Alta HensleyRomance · Fiction
He Knows When You’re Awake
Synopsis
Jewelry designer Sloane has the designs and none of the money. With every bank turning her down, a lifeline from a stranger is not something she can afford to refuse — so when reclusive billionaire Cole Asher flies her out to a Swiss resort to talk terms, she goes, and only then places him as the man she met once in a New York bar.
Cole's offer comes with a condition: to secure his investment, Sloane must move into his Manhattan penthouse and finish a first round of designs before Christmas. She throws herself into the work while the city sparkles below, and the attraction between them stops being deniable.
What she does not know is how long Cole has been watching her, or how much of this arrangement he built to keep her close. When his enemies decide the fastest way to destroy him is through the woman he loves, the fairy tale turns dangerous.
He Knows When You're Awake is the second book in Alta Hensley's Naughty or Nice series, following He Sees You When You're Sleeping, and reads as an interconnected standalone. Published by Avon on 16 September 2025, it is a dark romance with a morally grey male lead, an obsessive point of view, and holiday trappings played against genuine menace — readers are pointed to the content warnings at the front of the book.
How it reads
Prose complexity 1/10
- <div>Genre: Christmas Billionaire Stalker Romance ❄️🔎</div><div>📍 Tropes/Themes: Billionaire CEO/Jewelry Designer; Morally Grey MMC; Stalking; Forced Ice Skating; Forced Proximity; Painfully Cute Christmas Puppies; Opposites Attract; Kink Friendly; Voyeurism/Exhibitionism; BDSM; Hidden Cameras; Possessive Love; Wearing of Light Up Christmas Sweaters; Set in Manhattan; Dual 1st Person POV</div><div>⚠️CW: graphic sexual content, stalking, possessive MC, kidnapping, violence, suspected murder</div><div>🔥: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️</div><div>Format: digital 📱</div><div>💭Thoughts: </div><div>He Sees You When You’re Sleeping was my first holiday book last year, so I jumped when I saw the sequel on Kobo Plus 😍 </div><div>I don’t usually go for billionaire romances, but I gave this one a shot since I enjoyed book 1 so much! And I’m glad I did! When I wasn’t annoyed at Cole for being OTT, I quite enjoyed this one! Alta Hensley does such an amazing job illustrating the extravagance and luxury of this world. The scenery was always beautifully detailed and I felt like I was right in the moment with Sloan experiencing these views. Plus, ya have to love Sloane’s commitment to her craft and willingness to challenge anybody, anywhere, anytime! </div><div>I hope we get a third book next year! Knox and Maya 👀 or Knox and Hailey 🤔 or Knox and Maya and Hailey 😱</div>
- Genre: Christmas Billionaire Stalker Romance ❄️🔎 | 📍 Tropes/Themes: Billionaire CEO/Jewelry Designer; Morally Grey MMC; Stalking; Forced Ice Skating; Forced Proximity; Painfully Cute Christmas Puppies; Opposites Attract; Kink Friendly; Voyeurism/Exhibitionism; BDSM; Hidden Cameras; Possessive Love; Wearing of Light Up Christmas Sweaters; Set in Manhattan; Dual 1st Person POV | ⚠️CW: graphic sexual content, stalking, possessive MC, kidnapping, violence, suspected murder | 🔥: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ | Format: digital 📱 | 💭Thoughts: | He Sees You When You’re Sleeping was my first holiday book last year, so I jumped when I saw the sequel on Kobo Plus 😍 | I don’t usually go for billionaire romances, but I gave this one a shot since I enjoyed book 1 so much! And I’m glad I did! When I wasn’t annoyed at Cole for being OTT, I quite enjoyed this one! Alta Hensley does such an amazing job illustrating the extravagance and luxury of this world. The scenery was always beautifully detailed and I felt like I was right in the moment with Sloan experiencing these views. Plus, ya have to love Sloane’s commitment to her craft and willingness to challenge anybody, anywhere, anytime! | I hope we get a third book next year! Knox and Maya 👀 or Knox and Hailey 🤔 or Knox and Maya and Hailey 😱