Split Decisions

by Andrew Harding

reviewed by Reed James

Alli is a quiet, almost fragile, author suffering from blackouts and a trauma from her childhood that makes it hard for her to relate to people, including her boyfriend. On the day her boyfriend’s accidental death, she meets Harvey, a police detective that seems to understand just what she is—a hybrid.

Alli, like Harvey, was attacked by a vampire as a child, but not turned, leaving her in a quasi-state with some of the vampires gifts, and Alli is quickly fearing just what she’s doing during her blackouts—feeding on people. As she deals with the death of her boyfriend and the exploration of her powers, she finds a new life and someone who understands everything she is experiencing, like seeing the dead.

Drawn by their similar abilities, Alli and Harvey fall in love as she comes out of her shell, supported by the patient Harvey. As a serial killer strikes their town in England, Harvey enlists Alli’s unique gifts to help the police track down the monster killing and dismembering children and their families. And looming over Alli’s newfound life is the dread that she’ll learn just what she does during her blackouts and it will take away her newfound happiness.

Split Decision is a slow burn. It spends a lot of time introducing you to the world, maybe a little too much time, before it really gets into the meat of the story, but the characters of Alli and Harvey are so sweet together that it pulls you through the setup. The writings great, though it is quite heavy on the British slang, so be prepared to Google. I had never heard the term ‘off license’ before and was utterly baffled by the sentence until a looked it up. Since the story is told in first person from almost entirely by Alli, that only helps to get into the character’s head.

Now for the sex. It’s hot, graphic, S&M sex. Alli and Harvey aren’t fully human, and they make full use of that in the kinky sex that get into. Rubber play, body modifications, extended bondage sessions, and lots of vibrators, dildos, and butt plugs. Alli and Harvey take a very loving delight in taking each other to the edge of sex.

I’m looking forward to where the Hybrids series is going next. I give ‘Split Decisions’ 4.5 of 5 stars! At $0.99, for a 362 page novel, you are getting a bargain!

Available from Amazon and Amazon UK. And check out Andrew’s Amazon author page, his website, and follow him on twitter @AndrewHarding4.