Her show is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.
And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, a fellow award nominee, suddenly has the potential to become something IRL—if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual.
Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?
Review: I don't know how to compose my thoughts without spoiling aspects of Tash Hearts Tolstoy so buckle in. Man, this book. First off, I really appreciated Tash as a character. It's always refreshing to see ace characters in book, and I enjoyed following Tash's experience. I liked the side characters well enough. None of them stuck out, sadly. The story itself is what fell a little flat for me. I had fun seeing Tash and her friends adapt to the sudden fame they were exposed to. The first thing that bothered me was Tash's relationship with Thom. I found this part of the story very predictable, and I honestly wish I was wrong. I was hoping Tash was going to form a really good online friendship/romantic partnership. Honestly, I think having a long distance online partnership would have worked well with a character like Tash who has a hard time explaining what being ace means. It would have been nice to see her in a relationship with Thom where he is forced to think of other ways to appreciate Tash that doesn't involve sex. Then they could have come together at the end and he wouldn't have been a super dick about Tash being ace. I was disappointed that Thom was made out to be a bad guy. Online relationships are special to me and I wanted Thom to be good for Tash. Even if they just remained friends. The other thing that bothered me is deeply personal. I HATE when the love interest is the best friend. With the way Tash/Jack/Paul were all described, I had hope that this was going to be a very special book where Tash and the best friend don't fall in love. It's exhausting to read story after story where people can't just stay friends with those they've spent a majority of their life with. I wanted to like Tash Hearts Tolstoy so much, and I think it had a lot of potential. It just missed the mark for me. I would definitely recommend it if you don't have such a large problem with the best friends become lovers trope.
3 howls
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