He Knows When You're Awake by Alta Hensley
on September 16, 2025
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Romance / Suspense, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads 
Jewelry designer Sloane dreams of launching her own custom line, but she needs a Christmas miracle to pull it off. With traditional banks turning her down left and right, she can’t resist when a mysterious stranger offers her a lifeline. Reclusive billionaire Cole Asher offers to fly Sloane out to an ultra-luxurious Swiss resort for a meeting. Reluctantly, she agrees, only to realize she’s met him once before in a New York bar. Cole offers to back her company, but there’s a cost. To secure his investment, Sloane must move into his Manhattan penthouse, where she’ll complete her first round of designs for him to review before Christmas. Sloane throws herself into her work, yet soon the attraction between her and Cole becomes undeniable. As the city sparkles with Christmas splendor from her penthouse view, Sloane wonders if she has stepped into a fairy tale, until Cole’s powerful enemies close in. They will stop at nothing to destroy him, including going after the woman he loves.
I’m going to start by saying I absolutely loved He Sees You When You’re Sleeping, but this one…. cringe. Right from the start it wasn’t working for me. I kept waiting for a spark, but instead I was bored and wondering when something would actually happen. The characters and story didn’t land at all for me. Sloane was painted as strong and bold but folded much too quickly, and her family drama was mentioned without any real depth. Cole’s backstory was so thin I couldn’t tell you much beyond “guy with a shady mentor.” With no chemistry between the main characters, low stakes, and steamy scenes that didn’t hit, the romance never took off for me.
I ended up rating this book at two stars. It was a constant back and forth between these two and some scenarios seemed a bit….I can’t think of a good explanation, but I didn’t feel the connection, was bored with Sloane, skimmed a lot and just wanted it to be over.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon A publishing for my advanced reader copy of this stalker romance.
English (US) · 