The Tourist Attraction: A Sweet Escapist Romantic Comedy (Moose Springs, Alaska Book 1)

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 didn’t quite get but not a bad story.
Zoey is on her bucket list trip. She’s saved for years, and with the help of her best friend, she’s 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 can’t 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 Graham’s 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.
I’ll be buying the next one to see where these characters are heading.

The synopsis and cover (plus Alaska) drew me in. Everything else went downhill. Choppy writing that did not flow and needed another editor badly; a couple with no spark or sexual appeal; a friendship between the heroine and her best friend that made no sense whatsoever; awful, awful side characters that I wanted to punch; a supposed grumpy hero who was lovesick the moment he set eyes on the heroine; immature dialogue; too many scenes that messed with the flow of the story - some should have been cut to allow for more development of others; the dreaded instalove declaration after 1 week of the main couple knowing each other and yet not even having exchanged a kiss 230 pages into the book (riiiiiight - cause when you know, you know); and lastly, fade to black sexy times. I'm surprised I finished the book, but that was only in the hopes that it would get better. Meh. The two stars are for the setting, the cute dog, and the cute moose.

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.

The Tourist Attractions was 300ish pages of absolutely nothing. There was hardly anything to the plot at all. There was nothing to propel the plot forward at all and everything dragged on. The characters were just tropes and weren't fully fleshed out. Our LI was a grumpy man who hated everything and wanted to be alone. The best friend of the MC was a rich girl who only cared about herself and couldn't see from anyone's perspective from our own. Our MC was a poor, good girl who never did anything bad. It was a narrative and combination I've seen a million times over, except this time there was nothing to make it unique.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

K. So, I really enjoyed this book. Before I make any criticisms, I want to go ahead and say that I definitely do recommend it and have already pre-ordered the 2nd book. I kinda fell for Moose Springs and I am I'm in.

I was, however; disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed and played out...like wrapping up a whole bunch of stuff into a few pages that needed to be taken time with, and put together more thoughtfully. There is SOO much that could've been done with the ending of this book, and I felt cheated by it. After all, we as readers are invested in these characters.

Especially with this being a series, I would have LOVED this book to end on more of a cliffhanger, and the 2nd book be a transition and melding of Graham and Zoey's storyline, and whatever is about to happen next with Lana and Rick. I'm sure the author will have storylines tying in together in the 2nd book in some fashion, but I think it could've gone from good to great if more time and thoughtfulness had been put into a more realistic and thoughtful ending that leaves readers wanting more. SO much could've been done here, but instead, it was wrapped messily and covered with a big shiny bow, hoping to distract from the edges peaking out from under the wrapping paper.

I would've loved to have seen them both return to their normal lives, and continue the build up of events & coincidences that lead them back to each other and grow their feelings even stronger while they are apart. We could've gotten a look a Zoey's life back in Illinois, and watched her actually wrap up her life there instead of glazing over the fact she has an apartment and a car and personal belongings back home. Meanwhile, Lana's storyline could've been growing and the two could come to an intersection, weaving together.

I loved the characters, but feel like so much more could've been done with it. With that being said, I am looking forward to book 2 and seeing where the author takes the storyline and characters of Moose Springs.

p.s. I already miss Graham! He is such a fun and dynamic character...I really want to see more of him and his growth and evolution and humor. Please make another book about him and his diner. Perhaps a prequel that shows him and Zoey's separate lives before The Tourist Attraction and sets up their meeting? I love them too much, need another one, please!

This was a cute romcom with a grumpy-ish hero and quirky heroine. The humor was a little over the top at times, but it was still a fun listen/read. I did feel that the pacing of the story stalled a bit in the middle and I could have done without all the repeated back and forth. It also took time for Graham to win me over mainly because he was so flirty with every woman who crossed his path. It made his interest in Zoey less believable and it didn't match the grumpy persona he was supposed to have. Even though the story takes place over a 2 week time span, the romance was still a slow burn and is closed door. The narration by Elise Arsenault was enjoyable, but I did sometimes have trouble differentiating between characters. Overall, this was a cute book and I'm interested to see how Lana's story plays out next, but it's Easton's book that I'm really waiting for.

Audiobook Review
Overall 3.5 stars
Performance 4 stars
Story 3 stars

While I enjoyed the characters, the slow burn did not amount to much and once you realize their given professions and life situations, it makes no sense that they wouldn’t end up together so the prolonged will they or won’t they becomes extra tedious. I was really disappointed.

I felt like this book was tapping me on the shoulder on every page saying, "Hey! Hey! I'm a romcom! I'm being funny!" The characters are hard to connect with, and the story doesn't flow well.

I usually stay far, far away from your typical rom-coms. However, this book is the exception, not the rule and anything but typical. The love story between Zoey and Graham will have you feeling gooier than the cinnamon buns mentioned. The banter and chemistry is top notch. I also really loved the fade to black. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude, but the way the author handled the steam was perfect. I didn't feel like I had to skim through paragraphs and paragraphs of what they were doing to each other's whosits or how inventive they were with their whatsits. It was nice to read a book about a local boy falling in love with a tourist. And let me tell you, it's a good one.

This book felt like a six hour hallmark movie. You know what’s going to happen at the end but it took sooooo long to get there.