Featuring multicast narration from Jillian Macie, Troy Duran, and Rock Engle!
There’s no escaping the holiday spirit in this dark, forced-proximity, why choose, Christmas stalker romance, the sequel to Alta Hensley’s New York Times bestselling He Knows When You’re Awake!
Stalkin’ around the Christmas tree…
Hailey Parker thought she had outrun her past. As the assistant to a successful jewelry designer, she’s started a new life in New York City, and may even have a new boyfriend to cozy up with this holiday. Her boss’s security guard, Knox, is a man of few words, but his obvious obsession calls to the darkest parts of Hailey’s imagination.
Then, her ex-boyfriend—and ex-partner-in-crime—shows up outside Hailey’s Brooklyn apartment. Liam explains that their past has caught up with the mobster they robbed five years ago has tracked them down. If they hope to escape with their lives, they must return to the remote Canadian wilderness where Hailey hid the priceless stolen diamond.
But a very different fate is awaiting them in the frigid landscape. Someone else entirely is pulling the strings, an unhinged billionaire who has a dark fascination with Hailey and Liam—and with the protective, ex-military boyfriend who has tracked Hailey all the way to the Northwest Territories.
Imprisoned together in a luxurious cabin and with a lethal ticking time bomb, Hailey, Liam, and Knox have no choice but to work together to outwit their captor. As a winter storm approaches—and simmering tensions between them reach a breaking point—escape starts to seem impossible…but what if everything they need is right there in the cabin?
Christmas romanceWhy chooseMilitary romanceStalkingOne last jobForced proximityM/M/FSecond chance romanceOnly one bed
There’s no escaping the holiday spirit in this dark, forced-proximity, why choose, Christmas stalker romance, the sequel to Alta Hensley’s New York Times bestselling He Knows When You’re Awake!
Stalkin’ around the Christmas tree…
Hailey Parker thought she had outrun her past. As the assistant to a successful jewelry designer, she’s started a new life in New York City, and may even have a new boyfriend to cozy up with this holiday. Her boss’s security guard, Knox, is a man of few words, but his obvious obsession calls to the darkest parts of Hailey’s imagination.
Then, her ex-boyfriend—and ex-partner-in-crime—shows up outside Hailey’s Brooklyn apartment. Liam explains that their past has caught up with the mobster they robbed five years ago has tracked them down. If they hope to escape with their lives, they must return to the remote Canadian wilderness where Hailey hid the priceless stolen diamond.
But a very different fate is awaiting them in the frigid landscape. Someone else entirely is pulling the strings, an unhinged billionaire who has a dark fascination with Hailey and Liam—and with the protective, ex-military boyfriend who has tracked Hailey all the way to the Northwest Territories.
Imprisoned together in a luxurious cabin and with a lethal ticking time bomb, Hailey, Liam, and Knox have no choice but to work together to outwit their captor. As a winter storm approaches—and simmering tensions between them reach a breaking point—escape starts to seem impossible…but what if everything they need is right there in the cabin?
Christmas romanceWhy chooseMilitary romanceStalkingOne last jobForced proximityM/M/FSecond chance romanceOnly one bed
Title: They Know If You've Been Bad Or Good (Naughty or Nice #3)
Author: Alta Hensley
Publisher: Harper Audio/Avon Harper Voyager
Expected Publication Date: September 22, 2026
Review:
Thank you to Harper Audio, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to listen to and read. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I will admit, I had a hard time with the second book in this series. The first book was really fun. But the second book I struggled with loving the characters. So giving this book a go was a bit of a stretch for me but I really liked the author's writing so I figured why not. And it was so much fun, until about 75%. And perhaps this was the audio at first but once I switched to the print it didn't really change.
I really enjoyed Troy Duran for this book. His voice is deep and alluring and really brings you right into the character. Jillian Macie was just ok for me. I didn't love her but I didn't hate her, either. She did the voice well enough but I didn't feel connected to the character as much as I would have liked. Rock Engle killed the narration for me, though. Once he was introduced, I lost interest in the narration. I didn't like his voice at all for Liam. It was flat and did nothing for me at all. I'm pretty sure it's what ruined the rest of the book for me. I realized as I was listening that he was the same narrator for the second book in this series and I was unhappy with that book, as well. I think I need to stay away from him as a narrator from now on.
