours and sense their moods and what's going on for them. A true empath, who has to learn how to live with her gift so that she doesn't become overwhelmed by other's emotions. She "knows" strangers just at a first meeting and scans them like an x-ray to discover who they are.

This is a book about love, trust, mysticism, family, acceptance, humanity, compassion and so much more

"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"

Alice is a character vividly brought to life, alongside her desperately flawed mother & very different brothers. The descriptions of the colours that she sees throughout her life & how other people affect her is well explained. I loved this story & don’t hesitate to recommend it - I’ll be buying it for friends.

For those who don’t know, I am a huge Cecelia Ahern fan having read every book on release from P.S. I Love You, which still remains one of my favourite ever books. So it is safe to say that as soon as a new title from Cecelia is announced quite a lot of excitement follows which was accelerated further this time due to receiving an advanced readers copy of the upcoming 2023 release.

‘In A Thousand Different Ways’ tells us the story of Alice, a woman who has had to deal with a multitude of emotions her entire life, thanks to her ability of seeing and feeling everything that other people around her are experiencing. From happiness to cautioned, to anger and sadness, life can be more than overwhelming at times for Alice who thinks that staying away from people would be the safest option, or at least find a way of limiting contact to live her life as she wants.

Once again from the very first chapter, as so often happens in Ahern’s books, you are drawn in from the very start, wanting to know more. The concept of seeing colours to represent emotions is genius, to have the main character be able to see and absorb these feelings and how this insight into others might not be a ‘gift’ is just captivating. On several occasions through the book you could relate to how you really don’t know what is going on with others around you, life seemingly perfect on the outside but possibly something that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I feel like this is a book that will stay with me for quite a while, I literally can’t stop thinking about it days after reading. I inhaled this book, every single word of it and I couldn’t recommend more - add it to your To-Be-Read list for 2023 now!

Absolutely incredible; from the toxic parent to the troubled and troubling brother and the girl with the strange power the characters are well balanced and tell a story of triumph and strength over adversity.
My only complaint would be that the latter half of the book moved way too fast for me, bounding through the adult years of her life where I really wanted to linger hour by hour with Alice.
5 stars are not enough!

Wow just wow. From the moment I heard about this book on Cecelia's Instragram page I was drawn to it. Now I know why it is a book like I've never ever read before. From the very first line I was hooked, drawn into the world of Alice Kelly, a girl who is so so special.

The book is set in Dublin to being with then moves to Doha, Liverpool and finally London. Alice, at the age of eight, is given a gift that makes her unique, special but also controls her life in so many ways. She sees colours around people. Through there is only three chapters of book, it makes sense why its just three with just chapter titles not chapters. Trust me keep going its so worth it, we see Alice as she's rejected by her mum and younger brother. Her older brother and saviour, Hugh, is always there for her protecting her every step of the way. You can't help but hope she flourishes and succeeds in everything she does. In someway she does but through a wonderful journey of discovery, finding yourself and maybe find true love along the way.

We see glimpses of her past, future and present as she goes to a special school, her life after that as she starts to try and discover who she is and meeting people who accept her. Some who even think she is special in ways she doesn't even known.

Normally it can take me maybe a week to two weeks to read a book, but not Cecelia's latest offering. I have only read one of her other books but like I said something about this drew me in. Wither that was the cover, the description or simply because its Cecelia.

Trust me when I say this is a book that is an absolute must read of 2023! Thank you so much for the publisher and NetGalley for giving me advance access to one of the most beautiful, moving books I've ever read. I hope this one wins some awards that's for sure.

WILL BE POSTED ON www.laurasbookeuphorium.co.uk and Goodreads under the same title.

Wow...what a book.......I have no words!

I've been a Cecelia ahern fan since the early days of PS I love You, before it was a movie.
I believe this book is one of her best yet.
Such an unusual story written in such an engaging way........just wonderful!

Alice sees things differently and it affects how she lives. This book follows her story as she adjusts and comes to know herself.
The most fantastic of tales and so cleverly written.

A must read for fans.

Wow! I can't describe how much I loved this book. Its a story of life and love and how we navigate our way through. I laughed and I definitely cried. Absolutely loved it.

I haven't read anything by Cecila Ahern for quite some time, but when I saw this on Netgalley, I had to request a copy. Thank you to them and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alice sees people's colours. A little bit like an aura, the colours allow her to see both the best and the worst in people. The colours swirl and dart around everyone, showing their true self to her. But Alice is also an empath of sorts and takes on the emotions that those around her have. Her story is how she deals with this, first as a child and then throughout her adulthood.

