4/5⭐️

I have to say, I love a holiday romance novella and this one hit the spot for me! It was a second chance, friends to lovers holiday romcom with tons of humor, a decent amount of spice and an enjoyably good plot that is rare to see in shorter books. This felt like a full, complete story just condensed into fewer pages and didn’t feel like it was missing crucial plot points like many novellas do.

I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Bea and Charlie are used to spending Christmases together, even in the 8 years since their breakup. Their families are close, and they've learned how to navigate any awkwardness that might come up. Except this year, Bea has accidentally volunteered to give Charlie a ride to the house their families have rented. And they're both starting to think more seriously about their futures...

Second-chance romances can be really hit or miss for me--I have to really see how the characters and/or circumstances have changed in order to really root for them, and I have to say I was sucked in right from the beginning. The childhood friends to lovers to exes felt very natural and right from the beginning I wanted things to work out between them. I loved both characters, as well as the family dynamics, and loved getting to see characters from a previous book as well. And the spice was, as usual, very good!

As always, I absolutely loved this Liz Alden book! I've been in a massive reading slump lately, as well as dealing with a move and some pretty intense illness, and when I was finally able to sit down and read it, I flew through it in one sitting.

This was a lovely second-chance Christmas romance. Charlie and Bea grew up together and their parents and families are best friends. Since their break-up, Bea has had to spend every Christmas with Charlie and his family, doing her best to avoid him. She expects this Christmas to be the same, but Charlie seems different, more the old Charlie she fell for instead of the workaholic he was when they broke up. Charlie has a deal in the works with his business that could finally put him into a position to rekindle things with Bea and make all their dreams come true. I liked both Charlie and Bea and Alden did a great job with making sure the reader understood the relationship from both points of view. There was lots of Christmas cheer and great chemistry between the main characters. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a Christmas romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Liz Alden for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely short holiday read! I'm always happy to read a work by Liz Alden and this didn't disappoint. This is such a cozy second-chance romance with really strong family ties and it was a joy to read!

This was such a cute novella! Perfect to get that Christmas spirit going!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Sexy Christmas read! When Charlie, her childhood ex sweetheart is in her doorstep looking to catch a ride Bea realizes she didn’t read the updated emails for the families annual Christmas get away. During a tense car ride to their destination Charlie realizes that he’s ready to rekindle their past relationship. Through the magic of Christmas and two meddling families things start going his way. Just as things start turning his way he returns to the workaholic that broke them up in the first place. Realizing it’s more important to get the girl he changes his ways and realizes money is not the most important thing in his life. Bea is his priority and nothing is going to stop him from getting the girl. Thank you to NetGalley and Liz Alden for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Ghost of Ex-mas Past can be described as a "friends to lovers to exes to lovers" novella. It is a quick read, but at times gets bogged down with narration, whether it be about all the different characters (which felt like way too many to keep track of) or the business dealings the characters are dealing with. It was almost a DNF for me as the beginning was much slower-paced.

I received a digital ARC thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was a great quick to read holiday romance that would be perfect to read over a weekend where you don’t want to leave the couch. The characters were relatable and it was easy to keep track of the other characters in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys quick storylines while also looking for a holiday story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

Ghost of Ex-mas Past
by Liz Alden

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Second chance, childhood best friends to lovers.
🤩 Such a great surprise “You’re giving me a ride” moment.
🤩 It took me a while to get into the holiday family times, but the ski lessons finally captivated me.
🤩 When Charlie helps Bea after skiing, I finally feel like I’m experiencing the scene.
🤩 The intimate and steamy scenes are really well written and super fun!!

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 The business talk almost lost me.
💫 A lot of narration to get the back story.
💫 I would have liked to be more immersed in the interactions instead of feeling like I’m being told a story.
💫 It might have taken me too long to like Charlie. I really like to love my MMCs.
Thanks to NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

“What better person to fall in love with than your best friend?”

