The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1)

Book Review
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Tourist Attraction | Sarah Morgenthaler
Pub Date: 5/5/20
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RATING: /5
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REVIEW:
OH. MY. GOSH. This book was SO GOOD!!!! It gave me The Simple Wild vibes but in a more RomCom style book. The chemistry between Graham and Zoey was everything I want in a book couple and they were both so entertaining by themselves! Im not a big book boyfriend type of person but HE IS MY BOOK BOYFRIEND. Their relationship development was perfect IMO – they started as semi enemies (from his POV), then friends and then lovers. Their banter and one liners back and forth just kept a huge smile on my face. The steam was very minimal, and Im a steam girl and this book was phenomenal even without it!! I stayed up until 3AM finishing this book because I loved it so much! Ill post the synopsis in the comments but ADD THIS TO YOUR TBR!!
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Thank you so much @sarah, @sourcebookscasa, and @netgalley for the eARC to read and give and honest review!
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SYNOPSIS:
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…
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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.

3.5 Stars
This was a new author for me.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. It was a very sweet, slow burn romance. There were a few things that I didnt quite get but not a bad story.
Zoey is on her bucket list trip. Shes saved for years, and with the help of her best friend, shes finally able to discover and explore Alaska. But jet lag and a very potent cocktail, has her first night in the quaint little town of Moose Springs not going as planned.
Graham hates his job, hates tourists, and he hates being so popular they cant seem to stay away from his diner. No matter how rude he is they just keep coming. He does however, love his hometown, and the people he grew up with. He also loves Jake and Ulysses. His dog and his buddy the love sick moose. But one very tired, quirky, sassy tourist is about to turn his world upside down.
I loved that both Graham and Zoey were real people, with real issues and problems. Getting by the best they can.
I loved this little town and the people living there. They were fun, loyal, willing to help at the drop of a hat, and fiercely protective of each other.
I loved the banter between Graham and Zoey. It was playful, flirty, teasing and honest.
I loved Jake the blind Border Collie. He has a better wardrobe than most humans. And Ulysses the moose. Who was so in love with the smell of fresh baked rolls he had completely wrecked the side of Grahams truck.
What I struggled with was Graham. Sometimes he was the gruff, growly mountain man, but then Zoey would walk into the room and suddenly he became a sappy, lovesick prepubescent boy. Sometimes his words and actions just did not match the character. He could go from teasing to flat out violence in an instance. He was all over the place.
Zoey was hyper focused on doing all of the touristy things. Everything the locals hated. And each and every time, something went terribly wrong, she was disappointed but signed up and kept paying for the next one. I think eliminating a few could have helped the flow of the book. It kinda drags in the middle.
If you are looking for a sappy sweet, fun, clean romance this is a good choice.
Ill be buying the next one to see where these characters are heading.

This book read like a very inexperienced writer wrote it. The story line was kind of cute, but predictable from chapter one. I found myself having to reread every other page or so to connect who was talking. The overuse of pronouns within the dialogue made the writing feel vague and sloppy, like it was too much for the author to take the time to add who was speaking at the beginning or end of the dialogue. I also dont enjoy books where characters physical appearance isnt described other than being handsome or sexy or gorgeous. What does that mean? We all have our own interpretation of degrees of beauty. Would it have been too much to describe her characters? Or to get into a rescue scene and add some suspense to prolong the drama of the event? There was one such point in the book that was over and done with in two short pages.

This is the rare book that would make a better movie than book. There would be more detail and connection with the characters. Dont waste your time reading it.

I loved this book so much! It’s fresh, original, charming, heart-felt, and an utter delight from beginning to end. I adored grumpy local, Graham and endearing outsider, Zoey, cheering them on to an inevitable, but seemingly impossible, happy ending. They’re fully developed characters I couldn’t get enough of. Here’s hoping we’ll see a lot more of them in the next two books. The author surrounds them with an interesting cast of secondary characters, both human and animal (the lovesick moose steals every single scene he’s in), amidst a changing landscape not eagerly embraced by locals. It sets up great conflict that makes the unexpected relationships forming that much more interesting. And I am here for all of them. There are two more books to come and I can’t wait to once again visit Sarah Morgenthaler’s Moose Springs, hang out with the quirky locals, explore all the natural beauty Alaska offers, and lose myself in another laugh-inducing, heart-tugging romance.

I was adding books on Goodreads when The Tourist Attraction popped up and stopped me in my tracks. I immediately went to Amazon and started reading. After just a few pages or lines even I knew I was a goner. I could easily have raced through this book and read it in a day, but I wanted to spend more time with Zoey and Graham in Alaska over the course of a few days.

I laughed out loud so much at certain lines and then I reread them and laughed again. I also had to give myself a stern talking to about how much I was crying over the plight of a fictional animal, a fictional moose no less. If that doesnt tell you how invested in this book I was.

Graham showed Zoey parts of Alaska the tourists dont typically see or know about so by design I feel like Ive seen those areas too.

It says right in the blurb that the sex scenes arent written onto the page. I thought I needed them to be and that I would miss them. I need not have worried the build up to and the kisses were scorching so much so that I think I preferred it that way.

I am so thrilled to have stumbled across Sarah Morgenthaler right at the beginning of her publishing journey. I already have her next two books preordered. I see they are about a different couple which is my favourite kind of series.

The Tourist Attraction has easily made its way onto my favourite books of the year list. I cant wait to visit Moose Springs again soon!

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