This book right here reads like a 20/20 - Dateline episode. What turns from a vacation for studying hard to get your lawyer license. Leads to mystery a murder and so much more.

Great story but the title is a decoy, not the normal type of beach read. Ismay just passed her bar and on her way to open her own law practice. Taking a few months off to relax before real life sets in she heads to Mariners Island ahead of her fiancé, Remy. Staying at his family upscale beach house alone she is first freaked out by a wild storm that hit the island. No power and scared she searches for anything to allow her to see in the dark, her cell phone flashlight will not last for long. What she does discover behind a hidden panel in Remy’s bedroom has unnerved her even more than the storm. Then there’s the pounding at her front door and the man says he is the caretaker, Bo. He does seem respectful and stays back from the door, standing in the rain. Of course things only get more complicated when Remy twin shows up a few days later. Not at all what Ismay thought her vacation would be.
Bo is a man trying to hide from his past and being a caretaker and a loner has worked for the last two years. But coming to Ismay rescue during the storm and then having a tree fall on his place has thrown them together. Knowing the twins somewhat he wants to warn Ismay, but it isn’t his place to say and it would most definitely cost him his job. When things seem to get weird and Ismay confines to him her discovery, they band together to discover the truth.
Wow a winner! My favorite book written by Brenda Novak so far. The story has it all and grabs you on the first few pages and then you are hooked and can’t put it down. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #TouristSeason

Tourist Season by Brenda Novak

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ismay has just taken her bar exam and needs a break. She heads to Mariners Island to her fiancée parent’s estate. Remy is going to join her in a few weeks after he takes the exam for his medical license. On her first night, a storm hits that leaves her in darkness. While searching for matches in Remy’s childhood closet, she makes a disturbing discovery. It has her questioning if she really knows him. Bo, the caretaker, comes to check on her and get the electricity going. When his cottage is damaged, he agrees to stay in the big house with Ismay. However, when Remy’s twin Bastian comes to the island, she begins to notice his strange behavior, and goes to Bo for help more and more.

This was another great read by Brenda Novak. She has a way with writing romantic suspense that keeps you captivated and turning the pages. You will feel for the characters even Bastian, who is very unlikable. I highly recommend this one.

Ismay Chalmers arrives on Mariners Island her fiancé's family summer home. She will be alone until he finishes his final board exams to become a doctor. She has passed her finals for her lawyer degree. A hurricane arrives just as she is getting settled in and Bo the caretaker comes over to check on her. The power is out, and the generator is not working.
Bo's cottage is damaged by a fallen tree and she insist he stay with her at the family home. Her fiancé Remy has a twin brother and he shows up on the second day.
Bo is using a fake name and has been since he was released from prison for a crime he didn't commit. As Ismay and Bo draw closer together; there is a video sent to Ismay of Remy out with another girl.
There is a lot of drama on the island due to Remy's twin showing up and Ismay's brother comes to stay on the island. Jack's wife has left him, and he really needs to get out of his hometown.
Remy shows up also after Ismay lets him know about the video and he is upset she is breaking up with him.
Well written story with a lot of secrets from the island surfacing.

The cover and title would lead one to believe this would be a "beach read" but don't be deceived, this is mid-range suspense mix with romance. Rival twin brothers, Remy & Bastian, are the beneficiaries of a privileged childhood, and the privilege continues into their young adult lives. Continuously blaming each other and both refusing to be held accountable for any of their actions finally catches up to them when Remy's fiancé heads to the family's island home ahead of Remy for an after-exam summer break. An unseasonable storm, a hidden discovery in a wall, an unlikely friendship, a mystery, and the unraveling of more than decades worth of secrets will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.

What a great read! Tourist Season is not your typical beach read. Ismay heads to Mariners Island for a vacation but finds herself first encountering an early season storm followed by some suspense and a mystery that hits much too close for comfort. Throw in a bit of romance and family drama, and Novak has again created a recipe for success. One of the best I've read from her in recent memory -- highly recommended!!

The genre I stick to is normally romantic comedy. This book was definitely not that, but...
There was romance, drama, complicated family relations.
Despite it not being my normal read, I couldn't get enough! I literally couldn't not put it down. Just when I thought I figured it out, there was another twist!
10/10 will recommend

I thought this was going to be a beachy summer romance, but boy was I wrong! This book had plenty of suspense and twists with a little romance and I was truly guessing till the end! I loved Ismay and how she followed her gut the entire story. I also liked Bo, the caretaker and the friendship that they formed.

This book isn’t your typical light hearted beach read you may expect based on the cover but if you are a fan of Brenda Novak you already know she loves to sprinkle some mystery and suspense into her books.

The setting in Mariner’s with a nasty storm coming through is perfect because Ismay is about to face a storm of her own disrupting the path her life was on. I absolutely adored how her and Bo had their own baggage but were able to accept that in each other.

