Ahern has unique and beautiful writing with a captivating storyline and characters' depth and development. I loved how she described the different moods and feelings related to the colors. Like a baby is associated with gold color, it’s fascinating when Alice knows that her teacher is pregnant before her teacher knows herself. This was most interesting, following Alice throughout her life, her struggles with her difficult mum and younger brother, but loved and understood by her older brother. Her best friend in high school becomes a major sports star in the Premier League, she helps him get there. She discovers her husband on the tube, he has no colours, which she has never experienced. 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. 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.

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.

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It’s about a character named Alice who has the ability to see people’s emotions in the form of colours around their bodies; she sees auras. She can instantly know just by looking at someone exactly how they’re feeling, and if the colour travels to her, then she can also feel exactly as they are feeling. Alice feels that this skill is a burden, not a gift, and we follow her as she tries to navigate her own life, carve out her own path despite feeling overwhelmed by everyone around her. 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. Cecelia writing style is beyond phenomenal she's so quirky in the ways that she tells her stories and I really love that about her.

Sarah Gilmartin: ‘A lot more needs to be done to make the reporting of sexual crimes easier for victims’ ] I’ve read that you’re not comfortable speaking in public. What does writing mean to you? This story is pretty fast pace and I think and I think the writing is just absolutely wonderful clearly wonderful Celia never disappoints me. It's definitely one of those stories which is unforgettable and I don't really want to give too much away so that people actually get to read it and enjoy it like I did I have heard of synaesthesia where people see music as colours, but limited on those who see people's auras. It certainly makes you think on how it would affect you if this happened to you. It was one of those books that I became totally absorbed in, not light hearted as I normally enjoy, but contemplative especially towards the end. One to read when you want something a bit heavier, but not depressing, and totally different. Highly recommended.

My neurologist told me that Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice in Wonderland, also experienced aura migraines. The book has always been one of my favourites and hearing that, it totally makes sense to me you know, with the Mad Hatter with his rambling and nonsensical language, things being big and then small, far away and close. So I called my character Alice because of that.’ She does manage to live a life of her own, with the urging of her older brother, and moves away from the toxic environment that is her childhood home. Oh, how excited I was to read the latest book by Cecelia Ahren! "A mainstream book about people like me! Wow." I marvelled.