The world doesn’t end all at once. It breaks apart, piece by piece
When his town collapses from a massive earthquake, Wallace Graves is lucky to survive. When the tsunami follows and he makes it through that, he knows just how fortunate he is. Surviving those events is only the beginning.
In the aftermath, a mandatory emergency evacuation of the entire West Coast is ordered. Wallace has no choice—he has to leave. The world is on the brink of a chain reaction of cataclysmic natural disasters, threatening to thrust the planet into a full-fledged extinction-level event.
Determined to reach his daughter halfway across the country, Wallace sets out, but the road to safety is anything but simple. Not even two hundred miles from home, everything begins to unravel. Along the way, the people he meets—and the lives he touches—will become more important than he could ever imagine.
In a world breaking apart, survival isn’t just about making it out alive. It’s about finding something worth living for.
Thank you to Podium for sending me the ALC. Release date: Feb 10, 2026.
This was such a fun, bingeable listen. The story moves fast, the multiple POVs keep the tension high, and I loved how each perspective added a new layer without feeling confusing. It has that “just one more chapter” energy because every switch leaves you needing answers.
The audiobook was great, performed by Andrew Wehrlen. He voiced multiple POVs so clearly that I always knew who I was listening to, and his delivery kept the suspense tight. Even when he voiced the female roles, it never pulled me out of the story or felt awkward. That’s not easy, and he nailed it.
Overall: great concept, strong pacing, and a narration that elevated the whole experience.
Winner for most typos and garbled sentences in any novel
Druga’s novels are known for always having a lot of typos, but she is a good storyteller so I have read a lot of them. That may be over. This was a mess. Not just typos, but sentences garbled with missing or extra words, some incomplete. The meaning of some sentences had to be inferred from context. Did she experiment with using AI or something? The result is a mess. I am done giving her money.
I started reading this and thought these characters would be memorable like the ones in Beginnings. I am looking forward to book two. Jackie Drugs get those creative juices boiling, stretch your fingers and get back to writing.
This book came out swinging with natural disasters and chaos galore—fast-paced, cinematic, and full of potential. But then came the POV shuffle. With no chapter title hints, it was like playing literary musical chairs at the end of the world. Add in the grammar apocalypse -spelling errors, missing words, extra word, and it started feeling less like reading and more like solving a word puzzle. I lost count of how many times I had to stop and decode a sentence. I really wanted the story to be so good it made me forget the editing issues… but sadly, it didn’t quite survive the quake.
I read somewhere that Druga’s books consistently have spelling and grammatical errors so I’ve highlighted SOME (not all) so maybe she can go back and fix them because it reeeeeally bugs. I don’t want to feel like a grade school teacher when reading a book.
Split By Jacqueline Druga Publisher: Independently Published Publication date: August 28, 2025 ASIN: B0FP3RRGZX Page Count: 215
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Skull Dread Rating: 💀💀💀 (the dread of realizing Mother Earth just rage-quit humanity)
Triggers: Natural disasters, survival peril, family separation, violence, loss
You can never go wrong with Ms. Jacqueline Druga. Seriously, I grab every one of her new releases like snacks before a Netflix binge, and Split proves once again that she’s the reigning queen of disaster fiction.
The premise? The world doesn’t end in one neat mushroom cloud—it falls apart like a Jenga tower during an earthquake, and poor Wallace Graves happens to be standing at the bottom. First an earthquake, then a tsunami, then oh, just the small matter of a chain reaction that could shove the entire planet into extinction-level territory. You know, light reading.
But here’s the thing: Ms. Druga never just writes about disasters. She writes about people clawing their way through them, finding slivers of hope, stubborn friendship, and the occasional laugh in the face of the apocalypse. Wallace’s journey to reach his daughter isn’t just rubble and chaos; it’s full of unexpected connections that remind you survival is more about who you have than what you hoard.
Is it tense? Absolutely. Will it keep you up past bedtime? Yep. And yet somehow Ms. Druga still threads in those moments of heart and humor that make her books feel less like bleak survival manuals and more like campfire stories told at the end of the world.
What Did I Just Walk Into? An end-of-the-world story where tectonic plates have better timing than most villains, and the planet itself is a character with major beef.
Here’s What Slapped: Disaster scenes written so vividly you’ll eye your emergency kit
Characters that feel like neighbors you’d trust to share rations with
Hope and heart stitched into the rubble
What Could’ve Been Better: A few typos scattered here and there, but honestly? When the world is splitting in half, grammar is the least of anyone’s worries.
Perfect for Readers Who Love: Fast-paced apocalyptic fiction that’s people-first, disaster-second Survival stories with grit and warmth Authors you can always one-click without regret
Absolutely excellent book! This is the motherlode of natural disasters. See below for the list. While I still believe Ms. Druga writes her female characters on the dumb and inept side, this time one of them showed some introspection and growth. Addie (Addison) is still a freaking moron. At this point I'm going to have to make my peace with the morons of the world being the ones to survive disasters. Before Covid, I would read her books and say "Come on! No one is that dumb. No one would do *insert action*.". Yeah...think we all know that particular event put paid to those lies. This was a really good story. Wallace is an absolute star of a character. And Bill. Poor, poor Bill. Good man that Bill. I am now off to read Split Two: The Aftermath because Jacqueline Druga's books are a drug I just can't quit. Now please write one about sharks and people, Ms. Jacqueline. Thank you for the entertainment.
