Hi All,

Happy “Tuesday but it feels like a Monday and has two days worth of work crammed into one”. If you can’t tell by that opening, I’ve not had the best start to the day and I am very much looking forward to it being over. I don’t have a lot else to say about that. On a positive note, we’re still on a good run of lovely weather here in the UK and that at least is putting a smile on my face.

Book 📖

Thank you to @harpercollinsuk for this advanced copy of In a Thousand Different Ways by @Official_CeceliaAhern in return for an honest review. In a Thousand Different Ways was published on 13th April 2023 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Finding your way is never a simple journey…

Alice sees the best in people.

She also sees the worst.
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?

General Thoughts 🤔

I know people say it often but I genuinely do mean it when I say that from the moment I picked up this book, I was hooked. I read such a huge chunk of it in that very first sitting as I was so engrossed and I simply had to keep going. I was also very emotional from the beginning. This isn’t a story that started off happily and it really did get me right in the feels. As the story continued, there were bumps in the road for these fabulous characters, but there were moments of happiness to be found.

Characters 👫👭👬

Alice. I don’t even know where to start with this woman. I can’t even imagine how draining her entire life must have been. She must have been in a constant state of confusion and fright as a child; I would be now as an adult if I had her gift. I was amazed by how well she dealt with it and with all of her family worries and stress thrown on top. She was such a beautiful soul and I spent the whole entire time hoping that she would find herself and her happiness and learn to live with her special gift.

Alice’s mother Lily was a character that I knew right away I wasn’t going to warm to however that didn’t mean that I couldn’t empathise and I definitely thought she was a fantastic addition to the story. Lily quite obviously did not have the support she needed as a mother and a woman with poor mental health and this had obvious negative impacts on all of her children’s lives. It was heartbreaking to follow but heart warming at moments too.

Writing Style ✍️

This is the second book I have read by this author and I could clearly hear her tone and voice in the writing. I remember having the same emotional draw to the story and the characters when I read Freckles so I am concluding that this is Cecelia Ahern’s writing super power; make people feel. I read many books that make me feel, but not all of them make me feel, question those feelings, feel something else and absorb and sit in the feelings. Cecelia Ahern has done that to me twice now and I am hugely appreciative of that talent.

The structure of the book probably had something to do with why I couldn’t put it down. The chapters were very long, I would refer to them as parts rather than chapters. Ordinarily, this would make a story feel more drawn out for me, however the mix of timelines within each chapter and the scatty and erratic nature of the writing at times, kept me engaged and kept the story and characters moving forwards.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

What a special story, with special characters. I adored this book even though it made me feel very emotional and even uncomfortable at times. The premise of this story was fascinating and has had my mind ticking over ever since I put it down. Such beautiful writing of a beautiful plot with beautiful ups and downs, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

😍😍😍😍😍