Question - Was Santa the Original Stalker?

 

TITLE: He Sees You When You're Sleeping

AUTHOR: Alta Hensley

PUBLISHER: Avon

PUBLISHING DATE: September 16, 2025

PAGES: 336   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: It’s the night before Christmas and I’m alone in the house… Popular jewelry influencer Chloe Hallman is steeling herself to spend another holiday on her own. Instead, she finds herself drawn to two different guys… a smoldering hot fan of her secret, seductive online persona, and a sexy fireman named Jack who looks out for her in their NYC neighborhood. 

She has no idea that I know her better than she knows herself. Her deepest secrets, her darkest desires—she's careful, but I’ve been watching, never leaving footprints in the snow outside her home. Jack was the first responder to the accident that stole a beautiful young woman's family two Christmases ago, and he's been quietly guarding her ever since. When Jack uncovers Chloe’s secret account, his obsession only grows. Both he and Chloe are drawn to the darkness that mirrors their own. 

She’s my Christmas wish come true. And I'm hers. She just doesn’t know it yet. Will Chloe’s Christmas be a tale of fiery passion...or a dangerous game with a man whose love knows no bounds?

MY THOUGHTS: Let me be honest.  I knew what I was in for when I grabbed this from my local library's "New Releases" shelf.  And I figured it would at least be a fun and entertaining ride.  I wasn't wrong but it left me with a few questions.  Especially the one I already asked - was Santa the original stalker?

Chloe is an influencer for a popular jewelry company.  It pays most of her bills and allows her to maintain the house she inherited when her parents were killed in a car accident.  She also has a side job doing photography and posts for a more edgy indie designer.  What neither know, is that on certain nights, Chloe can be found on a dark and steamy site where she is basically a "cam girl."  This side escapade can definitely cost her the more lucrative job.

Jack is a fireman who was on call the night Chloe and her parents crashed.  He held her while more help arrived and her parents died.  However, Chloe doesn't recall any of that.  Since then, Jack has been stalking Chloe, wanting to assure she is safe and doing well (yea right mister!).  He secretly hangs up Christmas lights, shovels her sidewalks, and might have taken advantage of her elderly neighbor in order to install a nanny-cam in her bedroom.  

Chloe and Jack eventually meet, and their attraction takes off.  However, worried in concerned Jack is too "vanilla" for her.  Also, Jack is worried Chloe will never want to see him again once she learns what he has been doing.  Oh, and also figures out she is the "Winter Watcher" she has been interacting with on-line.  

So, I actually liked Chloe as a MC.  I liked that she had a pretty decent back story and quite a bit of character development considering the genre of this book.  I sort of liked Jack.  I mean, he was pretty cool - for a stalker, I guess.  Jack is a nice guy and helps out the neighborhood a lot, so I suppose he has a good heart, even if it is dark and twisty. This book heads just where you think it might and if you are interested in that, then I would definitely recommend it.  I found it fun and entertaining which was just what I was looking for over Thanksgiving break, and I might have already downloaded the sequel on Kindle Unlimited.  I mean come on, I need to get my money's worth out of that subscription somehow, right?

MY RATING: 4 PAWS