Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Window Shopping

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey

78 reviews

casey_sunshine's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

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maduleite's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

I love me some good romance AND there's Christmas in it. Still, I feel like this book could've been set in any time of the year and it would've been fine. The spice scene are good. If you're thinking about reading because of that, read the book. But the character development is also good. It's not great, but I blame it on the "fast pace" aspect. There's a slight mention of the Miss Rona (which I don't like, kind of a pet peeve of mine) but nothing major. Now, into what really bothered me,

Stella tells us of her toxic friendship, how that thing is still with her and shapes her actions just so you can make her FORGIVE said toxic friend. I'm not saying that Nicole shouldn't have her second chance in life after prison, but Stela didn't need to keep her in her life. Forgive the damn woman and move on. Also, it took her 1 year to go see her parents? I'm sorry, but if she can forgive Nicole and still see her once a month, she should have talked to her parents sooner

. Love Aiden though. Everything about his character is just really cool and I wish his p.o.v's were a little more about him an less about Stella (like 50/50 maybe ?).

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bookedupchick's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

4.5

“We go out looking for a magical item, no idea what it is. If we see it, we’ll know, but we rarely find it.” 💖🎄💖🎄💖

Stella has just moved to NYC looking for a fresh start after her troubled past. She meets Aiden while standing in front of a department store window display. He is cheerful + kind and is wearing a Christmas themed bow tie. 🎅🏻 She is kinda grumpy and purposely unapproachable. 🥰🥰🥰 Aidan is one of my favorite male hero types — he is respectful + good natured, but when it comes to bedroom behavior he is dominant + rough 🔥🌶 Stella & Aiden both had wonderful character depth development. I did think the dirty talk in this book was a little over the top / cringy at times, but other than that — this book is spicy and the perfect hot read for the holidays. 🎄

Read this if you like ⤵️

🎄 Reverse Grumpy Sunshine
🎄 Boy Falls First
🎄 Workplace / Boss + Employee Romance
🎄 Spicy Scenes 🌶
🎄 Overcoming Toxic Positivity
🎄 Holiday Romcoms

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey

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erikalv97's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a fun holiday read, I found some parts to be a little awkward, but nothing too bad.

I loved the supporting characters, they stole the show.

This book is 18+ so definitely check the cw

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sharon_reads's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.75

As much as I loved this book, it was obvious that this was a pandemic lock down book that was rushed to be put out. The relationship was a tad forced, the spice was great, but I don’t think it matched the main male character at all. I know people can have different personalities sexually, but like there was no explanation for it and it didn’t really to fit him as a character. Yes it was sexy, just didn’t match.

I didn’t like the references to COVID at all. I know that is a personal choice, but it was a little annoying. We are still living it, going through it, and it was too real to just be thrown in. I’m reading to escape, not to be reminded of what’s going on in the world today. And, even though it was nice to think about things being normal again, just didn't feel right to me with all the struggles we still are facing around COVID to pretend it’s not a big deal. Again, personal preference, and what I feel, but it was annoying. Especially when it was added in for quick mentions, and then not talked about. Things won’t go back to normal just like that, just seems stupid to think it will.

Anyway, I still loved this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have love to read this book if it went through more of a editing process and more drafts. It didn’t have as much character development as I would have loved, and if it was just given more time, I think I would have loved it so much more.

If you are looking for a spicy read, this is definitely one to read. Despite what I think, it was still very quick, enjoyable read. I’m not disappointed I spent 3 hours reading it, would just have liked it to have more.

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