They Know If You’ve Been Bad Or Good by Alta Hensley
on September 22, 2026
Genres: Fiction / Erotica / General, Fiction / Psychological, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Erotic, Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Romance / New Adult, Fiction / Romance / Suspense, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
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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 them: 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?
So happy I continued with this series after I did NOT like the second one. She definitely redeemed herself with this why choose! This ended up being my favorite book in the series so far! Hailey was such a badass FMC. She’s strong, capable, and has a past that slowly unfolds throughout the story, which kept me hooked. Knox had me from the beginning. The fact that he’d been watching over Hailey for a year is exactly the kind of morally gray, overprotective energy I love in my romance. And then Liam enters the picture, I’ll keep quiet because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I absolutely loved what he brought to the story. The relationships were definitely my favorite part. The chemistry, tension, and slow burn build between the characters felt natural, and I loved watching each relationship develop over the course of the book.
My only reason for giving this 4 instead of 5 stars is the ending. It felt like a cliffhanger, but I couldn’t find any confirmation that this is the first part of a duet or series. If another book is planned, I wish that had been made a little clearer because I definitely wasn’t ready for the story to end where it did! Overall, this was my favorite book in the series so far, and if you’re looking for a dark Christmas romance with suspense, mystery, protective MMCs, and why choose romance, I’d definitely recommend adding this one to your holiday TBR.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
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