Perfect by Cecelia Ahern

Perfect by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine's life has completely fractured – all her freedoms gone.

Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with the complicated, powerfully attractive Carrick, the only person she can trust. But Celestine has a secret – one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground.

Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save only herself, or risk her life to save all the Flawed. And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed…?

This is the follow on story from Flawed, however if you have not read that, there are many references to it in Perfect and you would be able to grasp the concept of the story from reading this one. It shouldn't affect your enjoyment of it.

Cecelia Ahern is a great writer, I particularly enjoy her adult novels, she is just as good though with YA and even if you don't really like YA, I would give these ago.

I don't want to say too much about the book as I could end up giving too much away, but there are some brutal scene in this, but also really emotional ones that will have you grabbing the tissues. It is a complete roller coaster of emotions and it was delivered really well.

This is a must read for any fan of Cecelia Ahern or YA/Dystopian books.

ROAR by Cecelia Ahern

Roar by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided…Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?

From much-loved, international bestseller Cecelia Ahern come stories for all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.

Witty, tender, surprising, these keenly observed tales speak to us all, and capture the moment when we all want to roar.

I love books by Cecelia Ahern, I always have, however I feel since I have got older I have more of a love/hate relationship with them. Sometimes I just find them a little bizarre, crazy and unbelievable. This book was very different, this is 30 short stories all about women, I love short stories as having a very busy job I can not always invest a lot of time in a story and I can feel very disappointed as I haven't given it the attention it deserves. With short stories this never happens, they let me read one feel like I have accomplished something before bed.

These short stories are all about women, at different periods of their lives, some stories are longer than others and some are quite bizarre, which I struggled with. Some of them really stayed in my mind for a long time after I had finished them and made me think. There were some I preferred to others.

Overall it is a nice short story collection, I think it would be better to read a few at a time, perhaps pick up another book and then return to these. It is a very interesting collection of short stories and was written very well, I rated this 3.5* rounded up to 4* for Amazon and Goodreads. The reason the rating isn't higher is because in my opinion some of the stories were just a little to far fetched and silly for me.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern Blog Tour

Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She will change your life forever…

In the south-west of Ireland, rugged mountains meet bright blue lakes and thick forests. Deep in the woods, a young woman lives alone, forever secluded from the world, her life a well-kept secret. She possesses an extraordinary talent, the likes of which no-one has seen before: a gift that will earn her the nickname Lyrebird.

When Solomon stumbles into Laura’s solitary existence, her life is turned on its head. Pulled from her peaceful landscape to the cacophony of Dublin, she is confronted by a world desperate to understand her.

But while Solomon knows the world will embrace Laura, will it free her to spread her wings – or will it trap her in a gilded cage? Like all wild birds, she needs to fly free…

Lyrebird is a thoughtful, deeply moving love story; a story of the wild heart in us all and the quiet that lies underneath the world’s noise


I absolutely love Cecelia Ahern's writing, I have read all her novels and have loved most of them. Over the years her writing style has developed into more magical and fantasy, fantasy is not my genre to read, however Ahern's are the exception.

Personally I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half. Bo, Solomon and others from a documentary crew head off to film a funeral to catch up with a family they had been following for one of their most successful pieces of work. A twin from the family had died 'Tom' and they were going back to the family house to film endings of the show. During their time back on the grounds of the family home Solomon stumbles across a young woman in the woods. Laura had been living here for 10 years, she seems to have a magical power/gift she can mimic sounds around her and has been shut off from the outside world.

Bo for me at the beginning of the novel was not likable at all, she came across greedy for a story and only interested in Laura for the fact she could make her a lot of money. She also seemed unprofessional, and that she was using her. Solomon is Bo's boyfriend and through reading the story I didn't feel Solomon was like Bo, he genuinely seemed to care for Laura, I also couldn't see how they were together, they seemed too different.

The story is beautifully written and I loved the description in the countryside, I wish there had been more of this part of the story, I would have happily had the whole story told in the countryside and personally I thought this was over too soon.

There are many parts of the story that I found difficult to get my head around. Laura had been alone for 10 years in the countryside and the outside world must have felt almost alien to her, however she was quick enough to jump in a car and go to the city with Solomon and Bo. She also didn't seem reluctant with the idea of going on a famous T.V show. I found it hard to believe that no one thought Laura's ability was odd and it was just accepted. These things I did think would be unbelievable.

I did enjoy this story, the writing style makes it such an easy read and one that you don't want to stop. You get sucked into Laura's world and feel like you become one of the characters following her on her journey, not knowing how it is going to end.

