Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Un escaparate navideño

This was a cute instant-attraction romance. It’s hard to explain but the characters of Stella and Aiden were well developed and yet at the same time were a little bizarre to the point I found it hard to see them as who Tessa Bailey was trying to describe them as if that even remotely makes sense.
There were some really lush scenes which I enjoyed very much such as them eating donuts and then *not* kissing in the car, and I especially loved the tension in the first part of the book. I appreciated that the characters had several DMCs. I also loved the ‘find a gift in 15 mins’ scene, and when Stella is trying on a dress in the store and their eyes meet in the mirror, I thought that scene was really tender and well portrayed by Tessa Bailey.
The spice was nothing special, but also wasn’t bad.
I could’ve done with there being a bit more Christmas involved to help me feel more festive. I know it’s set around Christmas time and there is talk of decorations and Christmas parties but I just needed that little bit more!
Loved the epilogue, stop it right now with Aiden sending framed photos of all Stella’s windows to her parents, that put a sweet lump in my throat.
Overall a good read.
Satisfactory ending? Yes.

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risseandshine's review against another edition

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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

3.0

Stella Schmidt is trying to get back on her feet after serving years in prison. Two weeks before Christmas, she stumbles upon an abominable window display outside Vivant, a luxury department store in New York City. A man suddenly joins her in staring at the display and he notices her displeased expression. He happens to be Aiden Cook, Vivant’s jovial, bowtie-wearing general manager. They strike up a conversation and Aiden gets entranced by her creativity, as well as her hard, impenetrable disposition. Aiden invites Stella to apply as the store’s new window dresser and she accepts in hopes of having a fresh start. Work proximity pushes mutual attraction to simmer between the two but it’s hampered by their boss-employee relationship and feelings of inadequacy. This story is all about the give and take of second chances and embracing self worth all packaged up in a sweet and spicy holiday romance.

I’m going to say it straight up: Tessa Bailey has written better.

To start off on a more positive note, I truly enjoyed both main characters. Stella and her desire to find her footing was so admirable and I genuinely rooted for her success. I appreciated reading about her thought process battling with imposter syndrome and I loved that it was written in such a raw and relatable way. Aiden, on the other hand, proved to be the sugary sweet yet dirty-talking hero everyone raves about. He is the quintessential TB hero and I loved that he was the perfect ray of sunshine.

But then there’s the romance. This is as insta-love as it’s going to get. We’re talking about dropping the ‘l’ word DAYS after they first met. Thankfully, that word initially remained in their thoughts and both Aiden and Stella were aware of how early they’re thinking about it. Still, it was too soon and I didn’t buy it. There they were thinking about how they’re starting to fall for each other while I as the reader was kept in the dark with scenes essential to support exactly that. With that said, I really think this book could have reached its best potential if it was longer.

Frankly speaking, this was a very underwhelming read. That isn’t to say that this book is bad, because it definitely isn’t. If you’re looking for the classic wit, sweetness, and swoon that this author is well-known for, they’re all in here. However, they didn’t deliver in the way I would have wanted them to.

Would I still recommend this? I’d say yes, but I don’t think it’s one I’ll be screaming about for people to add to their TBRs.

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tw: mentions of gun violence

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sami_leigh's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

“You’ve given me a weird bow tie kink and nothing else is appealing now. It’s terrible. All I was thinking when that guy offered to buy me a drink was. Why? He doesn’t have any stories about Aunt Edna. What can I possibly get out of this?”

“Someday soon I’ll be healthy enough to be my own knight.”

“You get to take advantage of your own happiness. You’re allowed to keep it if they don’t want it.”

“I’m not abandoning you. But I’m not abandoning myself for you, either.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

🎄 Dual POV
🎄 Insta-love
🎄 Workplace romance
🎄 Growth in the MCs; explicitly details the journey towards healthy communication & boundary setting 🙌🏻
🎄 Steamy 🔥
🎄 Quick read
🎄 Epilogue

⚠️ Toxic friendship, toxic family relationships, abandonment, imprisonment (in past), impact of imprisonment on mental health, robbery/gun violence (in past), panic attack (on page), workplace discrimination, claustrophobia.

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macykey's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

I definitely think this book suffered for how short it was. But it was cute, a quick and enjoyable read!

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shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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

4.5

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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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khronreads's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

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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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