This is a cute Christmas novella and it's part of the Potomac Shores series. This a a stand-alone story, you do not need to have read book one to enjoy this, although I liked this so much I will go back and read book 1, The Cicada Spring. This was a fun romance with and older couple. I enjoyed hearing about Washington DC's Christmas traditions, and other Christmas folk stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Makes Waves Press for the advanced listener copy. Narrator Maria Marquis was a please to listen to. This sweet novella will put you in the Christmas spirit.

I love a good holiday book. However this fell flat for me. The plot was lacking, to many side character to follow and a lot of Covid referencing which is fine but was a bit repetitive.

I listened to this as an audiobook. It's a single narrator in third person POV. The narrator spoke well and had a good pace. The FMC is a woman in her 50's with at least one college age child. This is a refreshing departure from all the romance books with women in their early-twenties.

Even though it was quite short, I only got to about the halfway point until I couldn't listen anymore. There was little to no plot progressing in all that time. There was a lot of COVID talk, which *some* is fine because we all lived through it, but it was a downer, and a lot of times it seemed shoehorned in for some reason. It started to feel like a PSA. In 9 chapters, hardly anything of interest happened, and I couldn't give it the benefit of the doubt any longer. And, I'm sorry, the FMC has been married and divorced 3 TIMES, and I'm supposed to be invested in this budding relationship (that came to be in another book entirely)? In the chapters I read, there was hardly anything transpiring between them.

I never DNF books, and I feel bad, but it is what it is.
1.5 ⭐ but I'm rounding to 2 on the chance that the second half of the book really takes off!

I listened to an advanced copy of this book, and these are my honest thoughts. Thank you to NetGalley and the author.

I enjoyed this short read! I have yet to read the first book but I am glad the first few chapters had a recap of what happened. I did get a little anxious just from the covid references and the midlife crisis vibes I got from the recap but after those chapters it got better! There definitely needs to be a trigger warning for the covid mentions for those like me and the MC that were affected. I did enjoy this read and the ending!! I was not expecting the fake Santa to be Larry! That was such a surprise! Cant wait to see what happens next and go back to read the first book!

Oh my lord do I have strong feelings on this book.

Okay so like it was cute. A small town, a bunch of divorcees and widows, romantic trouble in paradise, happy ending, finding oneself, opening up a little bookstore… etc.

BUT MY LORD THE AUTHOR MENTIONED COVID IN EVERY CHAPTER. It’s like the book’s foundation was covid and this reader is just not about that. Like everywhere you turn it was “I dated this guy during lock down” or “now that we’re vaccinated” or “we get to see our families after 2 years.”

Like it was a cute story and all but honestly I was sick of the covid references. It ruined the plot for me honestly. Idk who the targeted audience was because I don’t know a single person who wants to relive the covid years.

Alright writing and a happy ending but man I would have enjoyed it so more (and the book would have been much shorter) without the endless references to the pandemic.

This short audiobook was a little over 3 hours long and is a great pick for most Hallmark lovers out there!

Unfortunately, I did not love the storyline and couldn’t connect with the characters. There are a lot of side characters and most of the women seemed overly emotional to me. There were also a lot of references to the pandemic/shutdown/COVID/the COVID vaccine that popped up—which I am never a fan of. Having lived it all, I don’t want to relive it. I usually avoid picking up books that discuss the pandemic so I’m not sure how I missed that.

The narrator also did a different voice for the various characters and it did not come across well, unfortunately.

There also wasn’t any real romance, in my opinion. They talked about the MC’s fling but you didn’t get to experience the chemistry, really.

*Thank you Netgalley and Make Waves Press for the audiobook ARC*

That was a cute Holiday themed novella. Poor Katie can't get a break and is feeling low. But with the holiday season around the corner with family and friends she must make the best of it, even if she has to deal with new romance drama and old exes. Short and cute. I received the audio copy from Netgalley and no Christmas books in October are perfect :) I enjoyed the Narrator- Maria Marquis. Highly recommend for a clean short romance.

