A cute and spicy Holiday romance from one of my favorite authors! Stella is fresh out of prison and looking to restart her life. Aiden is a general manager at department store. When she sees the store window display and hates it, he challenged her to apply for the job and do better. The chemistry between Aiden and Stella is off the charts! The spice was excellent. I really enjoyed this one and think you will too. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the chance to read and review.

Cute little holiday book
Stella and Aiden are great and their immediate attraction even with boundaries was lovely
I really appreciated the resolution between Stella and Nicole

A cute Christmas romance just in time for the holiday season. I enjoyed the main character, who is committed to turning her life around after being released from prison. While the way she got the window dressing job is a bit convenient, I still enjoyed the romance as well as the main characters. This was a good reason for the holidays, but I will read whatever Tessa Bailey writes. Her writing allows me to walk away from real life and become immersed in the story where I can just enjoy the interaction of the characters and see where the story takes me.

The perfect Christmas cliche’ 🎄❤️

I was not expecting modern day Pretty Woman vibes, but I’m absolutely here for it!

In true Tessa Bailey style, she nailed it!

Thank you Avon & Harper, Tessa Bailey, and NetGalley for the arc!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A quick sweet yet spicy festive romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Fake dating
Holiday romance
Grumpy x sunshine
Workplace romance
Fun and flirty banter
Strong chemistry
Hallmark vibes but make it spicy

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Feel good holiday vibes
Quick and easy read
I loved how goofy Aiden was
Aunt Edna stories

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I wish it was longer

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ "I never believed in holiday magic until I met you."
★ "You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be real."

I absolutely adored this book!!! Stella was such a wonderful fmc and I wanted to give her the biggest hug along with encouragement. Made me sad how down she was on herself and doubtful of her own change, but she grew beautifully! Aiden Cross??? Oh man, he's now in my top 5 of book boyfriends. Not only was he as sweet as a southern peach cobbler but had the spice of a habanero??? Drool-worthy! This is certainly one of my favorites from Tessa Bailey. Would love to see her write more reverse grumpy-sunshine in the future!

Hmm. This was definitely a holiday rom-com! Not my favorite, but still enjoyable. Perhaps it was the annoying rich people and their snooty-ass attitudes or that the main characters were head over heels almost instantly. Whatever it was, it wasn’t really my fave.

But I did enjoy the spice! 😏 Tessa Bailey’s spicy scenes never disappoint. 3-3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Fun meet cute. A bit spicy, and juicy at times. A great Christmas read about starting over and finding love.

Cute. Thats the word. really couldn't get invested. Background stories were good. Lots of spice. Well written, so why didn't I care about them? Overall it's a fun holiday romance if you are looking for something short and sweet

Tessa Bailey does it every time with a fresh story full of humor, deep emotions, and the richest romance.

Not my favorite Tessa Bailey, but a lot of fun and Christmas cheer-filled. Stella and Aiden don't naturally make a ton of sense, but are very much drawn to one another. Aiden breaks a lot of rules to hire her and then to date her, which sort of rubs me the wrong way, but he was also adorable so I let it slide. Stella is rough around the edges, but Aiden helps get her out of her shell and back on her feet.

The spice was spicy (thanks Tessa Bailey) and the Christmas windows were vibrant at Vivant!

A solid holiday romance featuring an ex-con and a department store manager. This is a heartwarming and cozy story good for a snowy day!

Another great romance from this author! This creative story centers around department store window display design and the hard work and imagination that goes into the construction of each design. From the start I enjoyed the dynamic between Stella and Aiden. The tension between these two sizzled from their first meeting and continued to escalate as they supported one another and helped each other be their best selves while also exploring the fizzing chemistry between them. All in all, a great holiday romance!

