A review by ceena
Crosstalk by Connie Willis

4.0

This is a difficult review.
I enjoyed reading this book, but the more I think about it, the more problems I have. Much of it is little things.
Like, much of the book is spent at their workplace, but I honestly have no idea what Briddey's job was. All I know is she works for a cellphone company and keeps putting off meetings. That is it. I'm also not sure why anyone would do the EED procedure with anyone they are not married to or in some other similar committed relationship since your emotions will be connected and there was no mention of the procedure being reversible.
Another point to mention was the science talk which went over my head. I thought it went on a little too long, on that note, I thought there were things that could have been cut or slimmed down to make the book more concise.

Don't let all this negative make you think I disliked the book though. I finished this book in one day and didn't want to put it down. While the writing could be longwinded at times, I also thought that it was really well done.
I was also able to connect to the characters. While Briddey could be annoying and overreact, I always thought she felt like a real person. All the characters really felt real and interesting.

The romance... totally saw it coming and I loved it. I would have liked more romance involved, but I'm a romantic and love reading about people coming to love each other. The thing is I did have one problem with it--or more accurately Briddey's actions towards Trent. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go further, but it just really annoyed the heck out of me.

I seriously feel like I'm nitpicking everything, so I do want to mention again how much I loved the plot and the concept. The writing is easy and fun, which gripped me and made me care less about the less than satisfied bits. The book is exciting, information is told throughout and not really dumped on the reader. The sci-fi and fantasy elements are overwhelming and work really well. There is an air of mystery around Trent, C.B. and what happens to Briddey after her surgery. That feeling of knowing something else was going on, I think, is what kept me so engaged in the story.

I will recommend this book to others in the future, and think this one would also appeal to YA readers. If you like slight sci-fi with a mix of fantasy and an undertone of mystery, I think you'll enjoy this one.