window shopping by tessa bailey — a december book club review
Happy December! I hope you are having a month filled with hot chocolate, tree decorating, cosy movies and, most importantly, incredibly cringey Christmas romance novels. It’s safe to say that in That Romance Book Club, we’ve ticked the last thing off that list because this month, we read Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey and let me tell you, it did not disappoint on the festive fluff front.
The story follows Stella, a woman recently released from prison (yes, prison), trying to find her feet in New York City. It is here that she walks past the holiday window display of a department store and shares her harsh opinions on the design with the stranger standing next to her—introducing Aiden: the love interest of this book and, unbeknownst to Stella, the big boss of the store. Intrigued by her honesty, Aiden invites Stella to interview for the open window designer position and from here, a wintery, whirlwind workplace romance ensues.
Listen, there are a lot of redeeming features of this book. If you’re on the market for a fun, Christmassy love story that is a little on the shorter side, then Window Shopping is exactly what you are looking for. The fact that the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, despite the whole jail plotline of it all, is a major saving grace because it means Tessa Bailey gets away with some things that, in any other context, would be cause for DNFing. A couple of things the book club pointed out in the discussion were the fact Aiden wears a ‘candy cane bow tie’, and the phrase ‘I matching robes love you’ (???) is used sincerely. These things alone are hard for any romance reader to stomach, lovingly.
However, I truly believe that this book was written to give readers a good time in the run-up to Christmas and that maybe being too critical of it is redundant. Like it or not, Window Shopping will have you kicking your feet and giggling. The grumpy sunshine dynamic between Stella and Aiden, coupled with the New York Festive backdrop and the buzz of shopping in a busy department store, makes for a really engaging reading experience. As I mentioned earlier, this book isn’t even at the 300-page mark, and the shorter dual POV chapters of banter-filled writing mean that the pages blend together and before you know it, you’ve finished the book. Interestingly, my one critique of Tessa Bailey’s Bellinger Sister series was that the books were just too long, so I loved getting to enjoy Tessa’s writing style in a significantly smaller dose.
I should also add that this story is equal parts spice and plot — if you don’t enjoy open-door romances, then I’d sit this one out. There are multiple chapters, as is typical of Tessa Bailey, that are comprised soley of spice, and I actually feel like it adds to the plot in this case. The relationship between Stella and Aiden is as slow burn as possible, given the short nature of the book, and the intimate moments between them slowly turn up the tension dial. A quick, easy, festive read such as Window Shopping is the perfect place for this kind of writing.
Overall, Window Shopping is a fun read for this time of year. Did it change my life? No. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Also no. But it did exactly what it needed to do for me. I went into it wanting a no-thoughts-required book to get me in the Christmas mood, and that is what I got — who am I to complain about that? That being said, I don’t think I’ll be adding a bow-tie wearing store manager to my list of favourite book boyfriends anytime soon.
If you would like to join the book club to read and talk all things romance in 2025, then you can click here — https://fable.co/club/that-romance-book-club-with-jess-land-462772473382 — to head over to Fable! We’d love to have you!
This review was written by Jess, who you can follow on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/thatromancebook for more bookish content.