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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Steamy, steamy parts at times! Cute story about a girl, Stella, getting a second chance at life when she's released from prison. She collides with Aiden, majority stakeholder and manager of Vivant, a NYC well known department store when looking at their window display. Stella gives her honest opinion on the horrendous window display, and Aiden tells her to apply. She decides to apply, and he gives her a chance. Her first window is spectacular, and Aiden wants more of it and her. Things heat up between them and get spicy throughout the book.
My original rating is more around 4.5 but I'll round up on here!
If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, but wish they were spicier then this is the book for you!!
For me personally, getting into a romcom book can take a minute for me, I'm more of an angst person, and this was my first real attempt with a sort of insta-love type trope, however, Tessa Bailey is AMAZING with tension, and the spice...I was BLUSHING.
These characters felt very real and very human which I loved. Aiden being a sunshine person who also still held such doubts about his actions spoke volumes to me and Stella with her insecurities, and how they were able to overcome them together??
I love it. I love them.
This was my first Tessa Bailey read and it will not be my last.
If you love Hallmark Christmas movies, but wish they were spicier then this is the book for you!!
For me personally, getting into a romcom book can take a minute for me, I'm more of an angst person, and this was my first real attempt with a sort of insta-love type trope, however, Tessa Bailey is AMAZING with tension, and the spice...I was BLUSHING.
These characters felt very real and very human which I loved. Aiden being a sunshine person who also still held such doubts about his actions spoke volumes to me and Stella with her insecurities, and how they were able to overcome them together??
I love it. I love them.
This was my first Tessa Bailey read and it will not be my last.
Skip this one this Christmas…. Heck, skip this one for all Christmases. Throw it away. Remove from TBR. Don’t put yourself through it!
Unrealistic Christmas novel…. Probably one of the most unrealistic romance novels I’ve ever read. I saw raving reviews on this book on TikTok, and so I decided to pull it out and read it. Mistake. 248 pages, and it took me 12 days to read bc I didn’t wanna pick it up…
I was too hung up on the relationship logistics to even appreciate the people and romance in this story! A NYC department store owner falling in love with a fresh out of jail convict? Not a chance. A NYC high end department stores owner hiring a fresh out of jail for robbery convict? No chance whatsoever!
This was a miss for Tessa Bailey. Probably done with Tessa Bailey after this one. No, definitely done with Tessa Bailey after I read “I matching robes love you” and “I matching robes love you too” in the epilogue chapter.
Unrealistic Christmas novel…. Probably one of the most unrealistic romance novels I’ve ever read. I saw raving reviews on this book on TikTok, and so I decided to pull it out and read it. Mistake. 248 pages, and it took me 12 days to read bc I didn’t wanna pick it up…
I was too hung up on the relationship logistics to even appreciate the people and romance in this story! A NYC department store owner falling in love with a fresh out of jail convict? Not a chance. A NYC high end department stores owner hiring a fresh out of jail for robbery convict? No chance whatsoever!
This was a miss for Tessa Bailey. Probably done with Tessa Bailey after this one. No, definitely done with Tessa Bailey after I read “I matching robes love you” and “I matching robes love you too” in the epilogue chapter.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Took me entirely way too long to read this Christmas book lol 😅 I pretty much read the story just to see how the interaction with Nicole would go and it was short lived. The epilogue made the whole story honestly. Not going to give up on Tessa Bailey though, the spice in this book was decent
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
3.5⭐️
This book was entertaining and funny. It showed a real side of the struggle a person can have when they're starting over. I really liked how it was portrayed.
I loved Aiden, and I need someone like him in my life with his Aunt Edna's stories🤭 Stella felt really human. She wanted to move forward, but at times, she didn't know how to do it, and all of the time, she thought she didn't feel worthy of this new start.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the spicy scenes weren't overwhelming. They were spot on 👌🏻
This book was entertaining and funny. It showed a real side of the struggle a person can have when they're starting over. I really liked how it was portrayed.
I loved Aiden, and I need someone like him in my life with his Aunt Edna's stories🤭 Stella felt really human. She wanted to move forward, but at times, she didn't know how to do it, and all of the time, she thought she didn't feel worthy of this new start.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the spicy scenes weren't overwhelming. They were spot on 👌🏻
I expected more from this one.. It took me a week and a half to finish this because the story was so slow. It is a cute romance read, but I’ve read better ones :)
4.5 this was so cute are you kidding? The perfect December/Christmas read ❤️