Briddey Flannigan’s new boyfriend Trent is perfect. He always sends flowers, texts first thing in the morning, and they go to the best restaurants in his Porsche. And the rumor mill at work is already abuzz because Trent asked Briddey to get an EED before he proposes. Only a small surgical procedure, the EED allows couples to actually feel how much they love each other by communicating their emotions. But despite her family’s and a specific co-worker’s warnings, Briddey undergoes the procedure, resulting in some unintended consequences.
The perils of modern over-communication are on bright display in this fantastic scifi romance, featuring Willis’ signature comedy of errors! This is a page turner you can feel good about, complete with missed messages, frantic hiding from the family, and keeping a huge secret—all of which contribute to the flurry of activity in this absolutely delightful story.
In the first few pages Briddey spends her entire day at work managing her overbearing family and gossiping co-workers, and that’s before she gets the communication enhancement device. Through secondary characters, Willis manages to touch upon the extremes of online dating, helicopter parenting, nonstop emails, texts, and phone calls in a world with unending signal, not to mention social media perils of Facebook and Twitter.
Published only six months ago, the direct pop culture references already date Crosstalk. Briddey’s character is frustratingly timid, and as with modern technology, prepare for lots of unwanted interruptions and miscommunication which slow down the plot and lengthen the novel, but which effectively build tension.
Recommended for frantically fun romantic comedy with a scifi twist!
“[More communication] isn’t what people want. They’ve got too much already — laptops, smartphones, tablets, social media. They’ve got connectivity coming out their ears. There’s such a thing as being tooconnected, you know, especially when it comes to relationships.”