Read if you enjoy:
🎄grumpy (her) + sunshine (him)
🎄forced proximity
🎄a second chance at life
🎄forbidden workplace romance
🎄steamy chemistry

Mixed baga again for me on Tessa Bailey - good set up but the characters were just not fully fleshed out enough for me and there was some real trauam in the female lead's past which was used for story but wasn't taken seriously in my opinion

Stella has just been released from prison. Having been turned away from her parents, she has landed in New York staring at department store window and worried about what to do next. When a man approaches her with his silly bow tie and weird stories, she tries to get away from him. But when she really looks at him there is an undeniable attraction and she doesn’t like that at all. He encourages her to apply to the window dresser and against all odds she gets the job. Then she finds out he is the general manager and 60% owner of the store. What unfolds then is what we expect from Tessa Bailey; an employee expected romance and LOTS of spice! I enjoyed every minute of it!

This one was just ok. The characters were likeable, but the plot was so unrealistic for me that it didn't work. I think if one of the elements had gone away, I would have liked it more. Either have her be fresh out of prison, or have him be her new boss, but not both. I did really enjoy the window dresser part of the story - it was fun to see Stella's creativity and how it impacted the store.

3.5 Stars.
Stella is recently out of prison when she meets Aiden who owns the Vivant Dept Store. Stella ends up working for Aiden.
The book was a bit slow for me and is the typical Christmas holiday romance book. There seemed to be a lot of spice for a book this short. Maybe more plot and less spice next time.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Stella is an ex-con trying to rebuild her life when she strikes up a conversation with a stranger outside a department store. She shares with him all she would do to change the window display to get more traffic in the store. What she doesn’t know, is that the stranger is the owner of the store. That conversation leads to an incredible opportunity for her to become their window display designer AND a little bit of a forbidden romance with this man.
NYC holiday window displays are my favorite and pairing that with a steamy Tessa Bailey romance made for a fun holiday story. One thing I appreciated about this forbidden romance is how aware Aiden was of the power dynamic and how he really worked to make sure Stella did not feel uncomfortable or taken advantage of in any way. This is a super quick read and there were times I did wish it was longer to be able to get more details, but overall it is a fun one!
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Cute, cheesy, Christmas romance.

Stella Schmidt is recently out of prison, stops outside a store's window display and starts laughing. Some man with a bow tie asks what she was laughing about, but then tells her to apply to be a window decorator. Low and behold said man in bow tie is the manager, Aiden Cook.

Skip ahead and Stella is working for Vivant and her and Aiden can't stay away from each other. The tension is THERE. But Stella's past, especially so intertwined with her best friend Nicole (who was the reason she ended locked up for 4 years), keeps her from committing or accepting the good things in her life. While Aiden is trying to get over his need to please people in his life who don't appreciate him.

Did I mention that while Mr. Aiden Cook might seem like an adorable cornball, he is also quit dirty and dommy in the bedroom (well once on the patio too...) 🥵

The pacing of the book felt a bit slow for me. The build up to Nicole was so much for such a small portion, that honestly felt a bit lack luster. While they didn't really do anything until 70% 😮‍💨 and while yes, it was extremely hot, that was it and then it just jumped off a cliff into, "ok wrap up the story in the next 2 chapters," and rushed the pacing at the end. Overall it was enjoyable, but not my favorite.

This was such a heartwarming story of second chances. It’s the perfect holiday read to make you feel warm and cozy inside.

Stella is just out of prison and looking for a fresh start. While standing in front of the Vivant department store window she scoffs at their horrible display. Aiden, the general manager, happens to hear her and challenges her to apply for the job. Stella gathers the courage to do so despite her history.

Aiden believes in Stella and his belief in her slowly helps her rebuild her confidence in herself. Aiden is all sunshine and rainbows and pure goodness. And his confidence in Stella is so heart warming. Not only does he help rebuild her confidence in her work self but also in her worthiness of love. It’s just a beautiful story. Go ahead and grab this if you’re looking for a beautiful Holiday read that will help restore your belief in goodness and second chances.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this review opportunity.