What a lovely read … funny too … would recommend to anyone that loves a bit of mystery and clean romance lol (just a bit of spice)

if i heard one more reference about covid my mind was going to literally explode. I have seeen comments stating it was heavy on the references with covid but truly i thought "ehh a couple? no biggie." ... boy i was wrong. the covid references were so heavily ingrained in the book that it made me cringe and took so much away from the premise of the book.

this story had the ability to be SO cute and good. i loved the idea and the concept and was looking forward to finding how the fmcs life was going to go, but i could barely get through it based on the references.

it has the potential to be cute and someone who can overlook the heavy amount of COVID chat may be very interested, but i found myself annoyed most of the audiobook due to that and it took a lot away from the book for me.

thank you netgalley and make waves press for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun, entertaining, holiday read. Deke and Katie are interesting, intriguing, strong, wounded, complex, entertaining characters. I enjoyed spending time with these two. The Beach Bonfire Babes are entertaining, fun, relatable, realistic characters. I loved their relationship and the role it plays in the story. The story is full of quirky and interesting characters that added that little extra something to the story. The book is easy to read and get into. I read this book as a stand alone and was able to enjoy it, but there are relationships that are pre-existing that would make more sense by reading the previous book in the series.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book and the narrator.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I usually like this genre so I thought I’d enjoy this but I didn’t love it. It was hard to get through all of it and I didn’t enjoy the audio narrator. Not sure if I’d read another by this author or not.. possibly, but not guaranteed.

The audiobook was really good, the narrator did a good job, but I won’t lie, this book was not my cup of tea. I felt completely disconnected from the characters and their problems. A lot of dialogue was unnecessary and it went nowhere. Too many side characters that didn’t add to anything. And waaay too many COVID references; that’s something that a lot of us can agree, is not something we want to remember. The cover made me think it was a cute, funny, Christmas story, but it wasn’t cute, nor funny, and barely Christmas-y😅


Thank you, NetGalley and Make Waves Press, for the audio in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the Arc! I really liked the writing and most of the characters. I was just kind of confused with the overall vibe of the book I guess? But I think this just a personal preference, I think someone who prefers late in life books would love this! Just for me it's a bit too realistic and I tend to not want that in my romance haha. Still great writing and story though!

Super cute, quick and Christmas spirit filled. I understand it is a short story, but with it being this length I felt as though the story could have gotten a little bit deeper. None of the characters really had any development, and the story seemed very superficial. I would still probably recommend this to certain people depending on their preferences of books, but I also would not be surprised if they felt the same as I did about it lacking something. Thank you Netgalley, Carolyn McBride, and Make Waves Press for gifting me this ARC!

Although I was elated to see a story that features 50+ year old protagonists, this just wasn't it for me.

Santa Overboard was a cute story. It wasn't very Christmas until the end. The main character seemed like a child by complaining because her boyfriend left for six weeks and complained about everything. I honestly almost didn't finish the audio because I wasn't interested in the story. I honestly thought it was going to be amazing by the cover and title but it sadly wasnt.

Looking for a great audio book for holiday travel? This is a quick read. It's light and not too deep. I feel short on the romance mark for me, but it made up for that with highlighting the power of female friendships and going with the flow in life.

It's a great for walking and having something to keep you company.

This book has a cute story and the details are very explicit regarding boating. I was hoping for more Christmas themed, and didn’t quite get the Christmas-y, winter vibes until the end of the book. It was very well-written and had cute, classic romance vibes.

I was hoping for more of a Hallmark vibey book and that’s what landed it at the 3 stars.

Let me preface this with the book involves a lot of talk about COVID and the pandemic.

Santa Overboard is a cute, cozy romance that makes you think of television romance movies. It revolves around a group of women, with Katie as the main female character. Katie seems to constantly be in the thick of messy things in her community.

I was gifted the audiobook version if this book from NetGalley. The description sounded so good, it was supposed to be this cute fluffy story about a small town and their Christmas tradition. I feel like it ended up being completely the opposite. It was very heavy focused on Covid, which I did not enjoy at all. The narrator for the audiobook sounded a bit too monotone for my liking. I almost didn’t want to finish this book.
There was moments where the story didn’t feel like it was connecting, and it was trying to give you too much information that was irrelevant and didn’t make sense for the plot.

