In a Thousand Different Ways: the gripping, unforgettable new novel from the Sunday Times number 1 bestselling author

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The character development is excellent, especially Alice who is a fantastic character – strong & develops with experiences. There is a lot of complexity in the characterisation, and it is very nuanced. The relationship between Alice & Andy while unusual in parts, I felt had its rough edges in terms of portrayal. I did like the part where Alice mentions understanding his soul without her powers. The early parts of the book progress as a string of incidents, while later the story takes time leaps. I found many sections to be slow, and it could have been shorter. The last portion spans many years in Alice’s life, but I liked that approach as I think the author probably felt there was not much new material which could be introduced. The end summary on Alice navigating her relationships & life’s experiences through colours was beautiful.

We follow Alice through her difficult childhood and teenage years with a selfish, uncaring mother, one brother who wants out and another who seems to sop up all his mother's negative energy.Indeed, the way Cecelia thinks is one of the things that inspired her new book, In A Thousand Different Ways. It tells the story of Alice, who Lyrebird is Ahern's 14th novel in as many years. Since her debut P.S. I Love You was published, in 2004, she has led the market for romantic popular fiction, both in Ireland and abroad. Lyrebird will easily satisfy her fans, who will expect the development of an unlikely love affair and a traditional happy ending. What they may not expect is a meditation on the world through sound. Between the factual framing device of Pratt's book and the development of two characters who connect on a sonic, as well as an emotional plane, Ahern manages to turn a generic storyline into a much more sophisticated narrative, albeit one that refuses to transgress the boundaries of romantic cliche. 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. I’ve just begun writing my new novel which will be the 20th novel I publish. Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?

Thanks so much for reading my review, I look forward to reading any comments. Feel free to browse my books read for your next great read.Beautiful, moving and unexpected, In a Thousand Different ways is an unforgettable story. This is Cecelia Ahern at her very best’ Louise O’Neill This book is the life of Alice Kelly who has the rare condition of Synesthesia (dubbed Aura Migraine) whereby she can see the colour of people's aura and lives in a dysfunctional family. It is not clear if she was born with it or developed it later, but she is suffering alimentation and feels cursed. Ollie her younger brother soaks in his mother's blue and red (Depression and Anger) while Hugh her older brother with his Pink (Love) manages to be the beacon of sanity for Alice. I finished this 2 minutes ago and tears are still streaming down my face!! And I so rarely cry at books !!

Alice realised at 8 years of age that she could see the colours of people's moods swirling around them, changing with their thoughts and desires; manifesting their actions. Bewildered by her curse (or is it a gift?), it causes her to be distracted, distant, and different, as others' auras reach out and attempt to affect and influence her too. She must even deflect people's happiness because, 'you shouldn't steal someone else's happiness. You have to make your own.' Alice needs to find a way to live with herself and live her life, in spite of the colourful insights she sees, 'wondering why it is that I see every part of everyone and most of them never see me at all.' This book is her journey: hiding, deflecting and manipulating and finally accepting: her differences become her strength.

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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. Alice has the skill to visualise in colours and fights through life coming from a suboptimal family. How can one master life, if distraction is a steady consonant in life? How can one move in a society without fear, if one can see and feel the darkest intentions of some people for instance at a children´s playground? And what happens, if someone with synesthesia comes across someone who reflects no color whatsoever? The Story over all I felt had quite a bit of magical realism in bit of magical realism in it which really drawn me into the story itself, If your a fan of T.J klune then I think you will live this . First off this is a story about Alice and her life of seeing people’s aura’s good and bad, now the story it’s self was ok but it was a bit jumpy for my liking one minute she was at her brothers house the next she was in a pub looking for her Dad. That is the one thing I really didn’t like about this book the jumping about with no warning it was very hard to keep up with. The neighbour that helped her was one minute she didn’t like them the next they were best friends. The job she had one minute she had a normal job the next she was applying and got the job that one of her co workers wanted. As someone who lives in Swindon I was very disappointed that they called it the Swindon Theatre it’s called the Wyvern not Swindon Theatre. That just proves she did not do any research in to this book at all. There was also a bit in the book where she went to Ireland to visit her mum the next sentence her mum was living with her.