Splitting Seconds

by Jackson Haime

The night Toby Vander met his soulmate, he became the most wanted, and perhaps the most powerful, man on the planet.

Everyone has a superpower, enhanced and changed when around their soulmate. Most never meet theirs, but when Toby met Emma, his power leapt from enhanced perception to stopping time.

Now, Toby finds himself at the center of a violent struggle. Surrounded by powerful agents from the Department of Power Regulation and rebels from the fearsome Red, Toby must discover the truth behind his power and his new place in the world.

Alongside him is Zoe McCourtney, a city-shaking telepath torn between her obligation to the DPR and keeping her best friend, Emma, together with her soulmate.

Can Toby and Emma survive this? Can they stay together?

Can the world handle a time-stopper?

Should it have to?

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 26, 2024

Reviews

[Henry Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book through TikTok. It doesn't have quite the same level of polish that you would find on most novels that you pull off the shelf at the bookstore. I also wasn't a fan of the first person perspective that flipped between different characters with no warning.

All of that being said, I really enjoyed it. The characters were fairly deep, the storyline was compelling, and the world building was fantastic. It's a quick read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes the superhero genre.

[Stevie Hamlington · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a world where finding your soulmate helps enhance your powers or brings about new ones, Toby meet Emma and finds he can now stop time.
Emma’s best friend Zoe wants to help Toby discover more about this new power without the government finding out and separating him from Emma.
With a terrorist organising trying to get to Toby, things start to get a lot more complicated very quickly.

The concept and the world building was great. Honestly it was the best part of the book. The characters were really intriguing and I could see that there could be so many stories to tell from the foundations that were laid. Sadly the plot and the story didn’t hit those expectations. I really wanted to love it. It could have been so much better. The book is written well, the world and the concept are really interesting, I would have read a whole series in that world in the storyline was better. It is a real shame as there was so much that could have been done that just didn’t happen. It was simultaneously too long and too short, and I think that is because of the plot issues. I just wanted much more from this. The idea was brilliant but the execution was lacking.

[Pitch Adder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally found this author through TikTok reddit videos, and about went crazy trying to find the author. It was absolutely worth it!
The characters were very well written, with enough back story splashed in to make them relatable and understandable to an extent, but not to overwhelm the reader with "back story chapters" of sorts. I love the style of chapters being a different character's perspective. Overall, a very short and capturing read!
The only downsides were as follows:
1) There were a few paragraphs where it looked like it had been copy and pasted. Not enough to be a bother, and it's only a couple times, but not a bother as far as finishing the book.
2) it was way too short of a read for me, and I'm going to need a 2nd book. But I don't know if there's going to be one.

There is just enough gore and foul language, also, that I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 16, or anybody who doesn't like gorey scenes described. But it's not too much, if it doesn't bother you as a reader.
Will definitely be reading this again, once it's been long enough that my adhd makes me somewhat "forget" what the book was about!

[Justin C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first heard about this story on Reddit, and followed along until it became a real book.

Overall, I enjoyed it but I see places it could be improved. There was some sloppy writing, such as Emma’s last name being either Tavish or Terish depending on the page.

The world building is strong. A world where everyone has powers, some stronger, some weaker. And the soulmate hook is intriguing as well but we don’t see enough of it.

There are also some plot holes, such as the head of the DPR disappearing and just never showing back up.

Good story, if short, maybe a sequel can build upon this success.

[Just Jaxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked after hearing a bit of the book narrated on TikTok!

So I bought it and for a self published Amazon printed book, I was pleased to find that it was quite well done! The story was engaging the entire way through, I wasn't happy with the ending, but there wasn't anything wrong with it, mostly just wasn't what I was expecting. It was a really well d one story overall IMO.

[Markus Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well thought out plot and world building. A few editing errors, but they're easy to move past. I was barely able to put the book down. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I hope Jackson Haime makes this into a whole series, or better yet, an expanded universe.

[Jules!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 rounded up - it was okay and interesting in the first half than the rest just focused on zoe who i could give a fuck less about and you’d think she was toby’s soulmate instead of emma with the way we see zoe’s point of view and never emma’s and half the book is about her

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bookclub book of February complete! 😅

[Henry Tessier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Very good book. I enjoyed every minute of it. Didn't know what to expect one moment to the next. Word

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting story and I would like to read more from this world but I feel it wasn’t edited properly

[Andrew Bigford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise

World building was decent. Could have been more details on the sickness and background. Needed some editing for story flow and story consistency. Overall, fairly enjoyable read for a day.