This was a slow burner for me and it took us a while to gel. The stars for the review started out as a 3 in my head but mentally went up as the story progressed. The characters are all well written and beautifully diverse. The way Ahern visualised Alice's colours was gorgeous and I could not help but love her. It's mainly linear, but does jump back occasionally to help set the scene. I think Ahern has a wonderful knack for story telling and I think this will sell really well. It's published in April so I'd 100% recommend you put it on your TBR.

I’m a big fan of Cecilia Ahern but have to admit that I didn’t enjoy her last couple books as much as her earlier ones and I wasn’t really sure about this based on the blurb however this had me engrossed for the start and is every bit as enchanting as her earlier books. Alice’s gift of seeing peoples emotions through colours was far more of a curse for her and the impact it had in her life was painful at times but made for brilliant reading, her challenging background added a lot to the story as there were some very difficult relationships to navigate and it’s easy to see why the combination of both this and her gift made her act in ways that many others couldn’t comprehend. I would have possibly liked the last two chapters to last a little longer but otherwise this was a beautiful telling of a life. 9/10

LOVED this book! Such a unique storyline that had me gripped instantly as we followed the life of Alice. I found it so emotional in parts. I couldn't read it quick enough as I felt so absorbed in finding out more. An absolute MUST read.

This is a stunning, emotional read. Cecelia Ahern is an absolute master at stories that stay with you and I’m really thankful I got the chance to read this ARC. Thank you so much to the publisher.

This book indeed "can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways'. Alice, the narrator, describes the course of her life, from dysfunctional childhood home in Ireland to building a life for herself in London. All the while Alice is trying to come to terms with a unique ability, one which is simultaneously her critical weakness and her superpower. Cecelia Ahern has produced an absolutely wonderful book that spills over with resilience, humanity, happiness and hope. Alice's world is sharply observed and vividly and vibrantly described. I cannot recommend highly enough, Deep thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a no-obligation advance review copy.

With thanks to netgalley in exchange for an honest review. In a thousand different ways which is out in April is the story of Alice. Alice has the ability to see colours surrounding everyone she meets whether it's good or bad. She feels everyone's energy. Wow is all I can say Cecelia Ahern is just getting better and better with every story she writes. This is her best yet while Alice's story is sad at times it was so hopeful aswell. Some of the words left me so gripped and I got lost in the story. Truly excellent.

This is a truly beautiful book and one that will stay with me for a long time. I don’t think I’ll quite be able to put into words how much I loved this and was touched by the story.
In all honesty, I had fallen out of love a little with Cecelia Ahern’s books which was really disappointing as some of her early books are my favourite reads.
However, this book surpassed all of the previous ones and is by far her best yet.
It’s one of my best reads this year and I’ll be recommending to all. It really is stunning.

A touching, warm, and moving story about Alice who sees colours around people. Colours. Dancing around their heads and their bodies. Happy colours, sad colours. She feels them, and whatever they’re feeling, she feels herself. Everyone is completely transparent under her gaze.

The novel follows her life from a difficult childhood to self-discovery and the happy ending that the reader anticipates throughout.

Alice initially wants to isolate herself from everyone; she lives in solitude, which brings her even more sadness and disappointment. Slowly, with the help of true friends and nature, which never fails to heal, she learns to control her gift and live her own life.

The characters are completely human, with a wide range of emotions and relatable situations.

If you don’t feel your own pain, you cannot recognise it in others. Our own suffering can cultivate the ability to help others.


Cecelia Ahern is a master storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed this outstanding book.

I liked the sheer originality of the unusual ideas in this book. It was well written, with some interesting characters, who were not perfect as real people are not. I had a few tiny gripes, but for some great ideas I have to give this book full marks.

Wow, this book really blew me away, I just absolutely loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Wow! This book was just incredible. I couldn't stop reading, I was absolutely absorbed in the story. I think it will take a lot to top this one. I adored every thing about it. The characters, the storyline, amazing. Thank you to the author, publishers and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Such a, unique, extraordinary story, I was drawn in from the beginning and could almost feel the colours of the different characters as Alice saw them this was so beautifully written. I cried so many tears and will miss Alice kelly for a very long time.
My thanks to Netgallery for my opportunity to read such a wonderful book.

