Split Second by Kasie WestSeries: Pivot Point #2
Published by: HarperTeen on February 11, 2014
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 360
Source: Purchased
Book Details
Rating: ★★★½
Life can change in a split second.
Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.
When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.
Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.
As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.
A few things are completely undeniable. Most importantly, Kasie West knows how to rock romances. She’s a master at creating two characters with mouth-watering chemistry. It’s seriously incredible! I knew Addie and Trevor had it, but Laila and Connor… ohhh damn. Hot stuff!
But I do have to say, I’m a tiny bit disappointed. Split Second wasn’t bad or anything (far from it!), but honestly.. I think I was hoping for a little more. I can’t help but feel that Pivot Point rocked harder and this sequel didn’t quite live up to the first book. Split Second was good, but I wouldn’t say it floored me.. and I wanted to be floored!
For starters, we kind of got off on the wrong foot. When I started the book, I thought I had remembered everything from Pivot Point, but it turns out, I had forgotten a few details. There isn’t a really detailed recap in Split Second, so I felt like I was being thrown into the deep end. I was a bit lost and struggling to pick up the pieces. Eventually it did all come back to me, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was hazy on the details for a while.
And I also felt like many parts of the book felt unresolved. I suppose it was realistic in the sense that the teenagers just wanted to fix their own lives/romances and didn’t care much beyond that. But as a result, I felt like we didn’t get much information at all about the government and the whole compound society. I finished the book feeling like I didn’t have a good understanding of how that was left. I think I expected it to turn into some kind of “Let’s overthrow the government and uncover all the secrets and change the world” book, but it totally didn’t. View Spoiler »
I know I’m complaining a lot, but the fact is that I DID like the book. It was fun, swoony, and a bit hilarious at times! It was definitely a good book. I’m just a bit mopey because I wanted it to be SO SUPER FREAKING AMAZING like Pivot Point was, but it didn’t wow me to that same degree. I really LIKED everything. I just kept waiting for the moment when I’d fall head over heels in love with the book, and it never quite got there!
The Verdict
Hmm, well that kind of sucks. At least you did enjoy it. I am reading this soon and I hope I like it more.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
I totally agree! When I first read the ending I kind of had this moment where I was like, “Wait there’s not another book coming?” It was a little unresolved but still a super great book. Kasie seriously knows how to rock her romances and the dialogue between the characters is hilarious! I especially love Connor and Laila. But the same thing happened to me concerning the plot, because I forgot literally ALL of what happened. It was so depressing. But fantastic review, Ashley! <33
It’s so refreshing to hear that you agree! I feel like EVERYONE who read Pivot Point loved Split Second just as much (if not more). So it’s nice to know there’s another soul out there who wasn’t totally wowed by it!
I have been catching up on series recently, and I have been surprised how little I remember when I am reading the latest books in series. I need to do better reading recaps before I read the next book in a series. 🙂
Ah I’m so excited about this book, yet I still haven’t read it. So far, all reviews have been kind of .. mediocre, not bad but also not as exciting as the first book, which definitely rocked me hard.
I had the same problem! I gave Pivot Point 4.5 or 5 stars, but I think I gave this one the same as you did (or maybe 4 stars) because it didn’t have the magic that the first book did. And the lack of explanations/world building bugged the crap out of me! I wanted to see way more world building and wanted to know more about the government.