Tourist Season (The Seasons of Carnage Trilogy)

A delightful and macabre rom-com. Do not read if you are easily disturbed by graphic descriptions of violence.

I am so excited to have another Brynne Weaver series to obsess over! She once again has done a beautiful job of blending the dark and twisty themes with the romantic and comedic ones. Both Harper and Nolan are perfectly crafted characters and their dynamic was fun to read. I loved the banter and hatred stemming from the fact they could kill each other at any moment. The slow burn builds some great suspense while we learn more about them and Cape Carnage which at times raises more questions than answers. Plus if you have read B&B there’s a nice little connection in this one which was a nice nugget to read. One thing is beware of the cliffhanger - it will leave you impatiently waiting for book two with me!

My fave book of the year! I love Brynne’s writing style. Kept me engaged from start to finish! Never imagined a story about serial killers could be so comical. Can’t wait to read Harvest Season. Counting the days til the release date in June 2026. Ahh! Until then. I’m going to start on her Ruinous Love trilogy.

Tourist Season places a collection of charming serial killers inside a coastal Maine town where murder, gardening, and romance are local traditions. Brynne Weaver fills Cape Carnage with morbid humor, graphic violence, playful banter, and scorching chemistry. The unusual combination has a clear audience. Those who love their romance bloody, absurd, and sexually adventurous will have a fantastic time. I spent far too much of the book waiting to feel entertained. Harper Starling appears to be Cape Carnage’s beloved gardener. Her flowerbeds hide the remains of troublesome tourists who met the wrong side of her woodchipper. Harper also protects Arthur Lancaster who is an aging former serial killer. He has a fading memory that threatens to expose the bodies buried beneath a property scheduled for development. Nolan Rhodes arrives in town seeking revenge for the hit-and-run that killed his younger brother. His investigation points toward Harper, but she looks nothing like the monster he expected to find. Their murderous plans collide with a more urgent problem. Sixteen bodies must be moved before construction begins while an amateur true-crime investigator has started asking dangerous questions. Harper offers Nolan a temporary agreement. He will help her relocate Arthur’s victims. In turn, she will allow him to continue hunting her afterward. Grave digging creates forced proximity, mutual suspicion, and sexual tension that makes their deadly arrangement increasingly complicated. Their relationship develops through banter filled exchanges and guarded attraction as each waits for the other to reveal their true plans. The banter never gave Harper and Nolan the personality or interest I needed. Their constant wariness kept them separated for much of the book. The day-to-day scenes made the romance feel slower than its dramatic circumstances. A town filled with this many undiscovered killers also required more suspension of disbelief than I could manage. Weaver clearly understands how to make ruthless characters seductive. The spicy scenes were easily my favorite part of the book. Harper and Nolan share intense physical chemistry that burns through the page. Though, several scenes crossed my personal limits for dark romance. I read Harvest Season first and preferred Tourist Season. Reading the books in publication order might have made Cape Carnage and its residents more interesting for me. There are a lot of similarities to Weaver’s previous serial-killer romances. This book feel like an attempt to reproduce familiar magic rather than create a story with its own identity. Tourist Season did not convince me that murder could become playful entertainment. Serial killers frighten me which made this story's humor difficult to embrace. Pick this up if you enjoy morally unrestrained couples, graphic spice, and comedy soaked in blood.

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