typedtruths's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
#1) The Tourist Attraction ★★★☆☆
quick thoughts:
i was a little wary going into this after being disappointed by The Tourist Attraction, but i put up my christmas tree last night so it was officially time to start reading some holiday romances!
PROS:
• rick. this tea-drinking, hedgehog-loving, blushing awkward mess of a man that zoey calls a literal duckling saved this book for me. he adopted his nephew-in-law and won't let anyone talk shit about his ex-wife and just inherently tries too hard to be Good and i just, i love soft men who admire badass women and that's exactly what this gave me.
• but also lana. look, is she my favourite character of all time? no, definitely not. i appreciated her though. she was a businesswoman who didn't take crap from anyone but was also Tired of fighting every day just to be taken seriously. she has a permanent tremor in her hand that worsens when she is nervous or stressed. she's kind-hearted and called rick pet names until he blushed and tried so hard to make people feel appreciated. i just liked her a lot?
• tropes galore. this had so many of my favourite romance tropes, as a good holiday romance should. i want all the tropey goodness with my festive romcoms so yes, there is only one bed, and yes, there is forced proximity, and yes, there is an i'm-going-to-accidentally-confess-feelings-cause-i'm-high-on-flu-medicine scene. it's great.
• it's quirky af. the entire taxidermied squirrel hotel scene made me cry-laugh and even though i rolled my eyes at home many antics were shoved into this one novel (seriously, i can't believe how much happened plotwise in this book), i had a good time.
CONS:
• look, it's not perfect. i don't know what it is about this series but i just can't fully get into it? it's not a perfect mesh for me (but it's fun and silly and what i needed).
• the whole property & class thing. lana works for the company that owns rick's business (and most of the properties & businesses in moose springs), so there is a little bit of an imbalance there. i think it was done as well as it could be?? but i'm definitely not eloquent enough to address this topic. just something to keep in mind.
• graham & ash. i struggled with graham in the first book and i'm officially done with him. he is such a Straight Boi and i hate it.
• too much. and like i said, there are so many plot points in this one. the last 15% alone had so much suddenly going on, it was a little overwhelming. i kind of like the quirkiness of morgenthaler's style but i also wouldn't mind it being toned down a smidge.
➸ Trigger warnings for
Spoiler
alcohol consumption, near-drowning incident, minor gun violence (tranq.gun), hospital, serious life-threatening injuries to a loved one, workplace sexism, classism, and death of a mother/sister-in-law, dad/brother-in-law & sister/niece in a car accident mentioned▷ Representation: lana (mc) has a tremor in her hand.
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Death and Sexism
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