Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around two completely different genres that both turned out to be excellent reads: Apple Of My Eye by Claire Allan and Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee.
Title: Apple Of My Eye
Author: Claire Allan
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: January 24th 2019
Publisher: Avon
Finished reading: August 3rd 2019
Pages: 400
“I nod. Thinking that yes, it is indeed easy to lie or just not tell the whole truth. Much too easy.”
After so many raving reviews back in the beginning of 2019 when Apple Of My Eye was published, I knew I had no other option than to try Claire Allan‘s work. I’ve been looking forward to read this one, and I’m definitely glad I finally found the time to do so. Apple Of My Eye is without doubt a very solid psychological thriller. With the help of switching point of views, first between pregnant Eli and Louise and later Eli’s mother Angela as well, both suspense and plot are steadily build up in a way that will keep you interested throughout. Things escalate slowly but surely, and this story gives you that daunting feeling that something bad will happen any minute now. The plot twists and secrets are quite well handled, although I did see the big twist coming quite early on, but I enjoyed reading how Claire Allan revealed and developed the twist. The characters can get a bit frustrating, but especially Louise was a very interesting character to follow and it was intriguing to learn more about her background, motives and secrets. This story definitely ends with a bang! All in all I had a great time reading Apple Of My Eye despite a few minor issues, and I will definitely be looking forward to read more of her work. I even ended up ordering myself a physical copy of Her Name Was Rose to be able to do so soon!
Title: Outrun The Moon
Author: Stacey Lee
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
First published: May 24th 2016
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers
Finished reading: August 9th 2019
Pages: 398
“People are like boats, always coming and going. Sometimes never returning. Now that his boat has sailed, the sea is empty for me.”
I’ve had Outrun The Moon on my TBR for a long long time, and I’m glad the Magical Readathon came along and finally made me pick up this title. It was such a wonderful story! It’s my first time trying Stacey Lee‘s work, but I will definitely try to read more of her stories soon. She writes in a way that draws you right in, and the descriptions of both the historical setting in 1906 San Francisco and the different characters are very detailed and really make them come alive. The focus on Chinatown and its contrast to the world of St. Clare’s School for Girls is fascinating, both seeing the situation before and after natural disaster strikes. Despite the fact that not every aspect of Mercy’s character is likeable, she managed to grow on me anyway and I loved her strength and resilience. Apart from giving us a glimpse of the local culture and customs in Chinatown, combined with the discrimination and difficulties they encountered, this story gives us also an important life lesson. Outrun The Moon shows us that money, social status and race no longer count when disaster strikes… It’s only the strongest and more resilient who will be able to endure and find a way to help others as well. The character development in Outrun The Moon is very well done and I loved seeing them evolve over time and seeing them react to the devastation of the earthquake. If you enjoy a well written historical fiction story with interesting characters and a dose of desperation, you should definitely try Outrun The Moon.
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