by Tashe (link)
Genre cest, drama/angst, romance
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/Natalie, Zac/Kate, Zaylor
Length 17 parts
Status Unfinished
Various stories of Tashe’s have been recommended to me over the years, and I honestly couldn’t tell you which ones I’ve read, although I do have a general impression that I enjoyed her writing. It’s for that reason that I’m willing to read Emotional even though it isn’t finished.
The story begins with a short explanation of how Tashe sees the Zaylor relationship as more emotional than sexual — hence the title. I tend to prefer a more sexual version of them, but I’m willing to be open minded. The prologues (one for each brother, though in third person) show Taylor at the end of his rope, his wife and children dead. The relationship between the two brothers (if it can even be called that) is rocky at best, with Taylor’s mental state to blame. Still, it’s easy to see the bond between them.
For the first several chapters, Emotional moves quite slowly. That doesn’t mean that nothing happens, but there’s a mixture of huge and small, subtle moments that lead up to Zac and Taylor finally coming together like they never have before. When it does happen, it’s so much more raw and sexual than the whole story title implies, but I think it’s what they both need right then.
And then the story just stops. At least it goes until the end of that very satisfying sex scene, so it’s not too much of a disappoint that I can’t keep reading. At times the chapters leading up to that moment are a little too short, but the pace mostly fits with the slow, stop-and-start way that the grieving process often works. Tashe has a conversational, almost stream of consciousness style of writing that was a little sloppy at times but mostly had a sense of closeness and immediacy that really kept me engaged. My biggest complaint, really, is that there isn’t more.
Review by Bethany (website)