The Tourist Attraction Cover
Title: The Tourist Attraction
Author: Heat: Re
Genre(s): Romance Contemporary
Tropes: Small Town No Strings Relationship
Tags: white straight Alaska vacation f-m
Where to Buy or Read:

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Synopsis from the Creator:

He had a strict "no tourists" policy...
Until she broke all of his rules.

When Graham Barnett named his diner The Tourist Trap, he meant it as a joke. Now he's stuck slinging reindeer dogs to an endless parade of resort visitors who couldn't interest him less. Not even the sweet, enthusiastic tourist in the corner who blushes every time he looks her way...

Two weeks in Alaska isn't just the top item on Zoey Caldwell's bucket list. It's the whole bucket. One look at the mountain town of Moose Springs and she's smitten. But when an act of kindness brings Zoey into Graham's world, she may just find there's more to the grumpy local than meets the eye...and more to love in Moose Springs than just the Alaskan wilderness.

Review: The Tourist Attraction, by Sarah Morgenthaler

[fa icon="calendar"] Jun 4, 2020 9:45:00 AM / by Suzanne

Tourist meets townie in this grumpy one + sunshine one romance. Zoey's on the trip of a lifetime - two weeks in Moose Springs, Alaska. Graham's making his living there off of being the grumpy proprietor of one of those can't-miss tourist stops. If you recall the restaurants where guests are literally paying to be insulted? Think that, but toned down a bit. Sarah Morgenthaler's writing is funny, her characters are likeable and the whole book is as escapist as the vacation Zoey's embarked on.

What I liked:

- Zoey has a wealthy BFF, but she's a waitress at a truck stop, has been saving for this trip forever and is now sleeping on said BFF's luxury suite sofa

- I grew up in Vermont and worked at two very popular tourist stops, I was predisposed to dislike these entitled, destructive rich tourists.

- The moose! (see below for a bit of a CW there)

- The sexual tension is high without much actual sex. It's not sex-shamey, just sort of a natural progression based on where the two are at. It fit my particular preferences at the time I was reading it, your mileage may vary.

What I didn't like:

- Zoey is "not like every other tourist." It's not quite the not-like-other-girls trope but it's close. Graham is immediately smitten and goes from grump to Golden Retriever for her in like 5 minutes. I assume this is related to the fact that her BFF is one of the few good rich repeat visitors and Graham was predisposed to liking her, but I would have liked a little more development of that.

- TTA was too long. If I were reading it for the hijinks, maybe that would have been fine, but there were a few too many tourist catastrophes for me. We got it after the first couple times that Zoey falls, gets left behind, nearly dies, etc. The book needed some tightening up.

If you've ever wanted to date Luke from Gilmore Girls or go on vacation to Alaska, The Tourist Attraction is probably the book for you. If you're not up for a bunch of slapstick humor, maybe give this one a miss.

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Content Warnings: moose has a 50-50 chance at survival after being relocated due to endangering tourists trying to get a photo with him, Graham punches someone, Zoey is abandoned in the woods during a dangerous storm, mentions of drug use. I apologize, I waited too long to write this review and I'm sure I've forgotten some.

Suzanne received a digital copy of this book from the publisher for review but ended up listening to audio via Hoopla.

Topics: review