Contains: * Earthquakes * Swarm of rats * Limnic eruption * Swarm of birds * Water spout * Tsunamis * Shifting of techtonic plates * Underwater volcano * Ring of Fire volcanoes * Glaciers/Antartica melting
Split by Jacqueline Druga is a fast-paced, high-tension story that kept me hooked from beginning to end. The plot moves quickly and never really lets up, making it an easy book to binge, especially on audio.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Andrew Wehrlen, and I really enjoyed his performance. He did an excellent job giving each character a distinct voice, which helped differentiate between the frequent POV switches. That choice made the listening experience smoother and easier to follow, even when the story moved rapidly.
My only critique is that I wish we had more character backstory. Because the pacing is so quick and the POVs change often, it was sometimes difficult to fully connect with the characters or remember who was who. A little more time spent developing them would have strengthened the emotional impact.
Overall, this was a gripping, action-driven audiobook that I flew through. If you enjoy fast-paced stories and strong narration, Split is well worth a listen.
Thank you so much to Podium Entertainment for providing the ALC of Split. I truly appreciated the opportunity to listen and review.
Earthquakes, tsunami, hoards of rats, the evacuation of the entire East Coast, volcanoes erupting, a guy trying to get to his daughter halfway across the country and a truly massive earthquake makes for a rather thrilling book. If something like that ever really happened then it would probably be quite similar to the events in the book.
It's another good approach to what-happens-if-everything-falls-apart type of book with good characters and lots and lots of action.
I enjoyed the story and the action. I do think the end of the story could have wrapped up a little better. It seemed to fizzle out and then just stop. However, the author did not leave questions - all characters were concluded (I don't like cliffhanger stories). I read this book quickly because there is a lot of action and it was hard to put down. I do recommend this book.
This was an OK book pretty good story, but, the sentence structure was just terrible. I am a 70 year old 10 th grade drop out it it drove me nuts. With many sentence errors make no sense with any of the context of the paragraph and book two isn't any better. If I am noticing these errors ( and my grammar is awful) it must drive anyone with an ounce of education nuts. Please get better proof readers, the writing is good.
I listened to this one on a road trip and it was perfect, thank you to Poduim Entertainment for the audiobook. This was jam packed with action(which is what I like while just sitting in the car) When the big one, earthquake hit this sets off a series of natural disasters that forces Wallace to travel inland, like from California to Kentucky inland and find all his family members. This was a quick fast paced listen!
This would be a 5 star read, however, the typos were quite much. Enjoyed this book , great characters and character development. storyline was quick paced and puts all the characters together by happenstance. I am glad too see there is a book 2 , as it need abruptly. My first book by Druga, definitely not my last.
I was drawn in by the title, hoping for an interesting or at least consistently readable story, but I found neither. Part of the issue is the number of sentences that just don’t make sense, partly due to extremely poor proofreading and partly to the lack of clear-headed, objective editing. I will not read any sequel(s).
The storyline is similar to a few other disaster stories I've read recently, with a domino-effect type of natural disaster. There were more typos than I'm comfortable with, such as Indian instead of Indiana in a list of states. I did enjoy the linking of character stories throughout.
The book sounded interesting and had potential. I couldn't get into it at all and thought it was poorly written. It jumped around too much and it was hard to keep up with who is doing what, even for a short read. This was not for me..
Despite the book not being great for me. the Narrator is fantastic and I enjoyed listening to him.
A great disaster survival thriller. There is a little bit of something for everyone, if you like volcanoes, tsunamis, rats, birds, earthquakes just to name a few. Lots of action and suspense. The story focus on Wallace, determined to find and reunite with his daughter. I look forward to book 2.
This was an excellent story very fast paced very interesting to read. It was so good. I couldn’t put it down until I finished the book. I hope the author writes a sequel.
wish I knew this was a Part 1....I would have waited until the series was complete. unlike her other series', I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight. I will definitely not remember who is who when the 2nd book comes out. I hope she has a recap of who is who in the next one.
An apocalyptic natural disaster with earthquakes, tsunamis, and all the attendent complications strikes worldwide. Many countries simply cease to exist while others struggle to survive....A thought provoking read that begs to become a series.....
Interesting story , the event isn’t that far fetched and it gives us a lot to think about. Get your bug out bag properly packed and updated yes maps will matter ! As usual well written and informative.
I've read a lot of disaster books, but this one grabbed me from the beginning. The characters are interesting, and the action never stops. I can't wait to read the second book.
The story is of interest but an editor is needed to help trim in some places and flesh out other parts. Plus help is needed with wording and grammar in a few places.
I loved this book! It is well written and insightful. The characters are believable and are characters I would like to know better. Looking forward to the next book!
I’m sorry, missing a star for typos. Made some sentences feel like gibberish. I love the storyline. I swear I’ve long felt like this could happen. I say a lot of the time our planet is fighting back and it’ll win. Can’t wait for next one.
Jacqueline Druga...you can always expect a great story from her. I kinda liked that it was short and sweet...even tho it looks to be a series. Lots of mistakes at the end...kinda made me think she was actually writing during these catastrophic events.
Full of mistakes that simple editing should have caught. It's disappointing that such poor quality gets published 😕 I'm not qualified to judge the science involved in the hypothetical disaster, so I hope this isn't inaccurate.
The book sounded interesting and had potential. I couldn't get into it and I really thought with a domino-effect type of natural disasters I would be sucked in by the story.
The story jumped around too much and it was hard to keep up with who is doing what.
I like the characters and how their lives intertwine. The descriptions are just enough for you to picture the destruction. I hate that the book ended leaving us hanging.