I have never read what I guess would be classified a "stalker romance" before (thanks, NetGalley, for the Advanced Reader Copy), so I wasn't sure how I would react.

I was pleasantly surprised! Having Jack's POV as the stalker helped ease the potential creep out factor, and setting Chloe up as a woman already interested in voyeurism, exhibitionism, and all things "kink" made it more realistic when she accepted the truth.

The 🌶 was spicing, for sure, but so was the yearning. I really appreciated the surprising amount of character depth AND character development for this style of book. I felt like Tyler's villain story could have been more fleshed out, but it did end up being tied up neatly (with a bow? Get it? Because Christmas?).

Overall, 4 out of 5 stars, and I would recommend it to those who are curious about the genre. I don't think it would scare them away, and I feel like established fans would also enjoy.

This is an adorable spicy take on a Hallmark Christmas movie! It takes all the elements of the made for TV movies we love (and sometimes watch while multitasking) and added a few dark and spicy bits.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“He Sees You When You’re Sleeping” by Alta Hensley is a steamy dark romance between influencer Chloe and firefighter by day stalker by night Jack. This book manages to balance story line with spice very well, giving the reader enough backstory and information to find the characters interesting and compelling before diving into the dark romance portion.
I really appreciated the aspect of the two sides of the same coin of Jack and Chloe, Chloe being a “good girl” influencer by day and essentially a cam girl by night. I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to enjoy this based on it being labeled a “dark” romance but it wasn’t nearly as dark as I anticipated. Yes Jack is ~technically~ a stalker but he somehow doesn’t come off as a creep, but instead a good guy with good intentions. I also appreciated the duel pov, giving us insight into the minds of both Chloe and Jack.
Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is into darker romance books and I would also recommend this to someone wanting to dip their toes into stalker romance type stories as well.

He Sees You When You're Sleeping was my first book by Alta Hensley. I thoroughly enjoyed Chloe and Jack's story. It was an interesting and unique premise. I will be recommending He Sees You When You're Sleeping to my book club.

This book was fire. In real life stalking would creep me out, but in book world, not so much. Nice size book for devouring in one sitting. Spice was soooo good (online and club/home). Side characters were ok. The only thing i didnt like was the "conflict" which led to the bigger conflict with Tyler. Chloe seems smart enough to know not to wear her company jewelry on film. I don't care how pretty it is, if it is loaned to only you, you wouldn't do that. But again, then there wouldn't be the part at the end. I'll definitely be reading more of this author. Thanks for the ARC opportunity netgalley and the publisher.

I really wanted to love He Sees You When You're Sleeping because I love a good stalker romance, but this was an absolute no for me.

Sigh... I wanted to love this. I really did. I really enjoy a stalker romance, especially when I think it's going to be a silly goofy kitschy Christmas time. But unfortunately this pales in comparison to some of the popular books in this genre (you know the ones I'm talking about). The idea was great: I love the reason the MMC was stalking the FMC, and I love that he had shy boy energy at first. But his constant inner monologue was exhausting and repetitive. The FMCs job was... unrealistic at best. And I just never really felt chemistry between these two characters and was very bored. I'm also fairly certain that a camgirl would never actively meet one of their subs in person after like less than 1 week of talking. The smut scenes were decent, and there are a lot of them. So if you're just looking for sexy times wrapped in a very loosely veiled story, then give this one a go.

4.5 ⭐️
3.5 🌶️

He Sees You When You're Sleeping is a standalone dark romance with tropes that include stalking, Christmas romance, firefighters, and a possessive, obsessive, morally gray male main character.

The story follows Chloe Hallman, a self-proclaimed Scrooge ever since she was involved in a car accident that took both of her parents' lives. Since then, Chloe has lived a quiet and lonely life. She works as a social media influencer for a jewelry company and spends most of her time alone and online. However, Chloe is not as vanilla as people think. At night, she moonlights as a cam girl on a Dark Fantasies website.

Unbeknownst to her, Chloe has been stalked since the night of her accident by Jack, the firefighter who pulled her from the wreckage. Jack is a total cinnamon roll whose obsession with Chloe has only grown over the last two years. He cannot stop himself from watching over her. He even shovels her snow every day, both to protect her and to hide the extent of his stalking. When they eventually meet by chance, both of their secrets start to spiral out of control.

