Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Un escaparate navideño

Stella-a 25 year old ex con just being let out of prison and trying to find her footing & Aiden-a well meaning and sweet 30 something who runs an upscale New York department store. They cross paths one day just a few weeks before christmas and the rest….. you’ll have to read to find out.

This short, holiday themed novella was okay. To no fault of the author, I didn’t enjoy it. It was well written, the characters were nice, the story was paced well & I love christmas. But, this story wasn’t for me. I don’t enjoy “insta love” stories and I don’t enjoy when books lean into the pandemic aspect of real life. They mention the pandemic several times, as this is supposed to take place post lockdowns (I still believe we are in a pandemic, but I also have a weak immune system so i’m more at risk than others are so it bothers me when the pandemic is brought up in a way that suggests that are out of it) The pandemic has been such a dark time for so many people, bringing it to a romance novel takes me out of the subject matter. On top of all that, I thought that the relationship was just.. too out there. He meets her in the street one day and then is obsessed with her? like i understand that that can happen but the way it did just didn’t feel as warm and gooey as i was expecting. This is my preference alone. I didn’t hate the book, I enjoyed certain parts of it and I don’t regret reading it, it just hasn’t been my favorite thing i’ve read.

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mollydollydoodah's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

‘Endearing’ is the only proper one-word description of this novel. It’s an adorable little Christmas romance that had you in love with the characters from the very beginning. The background stories of the characters were very interesting, and the spice was phenomenal. It was cute, sweet, and short.

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unwise_samwise's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Kinda cute and Christmasy

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readwithelle's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

While I have many thoughts, I'm going with what might be the most controversial for those that have read quite a few Tessa Bailey books. It could have been a closed door romance, and it might have possibly worked better that way. I know that many of Bailey's fans would likely be upset if they picked up her book and there was no sex. However, I feel that Bailey was trying too hard to show that Aiden was angel on the streets/devil in the sheets. The sex scenes for the most part took me out of the story. They were well written, so it wasn't that, it just seemed out of character for the protagonist.

At least in the US, this is one of Bailey's self-published novels (I think it's traditionally published in the UK, unclear, all I remember is an Instagram post showing that Piatkus had the UK rights), it is unclear what, if any, editing process happened. There just seemed to be inconsistencies, and unexplained things. For example, Aunt Edna. Aiden was shipped off to live with Aunt Edna, but we don't know when, or for how many years. It's Aunt Edna a maternal aunt? Paternal aunt? Then there's the cousin... No mention of his parents and/or what they do.

Also I feel that Aiden is so positive, that it veers on toxic positivity. We see that he understands reality, and that there are issues, but he tries to see only the positive. It didn't quite work for me.

Overall I enjoyed the book, it began great, and the end tied up all the plot points like a bow (as a holiday novella should) - including the boundary setting with Nicole, but the middle was a slog. Let's face it, the side characters are the ones that really saved the book.

Content Notes: mentions of COVID, Stella is a recently released prisoner, toxic relationships, boss-employee relationship, desk sex

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marylinaris's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I’m a little torn on this one.

On one side this was a quick, fun read. It has a nice grumpy/sunshine romance, an abundance of steamy scenes, and an overall enjoyable plot.

Stella was an interesting character, besides the obvious romantic plot she has to deal with her past jail time, re-entering society and a toxic friendship throughout the book. While these topics were continuously brought up, they are tackled on a very individual level and I felt like both were wrapped up a little too fast and too neatly in the end.

The side characters, of whom there were only a small handful, made for good additions to the story. His family made for a nice side villains, Aiden found more confidence and respect of his employees through. I also enjoyed the little romance plot between to of the side characters, that helped out couple along without taking up too much space or overshadowing the main plot.

Where it gets tricky for me is Aiden.

He is a lovable dork with a wild sexy side. The moment he sees Stella for the first time, he instantly falls for her and would probably score high in an insta-love competition. Based on a ten minute conversation, which was also their first meeting he ends up hiring her over far more qualified people, cool, I can let that slide in the name of romance. I can even let a boss/employee relationships slide, well, normally. But here the constant reinforcement that their relationship is inappropriate was distracting. While Stella also brought this up, it’s mentioned during Aiden’s POV to a nauseating degree, that would be great - he is the boss, the one with the power after all - if it didn’t seem like that was part of the turn on for him. There was just something very unsexy about them making out to a constant stream of thoughts about the inappropriateness of their actions.

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acelodie's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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agnesbebon's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.5

3.5

I thought I was really going to dislike this after reading reviews. I think it’s pretty clear how this was a Christmas romance, I think it’s just different than the typical Christmas romance but I liked it. I also hate anytime any sort of entertainment mentions the pandemic, but I think it was fine in this. It didn’t make me stop reading like mentions of the pandemic normally do. I thought the story was cute!

Listened to this on audio, not sure how I felt about the actors, particularly when they were doing voices for the opposite character. I think that might’ve taken away from it so I might re-read in print.

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