Overall:  By the charming Christmastime cover of this book, I just thought it was just a sweet Christmas romance story.  Well, I was sort of right, it is a cute Christmas romance, but it is also surprisingly steamy!  I was not prepared for the level of spice this book has!  That said, it is a grumpy + sunshine trope, where the woman is the grumpy and the man is the sunshine.  I love an opposites attract
romance and this book delivers that….. along with some very unexpected sexy spice and lots of dirty talk!

Stella stops to look at the holiday window display of a fancy department store.  She finds it lacking and pathetic, even though she could never afford to shop there, she does not like the display the have.  Asking for her opinion about the window and definitely getting it is Aiden.  He just happens to own the store and challenges her to do the window display job better.  She applies for the job even though she is an ex-con who thinks she will never get hired.  Stella is hired on a trial basis by the hot store owner Aiden who believes in her ideas and wants to help her get her fresh start.  Aiden’s upbeat and cheerful personality is the perfect match for Stella’s fear and pessimism.  Stella turns out to be wonderful at her job
as a window dresser and really enjoys her work.  Stella and Aiden become romantically involved while trying to navigate the office romance situation of him being her boss.  Plus, trying to balance the dynamics of other members of his family working there too and finding out about Stella’s past.  Also, Stella’s best friend gets released from prison and wants to pick-up right where they left-off, but Stella is trying to start a new and very different life.   Despite being such opposites in every way and living very different lives before they meet, Stella and Aiden are good for eachother.  They both help eachother grow as people.  Stella gains confidence and independence and Aiden gains strength and the ability to stand up to his family.  I liked the ending of this book and wish it were longer so I could find out more about how their life turns out.    

Opinion:  This book is a “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”!  I mean that for the actual physical book because the cover makes it look like a bland holiday romance, but it is very spicy inside.  But, also the storyline is a “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”  because Stella looks very rough around the edges and is just out of prison, but Aiden did not judge her for that.  He gave her a chance and she proved to be very talented at her job, and a great romantic partner for him as well.  The unexpected and interesting storyline is not your typical, cutesy holiday romance.  It has unusual depth, while also being sarcastic and sexy at the same time.  I would recommend this book if you are looking for a quick, and quirky read with lots of sexy spice this holiday season, this book is for you.  Rating:  7 out of 10