I personally loved this book. I think it had a little bit of everything. There is a cute, Hallmark-style Christmas romance, plenty of tension, action, emotional moments, and just the right amount of spice. I might be a little biased though, because the stalker trope is literally my favorite. I dropped my entire TBR as soon as I saw it pop up in my gallery and ended up reading the entire book in less than 24 hours. So yes, you could definitely say I liked it.

I completely understand why so many readers compare this book to Lights Out by Navessa Allen. It shares that light and dark contrast, but it is not nearly as intense as most dark romance novels. In fact, I think this one feels a little more wholesome thanks to the Christmas and Hallmark-style elements. It is also a bit less spicy than Lights Out. The characters do not become physically intimate until about halfway through the book, but the tension and buildup were fantastic in my opinion.

I was slightly disappointed that there is no audiobook available yet. However, one is currently in production and should be released before the end of the year. I have no doubt the audiobook will be amazing. The dual POV and dialogue are perfect for narration, and if they cast the right voice actors, it could be even better in audio format.

Overall, no matter how you choose to read it, I highly recommend this book.

This was a fun, Christmasy cozy read! It’s definitely on the lighter side when it comes to the “stalker romance” label… it felt more like a story about obsession or OCD tendencies from the MMC than true stalking. A lot of the plot revolves around the silly hijinks he gets himself into because of his compulsions. It’s not my favorite stalker romance for that reason, but I still enjoyed it and think it could be a great intro for anyone curious about the subgenre. Just a heads-up: voyeurism plays a very big role here, so keep that in mind if it’s not your thing. Overall, I’d recommend giving this one a shot! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!

2.5 stars sounded up to 3

The beginning of the book felt off to me. Like this was a first time writer so I checked to see if that was the case.

It wasn’t.

I felt going and I fell into it and I actually really starting to enjoy the book. It went up to a three star to me. Honestly it fell down because of Chloe. The whole other side of her actually pissed me off. I wish there was a different nickname that she could have given herself. DarkofChlo was just off. If someone knew that they could fired for doing something like being on a sex website, she should have been better about keeping it to herself. What kind of friend used a company computer to look at her friend’s sex page? That just didn’t feel right and it just seemed like they needed a conflict and the author took the easy way out.

I actually like Jack. I could have done without the brooding the whole book but honestly reading his chapters were my favorite.
Over all the plot was good. The sex scenes were as well. There were some edits that needed to be made but nothing good another good edit wouldn’t fix. Will
I read something by this author? Probably not but I did enjoy this enough.

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD if the author is reading this, please do something about their IM to each other and even the text messages were just mixed in there. There aren't any punctuation and honestly it was confusing. At one point it seems like it was going to be done but it ends up being just a one off.

Some parts were unrealistic, which took me out of the story sometimes. The pacing was good, and I felt that all the events in the book were necessary to its development and Chloe and Jack’s journey.

What a fun read! It was enjoyable even for Grinch like me, perfect holiday dark romance in my opinion

When I saw this book, I thought Christmas Smut... say no more! I was very excited to be approved for this ARC and it didn't disappoint (much). The story wasn't quite as dark as I thought it would be but I'm glad it wasn't, I felt the MMC and FMC were relatable (minus the stalking, of course) and not just one dimensional characters.

With that being said there were a few things in the book, that I was shocked no one noticed or tried to change or rewrite to make more sense. Like a one point in time a character in the book said something like " the most interesting people have the most interesting books"., and then you have the head of HR sending a car for you, after hours, in severe snow storm to chat. I get this is a fictional book, but this was wildly unbelievable.

Overall, I recommend!

5-star premise, 1-star execution. Where do I even start with this one...Chloe is a "jewelry influencer" (lol what? this is not a thing) who's got a firefighter stalker named Jack. Chloe is somehow simultaenously struggling for cash because apparently jewelry sponsorship doesn't pay well but also camgirls on a website called ~*~Dark Secrets~*~ FOR FREE?! Because you see, Chloe has a DARK side and likes to be SPANKED! Don't worry, Jack has a dark side too but he's too busy constantly lamenting the fact that he is GOOD but also so BAD! Luckily for you this book is also basically unedited so you'll have plenty of time to immerse yourselves in Jack's debate of good and evil whilst trying to determine what part of the text is a message between the characters vs internal monologue. The only positive thing I have to say is that I didn't DNF this book but to be honest that's only because it would screw up my review rate on NetGalley.

