This book Apple of My Eye by Claire Allan is written in multiple POV and reading it, one can think it’s a straightforward story of two women – one the protagonist, the other the antagonist, both engrossed in their life situation and objectives. The voices for both are first person present tense. However, in that simplicity lies hidden so many knots and dark secrets and lies that it is difficult to fathom. It’s only by the latter half of the book that one begins to piece together the puzzle, just like it takes time for the protagonist to understand what is really happening.

The full review at: https://anups.net/2020/08/24/book-review-apple-of-my-eye-by-claire-allan/

Lots of different types of characters in this book. It was a tense book which had me wanting to read more. Even though you have guessed the villian earlier on in the book you still kept on reading wanting to know more. Lots of twists and turns to keep me on my toes. The characters were believable and you could relate to them.

The Apple of my Eye is a brilliant, creepy story! It's dark and atmospheric, sad and desperate. Claire Allen is a master of her trade and this genre suits her talents so well! I can't wait to see more from her!

I didn't finish this book so I haven't reviewed it on any social platforms as I don't think it would be fair. 
I find that for this particular genre, anything past 300 pages gets really long and tedious, so midway I still felt like I had made no progress as I didn't find the characters very engaging. No fault to the author, just not my cup of tea therefore I don't think it's fair to review on the basis that I didn't finish.

Just when i thought this book was going to be another predictable, not really 'thriller' it hooked me right in and took me in an unexpected direction.  So good!  A book full of many twists and turns and you're not really sure who to trust or who is an unreliable narrator.  Recommended!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So the cover is what drew me to this book as it looked very interesting.
This book is very beautifully  written in 2 POV and I must say it held my attention well 
Very clever storyline with believable characters.

Such a twisting tale. Loved this book couldn’t put it down . Great characters and great plot.  Now reading more from the great author A*

This story is written from the viewpoint of two different woman.  One woman wants a baby desperately, and another is pregnant and it seems as if she doesn't really want her bundle of joy..... The whole book you as the reader feels that something dramatic is going to happen..... (no spoilers!)...... riveting reading until the end!
Recommended.

Definitely a 4 star read. The characters were well created and easy to "picture". The story was twisty and I had a hard time putting this down without wanting to turn one more page.
There were a few sections that seemed to drag but overall, great read.
Thank you #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is quite a good thriller which has an interesting storyline. It kept my attention to the end even though the story had lots of twists and turns.

Fantastic book!

Loved the blurb and loved the book, basically Eliana is seven and a half months pregnant and a hospice nurse,  she’s been sick throughout the pregnancy and is struggling to bond with the baby inside her and worries she won’t be a great mum or bond when the baby comes.

She starts receiving notes saying that her husband, Martin is having an affair, and in the background a girl called Louise is watching, she is desperate for a baby.....

I hated the baddie in this, I kinda guessed who it was and it didn’t spoil it for me, I honestly was screaming at points no Eliana!!!! Had me hook, line and sinker and that’s a rarity for me as I read so much!

Get the book you won’t regret it, hopefully I can find more from the author 😊

Enjoyed this book, although I did guess the real identity of Louise a little bit before it was revealed. That didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book though as I really wanted to see how it would all end. I was gripped throughout and really enjoyed the alternating narratives between Eli, Louise and Angela. Looking forward to reading more from Claire Allan!

I loved this book and raced through it to see what would happen.  It kept me guessing.  I can't wait for Claire Allan to publish another book

Difficult to review this book without giving spoilers. Suffice to say Eli is still suffering from morning sickness in later pregnancy and worrying about her ability to bond with her child. She has a very close relationship, perhaps too close, with her mother and when she starts to feel threatened by someone trying to warn her of Martin's infidelity she does not cope well. There is obviously an outside threat and things escalate. I found Eli quite irritating with her flight from her husband and friend and driving 90 minutes one way and then 90 minutes another was a little repetitive. It was nevertheless quite a page-turner.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Claire Allan/Avon Books UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Apple of My Eye by Claire Allan is a gripping thriller that will have you hooked from the start.  When Eliana receives a mysterious note which makes wild claims and suggestions about her husband, she begins to question every aspect of her life.  But who is sending her the note?  Excellent.  4 stars

I really enjoyed Claire Allan's last book and was excited to see this come up on Netgalley and oh what a book.

This was a book that really knocked me for six, it kept me guessing throughout and I loved how I didn't see what was going to happen next. It just kept wowing me with where the story was going and what was happening.  

I liked the characters and reading about how they are incorporated as the story progressed. This was a book where I didn't see things coming and then the plot direction would just hit me. I found that as it went on I was keener to keep reading as I wanted to see what was happening next and found that I just couldn't put it down.

I loved this book, it had me hooked and I just had to keep reading - I look forward to seeing what Claire Allan releasing next as I really enjoyed this book.

I was introduced to Claire Allan last year with her debut thriller book, Her Name Was Rose. Even though I decided to no longer ask for Netgalley books until I was finally caught up on my backlog, when I saw the email for her most recent thriller, Apple of my Eye, I knew I needed to read it. I requested it, got it, then…February and March happened, so I wasn’t able to get in the correct mindset to dive right in. So while the book has been out for a couple of months now, I am still happy to give you my thoughts on it.

