Tourist Season

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of Tourist Season. What were your favorite and least favorite aspects of the novel, and why?

2. How did your experience reading Tourist Season compare to your experience reading the titles in Weaver’s Ruinous Love trilogy? What thematic or narrative overlaps do you notice between this title and Butcher & Blackbird (2023), Leather & Lark (2024), and Scythe & Sparrow (2025)?

3. Discuss similarities between Tourist Season and other dark romance novels you’ve read. How does Weaver’s interpretation of the genre measure up to titles like Danielle Lori’s The Sweetest Oblivion (2018) or Louise O’Neill’s Asking For It (2015)?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Reflect on the scene where Nolan Rhodes discovers that Harper Starling is not really Harper Starling. Have you ever discovered something unexpected about a lover’s past or true character? How did you respond, and why?

2. Both Harper and Nolan struggle to cope with their trauma over the course of the novel. Compare and contrast their complex healing journeys with your own experiences of confronting and overcoming emotional pain. Which aspects of their experiences are most resonant for you, and why?

3. Harper relies on Arthur Lancaster for support and protection throughout the novel. Have you ever had a relationship that has similarly stabilized you? Which aspects of Harper and Arthur’s relationship were least and/or most believable given your own experiences, and why?

4. Harper finds belonging in Cape Carnage. Compare and contrast her relationship with the town to your relationship with your own hometown.

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Analyze how Weaver’s depictions of horror, gore, and violence relate to contemporary representations of violence in media. Is Tourist Season sensational? Is Weaver subverting or reinforcing thriller tropes, and what is the thematic implication?

2. In Tourist Season, Harper is devoted to eliminating tourists who commit slights against Carnage residents. Analyze the cultural implications of this dynamic. How does Harper’s aversion to outsiders relate to overtourism trends in small-town America?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Analyze the novel’s point of view. How do Harper’s and Nolan’s alternating first-person perspectives enact their enemies-to-lovers dynamic? How would the novel resonate differently if written solely from Harper’s point of view?

2. Discuss the significance of the Cape Carnage setting to the novel’s overarching tone. What environmental aspects of Carnage contribute to Harper’s character arc and perception of reality? How would the novel resonate differently if set elsewhere in America?

3. Identify three symbols not mentioned in the guide and analyze their significance. For example, what do the cottage, Arthur’s bag, and Nolan’s scrapbook represent, and how do they relate to the novel’s themes?

4. Compare and contrast Harper’s and Nolan’s characters. How do their similarities and their differences draw them together? How do their encounters with trauma and loss relate to their evolving romance?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are adapting Tourist Season into a film. Who would you cast in the leading roles? Which plot points would you add, omit, or alter to make the adaptation your own?

2. Imagine that, like Harper, you have fled your past and adopted a new identity. What would you do if people started prying into your past? Would you react in the same ways as Harper? How would you protect yourself, and why might you consider revealing the truth?