If you’ve never read Navessa Allen, then you might find this a superb tale. Unfortunately for me, I have read NA and this comes off as a pale imitation of the other. The MMC is not alpha but a rather milquetoast firefighter stalker. Don’t care for the pseudo OM take in the story. The FMC’s reactions are somewhat uneven- dude! What did you expect?! Good enough for some but not for me. Pass.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free ARC. All opinions here are wholly my own.

What’s better than a Christmas stalker romance
Yes, well some things were unrealistic. It is fiction book but nevertheless, I really enjoyed it and it might read it again when it gets closer to Christmas.

I am not one bit surprised that I loved this slight dark, holiday romance so incredibly much!

This is the first year that I have already read several holiday romances and have enjoyed most of them. However, this one ticked off the dark theme that I crave with the mix holiday and romance and delivered a perfect story for me.

The blurb is truly all you need to know going into this one. If that hooks you, then absolutely dive right into this one. You will not regret it at all.

Alta delivers a story that has the perfect balance between obsession and passion and reality vs wild imagination with these two. I loved that when they both portray to the outside world, isn't exactly who they are behind closed doors. But when secrets are revealed, can the faith and trust survive the reality?

Hands down, my favorite holiday romance. The fact that I read this in one day is easily a testament to that.

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping by Alta Hensley is a delightfully steamy holiday romance with just the right amount of light kink. The chemistry between the leads is electric, and the wintery setting makes it a perfect escape if you're craving a little seasonal chill (especially if you're melting in summer heat!).

While there’s some playful dominance and a hint of danger (looking at you, Tyler), the story never veers into true darkness—Chloe never feels genuinely unsafe, keeping the vibe fun rather than intense. It’s a quick, easy read with plenty of spice, making it a great choice for when you want something festive, flirty, and low-stress.

Recommended for: Fans of holiday romances with heat, light power dynamics, and a cozy (yet naughty) North Pole vibe!

*previously read in December of 2024*

Maybe I enjoyed this so much because I read it during the holiday season, but I don’t care - it was fun! It was (somehow) a ✨light✨ stalker romance with holiday cheer and enough spice to satisfy 🎄🥵❤️

Tropes include: Stalker Romance, He Falls First, Instalove, Morally Grey MMC, Dark Romance (-ish, imo), Firefighter Romance, Holiday (Christmas) Romance

Everyone’s comparing this to Lights Out by Navessa Allen and although I agree, it’s still unique in its own right. It’s a fun, Christmas-adjacent dark stalker romance, light on the dark. Our MMC, Jack, is arguably the most kind, thoughtful stalker I’ve read lol. I’m a sucker for a man that falls first, instantly nonetheless, stays loyal (2 years?!!!), and keeps his girl safe without her even knowing. And he’s a firefighter? Swoooooon 😍

I love that this story is self-aware, especially Jack. His internal dialogue was some of my favorite and I loved to see how his good intentions translated into some pretty sketchy actions. Chloe had secrets of her own - albeit not as unhinged, that’s for sure, and he knew most of them already (re: stalking)

I feel like this is one you’ll either absolutely love or vehemently hate. It definitely could’ve used a little more character development regarding the stalking and how easily that was accepted and some comments on grief were insensitive, but I mean, I can see it all happening irl so 🤷‍♀️ Definitely a fun read for the holiday season!


The Basics:
Firefighter👨‍🚒// Jewelry Influencer/Spicy Content Creator📱
1st Person POV
Standalone, but 1st book in series
HEA 🖤
CW: stalking
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5


Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyageur | Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🤍

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC and the chance to share my honest thoughts.

'Tis the season for a Christmas stalker romance—and this one was way more fun than it had any right to be.

Jack, our obsessed MMC, is somehow one of the most endearing stalkers I’ve ever read. His inner guilt about creeping on Chloe made me laugh more than it should’ve, and honestly? It was weirdly sweet.

The buildup between him and Chloe had great tension, and I loved how we got to know both of them before anything really happened. The duality in both characters—Jack as the sweet firefighter and secret Winter Watcher, and Chloe as the polished professional with a spicy online alter ego—made things even more interesting.

There are definitely some unrealistic moments (Chloe forgetting her busted fire alarm suddenly got fixed?), and Chloe letting snippets of about the truth, go without thought or question. But moments like Jack remembering Chloe’s Charlie Blue perfume hit surprisingly deep—nostalgic and immersive.

This book does a great job showing how we hide our true selves from the world and save the messy parts for private. Relatable, a little dark, a little spicy—and very festiveo.