Name: Tourist Season
Series: The Seasons of Carnage Trilogy #1
Author: Brynne Weaver
Publisher: Piatkus
Format: Physical & Kindle
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Dark Romance, Mystery, Thriller
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Welcome to Cape Carnage! Visit Once, Stay Forever.
You can hide in the farthest reaches of the deepest hell, and I will still drag you out. Even the devil can’t save you from me.
Cape Carnage is a seaside town of colourful houses, quirky shops, and an unusually high body count. But with tourists comes trouble, and Harper Starling won’t let anyone ruin her picture-perfect home. A skilled gardener with killer instincts, Harper protects her sanctuary at any cost – especially for her aging mentor with a fading memory. Troublesome tourists don’t check out of Carnage. They compost beneath Harper’s award-winning flowerbeds.
But Nolan Rhodes isn’t your average tourist. Devilishly handsome, disarmingly charming, and skilled with a blade, Nolan is relentless in the pursuit of revenge. On every anniversary of the hit-and-run accident that fractured his life, Nolan slays another target. And he’s saved the best for the undeniably beautiful Harper Starling. The problem? Harper isn’t the monster he expected. And she won’t go down without a fight.
When an amateur true crime investigator comes to Cape Carnage on the trail of a long-lost serial killer, Harper and Nolan strike an uneasy truce. If Nolan helps Harper protect her town, she’ll keep quiet about his hunting habits . . . for now. But their alliance soon spirals into obsession, one that threatens to shatter every secret in Carnage – including their fragile love.
Review:
When I first purchased Tourist Season, I did so with the hope that someone we meet in The Ruinious Love trilogy would make an appearance. Somehow, I missed (or perhaps it wasn’t widely known) that she would actually be the FMC of Tourist Season! I loved that for her. I won’t say who, just in case (like me) you didn’t know this information! So, now it’ll be a surpirse for you too.
I found Tourist Season to be a little harder to get into than Butcher & Blackbird. B&B had me hooked instantly and I ended up devouring it. Tourist Season took a bit longer for me to get into than even Scythe & Sparrow did (which is the third book in The Ruinous Love trilogy, Butcher & Blackbird is the first book). I think it’s because I didn’t really feel like I was on side of either Nolan nor Harper, who are the providers of the POVs in this book…
Well, when the author out right connects Harper back to B&B things started to click in my head and I felt connected to her. It didn’t take long for Nolan to follow suit, and once this happened I was sat. Now the interesting thing is, their story isn’t over! Unlike with The Ruinous Love trilogy which follows a different couple in each book, Harvest Season is going to continue Harper and Nolan’s story. Not only their story but Arthur’s story, La Plume’s story, The Sleuthseeker’s story… I’m really excited to follow this mystery on.
I love the way Brynne Weaver writes, and the humour that comes through in these books is brilliant. I’ve said it before, I’m not a huge comedy lover and ‘banter’ can rub me the wrong way sometimes. I’m very fortunate that it doesn’t often happen with the romantasy reads, but I always got worried that if I branched into any comedic kinds of books on the more contemporary side I’d struggle more. Thankfully, that has not been the case with Brynne Weaver. I love the banter between Nolan and Harper and I can’t wait for more of it!
So all that is to say, that even though Tourist Season took a bit longer for me to get into that I expected, I had a really good time with it. Was some of it pretty far-fetched and unrealistic? Yes. But this once again, is a story about serial killers upon serial killers upon serial killers, and romance… I thought it was fun, the mystery and the serial killer mayhem that is multiple in one area… yeah I am hooked. I have high hopes for the rest of the trilogy but as always that makes me a little nervous too! Tourist Season is a solid 4 star, perhaps even a 4.25 and very enjoyable!
About the trigger warnings for this Dark Romance: I’d say the triggers are on par with that of the Ruinous Love trilogy, the spice as well, with the main addition being Arthur’s alzheimer’s which Brynne goes through in the trigger list as she acknowledges a number of aspects of this that could be difficult for readers. So, as always with Brynne Weaver’s books, please check the trigger warnings first and ensure you’re comfortable with reading about those.
“if we’re going to be bitter enemies, I really think we need to improve our communication skills.”
Reading With Tyler 
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