Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A woman finds solace in texting her late lover in Cramer's unsatisfying debut. It's been two months since Clara Sommerfeld's fiancé, Ben, died. To ward off the loneliness, Clara returns to her job and takes up painting, but nothing makes her feel whole--until she decides to text Ben's old number one night. The catharsis she feels in imagining Ben is receiving her messages is addicting, and she continues to text him. Little does she know that the phone company has reassigned the number: her notes are actually going to journalist Sven Lehmann, who reads them without ever responding. Sven is drawn to Clara's sentimentality and tenderness, and when he discovers she lives nearby, he decides to track her down. But will Clara forgive him when she finds out he's been on the other side of her private messages? While Cramer beautifully captures the grief of losing a loved one, the budding romance between Clara and Sven is rushed and unconvincing, making for a lopsided narrative. It's a commendable effort, but it misses the mark. Agent: Markus Hoffmann, Regal Hoffmann & Assoc. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
The narrating duo Natalie Naudus and Barrett Leddy introduce us to Clara and Sven, the central characters in Cramer first novel to be translated into English. Two years after her fiancé Ben dies in a sudden and tragic accident, Clara continues to be crushed by guilt and grief. Looking for closure, Clara starts to send emotional texts to his old cell phone, not realizing that the number now belongs to someone else. Across town and amid a heartbreak, Sven begins receiving her text messages, and together they embark on a unique romantic adventure. The novel's premise is appealing, but something fundamental is lost in translation and affects everything--dialogue, pace, character development, chemistry. Naudus gives a heartfelt performance as Clara, but other characters' voices become exaggerated at times. Leddy's voice is bright and youthful but perhaps too boyish. There's much potential for Cramer's novel, but this feels like a rough draft; not even the talented narration can rescue this one. VERDICT This book will soon be released as a major motion picture starring Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, but the audio remains a strictly optional purchase.--Emily Pykare
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A grieving young woman sends texts to her dead fiance's phone number, not realizing that someone else is receiving the messages. Clara and her fiance, Ben, had an argument, and later that night, he died in a tragic accident. Two months later, as Clara struggles with her grief, she sends a text to Ben's phone, knowing he won't receive it but seeking new ways to cope. Miraculously, sending the text does help a bit, so she sends another the next day, and again the day after that. She never imagines that Ben's number might have been reassigned to a new customer. Meanwhile, across town, Sven can't figure out how to respond to the cryptic texts he's been receiving. After only a few messages, it's obvious the texts are coming from a grieving woman. Rather than alert the sender she has the wrong number, Sven, who's dealing with struggles of his own, does nothing. Gradually, he begins to enjoy the texts, even looking forward to them and despairing on days when none arrive. His co-worker Hilke keeps pushing him to uncover the sender's identity, and before long, Sven is persuaded, using clues from the copious texts to track Clara down. Though he's already somewhat smitten without even knowing what she looks like, he worries that when they finally meet, she'll hate him for having read her private messages. Told alternately from Clara's and Sven's perspectives, the novel has been translated effectively from its original German, the only indication of the book's origin the names of towns and rivers. Clara and Sven are each well-developed characters with complex interior lives and endearing idiosyncrasies. The story's supporting characters feel more typecast, but they play their roles sufficiently to move the narrative forward. The story is at its strongest when Clara and Sven are interacting, with the intervening scenes hampering the book's momentum. Similarly, after its initial setup, the plotline is rather predictable. Even so, the deeply emotional nature of Clara's texts and Sven's heartfelt reactions as he reads them are sufficiently absorbing that readers will keep turning pages to see how the characters reach the story's inevitable conclusion. An entertaining and romantic story about second chances and moving forward after loss. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
