Special book review

Don't Feed the Trolls by Erica Kudisch
5
I originally heard this book pitched as "love in a time of GamerGate." It's a fairly accurate description, but it leaves out much of the humor and sweetness that permeates this book.

An unemployed actress struggling with gender identity wins a contest in the MMORPG she's playing, and immediately becomes the latest hashtag victim. Doxxing, death threats, and drunkenness ensue, but so do flirting, friendship, and fabulous drag queens in cosplay. (Not people cosplaying as drag queens, but actual drag queens who are also cosplaying.)

It's full of rapid-fire references ranging from Shakespeare to semi-obscure JRPGs to...I was going to say Sondheim but my alliteration seems to be inadvertently getting out of hand. Broadway musicals, then.

Is the ending blatant wish-fulfillment? Of course it is. Isn't every good romance?

Disclaimer: The author is a good friend in real life. So I'm definitely biased. But I really do think this is a wonderful book.