I'm not usually into why choose books. And, honestly, I didn't read the blurb before I requested this. I just knew I wanted to see where this title took the series. Overall, I've enjoyed the stories Hensley has been telling. So, despite me not loving this trope, I thought I'd give it a try. And it could have been done well but, again, the narration kind of killed it for me. Plus, the jump from trying to build chemistry to the spice scenes just didn't flow well for me. I absolutely loved the connection between Knox and Haley. No doubt they had some great chemistry. Lots of banter and moments where you felt them coming together romantically. But then Liam was introduced and, while he has a past with them both, I felt zero connection for him with Knox and Haley. We don't get much background other than one moment with him and Knox and some information Hailey tells us about him as she narrates her past. But the chemistry? Not there at all. I think the why choose could have been done so much better. The author chose the close proximity trope to get these three together but it didn't build the tension for me, or make me want to see them as a throple.
There is lots of spice in this one. Some done well, some just didn't hit right for me and felt totally unrealistic. I'm no prude and I'm always interested to see how spicey scenes play out but the logistics of a lot of what was done was hard to picture. I will say there are some tender moments I really enjoyed that lead me to wanting to see this all play out. Those were probably my favorite parts of the romance.
I did enjoy the plot, though there were a few holes that could have been firmed up. The secrets everyone had hidden was really what made the plot most enjoyable and how they were revealed and dealt with. I'm pretty sure my favorite character was Marlena. She's a total psychopath but she's also hilarious and her scenes often had me laughing out loud. There's quite a bit of action and adventure in this one which I wasn't necessarily expecting but given where the three characters ended up, I thought it was done well. I was hoping for more of a Christmas vibe from this, given the time of year and location, but it just didn't come across in the book. Other than snow and some mention of decorations, you don't get anything else.
While you do see some characters from the previous books, and get a bit of their background, this can be read as a stand alone as those characters don't play a huge part in the book. But if you're like me and want to see the friendships and relationships build, then starting with book one is my advice.
I see this one being marketed as Erotica and I would not put it in that category at all. Is there spice? Sure, a good amount of it. But it is not in line with what I would expect from something called Erotica.
Overall, I liked this book for the first 75% of the narration, after which I had to switch to print because I didn't like Engle's presentation at all. But even then, the throple/why choose trope just didn't sit right with me in it's presentation and build up. This is what dropped my rating down. I also felt the ending was just a bit more rushed and could have been fleshed out better.
Would I read more from this author, absolutely. I like her writing and her characters for the most part.
2.5 stars rounded to 3
Author:
Alta Hensley is a NYT & USA Today bestselling author of dark romance where the villain always gets the happily ever after.
Twisted, clever, and occasionally unhinged, her books deliver morally gray anti-heroes, sharp-tongued heroines, and happily ever afters that taste even sweeter after a little ruin. With a signature blend of grit, wit, and heat, Alta’s stories prove one thing: Villains deserve love too.
Alta lives on the foggy coast of Oregon with her husband, two daughters, and a pair of dogs who think they’re in charge. When she’s not writing redemption for the irredeemable, she’s walking the coastline or sipping craft beer in eccentric little bars that feel like they belong in her books.
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Website: www.altahensley.com
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@altahensley
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Twisted, clever, and occasionally unhinged, her books deliver morally gray anti-heroes, sharp-tongued heroines, and happily ever afters that taste even sweeter after a little ruin. With a signature blend of grit, wit, and heat, Alta’s stories prove one thing: Villains deserve love too.
Alta lives on the foggy coast of Oregon with her husband, two daughters, and a pair of dogs who think they’re in charge. When she’s not writing redemption for the irredeemable, she’s walking the coastline or sipping craft beer in eccentric little bars that feel like they belong in her books.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltaHensleyA...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alta-Hensley/e...
Website: www.altahensley.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/altahensley
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alta-...
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@altahensley
Join her mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
