If you like thrillers, romance, and Christmas - this is the book for you! I didn't realize that this story was connected to other ones when I got it- and even though it does stand alone, I would have preferred to read at least the preceding book first. this book also needs a serious content warning for physical and mental abuse. Nicole's former husband was a terrible and terrifying man. She has bounced back pretty amazingly - and even with her fear still holding on to a part of her life - she is still moving forward and loving her baby girl and friends. She had also clearly started down a path towards a relationship with David - but didn't move forward past being friends because she still needed to heal and wasn't ready for anything more than that.

When her husband takes aim at her again, this time from beyond the grave, she is in some serious danger. Luckily David (a homicide detective) insists on going with her to face the issue that comes up. Nicole and David quickly fall back into the place they left off. David wants forever - but Nicole is only willing to commit to right now.

I really liked both David and Nicole. Nicole was tough, but vulnerable after surviving hell. David is definitely an alpha - but also a good good man.

I was actually surprised how fast this book read - and how engrossed I was in the story. I think if I had read the book that came before it - it probably would have been a five star read for me!

I received this book as an ARC from Net galley, but these opinions are all my own.

A romantic suspense novella set at Christmas time was just the thing for me right now. It’s not very Christmas oriented, but it does come into play a bit. I’m all about the romance and suspense so that was the delight here for me.

Piper is on her own with her infant daughter, Beth. She’s had an horrendous time in her recent past(18 months)concerning her abusive husband and his unrelenting search for her to kill her. She survived, he didn’t. Now she’s trying to pick her life back up and she’s starting to do so. She’s a photographer, has a small apartment for her and her daughter and has friends now-something her husband deprived her of. She also met a man months before who wants her. She turned him down as she is not ready. David Ayden is a detective, a widower and the father of two teenage boys. He befriended Piper in the past, but since she turned him down, he’s backed off. When Piper is in need of help from the police, she turns to him for help. Pretty soon the two are off on a search to find more answers. It seems her husband didn’t give up and has more up his sleeve-although he really is quite dead. And no this is not a supernatural book!

A romance novella is certainly easier to write than a romantic suspense, I am guessing. So much goes into the planning of the suspense element in addition to the romance. In this case, it felt like I had missed a whole other book. The author does set up the scene of what happened in the past, but I still wondered and even went looking. I couldn’t find the book it related to, but did find out that this book is a re-release and was part of an anthology with two other authors-and from what I can tell, neither of the others related to this one. So although at times it had me really wondering about the previous story, I did for the most part enjoy reading this book.

I’ve just listened to two series by this author back to back and have really enjoyed all of the books. So I was more than happy to find this book on Net Galley. I’m glad I read it, but as I said before, I really wish there had been a book about what came before. If there is, I want to read it. I’m not really fond of being dropped into the middle of a mystery as a rule, but it all worked out and the author did a good job of filling in the holes. I also really liked the characters and the romance. And while it is a dark subject matter at times, there was some good things that happen-which is always welcomed in a book set during the holidays. Since it is such a short book, I’m going to leave it at that. This is recommended to adult romantic suspense readers. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Christmas Past is a very fast paced, action packed novella. Perfect for people who want to get into reading again or who doesn't have time for a full length book.

Nicole Piper barely escaped out of an abusive marriage. With her baby and new name she is determined to rebuild her life and is slowly starting to make name again as a photographer. Her husband died nearly 2 years before and cannot hurt her anymore.......or can he? She receives an unsettling package and together with Homicide Sergeant David Ayden she goes on a hunt for the truth.
True to form you can expect some romance and it's always good to know that the good guy gets the girl.
I found it a fast and fun read.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @@Kensingtonbooks for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

I love Mary Burton Stories she is able to bring the dark and light to her stories but this one feels forced, the characters fall flat and lacks the suspense that usually Mary Burton is known for. While the story is a short story/Novella it lacks story that is engaging from her past books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Mary Burton Christmas Past.

Lovely festive read. It was a heart warming romance. It was a wonderful book to read. It was well written and flowed well.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is a quick novella that really has nothing to do with Christmas but that being said it was a fast read that leaves you in suspense.

As with most novella’s you can’t say too much about the plot or you give things away and with this story going so quick (about 100 pages). But I will say it is a wonderful romantic suspense that is perfect between full novels.

As always Burton is on par with the best.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Christmas Past (Kindle Edition) by Mary Burton Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for letting me preview this book. Nicole Piper ( widow with a baby..escaped her abusive husband) but did she? David Ayden(widowed with two teenage sons..police detective) in love with Nicole. There is evil, danger, scary stuff, laughter, tears and steamy stuff all to get to a HEA.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Romantic Easy-to-read Great world building Tear-jerker Wonderful characters Steamy Page-turner Action-packed Happily Ever After Scary Tragic

CHRISTMAS. PAST. MaryBurton
Nicole made her living doing commercial portraits, which supports Beth and herself. A comeback after three years, the joy of seeing them. Five years with an abusive husband, she finally fled, he was dead, yet, she kept checking the locks. A delayed package is given to her, a dvd and her world once again has crumbled. Was it a truth, it was a matter now for the police to figure out.
David Ayden has the detective duty for the Christmas holidays. Getting a call about the dvd, that Nicole had gotten. He is on alert mode now, wanting to protect her. Truthfully, he wanted the whole family thing, if she would let them date. Meanwhile he and the department would dig into this matter. One is drawn in from the first.a young woman with a small baby, and you want answers. How come she is afraid, and glad she has close friends. The plot flowed to the end, and not wanting to stop reading.
Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion by Net Galley and Kensington books.













