Freckles (aka Allegra) likes things to be orderly and within the rules. She lives her life by this order. But when a stranger tells her that people are the average of the 5 people they spend the most time with, Freckles realised that she may not actually have 5 people she’s closest to because she left her father and the friends she knew and moved away…. 250 miles away to be exact. I really related to Allegra and her noticing of the people who cross her path every day and the wondering of what’s happened or where they are when they aren’t in their usual place. When I commuted on public transport I would see the same people doing the same thing. I really liked the observations that we have unknown people in our lives who we see almost every day and that we are also those unknown people to someone else. Cecelia just writes people so well doesn’t she? Totally honest and so relatable. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by her (I have no idea why and it is clearly a massive faux pas) and I forgot how timeless her writing always is. Like I could pick this book up in 20 years and still relate to the people written but possibly in a different way. If you are looking for a book that’s timeless, Freckles is it. You will be pulling this from the shelves for years to come

I am a huge Cecelia Ahern fan and always relish the opportunity of a new book to read, whilst also worrying that it might not live up to her previous novels. I needn’t have worried! Freckles incorporates all the traits I love about her books, wonderfully colourful, fallible, quirky characters, settings that are so real they spring to life in my mind and a thought-provoking scenario. Meet Allegra Bird, sometimes known by her nickname Freckles, (the reasons become clear quite quickly). Pops, her devoted but slightly unusual sole-parent, a music professor who is facing his own problems. There are plenty more-colourful and larger-than-life characters to meet: Tristan (Rooster), Paddy, Spanner to name a few. Freckles faces a few issues of her own, you will make your own mind up as you read. OCD? Autistic? But she has a plan and follow it she will. Yes there are times when you can’t quite believe her naivety, but this reflects the real world quite accurately in my experience. There are lots of sub-stories running alongside the main one which interweave beautifully, leading to a fast-paced ending. I have to admit I had involuntary tears (even though the ending could potentially be predicted) The honesty which Allegra displays is forthright and blunt and jarring, but accompanies her on a journey to discover her own self-worth and true friendship. I found this story to be endearing and heart-warming.

Allegra Bird, nicknamed Freckles thanks to the covering of freckles she inherited from her Dad, has moved away from her family and friends to start a new life in Malahide but when a stranger makes a throwaway comment that everyone is the average of the five people they spend the most time with she really takes it to heart, even more so when she realises she doesn’t really have five people. This sets her off on a quest to find her five who can help her become the person she wants to be. First of all I need to say a huge thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for approving me for an advanced review copy of “Freckles”. I adore Cecelia Ahern’s writing and my pre-ordered hardback now doesn’t need to be carried around in my handbag! “Freckles” is an absolutely beautiful story told in a slightly unusual style. Allegra is clearly very quirky, I don’t like to diagnose book characters with things that they’re not stated to have but some of her behaviours are reminiscent of someone on the autistic spectrum, and the book is told in first person narrative from her point of view so we get a real insight into how she thinks. My only complaint would be that Ahern didn’t use speech marks and whilst I did quickly get used to it and I understand why authors sometimes write in this way I’m not a fan of this style. I love the concept of the five people who help influence your life outside of family and it really got me thinking about who I spend time with now and who has been in my life in the past and what influence they have had on me. I’m very fortunate to have a lot of amazing people in my life, obviously some are closer than others but each will have influenced me in their own way and I hope I’ve been a positive influence on them in return. Ahern’s characters are always a big part of why I love her books and Allegra is truly wonderful. I love the story at the start about her freckles and how she likens them to constellations. I also love the relationship between her and her Dad. She’s such a caring woman in her own way but throughout her life she has had a lot to deal with. As always, Ahern’s writing kept me completely gripped and I gobbled this up in huge chunks at a time because once I started I just couldn’t stop reading. There is less romance in this one than in most of Ahern’s previous books with it instead focusing on the other relationships that people have in their lives rather than purely on love and romance. Tristan is a particular favourite of mine out of the supporting characters. I don’t want to include any spoilers so won’t say too much but I love the way he develops and I would absolutely love to read a sequel and see where all these characters end up. I would recommend “Freckles” to all fans of Ahern’s work as you will not be disappointed.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Freckles’ by Cecelia Ahern in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. Parking Warden Allegra Bird, or Freckles to her friends, works for Fingal County Council catching those parking illegally and when the man with the yellow Ferrari gets frustrated with her for constantly putting tickets on his car he tells her she’s the average of the five people she spends the most time with. That starts Allegra thinking about her life with Pops who brought her up single-handed in the absence of her mother, and makes her wonder who these five people are who’ve made her the person she is today. ‘Freckles’ is the story of a young woman who has acquaintances rather than friends, and whose private life is so uneventful that the most exciting occurrences are babysitting for her landlord’s children. Allegra takes her job seriously which doesn’t endear her to those on the receiving end of her parking tickets, and she’s surprised when Tristan, the owner of the yellow Ferrari, seeks her out to form a kind of friendship with her. This is an in-depth look into Allegra’s life, those she spends time with and those she wants to add to her list of five. Ms Ahern has the ability to give her characters depth and empathy and the further I got into the story the more I warmed to Allegra and her desire to be liked. I enjoyed the conversations she had with Tristan, Spanner in the bakery and Genevieve who runs the art classes where she models on Saturdays. The further I got into the story the more it grew on me as Allegra discovers who she truly is and I was really happy with the ending that was perfect, a beautiful end to a delightful story.

The idea of this plot is great, a journey of finding self love and acceptance through friendship and life experiences. It did have an incredibly slow start. The character development is good, but there were chapters of this that felt ‘unnecessary’ and made this feel like a drag to read. Id say that this became interesting after the 180-page mark, the pace sped up and things really started to progress, but the first part felt like ‘filler.’ I know the lack of speech marks is probably deliberate, but it really, really annoyed me and I found the dialogue of the characters really hard to read because of it. Despite being a bit boring, it was still an easy enough read, though I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t be rushing to recommend this one to others!