Santa Overboard: A Potomac Shores Holiday written by Carolyn McBride and narrated by Maria Marquis is a part of a small-town rom-com series. This is my first Carolyn McBride book and I can say I was impressed with the wording and tone of the book. I also enjoyed all the food talked about and the fast facts mentioned throughout the book. What also brought the story to life was the narrator who did a great job with giving personality to each character. I will personally say I believe this book would most likely be loved by a more mature audience (not in a rated-X way but a book for older readers). This is a book I can’t wait to suggest to my many sophisticated reading friends. Yet, the book itself and the author's message at the end of the story did leave me wanting more from Carolyn McBride.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Make Waves Press for the audio arc of this book. In exchange for this arc I will be leaving an honest review.

„Santa overboard“ is a very relaxed holiday read about Katie, her friends, her romance with Deke and a holiday boat parade. It is the second part in a series (I didn‘t know this when I got it, so I haven‘t read the first book), however I believe it can also be read as a standalone.

Personally I found the book to be a quite enjoyable holiday read, however if I hadn‘t been in the mood for it, I think it would have fallen short for me in a couple different ways. The main one of those being that the book seemed unsure about what it was. There was some romance, but in the first half there wasn‘t enough to properly categorize it as a romance novel and midway through there was a tiny element of mystery, that was then never explored again. I was expecting a more fleshed out romance, however I did enjoy this slice of life story.
I‘d say if you want to pick up an enjoyable slice of life book about love, friendships and the holidays, this one would be a good pick.

This is a cute story, but the pandemic references are strange. It feels a couple of years behind pace, but not far enough removed for Christmas nostalgia yet? Overall, a quick, cozy, inoffensive read.

The story here was ok - but just ok. The audiobook was a cute way to spend a few hours to get into the Christmas spirit, but I found I couldn't connect with the main characters or central plot. I also found the constant mention of COVID incredibly distracting and felt like it didn't actually add anything to the story.

I enjoyed that the romance was focused on an older couple, but I couldn't relate to the conflicts between them. Kate, the FMC, is unhappy that Deke, the MMC, takes an annual work trip every Christmas and feels unsupported by him and I just could not get behind this. As someone who often works over Christmas I couldn't understand why they couldn't celebrate another day and found Kate's reaction annoying and selfish. I did like the friendship group in the story, but given that it's a very short book, we don't spend that much time with them. I wanted more from them and less from Kate, which probably isn't a great sign, given that she is the main character. I feel like if this was a full length novel, rather than a novella, I might have enjoyed it more. This might also have helped me connect with the central romance, which just fell flat.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I did enjoy the narration. The performance actually made me enjoy the story more and I she really brought the characters to life. I think without such a great narrator, I probably wouldn't have finished the story.

Holiday Rom-Com

Audiobook:

Maria Marquis-My first narration by Maria. She held down a variety of flexes in her voice to represent the various characters. Narrated in third person POV.

She is a narrator that resonated well.

Santa Overboard:

I jumped into this series on book 2 without any problems. The story recaps the trials Katie had been through. I appreciate that it had realistic clips of life. It addressed real world elements like the pandemic and concerns of only seeing each other during funerals and weddings.

The evolution with Deke was sweet. I would rate this book 3.75 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Carolyn McBride, Make Waves Press and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks. I am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this one but it just really fell short for me. I never felt invested in the characters or storyline.

On the bright side I did really enjoy the narrator of the audiobook!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Santa Overboard
Audiobook
NetGalley
Make Waves Press

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 ❤️

About the book: Katie Young is settling into her new life in a picturesque riverfront town in Virginia, surrounded by her close-knit group of friends, the Beach Bonfire Babes. With a budding romance with a charming scientist and her daughter home for the holidays, this season feels like a fresh start. As the captain of the town’s Christmas boat parade, Katie is ready to steer Santa to the dock in festive style—until mishaps turn the holiday cheer into chaos, forcing Katie and her friends to weather midlife storms with humor, cocktails, and plenty of holiday magic.

My thoughts: I was in the mood for a fun holiday quick read and I really liked this one so much. I loved connecting with Katie in the sense that we are a little bit older in life (all the books I read lately are characters in their 20’s or even early 30’s). I feel a sense of power that comes with “coming into my own” a bit later in life and I feel that was Katie too. I also loved the bond with her friends! Old and new! She forms an instant friendship in the beginning of this book that is fun and they bond quickly. The love story is sweet between her and Deke. Very realistic and fitting for her stage of life.

One thing that brings my rating down was the Covid references. I am in my phase of life where I’d love to forget about that time and it was referenced throughout the whole book.

I love the narrator Maria Marquis. She did an excellent job and really made the story come to life for me!
All in all if you’re in the mood for a really quick fun holiday read set in an adorable small town. This is your go to.