Alice has a life changing experience when she is 8:years old, she realises she sees colours surrounding people, they vary as to what emotions they are feeling. She has a difficult family life with a mother who is bi-polar, a father who leaves when the children are young, an older brother, Hugh, she idolises and a younger brother, Ollie, who becomes a problem the older he gets.
Alice’s gift leads to problems at school and she gets sent to a boarding school for difficult children where she makes 2 good friends who we briefly meet again once Alice has moved to London and is trying to find a job she can do.
I have read a lot of books by Cecelia Ahern but this was the first one that took me a while to get into reading. I am glad I persevered as I enjoyed it the more I read.

An absolutely epic read that I enjoyed immensely. It was so well done, so well-written, I looked forward to reading it every night. It was different to any book I had read before. It had a unique premise, insightful characters, and a really interesting take on how we see life differently. I also liked the fact that it went through her entire life. I did wonder if the end was a little rushed but it didn't detract from the enjoyment. A five-star read by a talented writer.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for a digital review copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

“Finding your way is never a simple journey…

Alice sees the worst in people.

She also sees the best.
She sees a thousand different emotions and knows exactly what everyone around her is feeling.
Every. Single. Day.

But it’s the dark thoughts.

The sadness. The rage.
These are the things she can’t get out of her head. The things that overwhelm her.

Where will the journey to find herself begin?”

I am a great fan of Cecelia Ahern’s books but this one really blew me away! I was totally immersed in this book with its unique storyline about Alice Kelly and her ability to see peoples colours. This is storytelling at it’s finest and I found it a moving, beautiful read that will stay with me for a long time.

What an absolutely beautiful book! I loved the characters and was completely engrossed. It's so, so lovely. Highly recommended.

Another wonderful story from Ahern looking at unusual characters, in this case Alice who sees and reads auras, both in people and in nature. The book spans most of her life and is filled with wisdom and beautiful description, as Alice tries and stumbles to navigate growing up in light of her gift, which for a long time she sees as a curse. Heart breaking at times, funny in others, it’s a real story of light and shade in a world of abundant colour.

Alice sees the worst in people.

She also sees the best.
She sees a thousand different emotions and knows exactly what everyone around her is feeling.
Every. Single. Day.

But it’s the dark thoughts.
The sadness. The rage.
These are the things she can’t get out of her head. The things that overwhelm her.

Alice has a gift- though she doesn't always perceive it this way. She views people's auras, her ability enabling her to detect and feel how others' feel vividly. Burdened with the pain, despair and anxiety of others she develops ways to shield herself from the transference of their colours.
Cecilia Ahern has produced a masterpiece here, an original premise for a book and mesmerising characters. Simply stunning. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing read that had me hooked from the start. Unusual subject matter of Synesthesia which I had come across before but not to such an extent as Alice, the main character together with a gift of insight makes this an unforgettable book.. Wonderful development of characters throughout and the world through Alice's eyes throughout her life which was somewhat timeless. Certainly a powerful book and I think Cecelia's best that I have read to date. A resounding 5 stars.

Loved it ! From the first few sentences the story had me. An interesting plot and characters you could visualise, don’t want to give things away but I felt I was “ seeing “ too, it was so well described . A delight to read and I loved it was a complete finale even though I did have a lump in my throat. Definitely a bestseller and yet again a totally fab book from Adele.

I absolutely loved this book! Alice is a little girl living with her two brothers and her single parent mother who seems to be suffering depression. Alice does not have.a happy childhood. One day Alice returns home from school, petrified at the amount of deep blue hanging around in the air, unable to wake her mum up. The blue seems to be suffocating her. Alice is disruptive at school and she’s confused with herself. Several years later her brothers girlfriend realises what is different about Alice. Alice sees colour around everyone. She can tell if they are good or bad; happy or sad; a danger or a safe person. It’s a medical condition, it’s all clear now. Alice struggles to come to terms with this and spends most of her adult life hiding away. Until she meets Naomi, a Reiki healer, who makes her see her gift differently. Alice eventually lets in love, and her world is turned around, I absolutely loved this story.

I loved this book. I was hooked straight away and didn't want it to end. It is the story of Alice who can see people like others can't and how she navigates through her day to day life.

Firstly I must say how much I admired the cover shown on the site, beautiful and so evocative of what was to come. An amazing story of what could be seen as a disability, but had so many more layers. Thank you for a chance to review this book, it was extremely readable.

