Thank you Avon for “granting my wish” on netgalley!

I had been wanting to read this for a while! I was so excited to get it through Netgalley.

-spicy
-opposites attract
-holiday rom com
-forbidden love

It was a cute, fast read. Perfect for the holidays!

This was a cute holiday romance. I loved the meet-cute between the characters and the department store setting. As readers expect from Tessa Bailey, this one was steamy. I enjoyed this quick read.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy via NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐⭐

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for sending me a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Two words: Insta Love. Stella and Aiden knew each other for maybe a solid five minutes and it was right then and there when they both decided they liked each other. Sometimes insta love is okay, but coupled with the short timeline, I just couldn’t get into the love story. Also – bowties…not really my thing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short holiday read, who’s not really interested in fully fleshed out characters proking each other.

I have always been a fan of Tessa Bailey and her books. This was no exception. I loved the sass and banter between Stella and Aiden. Stella has a complex past and a lot of inner demons to battle as she navigates life out of prison. Aiden is born into wealth but was sent to live with sweet ole Aunt Edna thankfully and has come back to help save the family business.

The chemistry between these two is so good and made me want to find my husband if you know what I mean👀🤣

I love a happy ending and this served up a great one.

The only thing I was wishing for was a little bit more trouble with Nicole arriving and stirring up some stuff. But otherwise I loved this and can’t wait to put it on my shelves at home.

We absolutely loved Window Shopping! This is one of my favorite holiday romances that I can't ever stop thinking about. I will probably keep reading this every year around the holiday season and recommend it to all the customers that come in our shop.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC!

I was hoping for a fun, steamy, and very Christmas-y read but unfortunately this didn’t hit the mark for me. While it is set around Christmas, that’s not a center focus of the book, more of a side thing they mention a few times, so that was disappointing. Also, I really disliked the side story of the friend Nichole. It felt very separate from the main character, no matter how much they tried to pull it in. And then it went nowhere at the end, even tho there was a lot of build up/foreshadowing. Very odd and I wished the whole side story wasn’t there 🤷🏼‍♀️. The romance was good, nice and spicy, and I love me the main guy and aunt Edna.

Such a darling little book. So different from your usual rom com! Ex con, window dressers and bow tie wearing bosses. So darling! Too 🌶️ for me but loved the rest!

A merry little cute meet holiday romance. This was a steamy, quick read for smutty readers.
The love interest was hard for me to picture. The descriptions weren't bad it just didn't seem to fit together for me but the story was fun. There were some things that could have been left out of the story

One thing Tessa Bailey always delivers on, spice. I loved the golden retriever MMC and the second chance for the MFC, but I just have such a hard time with insta-love. I loved how Aiden was like superman but also let Stella figure things out in her own.

Fun read but didn't have the hook that usually grabs me with Tessa books.

I loved Aiden from the first meeting! His optimism is what draws you to him. Stella is guarded and wants to prove she’s capable to herself before relying on others. She’s facing an internal battle between what she thinks she needs for her fresh start and her attraction to the handsome optimist.

Stella allows the pessimistic voice of her past to make her second guess the good she’s doing in her new life. She’s also determined to prove her worth to herself and those around her. She doesn’t want a hero. Aiden learns some important lessons of his own from getting to know Stella and seeing things through her eyes. They’re good for each other and those around them. When they finally set healthy boundaries, they find the strength within themselves to truly be the best versions of themselves.

They each come into their own while also embracing what they can be to each other. They fight it for so long it’s explosive when they finally give in!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely adored Window Shopping! This cozy holiday romance hit all the right notes for me—festive vibes, a perfect blend of grumpy/sunshine energy, and two endearing leads whose chemistry lit up every page.

Stella and Aiden are complex characters with unique challenges and undeniable charm. Stella’s journey of redemption and self-discovery as an ex-con trying to rebuild her life felt raw and real, while Aiden’s wholesome, bowtie-wearing optimism provided the perfect counterbalance. Their opposites-attract dynamic was magnetic, and I loved how their differences strengthened their connection.

Tessa Bailey’s writing shines here, delivering humor, heartfelt moments, and spice in a way that feels natural and engaging. The holiday setting added an extra layer of magic, with vivid descriptions of the bustling department store and its enchanting window displays.

This book isn’t just a romance; it’s a story about second chances, self-worth, and finding joy in the unlikeliest places. It’s the perfect read for curling up with a warm drink during the holidays. Highly recommend for fans of festive, steamy romances with depth and heart!

Rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Spice: 4🌶️/5

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

“Window Shopping” was my first book by author, Tessa Bailey. This book is known to have the following troupes: Grumpy Sunshine and Insta-Love. The male main character, Aiden, is supposed to be portrayed as an optimistic, Do-Gooder, with a bad-boy bedside manner. The female main character, Stella, is an ex-con, newly released from prison, and looking for a fresh start. Stella struggles with guilt about choices she has made in the past, and because she was released early while her best-friend remained in prison.

