The Tortured Tourists Department

by Bridget Van Der Eyk

Miriam “Mim” Li did not spend the last ten years earning degrees, dodging classic Asian family expectations, and perfecting her “sunshine girl” persona just to be taken out by a tropical cyclone in the middle of the Seychelles.

She’s here for her dream job—protecting endangered hawksbill turtles and prepping nesting sites before the storm hits, not dealing with emotional storms from her past.

So, of course, the universe sends her Asher Wright, someone she hasn’t seen in more than a decade.
- Captain broody.
- A guy with the jawline of a man who frowns professionally.
- The ex who broke her heart, not that she’d ever admit it.

When the storm hits and Mim’s reckless streak backfires, it’s Asher who comes after her and tends to her wounds (*literally* because of course, he’s an experienced ER doctor). Stuck together in an abandoned hut for God knows how long, old feelings flare hotter than the tropical humidity, and Mim and Asher realise they have very different accounts of why their relationship ended in the first place.

Turns out a natural disaster might just be the forced proximity their love story needs…

147 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2026

About the author

Bridget Van der Eyk is an up and coming contemporary romance author - “10 Dates” is her debut novel. She lives in country NSW, Australia on a 5-acre property with her husband (Josh), 2 children (Zoe and Max), and 2 dogs (Kevin and Stella).

When Bridget is not working a full-time teaching job or binging Korean zombie shows on Netflix, she is busy writing her next novel.

Bridget loves writing smart, strong, and sassy female characters that have little parts of herself embedded in them! #girlpower

Reviews

[M. Shays]

This book has all the traditional romcom vibes. It's not doing anything that will break the mold. For some, they'll love that, for others they'll probably hate it. It does have a few things that make it stand out as different & unique.

First what absolutely stole the book was the hawksbill sea turtles! As an animal lover I enjoy stories with animals. I also love to see & learn new things in the stories I read. This book makes the turtles & their environment a major part, and my favorite part of the story. It was wonderful getting even a small education into their life.

Another thing I enjoyed was the tropical island setting of the story. I do feel like more details could've gone into making the location stand out as a character in the story. It was also nice seeing a story with a main character of Asian heritage. I feel like not enough stories highlight Asian characters & their culture.

The story itself mainly focuses on Mim & Asher, who formerly had been involved & haven't seen each other in years. Both characters come off as likeable but also fairly uncharismatic. Basically, this story is the ultimate miscommunication trope. Which I know some love or hate that trope intensely. I had a hard time with it in this story because we're left to sort out why their relationship ended years ago. I don't want to ruin the story but let me just say I sort of wanted to throw a coconut at both characters for being so dumb.

Despite being annoyed by them I found them to be likeable people & you do hope they find their happily ever after. I was bothered because the story offers confusing timelines of events that needed to be cleared up in editing. My OCD has a hard time ignoring that. Overall, the turtles steal the story, the island setting is fun, & the romance be making you want to swoon, so this an easy, sweet read that enjoyable & entertaining. If it was polished up a little, I could absolutely see this making a great romantic vacation movie.

[Hann Smith]

✨ **The Tortured Tourist Department by Bridget Van Der Eyk** ✨

This was such a great little novella! I really enjoyed following Asher and Mimi as they found their way back to each other in this sweet second-chance romance. There’s something I love about a second-chance romance, and I enjoyed seeing their connection develop and getting to know both of them along the way.

The plot was really easy to follow and flowed nicely, making this such an enjoyable and quick read. I also absolutely loved the setting! It sounded incredible and really helped bring the story to life🌴✨

Overall, this was a fun, light and easy romance that was perfect for a quick escape. If you enjoy second-chance romance, charming settings and shorter reads that you can fly through, this is definitely one to add to your TBR! 📚💕

[Crystals_littlelibrary]

If you’re looking for a quick, fun escape—this one is it!

Set in the dreamy paradise of Mahé Island, this book completely transported me somewhere I’ve never been… and now it’s officially on my travel bucket list.

Mim and Ash stole my heart.
They definitely struggle with communication (thanks to Ash being the quiet type ), but their dynamic is everything. Mim is his total opposite, bringing all the sunshine energy, and together they just work.

I loved their relationship so much, I just wish we got more time with them

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
Aesthetic setting + opposites attract + vacation vibes + Woman in STEM = yes please

[Tatyana (The Literature Llama)]

Ahhhh this was such a good one! I love a second chance romance moment! Bridget is a champion at a fast paced story. I loved every second of this, the only thing I wanted from this is for it to be longer! I would have read something twice as long. These two are my new favorite couple of hers! Turtles, a vacation resort, and an impending cyclone, what a perfect combo! Love love love.

[Kate Ferreira Dymott]

So very cute.
Strong FMC, miscommunication and forced together trope.

I kept trying to excuses to read this! Even read some out loud to my toddler so I could get a sneaky half chapter in.

Well written and characters that make you feel like you're in the story.

I literally cringed when Cal called out Asher's name in the quiz ... Second hand embarrassment!!!

[Bridget Van der Eyk]

"It's been a while, Hummingbird"