I was pleased to see that the first chapter summarized the plot of the previous book—especially since I hadn’t realized this was part of a series when I picked it up. It was a nice touch, helping me quickly get up to speed and dive into the story. That said, despite the quality of the writing, this book ultimately wasn’t for me.

From the synopsis, I was expecting a light, traditional romcom—lots of laughter, a bit of cheesy romance, and maybe a sprinkle of that cozy Hallmark holiday feel I love so much. But that’s not what I got. While I’ve read books that allude to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first one I’ve come across that makes many references to it and its impact on society. Considering how traumatic that time was for so many, myself included, I wish there had been some sort of content warning, especially given how different the tone was from what the blurb suggested.

Additionally, the main character is grappling with the grief of losing a loved one, which added another heavy layer to the story. With the pandemic already looming large in the background, this felt like a lot to take in, and honestly, it was more emotionally triggering than I’d anticipated. Having dealt with personal loss and emotional trauma during the pandemic, I was shocked by the direction the story took.

While I appreciate the skillful writing and the occasional moments of humor, this book left me feeling unsettled. I’ve always been drawn to stories about overcoming crises, maybe because I hope to navigate my own future midlife crisis as gracefully as some fictional characters do. But this one hit a little too close to home. Even though I can acknowledge the good parts, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for the weight of it.

This was a short sweet audio book.
I do love myself a short audio book while I’m out and about doing my day to day bits and bobs.

Unfortunate this did not hit well for me.

I did love that Katie was middle aged it was refreshing it showed us older women still can find someone even if they are single with kids and older (past our prime)

However the plot was lacking, to many side character to follow and a lot of Covid referencing which is fine but was a bit repetitive.

I’ve listened to a lot of short audio books some being just an hour to 2 hours long and there is a certain knack to it that I felt this didn’t have. It needed a short tiny plot and with a lot of short stories the begging needs to be tiny the middle and end are the story but this just wasn’t made to be a short story.

Thank you Netgalley and make waves press for the audio book arc.

⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this book but it didn’t have that much of a Christmas vibe, very nautical but not very Christmasy. It wasn’t as funny as I thought it was going to be either. Despite the title Santa falling overboard isn’t that big of a part of the plot. I really struggled working out whether it’s set in November/December 2020 or November/December 2021 because I’m not American therefore don’t know what lockdown restrictions were like over there. It was nice reading a romance with older characters for a change though. Most popular romances are centred around women the age of the main character’s daughter.

Katie Young is still dealing with the trauma of her past relationships. After finally getting her ex-husband out of her hair, she is ready to enjoy her new burgeoning relationship and home. Surrounded by friends, she faces new challenges in this holiday novella. Will Katie and Deke make it through the holidays?

Overall, I enjoyed this fast-paced audiobook. The mentions of the nature and traditions in Occoquan were very interesting to me. I caution anyone with triggers in reference to the pandemic and lockdown to maybe not read this book. It portrayed an accurate post-lockdown world where things are still cautious. There are many references to all that the characters experienced due to the pandemic and lockdown. I enjoyed the complex and flawed characters. Katie and Deke have a lot to unpack but still find ways to support each other. They each made me mad at different points, but I tried to keep in mind that they were still healing. I recommend this book to fans of rom-coms of the holiday variety.

Heavy on the references to the pandemic, light on plot.

🚫 clean romance

|Thoughts|
Sad to say not much about this story stood out to me. Although it was nice to follow a FMC who’s not a teenager or in college, never really felt a connection to the character or story.

At least once a chapter there was a mention of the Pandemic and just felt a bit much. Felt more a story about life post pandemic as opposite to a festive romance.

Listened to the audiobook and found the narration enjoyable to listen to.