What I liked so much about Her Name Was Rose was Allan’s ability to take a good thriller storyline but not write it like a generic thriller. Allan’s other pieces of work tend to be more chick lit-like, a genre I don’t jive with. I think her work in that genre, though, has given her the ability to take a different spin on the thriller genre. I would not say her books are chick lit-meets-thriller, but there’s just a slightly different…feel to her version of a thriller novel.

Apple of My Eye sucked me in almost immediately. I was intrigued by these characters, wanted to know what was happening, wanted to know more about them. Having finished the book, however, I can say that I felt nothing for these characters. This book, for me, was purely plot-driven: I loved the storyline and was excited to see what developed. The characters never felt completely fleshed out, though I 100% say that was me not connecting to them for some reason or another, because I can think even know of many examples for Allan attempting to give these characters a breath of life.

Like Her Name Was Rose, this book is told from multiple perspectives. Allan does a great job with this and is able to switch perspectives in a way that isn’t jarring but that gives you a cliffhanger, gotta keep reading to see what’s going on feeling. The plot goes at a good pace, doesn’t feel rushed in any parts. The story progression makes sense, isn’t completely out of the left field. I wasn’t trying to figure it out but around the 50% mark, it really popped out at me what was happening and I had a good guess at the ending. Finishing the book and realizing I was mostly right did not take one bit of my enjoyment away. I don’t feel like guessing the ending meant the book was predictable in this instance. There were only so many possible ways it could have gone and the ending been so completely out of nowhere, it would have left me as a reader more frustrated and honestly let down.

I give it three stars. It’s not great. I definitely preferred Her Name Was Rose to this one, though I don’t really want to compare them. I think this one is a good read and definitely worth the time put into it. Claire Allan has become a Must Buy author for me and I look forward to her next book, Forget Me Not, coming out next month.

“Apple Of My Eye” is a compulsive and digressive thriller that has been beautifully put together, with motherhood at its core.

This is my second time of reading a book by this author and I was not disappointed! I have previously read the outstanding ‘Her Name was Rose’ which was a five-star read for me, so there was a lot for Claire Allan to live up to.

“Apple of My Eye” brings to life an incredible family account of mistrust, jealousy and suspicion. It is a book about motherhood and all that it means to all of womankind. In this novel, the reader is categorically and unequivocally made aware of how it affects the lives and relationships of different women. It is also a divulgence of desperation, loneliness and all the different layers of love.

As always, I am having a run of strong, inspiring thrillers and this is on the list, along with my other favourites. The plot for this book is awesome and incredibly thrilling. I’m always looking for something in a book in this genre that makes it more notable than the rest. This could be amazingly drawn characters, a super plot, great originality or something entirely different that I couldn’t even imagine. 

This book has many of the components that make a really good story: from the mood and undercurrents to the very clever writing and the experience of family secrets, jealousy and incredibly tense relationships.

For myself, the one thing that made this a memorable read was Claire Allan’s ability to send me off course in nearly every chapter. Narrated from three different perspectives - that of Eli, her mother Angela and the mysterious Louise - I found that it was the chapters told from Louise’s angle that added a real sense of apprehension to the plot. Claire Allan managed to create so much suspicion and mistrust through her story-telling and there was an overpowering sense of menace that emanated from the pages of this addictive read which is chock full of mystery. I found that I had no idea who or what I could trust. The emotional, distressed and pregnant wife or the mother who wanted to protect her daughter from an adulterous husband, or the revealing anonymous notes? 

Another of my favourite aspects of this novel was the fluidity of the writing. The details and twists of the plot were brilliantly executed and every chapter left me with a compelling need to read on. 

”Apple Of My Eye” is a supreme accomplishment, mixing women’s fiction with a chilling, sharp slice of thriller, culminating in an emotive and fulfilling ending. I absolutely adored every chapter of this pacey novel and I would certainly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author, Claire Allan, for my free ARC of Apple of My Eye in exchange for an honest review.

Read this in one sitting. Book sleep deprivation at its best. Can’t wait for Claire’s next book. 

Highly recommended

I’ve just finished “Apple Of My Eye” by Claire Allan and I absolutely LOVED it! It’s a psychological/domestic thriller, which really isn’t my normal genre but I found “Apple Of My Eye” addictive. It's also a standalone, which I don't normally enjoy either but this was tense and kept me hooked.  

5 Stars!!!!!

I was granted "Apple Of My Eye" from NetGalley so it's thanks to them that I was able to read it!

READATHONS

POPSUGAR 2019 Reading Challenge - A book that’s published in 2019 - Apple Of My Eye was published 24th January 2019. 

Reading Rivalry - Book with the title written in Green, Purple or Gold - The title of the book is written in a bright green colour. 

Litwits - About family - although, it’s quite a disfuctional family, family still is at the centre of “Apple Of My Eye.”

Fiction Feud Society for the game of Clue - I read this for LOUNGE - A book published in the year 2000 or later. 