This was a story of Insta-Lust for me with two main characters that lacked any depth or real chemistry. The main characters have only known each other for a few short weeks by the end of the book but their relationship progressed too quickly and to the point that it was just unbelievable. The spice scenes were very cringing. The relationship dynamics between the two main characters were a bit creepy for me. Aiden is the boss of Stella and comes across as an obsessed and creepy guy with comments like, “my cock is thickening faster than whisked gravy over high heat.” He over analyzes how he reacts and what he says during his interactions with Stella and worries that he is going to chase her away. He comes across as very insecure and a bit like a stalker at times.

With that said, the author’s writing style is great and flows nicely; however, when the main characters are creepy and lack chemistry, it detracts from the novel, making the story less enjoyable.

As much as I enjoy Tessa Bailey, and I’m still relatively new to her library of books, I have found some duds in there. Yet even her duds have redeeming qualities. Usually, those redeeming qualities are her characters. The author can write fantastic characters, that’s for sure! And that’s the case here. I adore both Stella and Aiden, they are amazing separately and together.

Although I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley, I found it was originally published in 2021, so it must have been rereleased this year. There is talk of coming out of the pandemic and “getting back to normal” after the lockdown, things that made more sense when I realized it was 2021 in the story. Not anything that majorly screwed with the story, just had me scratching my head a few times when a year of Aiden’s youth was mentioned and I knew his approximate age. Trust me, three years makes a difference in what he was saying.

Anyway, I love the concept of this story and the chemistry of the characters, but I felt it was all over the place. As fun as Aiden’s Aunt Edna stories were, I kept waiting to find out why he was sent away. It was briefly mentioned, but then I wondered where his mom was. The characterization of Aiden from the time he was sent away to the current was great, but there was a gaping hole in his story. As for Stella, once she opened up and told her truth it was easy to see how she ended up in such a terrible situation. Do I think her parents were right in how they reacted to the situation? No. Yet I don’t necessarily think they are terrible people. They are people who don’t know how to cope and did what they thought they needed to do.

The thing I did love about this story is how often Aiden wanted to step in and save Stella but didn’t. That sounds bad but it’s not. He realized she needed to learn to trust herself and she needed to know he trusted her. Again, this author writes beautiful, many-faceted characters. I cannot fault her stories for her characters. I liked how this story ended, but it didn’t flow well for me no matter how much I adored Stella and Aiden.

Window Shopping was my second time reading a Tessa Bailey book and I just don't get the hype. Generic characters, immediate inappropriate work relationship, right to the smut with no build up. No thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: Holiday Romance
Spice: 🔥🔥.5

Synopsis: Stella stumbles upon a NYC department store's holiday window display and critiques it, catching the attention of Aiden, the cheerful store manager. He surprises her by offering a job, and as they work together to create magic, sparks fly. But Stella's past might derail their budding romance.

Thoughts: This book had a fun, festive vibe with a grumpy (girl)/sunshine (boy) dynamic. Aiden was charming and wholesome, but Stella's emotional baggage felt a little rushed and underexplored. The spice was okay and some of the descriptions weren't great. The story lacked the depth I was hoping for. It’s a quick holiday read with cozy vibes but not super memorable.

Christmas vibes, grumpy sunshine (she’s grumpy and he’s the sunshine), millionaire guy, insta lust.

I really enjoyed this book. Stella Schmidt is newly out of prison and trying to find her footing. She inadvertently meets Aiden Cook who gives her an opportunity of a lifetime designing the windows of the department store his family owns (partly because she shows talent and promise and partly because he just wants to see her again).

Stella has a grimly realistic outlook of the world while Aiden finds the silver lining and the good in everyone. Their connection is instant and it’s clear opposites will attract.

While most holiday rom coms are quite predictable and this certainly fits the bill, the complexity of the characters back stories add an additional layer of substance that is truly enjoyable.

this was a quick, fun, Christmas read. the characters are good and I love reading a Christmas story.

I’m not one for holiday romances but when I seen that it was written by Tessa Bailey I knew I had to read it.

This was the cutest Christmas romance EVERR! Tessa has done the grumpy X sunshine trope right. I love how Stella and Aiden were complete opposites but complemented each other so well.

Can we talk about bow ties for a second?? Never been a fan of them before but now I think I’m attracted to men who wear bow ties.

Although this book took place in current times it still came across as old fashioned. The characters were fine and the hero had some depth to him. He seemed a bit too good to be true at first but became more real. The boss/employee dynamic is always a hard trope to navigate . The added layer of the heroine being a felon made it even ickier. Overall it was a pleasant but unmemorable read.

This was so cute! I loved the characters and how festive and fun it was! I would totally recommend this to everyone, not just Tessa Bailey fans.