Book Review: Split Therapy by E.P. Stavs

Genre(s): Psychological thriller

Content warning: This book contains scenes of physical violence, allusions to sexual assault and an on-page attempted sexual assault, and themes of gun violence.

Jae is a vigilante, seeking revenge for crimes done against Jane. Jane is a college student trying to cope with the trauma of a sexual assault that occurred several years prior. The pair aren’t merely acquaintances, they’re the same person – just different personalities.

When I first became acquainted with E.P. Stavs and her books, I wasn’t aware of this one. She writes YA fantasy and romantic fantasy as well, but when I learned about this book during the process of researching for her recent author interview, I knew I had to read it. (You can read the interview here: Guest Author Interview with E.P. Stavs).

Compared to her other books, this one fits into my usual reading niche better…and it didn’t disappoint.

Split Therapy had an interesting premise. Jae was aware of everything Jane said and did, whereas Jane didn’t know the same about Jae. This made for some awkward situations throughout the story, when someone from Jae’s life happened to encounter her as Jane. Jae’s purpose was to protect Jane from further harm, at the cost of Jane losing hours of her life to her other personality.

Both perspectives were told in first person, but the personalities were very distinct. It was done really well.

Another aspect that was done incredibly well was the climax at the end. It follows a typical thriller format, but with the dual personality twist, it had a unique feel.

This is definitely a book that should get more notice. As an author, I understand the challenges of marketing your primary work, and going off-genre is that much more difficult. But seriously, if you like thrillers, you should give this one a read. And as a novella, it’s a quick one.

Author website: epstavs.com