Window Shopping

I decided to put in another festive romance reading “sprint” and, regrettably, I settled on [a:Tessa Bailey's 6953499 Tessa Bailey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1634304355p2/6953499.jpg] “[b:Window Shopping 58943206 Window Shopping Tessa Bailey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631093429l/58943206.SY75.jpg 92892064]”. It endeavours to offer a festive romance wrapped in themes of redemption and self-discovery but, for me, falls short of expectations. While I anticipated a heartwarming holiday tale filled with charm, I instead found a collection of hurried resolutions, clichéd characterisations, and strained dynamics.Stella's characterisation was one of the main frustrations. She veers wildly between crippling insecurity and unconvincing strength, making her emotional journey feel inconsistent and unrelatable. Her conflict with her parents, which could have provided a rich emotional arc, is resolved almost instantly and without any meaningful dialogue or exploration. This lack of depth extended to Aiden as well. While he's positioned as the quintessential romantic hero, his internal monologues hint at self-satisfaction that does not endear him. His protectiveness and confidence border on the caveman trope, which made certain interactions feel clumsy rather than endearing.The chemistry between Stella and Aiden is another mixed bag. Aiden's cavalier intensity might work in other contexts, but here it veered into cringe territory, especially with lines like:»up and down the rigid stalk of his arousal«Such phrasing, rather than adding to the tension, made the scenes unintentionally comedic.Worse still, the subplots and secondary characters were thinly developed. Stella's friend Nicole, for instance, transitions from toxic to reformed in the blink of an eye after a short, unconvincing conversation. This superficiality pervades much of the narrative, undermining its emotional beats.Yet another letdown was the lack of authentic Christmas spirit. While the premise suggested a cosy holiday backdrop, the festive vibes felt more like an afterthought. Instead of immersing readers in seasonal charm, the story felt rushed and mechanical, missing the emotional resonance that holiday romances often deliver.While I appreciated Stella's stance on “no favouritism,” there was little else for me to connect with.Two stars out of five.Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam

A reverse grumpy sunshine, which I enjoy. And even though the MMC is “alot”, he is sweet.

The ex-con thing was something I didn't expect from a Christmas book, but I thought it was handled well, except the past life drama I thought was a little draggy.

I really enjoyed the epilogue. Aiden showed how sweet he can be.

Also, as guaranteed with Tessa, there was some very nice spice.

First book I've read by Tessa Bailey and I was looking forward to it. Sadly, this book wasn't at all what I was expecting. The plot (if you can say there was one) was too fictional for my liking and the chemistry between the characters wasn't quite there for me. I'm hoping this book isn't how all Tessa Bailey books are.

Reseña completa aquí:
https://www.modusleyendi.com/2023/12/un-escaparate-navideno-tessa-bailey.html

3/5

My first Tessa Bailey book and tbh I'm disappointed. I had such high hopes! Unfortunately I didn't like it much, though it wasn't awful.

Stella went through a lot and I'm glad she's stronger now but she can be so naive. I loved Aiden in the first 50% but in the second half he was being annoying.

The first half was so cute! I loved them picking out gifts for the other , that was fun.

I can't get over the egg scene. Come on, dude! CLEAN TOUR LEG! And matching robes at the party? Seriously? Couldn't she wait till morning and go in a normal dress? Ugh

I've never watched Ted Lasso though i know what he looks like so ngl I was imagining him every time Aiden was there lmao.

I didn't enjoy the ending. How come he can ignore his fmaily and don't have a relationshipnwith her but Stella does? And he'd been sending them her window dispays? Come on! Such a breach of privacy tbh! IF her larents wanted Stella in their life they would have reached out. It was not Aiden's job to do it and convince Stella to meet them. At all.

All in all, I didn't have it but I didn't love it either.

i absolutely adored stella's story and the reverse grumpy x sunshine trope was the icing on the cake.

Instalove and bad dirty talk

This is the exact type of Christmas romance I was looking for. I loved Stella and Aiden. The Grumpy x Sunshine trope is just so good when it's the girl who is grumpy and the guy who is sunshine. I loved this book. I love how careful Tessa Bailey is about consent and boundaries. It makes it so much more enjoyable.

This was a fun, holiday read! Very cute, romantic, and funny.
I felt the ending was a bit abrupt, but other than that I enjoyed reading this.

Ik had zin in een Hallmark-achtig, romantisch kerstverhaal en ik zag deze overal verschijnen met keigoeie recensie. Dus ik besloot hem een kans te geven, ondanks het feit dat ik geen echte goeie herinneringen heb aan het enige andere boek dat ik al van deze auteur las.

Al bij al wel ok, maar niet zo goed als verwacht, eigenlijk. Het voelde mij niet echt kerstig aan en gaf me niet speciaal de fuzzy-wuzzy's.
De romance was een zwaar geval van insta-liefde, wat soms wel ok is, maar op het moment dat ik deze las werkte het niet echt voor mij. En dan nog: wat heeft het voor zin om een zwaar plotpunt toe te voegen, om het dan zo gemakkelijk op te lossen? Nu ja, het was natuurlijk maar een novelle, dus ik mocht ook niet zo veel verwacht hebben, denk ik.

If I could give this a 1000/5 I would

Read for the Merry & Bright readathon: dual perspective

I normally am not a huge fan of holiday romances of fluffy contemporary romances but I absolutely adored this one. I don't know exactly why this worked for me but I loved the characters, I loved their chemistry, I loved exploring their pasts, and the smut?! Omg it was just so good

Spoiler-Free Review:

If you're looking for a light and festive read for the holiday season, look no further! This book was just what I needed to put me in the Christmas spirit. Aiden is a dreamy male MC with his adorable obsession with Christmas. Stella is a woman looking for a fresh start after some troubled times. This book has grumpy/sunshine and boss/employee tropes, and I loved it! I especially loved that the FMC was the grumpy as opposed to the usual MMC. There is a ton of sexual tension and the pay off is chefs kiss so worth it. I gave 4 rather than 5 stars because there were some areas I just wanted more information or closure on. Overall a super light and cute romance that was fun to read. 18+ sexual content and language.

OMG, this is not overhyped! I love that the grumpy person is the FMC, but also our sunshine fella isn't all sunshine.
And curious am I the only one that wants very badly to read Aunt Edna's autobiography? I could even say Aunt Edna and Aiden's affection for her was what immediately hooked me on these characters! I mean page one I was invested! And instead of the usual misunderstanding BS, these characters mostly communicate and grow from being with each other!
15/10 the perfect xmas romance! Oh but know that despite the cute cover, the adorkable bowties, and Aunt Edna stories there is some grade A smut as well! So clean romance gals and guys should probably look elsewhere. LOL

i absolutely loved window shopping! i thought it was a super cute love story. i loved that the MC was an ex-con, i thought it added a lot of pizazz to it & was like a second chance at life type instead of second chance romance. it was adorable, plus Aiden was absolutely amazing. suuuuch a cutie (but also HOT when it came down to it!!!!!)