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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Christmas Past by Mary Burton that I read and reviewed.
This is a reissue that was released before. The first thing I have to say is I am a huge Mary Burton fan and this novella was not what I was expecting from her. From the start I felt like I was in the middle of a full book and I had no clue what was going on. I really wish this novella never happened. The characters were great but I wanted to know what really happened to Nicole’s husband. Burton talks about him being killed while trying to hurt Nicole well I want the details. Not just that he is dead. Then this book and why it took place I feel like I still don’t have the closure Nicole was trying to get for her friend. It was jus a hot mess for me.
I can’t recommend this book. I am only able to give Christmas Past one out of five stars.

Reading Christmas mysteries cozies is my yearly tradition. I started this year with Christmas Past, a romantic suspense novella by Mary Burton. I chose it based on the cover - it looked like it would be kinda eerie and creepy, sort of a touch of Halloween at Christmas. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It was originally part of an anthology but is being released as a standalone. Trouble is, it felt like it started in the middle of the story which might have been alright if the missing parts didn't seem so central to the story. It also had very little to do with Christmas which was more a backdrop there and gone than part of the tale. My biggest criticism, though, and admittedly this is on me - I'm not usually a fan of romantic suspense but Christmas is one of the few times I make an exception. In this case, however, once I got the gist of what had occurred previously, it seemed like a decent suspense novel interrupted at the most inopportune times for romantic interludes. This tended to throw off the momentum of the story. Still, it's short enough that this didn't make me stop reading and, to be honest, I just skipped over the romantic bits to get to the action. My recommendation - if you're a fan of romantic suspense and are looking for a short, fast read, you might want to give it a try.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

A novella which is obviously a sequel to a book or series of books I haven't read. This was confusing as I was missing the background context of a lot of the interactions. The author seemed confused whether they were writing a police thriller or a romance (not that they necessarily need to be mutually exclusive). The story also wasn't particularly a Christmas story but merely set at Christmas. All of that being said I would possibly look at reading other stories by the same author.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this short story

a quick short story by one of the best authors around...

domestic violence and christmas, they go together like strawberries and wine...

a young woman has survived domestic violence and is bringing up her daughter but the scars run deep...the attraction she feels for the new man in her life triggers memories she cant seem to put behind her...

then she receives a letter from her dead ex husband..and so it begins...

brilliant written short story...not a big fan of short stories but this one is high up in my top ten...

This is my first book by Mary Burton and my second novella that I’ve read. I finished this in two days. I loved the writing style and the story line. Despite what Nicole went through in the end she didn’t give up and she found true love. Definitely a page turner filled with suspense and love.

Two dollars is two dollars.

She's had a sad three years.

That is such a spooky feeling.

Ooh la la! Ayden was naughty in church.

Crazy-pants.

Whoa, slow your roll, Ayden!

Ms. Wellington is a twat.

Jeez Louise, Denny is way too good at this.

At least Charlotte is fixing her wrong. Sorry she got shot.

Christmas Past is a quick suspense read with the wintery holiday as a backdrop providing a nice little story to read by the fire.

Nicole escaped her abusive husband, now dead, and is moving on until she receives a letter promising to identify the killer of the woman who helped her escape. Nicole knows the letter will dredge up the past, and it does require she go on a goose hunt for information. Not something she’s looking forward to, but Nicole wants the man who murdered her savior brought to justice, not only for her, but for the woman’s family so that they might have some measure of peace, especially since it’s the holiday season. Also, on the upside she won’t have to face her past alone, since Detective David Ayden is determined to see her through this journey.

Nicole and David were getting close, but Nicole put the brakes on their relationship not yet ready for romance so soon after running from her horrid husband. Spending time together while they try and hunt for the killer gives them a second chance at love.

Christmas Past was a quick, entertaining read, one you could blaze through in an evening. I really liked David and didn’t understand some of Nicole’s reluctance, but I’ve never come out of an abusive relationship so what do I know? I liked Charlotte Wellington, the attorney, despite her taking on Nicole’s ex-husband’s task, and I worried for her welfare. She was a fighter and I liked that!

I didn’t realize Christmas Past was part of a collection of stories, three I think, with Fern Michaels and Judy Duarte authoring the other two novellas. Christmas Past was the only story I received for review, and I’ve never read anything by the other two authors.

This book was ok for me ... I felt like I got thrown into the middle of an awesome thriller that turned out more romance in the end.
A short quick story.

Nicole Piper was first introduced in a previous book by Mary Burton. She was hiding out from her abusive husband and moved to Virginia. She feels like she can finally live her life with her baby, but her dead husband, who was stalking her and obsessed with her, has reached out from the grave. She has many friends in her corner trying to help, especially cop David Ayden. Ayden is a father of 2 boys, widowed, who has very strong feelings for Nicole. She tries to handle the threat on her own, but Ayden will be with her every step of the way.

It is a really short story and everything happens so fast. There are other very interesting characters in this story, I feel like there are so many unanswered questions about, and I hope they get their story told.

This is a well-written and fast paced romantic suspense story. This is the first book that I have read by Mary Burton and I like her writing style. I will be looking for more books by her.

I love Mary Burton, but I felt like for this book you need to read several before it in the series. She was talking about the law partners and other people and I hadn't read those books yet. So I was like what? huh? It was confusing. I set aside this book and started reading some of the others so I could have more of an idea of what was going on. I think I definitely prefer her full length novels vs a novella, i like more details and more mystery, but this was a fun and quick read!

Nicole was a great character who had escaped domestic abuse. When she receives something from her dead ex she has to return and get something he left her. David is a homicide detective and was interested in Nicole. When he goes with her they end up with more than expected as her dead husband reaches out for her from beyond the grave. Lots of action and plenty of steam with an HEA. This was a fast and fun story! Loved it!!