I loved the twists and turns and uncertainty when you think you’ve figured something out. The only thing I didn’t like was I wasn’t ready for the book to end.

An enjoyable summer read with a number of unexpected twists and turns- Brenda Novak does what she does best- keeping her readers entertained and in this case, guessing until the end.

Tourist Season is yet another amazing Brenda Novak book. She is one of my favorite authors but each book seems to get better than the previous.
Ismay goes to Mariners after her exams to relax while her fiancé studies for his finals. While staying in his family’s home she discovers some unsettling things and is left to deal with his twin brother on her own. Past secrets start to surface and new friendships form.
This is a great suspense with a little bit of romance . Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy for my opinion.

Tourist Season by Brenda Novak ⭐⭐⭐⭐


I love reading Brenda books but this one surprised me what I thought was going to be a Beachy summer romance (which cover leads to believe, it turned dark. I guess I learned my lesson....Don't judge a book by its cover!
The book is still a great read and I recommend, but read with open mind. Lots of twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review for you'all

The Tourist Season is a romance with a darker intrigue element. I could not put it down. I loved that Ismay was ethically and morally a strong female figure. It is scary how you think you know someone and really don't. Then you barely know someone but you really do. Ismay follows her intuition and makes all the wrong things right.

What appears to be a light-hearted beach read takes a darker turn. Brenda Novak's #TouristSeason provides choppy waters at Mariner's shore.

Ismay arrives for a relaxing vacation but a storm is raging Having completed her boards, Ismay's taking the summer off before opening her practice. Bo, the estate's caretaker swoops in to fix the cottage and they bond during the squalls. .

The meet-cute turns into an unexpected friendship that provides safe shores when her fiancé's actions appear sinister. Does Ismay really know the man she's about to marry? Filled with twists and turns, family relations and cold cases receiving their dues, this tourist season isn't the day at the beach the vacation promised.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition in exchange for an honest review. When a cover up is revealed, readers will find themselves hunting for the truth. Curl up on the couch with a steaming cup of coffee or relaxing glass of wine as you won't leave your seat until the book ends.

I’ve read a couple books by the author before and I’ve always enjoyed them.
Tourist Season is a romance/mystery. I really liked the heroine, a sweet, kind farm girl from Utah that just passed the bar to become a lawyer. She heads out to her fiancé’s beach house on a small island where she meets Bo the caretaker. They start an unlikely friendship after she finds some disturbing evidence that makes her think her fiancé may not be who she thinks he is.
I enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars because I felt the ending was a little anticlimactic. We were told events instead of seeing them unfold first hand, but overall it was great.
Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read and voluntarily leave an honest review.

The cover on this one tricked me. I thought I was in for a nice, summery and beachy read with some romance. There is so much more to this one. There is an underlying mystery and darkness that is suspenseful and intriguing. I didn't know who to trust in this story. And while I enjoyed the plot, that's where it's also minus a star for me. Once the suspense started, my brain switched gears and expected a full on thriller and suspense. And while this did have undertones of that, it wasn't a true thriller. The ending was a little underwhelming. While there was a twist, there wasn't a jaw dropping twist like in a 5 star thriller. My brain just got a little confused with this one. Still a very enjoyable read that I would recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a different Novak book than what I’ve read in the past. Think Colleen Hoover. Think part gothic, part suspense, part soap opera.

A woman who recently earned her law degree travels ahead of her wealthy fiancée, straight into the path of a hurricane on a remote island. While searching for matches, she conducts a search that would make any police detective proud, and she finds some disturbing materials that immediately scream “red flag, red flag”.

What follows is an attempt at a pseudo- love triangle woven into a which-one-is-the-guilty-person plot. There was a lot the reader is asked to believe, which is often the failing of a Colleen Hoover book.

The ending comes as no surprise. Still, I enjoyed my time on the island with all the madness.

This well written book has many amazing characters each with their own unique story. Many twists and turns keep you guessing and engrossed until the very end. I could not put it down!

What a fun read! I can't recall if I have read Brenda Novak before, but I thoroughly enjoyed TOURIST SEASON.

This is one of those books where you get even more than what you expected. You go in expecting a cute summer romance and you get that plus a suspenseful page-turning mystery complete with some jaw-dropping twists. Secrets abound, and you'll have fun unraveling them.

Also, I want to visit Mariners Island now. The author did a great job with the setting.

I look froward to reading more from Brenda Novak.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book; all opinion in this review are completely my own.

Tourist Season by Brenda Novak is part mystery and intrigue with some romance tossed into the mix. I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. If you are looking for a relaxing beach read, this book is not it. The mystery and intrigue plot of this book I loved, but the characters were kind of blah in my opinion. The setting on Mariners Island sounds like a fabulous place to visit. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the privilege of reading this ARC for my honest review.