What a beautiful book this is! It’s full of heart, wisdom, emotion and love. I found it a little difficult to sink into at first, but then was drawn into the story and am so glad that I was! It’s powerful, and resonated with me in a way that I wasn’t expecting. The characters are beautifully depicted, flawed, imperfect and damaged, which I really liked. The story itself is very intriguing and compelling, and is wonderfully written. I loved the colours in this book, and how they are portrayed. The ending is perfectly written, and left me in tears. A lovely book that left me wanting more. Very highly recommended.

Alice sees the best and worst in people.
She sees peoples energy auras every day for everyone...............until one day there's a man with no aura.

This is a story of a woman finding herself and how to deal with other people's anger, darkness. A disabled mother, a brother recently out of jail and her brother and family living in Doha.
How will she cope and manage as her life develops?

I loved this book.

A superb read which I could not put down!

I’ve long been fascinated with the subject of auras - how some people can see them and how they can reveal the emotions of a person. I had never thought, however, about the negative impact on someone with this ‘gift’. Cecelia Ahearne tells the story of how Alice’s ability to see auras impacts her whole life. She is immersed in the turmoil of other people’s emotions until she finds a way of existing in society. The end is simply beautiful.

Cecelia Ahearne is a gifted story-teller and ‘In a Thousand Different Ways’ doesn’t disappoint.

Cecelia Ahern has a way of writing her stories, so the words literally bounce off the page and wrap you in a warm hug. I love her books – and this one is no exception. It really is a Wow read and I absolutely adored it from page 1.

Alice is just a young girl when she starts seeing colors swirling around her mother, Lily. Soon she starts seeing colours around everyone and soon learns they are reflecting the person’s mood & emotions. But Alice doesn't want the gift, and struggles with adjusting to being different to everyone else. At times, it's overwhelming for her feeling everyone's emotions, so she hides away from the world and only interacts with very few people.

The story follows Alice with her gift, and the people in her life – her disturbing and difficult relationship with her Mother and Brother Ollie, her elder Brother Hugh and then later her first boyfriend, husband, children and grandchildren.

Make sure you have a box of tissues handy for the last 5 or so pages.

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, which I think is so easy when giving a review – I highly recommend this book. Such a beautiful story of family and love.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc in return on an honest, unbiased review.

I finished this 2 minutes ago and tears are still streaming down my face!! And I so rarely cry at books !!

Life has been so manic recently and I've been trying to get into a book on my Netgalley shelf but being a mood reader non were grabbing me..... Until 10am today when I picked up this gem 💎

Like Eleanor Oliphant and Sally Diamond our protagonist Alice Kelly is different. Im discovering I have a love for damaged female protagonists, whether it's down to nature or nurture I love these girls.... Or maybe it's because I have raised a daughter on the spectrum and I see a little bit of her in all these special protagonists...it makes me want to fight the world for them and champion them!

I'm not going to tell you the synopsis... ... I just read the first page and fell into Alice's world...with characters who are damaged and vile and also characters (Hugh 😍) who are knights in shining armour I fail to see how this story, rammed with heart and soul, cannot grab the emotional attention of anyone who reads it.
I admit it's not a light, jolly tale but the veins of hope that run through it as the story progresses makes it such a beautiful and unique read.

Thank you profusely to @harpercollins
@official_ceceliaahern and Netgalley for the ARC of this novel

❓Whats the last book that made you cry?

Wow. What an unusual book. Alice can see peoples auras but more than that she knows their true identity, good or bad. She cannot switch off this 'power' so has to try to find ways of managing it. Interesting, entertaining and engaging.

A story that will make you stop and think more times that I have wanted honestly. It’s all about kindness, acceptance of our different abilities in life and most of all , the fear of not actually firing in a mood that this society is so set upon and likes to put everyone in a box.
I never felt a book cover making justice to the Sri side it as this one has done.
It must be so lonely and frustrating and scary to try to live your life just like everyone else but to have no one to turn to for an advice or just to talk about your feelings and emotions.
I think this is one of the very few stories that will stay with me for a long long time.

I last read a Cecelia Ahern book way back in 2014 and it wasn’t for me. But I took the leap to try again and I am so glad I did. Such a beautiful, evocative novel that I actually looked forward to reading each day (I’ve been in a bit of a book wilderness recently). It will stay with me forever, one of those books I will refer to as memorable and life-affirming.