Review: Split Second by Kasie West

5 Reasons I Can’t Believe You’re Reading This When You Could Be Reading Split Second:

1. Trevor.

Trevor is amazing. He’s one of those all-around super-fantastic, incredibly nice guy book boyfriends (you know, the Levis and Hectors and Tuckers and have I mentioned how much I love this trend?) He’s kind of the best thing ever and should be enough to pick up the book right there.

2. Addie.

Oh Addie, sweet Addie. She’s just so damn nice. I can’t figure it out, she’s no where near the level of BAMF as my general favorite heroines (Cath and probably 100 others I’m not thinking of at the moment excluded) but there’s something about her that gets under your skin and makes you want to snuggle her up and smite anyone who hurts her with the fiery vengeance of a thousand suns.

Once Addie let someone in, she was impossible to forget. There was something about her that crawled inside a person and built a nice comfy home there, her goodness expanding until it filled every limb.

Pretty much this exact thing. Also, yay for Laila and friendship! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

3. Trevor/Addie

If I’m honest, this should probably be number one, Trevor and Addie are what I’m here for. They’re basically the cutest thing to ever cute with the shy smiling and the eye contact and saying words to each other and general all around rainbows and puppies.

They may be cuter than this, tough call.

The best thing about retelling their love story is that while it’s littered with references to things from before given new meaning because you know the context, it’s still an entirely new thing all on it’s own.

4. Laila.

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t 100% sold on Laila’s POV in the beginning. This is partially because I resented her chapters taking away from Addie time (and therefore Trevor time, and Trevor/Addie time) and partially because I while she was great in Pivot Point, I couldn’t really see her as a main character in her own right. Silly Meg. Laila is prickly, frustratingly stubborn, and has control issues up to here, true, but she’s also sassy and awesome and cares deeply about her family and friends so I’m going to go ahead and call her POV a win.

5. Laila/Connor

The only reason Connor isn’t getting a numbered entry of his own is that we never find out too much about him except that he internalizes like a champ and has a thing for Laila despite never giving her an inch, I’m sold. Laila and Connor together are the kind of unmixy things that throw off sparks in all directions every time they come into contact until eventually everything’s on fire (but in a good way).

Plotwise, Split Second was more intense than Pivot Point. Instead of cheating at football there are sneaky governmental shenanigans afoot. While the extra level of tension was nice, there are a few ends left loose and some explanations that could be a little more explainy, but let’s be real, Jason Borne-level intrigue is not why you pick up this book.

The bottom line is if you liked Pivot Point, you’re going to like Split Second. If you like fluffy, sweet things that send you straight into all-caps mode, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, you will like this duology. You will squeal, you will flail, you will pretty much definitely find yourself shouting NOW KISSSSSSSSSS over and over and over again,  but you’ll enjoy it every step of the way.

 (Don’t believe me? You should, I don’t lie to you. But just in case you need more, here’s what Steph had to say.)