“None of us were untouched by the pandemic”

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher & author for an eARC in exchange for this honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Santa Overboard by Carolyn McBride
Potomac Shores series #2. Cozy mystery. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Katie Young moved to Occoquan, on the Potomac and is working towards her getting her Captains license. She’s slowly getting to know and love Deke, the town’s resident scientist and captain the boat parade to deliver Santa to the town down.
But Deke has a standing job every Cruisemas to cover for the scientists in the Galapagos and won’t around for the holidays. Katie isn’t sure now if she can believe in love if Deke won’t be there with her.
The Beach Bonfire Babe, a friend of Katie’s helps survive the holiday.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Maria Marquis which was vocalized with different voices for the main characters with discernible emotions to help make the story enjoyable.

I love the holidays but didn’t understand why they couldn’t just celebrate a different weekend. He’s helping others and had been doing it annually for a lot of years. Maybe it’s just my family. We will celebrate together at some point but it’s rarely on the actual holiday.

A charming holiday story with just a touch of mystery and romance. A hometown tradition that goes a bit awry but friendships prevail and win the day.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Make Waves Press.

Cozy Romance Novella

If you’re a fan of Hallmark style stories this could definitely be the story for you to get in the mood for the holidays. The setting is 2021 along the Potomac and centers around Katie’s first post Covid holidays and learning to trust herself in a relationship once again.

Our FMC is experiencing life post menopause, post empty nesting, and post nasty divorce. The MMC is patient and caring and our FMC has a circle of strong women around her to help build her up.

An entertaining Christmas novella with fabulous narration. The perfect book to listen to while wrapping gifts this Christmas.

Santa Overboard
A Potomac Shores Holiday Book 2
by Caroline McBride
narrated by Maria Marquis

Five Cozy Holiday Stars

This book was a cozy holiday romance and I enjoyed it overall.

I think it might have taken place during covid, I'm not 100% sure though. That's sarcasm, they said covid about eleven billion times. HAHA

If you like a good, short, holiday romance then this is the book for you. The characters are more mature which is something I don't read often and I loved it. So much more relatable.

#SantaOverboard #CarolineMcBride
#HolidayRomance #CozyHolidayRomance
#ClosedDoorRomance #BoatingLife #Shortstory
#CovidTimes #ChristmasTime #ThanksgivingTime
#MatureFMC #MatureMMC #LifeAfterDivorce
#GrownChildren #EmptyNest #Travel #ALCReview
#NetGalley #MakeWavesPress #ReadThisBook
#ReadAllTheBooks

This was a kind of romance book that I picture Hallmark picking up and turning into a movie. It wasn’t very exciting and often felt a little lack luster. It was cute and sweet, felt like a story I would recommend to my grandma.

I'll be honest, I wouldn't have picked up this book if I'd have known how prevelant COVID is in it. I like my festive romances to be fun and light-hearted, but the constant mentio of the C word took away from this. But, if I put my opinions on that to the side, it was a sweet short story and I enjoyed the freindships in the book. It's an easy listen to get you in the festive spirit.

The narrator was wonderful and really brought the story to life.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook. All opinions are on my own.

Santa overboard
Carolyn McBride welcomes you home for the holidays in Santa overboard . The festive title is what drew me into the book initially but what kept me was the life long bonds of Katie and her beach bomb soul sisters . Bonds made stronger through the trials of loss, covid and selfish men.
“Coming of age isn’t just for young people “ is the anthem of this cute holiday season book by Carolyn McBride . McBride creatively illustrates how even in middle age you can change course and sail forward to a new destiny , collecting new friends and loves along the way .

Themes of the book I found were , sisterhood , life after loss , coming of age the sequel, and of course Christmas !

Santa Overboard is the perfect Christmas themed red. It's sweet and not too long which is great for a busy season when time is short.

Katie has had one challenge after another the past year. A divorce has left her a single parent, navigating the chaos of the pandemic, and mourning the death of her mother. She heads to Potomac Shores to hopefully turn her life around. Sprinkled with holiday magic and blooming romance, this is a delight to read.

I loved the determination Katie had and also the strong female bonds that were formed throughout.

The narration was hard for me to get into at first, but soon worked out and enjoyed the inflection she gave each character.

Thank you NetGalley and Make Waves Press for early access.