A review by theespressoedition
The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was CUTE! A feel-good, small-town story with mostly likable characters.

While I enjoyed the audiobook, for the most part, I did feel like the narrator made some of the characters sound a little strange and it caused the chemistry between them (romantic or not) to feel a little forced at times. This was especially true for the ladies in the story. It made me think that Lana was a lot more provocative and that Zoey was a bit of a bimbo dork. However, if you look past the way they sounded, the story itself was entertaining.

I read that it was a grump and sunshine trope, but that really didn't feel like the case to me. If Graham is supposedly a grump, he certainly didn't show it with Zoey. I realize it's more the way he feels about tourists overall, but he was more flirty and goofy than grumpy to me. He just had a complex when it came to tourists.

...whiiiich really irritated me. I get it - it's the point of this story, but Graham's prejudice against tourists REALLY irks me. The fact that he's so adamant against them and yet he literally runs a place called The Tourist Trap bugged me to no end. Stupid reason to dislike a book, but it definitely knocked the rating down a couple of notches for me
because it was never really rectified. At no point is there an AH-HA! of them realizing that tourists really aren't that bad. In fact, as a reader, you're supposed to hate them more and feel for the town because of what happens with Ulysses. That just didn't sit well with me. Coming to an understanding would've made more sense in my eyes.


I'm glad that I read this though because it's lighthearted for the most part and was a great lead into the sequel!
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