Ghost of Ex-Mast Past is the perfect book to get out of a reading slump. It is a short read (174 pages) very fast paced, but with all the necessary information, all at once (no plot hole or huge missing parts, especially for the sentimental journey, as it’s so often the case in novellas). I love second chance stories, and Bea & Charlie’s isn’t the exception. This is a soft and tender one, like a pretty and cosy plaid you’d curled into during winter, in front of a crackling fire.
One more time, Liz Alden delivered the book I needed, when I needed it (but didn’t know I did). Like the other book I read from that author, I read it in one go. Pages turn by themselves, characters are super fleshy, you just have to let yourself be carried away by the story and the feelings.
In one word, this book is perfect to get into the Holidays season! And Liz Alden remains one of my auto-read authors.

Thank you Liz Alden and NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

With the holidays approaching who doesn't love a story centered around Christmas? Every year since they can remember Bea and Charlie have spent Christmas together since their parents are best friends. They were friends until they because more than that. They loved each other but when college distance got too much they broke up. But now Charlies realizes, 8 years later, that the lavish lifestyle he has doesn't mean anything without Bea in it. Does she still care for him? Will she give their relationship another shot?

This story is cute and it has just the right amount of spice. Great second chance romance!

Thanks to NetGalley and Liza Alden for allowing me to review this ARC!

Thank you for approving me to read this book. I haven't been able to finish reading this as early on in the book the author makes a flippant, tasteless joke about CPR being performed after eating food that was 'to die for'. I have had to give CPR for real this year and I cannot get on board with jokes being made, even if there was no ill intent behind it.

This is such a perfect Christmas novella! The pacing is fast but you get so much in terms of plot! Liz Alden is the QUEEN of novellas! If you want something to get you in the holiday spirit or knock down your reading goals, highly recommend this.

This was a really cute holiday novella. It was pretty much exactly what I expected - a Hallmark movie in book form (but with some spice)! Two workaholic exes spend their holidays in a small, cute town. Their families are there - and they all get along well and have adorable relationships with each other.

If you’re looking for a cozy, quick, Hallmark-esque read, this is a solid choice!

I so appreciated getting an advance copy of this spicy holiday novella. Having read Clara and Nash's story last winter, it was fun to go back into the same world with some of the same characters. I love me a second chance romance, and I enjoyed the characters in this one. In my reading, it felt like the pacing of this one would change really abruptly, and that threw me off some. I'm glad I got to read it and I did enjoy it.

All right, let's be straight about it. I'm "only" giving 4 stars cause the "second chance" thrope isnt my favourite...
If you like it then go ahead, and even if you're not super fan like me, I still had a good time reading it.
Liz Alden makes once more a cute, short Xmas story full of family/love and steam.
While I preferred "Frosty Proximity" last year (yes its a serie but you just get a small overlap of characters, you do not need to read the others to follow this book) this is still a strong short story from Liz in my opinion.

*Thanks t NetGalley and Liz Alden for the access to the ebook against an honest review.*

First of all, Thank You Netgalley for the ARC granted to me. Liz Alden has written another cozy and compelling christmas story. Second chances small town and reunited lovers are ne of the best tropes to read. One thing I didn't like was the spicy scenes- A little too hot for the plot itself (I found it a bit disconeted from the vibe of the whole book) but it was a good narrative anyway.

This was a classic right-person but wrong time second-chance romance. Charlie has never felt like he deserved Bea, which led to their inevitable breakup years ago. Since then, he has tried to get richer so he could be deserving of Bea. Bea has never had any interest in money, but she had always had a lot of anger towards Charlie for breaking her heart all those years ago.
This is a cute christmassy romance with characters that will make your heart feel cozy and banter that will make you giggle into your cup of tea.
I had a lot of fun reading this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

4.5 stars!

This was such a fun and cute read for a novella and the fact it is set around Christmas makes it even better! I really enjoyed the story of Bea and Charlie who had so much chemistry together that made me laugh out loud multiple times and I loved the banter! This story was also fast paced which in some novellas can be a bad thing since it will lose the plot but this one didn't! It was great for what it was and I didn't finish it with any unanswered questions or anything.

This book was cute and so much fun! It made my week! I love all the fun characters! Bea and Charlie stole my heart! The writing was good. The conflict was great. Fantastic emotion. Humor and lots of heart! It was the perfect holiday romance. This is my first Liz Alden book, but it definitely won’t be my last. Huge thanks to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.