Unfortunately, Santa Overboard didn’t connect with me as much as I had hoped. I loved the idea of a small-town romance, especially one set in Virginia, which introduced me to some interesting local details. However, for a short story, it moved at a slower pace than I expected, and at times it felt bogged down by the sheer volume of facts. There were moments that seemed to go on for 3-4 minutes just listing historical or local information.

Additionally, I wished the tradition of the Christmas spider had played a more prominent role. It was introduced with its own backstory but barely mentioned afterward, which felt like a missed opportunity for a unique and festive element to shine. There were also several mentions of COVID throughout the story, but in some cases, it didn’t add much to the narrative. If you’re someone who enjoys stories rich with facts and history, this might be a great pick for you. But for me, it disrupted the flow of the story in general.

Katie’s relationship with Deke isn’t going well, and she feels like everything is falling apart. She’s now set on saving the holiday festival, with the help of her friends. Santa Overboard is a cute holiday novella with a coming of middle age theme.

My main issue with this book is that the COVID-19 pandemic was mentioned way too many times…to the point that it was practically a character in the book and should have been included as a content warning. I didn’t really feel a connection with any of the characters. It’s advertised as a rom-com, but I didn’t really feel much romance or get the comedic aspect of it. The book did have really lovely holiday vibes, but it just didn’t quite work for me.

I listened to the audio and the narrator, Maria Marquis, did a great job with the book and gave each character a unique and distinct voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Make Waves Press for the ALC.

This story was just okay for me. I felt like it was really rushed. I would have loved a little more story to get more details.

When Katie's relationship with Deke goes south, her new life starts to unravel. Can she save the holiday festival and her belief in love, or will she have to start over once again?
This holiday romance is book 2 in the Potomac Shores series. It was a cute holiday novella, however it left me wanting more. Where was the romance? It was not the main focus of the story. Also, there were too many mentions of the pandemic/COVID-19, and I didn't really connect with any of the characters, so I had to constantly bring my attention back to the book. The narrator of the audio book did a great job. I have read some fantastic reviews, so maybe this one was just not for me.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and Make Waves Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for the free alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I enjoyed this short novella. I wish I had picked up book 1 or if they are just interconnected standalone. If felt a tad repetitive with covid, pandemic vaccine etc...

3.5/5☆

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC. This was a very cute holiday novella. There is a mix or romance, friendship, women empowerment, and even a little Christmas magic. The author did a nice job at portraying that relationships take work and aren’t always straight forward to finding success. I did not read the first book in the series and I don’t think I grasped who all the characters where initially but am definitely going to go back and read that story.

Main character Katie is trying to find herself post-divorce. It was refreshing to have a book with the main character something other then a 20-something year old. It made the over all story more relatable. I loved Katie’s support group, demonstrating that you build your own community and that there is a full life after relationships end.

My one negative for this story was the amount of times covid was brought up. This is a huge event in our lives but I think a mention or two would have been sufficient for setting the scene.

Overall recommended if you’re looking for a quick, good hearted read.

Available Sept. 24, 2024 Audio Book 3h 55m Narrated by Maria Marquis

This was a fun mix of romance and women finding themselves, with a touch of humor, and, obviously, Christmas magic. Having not read the previous book, this was my intro to the series. It did take me a bit to sort of the various characters although I swiftly admired their strength both as individuals and a group. I will note upfront that covid and the pandemic is mentioned frequently, so keep that it mind if that is a trigger for you. The main character, in fact, Katie, lost her mother to the disease. Katie is now trying to find herself after that and, well, let's just say, bad luck with men/marriage. As a result, she's reluctant to trust herself, ie take a chance on loving again. Her family and friends, known collectively as the Beach Bonfire Babes, are there for her, however, plus a new friend she makes who loves the feel of boating as much as she does. Together, with romantic interest Deke, she has a formidable support group.

While it seemed a bit slow paced at time, the narrator, Maria Marquis was excellent. She did a great job conveying the various, often rapidly changing emotions/moods, and seemed to genuinely be enjoying the story just as much as listeners. She even did a good job of voicing both men and women, not always the case with narrators. Chapter changes were simply announced, ie "Chapter (whatever)" and we moved on. As for the characters themselves, they were an interesting bunch but, probably on me more than the author given distractions as I was listening, I didn't feel like I got to know most well. Not sure whether reading the first book or not would help in this instance but it didn't impact my understanding of the plot and basic situations.

The chief relationship, of course, is between Katie and Deke. Both have been wounded by love in the past, so they do have baggage that they bring to the relationship. Deke seems the more solid of the twosome despite initially being unable to grasp how much their being together at Christmas means to Katie. She is more inflexible, some odd combo of disappointed and angry that he has business obligations that will take him away during the Christmas holidays, an expedition planned before they got close. In other words, she's frustrated, including at herelf. I'm not going to detail more of the plot, I've already said quite a bit, but how sort things out is the fun. The Santa antics are a hoot, too.

There's a lot to take in between Katie and Deke's edging toward and away from each other as well as what is going on with the other Beach Bonfire Babes. Lives and life styles may....or may not.... change. Bottom line, a fun read that makes me ready to read the next adventure this cast of characters engage in. Thanks to #MakeWavesPress - #IBPA for introducing me to Katie and her friends. I'll be looking forward to the next book.Love the little history lessons included.

A sweet and heartwarming tale of friendship and love, wrapped up in a cozy holiday setting. As a newcomer to Potomac Shores, I found this story of moving on and healing from heartbreak, especially for an older main character, to be particularly touching. The author beautifully illustrates that true love and friendship require effort, and there's no better season to remind us of this than during the holidays.

Thank you to Make Waves Press, NetGalley, Carolyn McBride, and narrator Maria Marquis for a wonderful holiday book. This was an entertaining story about a woman named Katie and her desire to pick up the pieces of her life after the Covid pandemic. She and her friends are working to rebuild their lives and romances. Katie has volunteered to deliver Santa to the town dock on her new ferry boat but due to a delay she has to borrow a friends boat. On top of that her new fellow has a problem with her favorite holiday and tells her he will be out of town for Christmas. What’s a woman to do when all her plans seem to be going wrong? This book is very heartwarming and made me smile and laugh so much. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

It’s not a bad book, but it mentions the global pandemic constantly. At the start, I thought I could get over that, but by the time I got to the fourth chapter it was absolutely grating on my nerves. This has aged like milk and will only get worse over time. I did quite like the FMC and found myself really rooting for her and her friends, but the pandemic factor ruined the book for me.

2 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐

A cute little novella to get you in the holiday mood! I liked our characters and the plot was easy to follow. It reads a bit like a fun little Christmas hallmark movie.

I really liked the narrator, Maria Marquis really brought the book and characters to life.

my only con's that I felt like it mentioned COVID-19/pandemic like wayyy too much, which is fine it's contemporary and it was a huge impact to the world, however it was just mentioned so many times it became annoying to me.

I listened to the audio of Santa Overboard and the narrator does a great job.
Small town romances always make me want to move out the city and start a cozy life where I'm in a tight knit community with my neighbors.
I personally don't prefer when books have real life events, especially recent events, this is life deep in COVID after lockdown, and it plays a major role in the plot, it brings a realistic nature to the story, but I like to read to escape reality, not be reminded.
This is a heartwarming short read.