This was an enchanting tale, a fairy tale for adults. Cecelia Ahern has delivered again with a magical novel. If you are an Ahern fan I recommend you get yourself a copy of this.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.





About the Author:
Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. She is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over twenty-five million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series. She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The stunning YA debut from internationally bestselling author Cecelia Ahern.

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.

In this stunning novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.



I absolutely love Cecelia Ahern's novels and when I knew she was writing a YA I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy. I was over the moon to find out that I had won a competition to receive an early copy of Flawed. As soon as my copy arrived I began and I am so glad I did, this certainly disappoint. The only thing I am disappointed about is that I need to wait a whole year for the next in the installment.

Normally I do not like dystopians, they tend to be a bit too far fetched for me and I find it difficult to relate to them as they are too far away from reality. This book however is very different. Although it is a dystopian I would say this is a great introduction into the genre if like me you don't really get on with them very well.

This is such an interesting book, one that stayed with me night after night of reading parts of it, I haven't been so hooked on a book for a long time. Celestine is perfect, living her life with her prefect boyfriend Art. They live in a controlled society, one where they can be branded flawed for doing things that are considered wrong. Not by the police but by the Guild.

One day Celestine finds herself in a situation, one that she cannot ignore , she chooses to make a quick decision, one which now could be life changing.

There were times in the book when I didn't want to keep reading through discuss of parts of it, then there were other parts, which I thought was completely unfair and I wished I could influence Celestine and other characters in the book. I felt I was on a roller coaster ride with Celestine and never knew who I could trust. Even after finishing the novel I am still unsure of characters and not sure if they have an ulterior motive.

This for me was totally new and unique, I have never read a book like this. It was totally engaging and I honestly had no idea where the book was going. I really enjoyed this debut young adult, there was a lot of description and the characters were well developed.

I loved Carrick in the story, there is so much mystery with him, some of which still are not clear. I think Art was too weak and he doesn't have a back bone, not willing to stand up for himself or to his father. I think he would have gained more respect from me if he had shown a more courageous side.

The only negative I have about this book is that there are a lot of unanswered questions and we were left on a huge cliff hanger. This is the first in a series, I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for Perfect next year.

I would recommend this book to Cecelia Ahern fans as well as those who read young adult books. I feel if you are new to dystopians and want to get into them, this would be a good one to start with.

I would like to thank Maximum Pop for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern

The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A forgotten childhood. A discovered life.

What if you only had one day to find out who you really were?

When Sabrina Boggs stumbles upon a mysterious collection of her father’s possessions, she discovers a truth where she never knew there was a lie. The familiar man she grew up with is suddenly a stranger to her.

An unexpected break in her monotonous daily routine leaves her just one day to unlock the secrets of the man she thought she knew. A day that unearths memories, stories and people she never knew existed. A day that changes her and those around her forever.

The Marble Collector is a thought-provoking novel about how the most ordinary decisions we make can have the most extraordinary consequences for how we live our lives. And how sometimes it’s only by shining on a light on someone else, that you can truly understand yourself.

I have been a fan of Ahern's writing ever since I discovered 'P.S I love you', so whenever I see a new novel by her I make sure I pick up a copy.

This book I felt was very different from her other books, it is told by two people, Fergus and Sabrina. To begin with you don't really know the connection between the two characters but it doesn't take too long to work it out. Right from the beginning I got the feeling that Fergus was from the past, this was confirmed the further I got into the novel, however this shifts in the novel as there are times that Fergus is in the present and we follow his life today. Sabrina is Fergus's daughter, which we find out early on in the book. Unfortunately Fergus recently had a stroke and is now living in a home. Sabrina makes sure she regularly visits him, one day she receives a call from the home about a package that has been delivered for her father. Sabrina is amazed to discover these are marbles, and on closer inspection some are missing.

This story is about discovery, not only of the marbles but of who the family are and the secrets they keep. Throughout the novel some secrets are revealed to the reader and we can build up a picture of the characters and their stories. I enjoyed reading both character's stories and although I could not find a connection to them, thought it was well written and covers a unique story line. There are many characters that the reader comes into contact in this book and I feel they have all been written well. Some of the characters I would have liked to know a little more about, however we begin to learn more about these characters through the point of view of Fergus and Sabrina.

This story brings up questions about how well do we really know someone, even our family. We only know what they want to tell us. To discover secrets it then can have a devastating effect on those who love us, who may feel like their life has been a lie. This really come out of Ahern's book for me and I thought the emotions Sabrina felt were realistic.

I have read many of Ahern's books and unfortunately this is not one of my favourites, however I think if you enjoy a historical element in stories, you will like this. To me it just didn't have the magical charm I have grown to love with Ahern's novels.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.