Literary Love Affair - because this didn’t work for any criteria this time, I used the page count points instead. 

mARCh-a-thon - “Apple Of My Eye” takes me to 4 arcs in the month of March! I’m really proud of this. Can i get to five? You’ll have to wait and see...

“Apple Of My Eye” is set in Ireland and surrounds a small cast of characters. Eli, our main character is pregnant and lives with her husband, Martin. Eli’s mother, Angela is the second most prominent character in the book, I’d say, as she looks after Eli throughout her pregnancy woes and struggles. Eli has a few friends as well but the main plot story centres around Eli having to deal with a stalker like character wanting to steal her baby...who is this person? You’ll have to read to find out...   

I’d say that “Apple Of My Eye” should be read by +17 year olds because of the psychological aspects of the book.

In “Apple Of My Eye,” we see from 3 POV’s, throughout. Eli, who has the most chapters, Louise and Eli’s mother, Angela. The other characters are secondary characters, Martin, Eli’s husband for example. Like I said, there aren’t many of them, though. It’s still a very character driven story, as I think most psychological thrillers are. We want to see the internal monologues of the characters. We do see that for Eli, Louise and Angela...

SPOILERS BELOW

“I deserved to be a mother. This woman, tired and worn out and miserable, didn’t. Not as much as I did, anyway. 

This is from the prologue of “Apple Of My Eye.” This is from Louise’s perspective. Louise is the antagonist of the story. She’s trying to steal Eli’s baby. We don’t know who Louise is until near the end of the novel. I was able to work out who Louise was in regards to Eli at the end, although I was questioning who she was throughout the story. I think you’re meant to be able to work it out, though as you read the book. It’s a little like a game of Cluedo but instead of a murderer, you’re trying to work out who the potential baby stealer is. 

Louise has lost many children before. All she wants is to be a mother. She’ll literally go to any length. We see this as the novel progresses towards its conclusion. I found myself reading this e-arc much quicker than I would a regular one. I think that was because the author was able to capture the right tone needed for a psychological thriller, especially towards the end.

“I’m not trying to be harsh, darling. But maybe you need to start accepting that he’s not the man you thought he was.”

This is Angela, trying to be nice and calm to a stressed Eli, when she discovers her husband might be cheating on her. Is he cheating? You’ll need to read to find out. Eli isn’t sure she wants to be a mum at the beginning of the story. She doesn’t feel connected to her baby.

“I stroke my stomach, whispering, ‘I love you,’ hoping if I say it enough I’ll start to really, really feel it.”

I think most first time mums in real life have doubts about whether they’ll be good enough for their child but Eli seems to be worse than most, even though she’s fictional. What with all the issues she goes through in “Apple Of My Eye,” though, it’s no wonder she feels that way. By the end of the story, can she connect? Eli finds out the sex of her baby behind the baby’s father, Martin’s back, because she wants to so badly connect and she feels that this will help. Does it or does it just create a bad situation between her and Martin? You’ll have to read to find out. 

There are lots of questions put to us, the reader as we’re reading. I guess this is the formula of a good psychological thriller, though. You’re always supposed to be questioning the morals of every character and whether or not what they’re doing is right. Even Eli, our heroine or damsel in distress is to be questioned a couple of times throughout the book. She’s a nurse and accidentally drugs a patient to much causing them to die. Are her morals always right? Does she deserve to be a mother? These are two of the questions thrown up at us a few times throughout “Apple Of My Eye,” too. 

I don’t want to spoil just who Louise is or the lengths that she goes to to steal Eli’s baby or if she actually manages to worm her way in and steal those that Eli holds most dear in “Apple Of My Eye,” as that would completely take away the excitement but the reveals are exciting and shocking, to say the least.

What did I like about “Apple Of My Eye?”

* I liked how we were always kept guessing as to the plot. Nothing was clear apart from a character, Louise wanting Eli’s baby, which we know from the blurb is the main plot point of the story. 

* I liked how the character’s intentions were mysterious. Every character apart from maybe Eli we were questioning throughout. 

* I liked how the setting was in Ireland and not in the US or UK, where most contemporary/thriller stories I’ve read are set. 

I liked how creepy “Apple Of My Eye” got. It wasn’t scary as in horror but it was unsettling. This made it exciting, though, as I summarised above.

* I liked how quickly I was able to get through “Apple Of My Eye.” It became a book that I NEEDED to read instead of one I just wanted to read, which is what I want in a thriller of any kind.  

* I liked how I was able to enjoy a standalone to its fullest, which I don't normally experience. 

What didn’t I like about “Apple Of My Eye?”

I didn’t like how every perspective was from a woman. Yes, the writer is female but I thought it would have been good to have some male insight. But I do understand why it was only female, at the same time. 

I finished “Apple Of My Eye” in a few days and I normally read around 50 pages a day, so for a 300 page book, it should have really taken me six or so days to read it. It felt like it didn’t take long at all! It went so quickly. I loved how the author kept my eyes glued to the page. I highly recommend this for fans of domestic/psychological thrillers. I’m therefore giving “Apple Of My Eye” 5 Stars because it was so gripping, exciting and well written