Review: Split by JB Salsbury

SPLIT
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Author: JB Salsbury
Release Date: November 15, 2016

JB Salsbury is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has captivated readers around the world. Her unforgettable new novel is a story of romance and suspense, with a twist no one will see coming . . .

What do you do when you wake up with no memory of what you did last night?

Lucas spent the first half of his life protecting himself from others, but now his own mind is his biggest enemy. He doesn’t know what happens when the blackouts overtake him, but he can recall the feelings–the rage, the confusion, the fear. Thankfully the quiet life he’s found in Payson, Arizona has kept the darkness at bay. Until his boss’s estranged daughter shows up in town, asking questions she shouldn’t and sparking a desire Lucas can’t control. Getting close to Shyann is the best thing that’s ever happened to him, but when his blackouts return, unleashing the truth he’s battled so long to hide, he may just lose her forever . . .

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 SPOILER FREE

I was meant for this. To love the unlovable.

If there’s one thing I can tell you is that Split is one of the most unconventional and unique romances I’ve read in a long while. It’s not going to a be a book or story I’ll soon forget, and that certainly deserves some praise. The writing is engaging, the characters multi layered, and there’s enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the book from cover to cover.

What we have isn’t conventional, it wouldn’t be considered ideal, but it’s perfect for us. Because love never discriminates. Even when you’re split.

I was riveted to the pages from the very beginning. There’s enough mystery worked in to guarantee your kept interest.

Shyann Jennings couldn’t leave her small town fast enough to pursue her dream career and to put the pain of her past behind her. Now after her career that she put her blood and sweat and tears into has gone up in spectacular flames and she’s back into the small town she ran from to lick her wounds. While she dreads everything about coming home, what she doesn’t expect is the quiet, unassuming and beautiful stranger that works for her father and draws her in for a reason she can’t understand. Lucas is different from any man she’s ever been with. He’s shy, quiet, keeps to himself, but yet there’s also something beneath the surface that may be much more than meets the eye.

People hate what they don’t understand, shun those who are different.”

While I loved both characters, I have to admit that I never did understand the draw that Shy had towards Lucas. This is especially true when all the secrets came out. While I get the lust and romance, the love was tough to swallow. I had a hard time buying into it. This was more so on Shy’s side than Lucas’s. I adored Lucas and his character is what kept me turning the pages.

That’s not what I want with her. What I want is to freeze time. I want to record how she feels in my hands, the longing in her eyes, the heat of her breath. I want to slow every single moment with her down so seconds last hours until her touch is branded into my memory.

Ultimately what brought my rating down was the ending. I had a really tough time swallowing all of that. I couldn’t wrap my mind around some of the choices the characters made and especially the way they dealt with them. It just wasn’t believable. And yes, I get that I’m reading a psychological thriller and fiction, but at the same time, I want some believability in the story and it just wasn’t there.

I hated a particular decision that Lucas made but I found a way to look past it. What I couldn’t look past was the way Shyann deals with everything. It was just too much.

Would I still recommend this romance? Absolutely. It’s unique and original and worth the read for that alone. It could have easily been a 5 star for me if not for that ending. But different folks and all that, and you may not have the same issue with it that I did. So read it and judge for yourself.