Member Reviews

Book Title: Santa Overboard
Series: Potomac Shores #2
Author: Carolyn McBride
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Maria Marques
Publisher: Make Waved Press- Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA),
Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Audiobook Pub Date was: September 24, 2024
My Rating: 3.4 Stars
Pages: 196

The story takes place back when we were dealing with the Covid pandemic.
Yikes! I remember Christmas that year all too well!
In this story the vaccine is available but the pandemic certain wasn’t over.

Katie Young and her college-age daughter Belle live in a river house in Occoquan, on the Potomac. Katie is working at her getting her Captains license so that she can conduct boat tours all year long and show off Occoquan. Also can’t wait to captain the boat parade and deliver Santa to the town dock on her new ferryboat.

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 Christmas to cover for the scientists in the Galapagos and will not be around for the holidays.
Katie cannot believe Deke won’t be here ~ Kate would love to deliver Santa to the town dock for the boat parade however she doesn’t yet have her license.

I love the preparations for Santa’s arrival via the boat parade.
I can totally visualize the festivities.
We also have an annual Boat Parade here in Sothern California. It is in the evening and the boats are decorated as well as all lit up in bright Christmas lights. The boat travel around Balboa Island and can be seen for miles.

Audiobook narrator Maria Marquis does a great job performing all the characters.
I have listened to the other Carolyn McBride story " The Cicada Spring" and Ms. Marquis was the audiobook performer in that story as well - there is no doubt her voice adds to the overall enjoyment of this story.

Thank You NetGalley and Make Waves Press- Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date was September 24, 2024

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Listened to the audiobook of ‘Santa Overboard’ and really enjoyed the plot and narration. Fun take on a Christmas book and something I haven’t seen done hundreds of times! The narration was also very well done. Definitely worth picking this one up!

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2.25 ⭐️

I feel like I may have missed out by not reading the first book in the series, because this novella definitely didn’t set up the whole town and characters like I expected since it can be a standalone. Anyways, the characters felt pretty flat to me and I just didn’t connect with them. The love story felt forced and so much happened in such a period of time. Also, the many covid references were pretty depressing now that it’s late 2024 and we’re past it - I don’t want to think about the lockdowns and the deaths and everything that happened during it anymore.

The narration by Maria Marquis was good. It didn’t stick out to me as being anything special, but there was nothing wrong with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Make Waves Press for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity for this ARC.

I love short audiobooks but this was a miss for me. It fell flat in regards to the story and characters.

I did enjoy the fact that the FMC was middle-aged because it created a new perspective for romances and second chances.

The plot lacked and I felt there were too many side characters in such a short span. The references to Covid were repetitive, like I understand referencing a global pandemic but it overtook other stories.

I don't think this should have been a short story. It was too much happening to cram into such a short book. I do think this would have been better as a longer version, or with less side characters involved. It didn't allow us the character development needed.

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A cute and quirky holiday romance! This was a quick listen for me. The narrator really sold the story I have to say.

You get friendship, romance, humor, and holidays. All things I love and will gladly eat out. But it just felt a little meh to me. Unfinished. I don't mind mentioning current events in work but the amount of times C19 was mentioned was a bit much. I can piece that together myself that the story is in the midst of the pandemic if you mention it once.

Outside of that I did find myself laughing, and the story kept my attention. I really enjoyed Deke's character.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen!

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Santa Overboard is such a cute holiday themed novel perfect to get into the Christmas spirit. It's the second book int he Potomac Shores series, but having not read the first one, I can honestly say, it's not needed to read this one. However, I will be going back and reading the first installment in the series because Santa Overboard really was that good.

The characters were great. It's a very typical HEA book, but it's Christmas themed, and who doesn't love that?! McBride did a great job with the storyline. It's refreshing to read something that's not riddled with holes and gaps in the plot.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and Maria Marquis did a wonderful job with the narration. She brought the characters to life and gave the book the energy it deserved. Will be recommending this.

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I found this book to be super cute and enjoyable. It was a quick listen that I thought was very well written. I liked that it included real world issues but was also laugh out loud funny at times. I did feel like it was a bit all over the place when it came to the plot, but it felt more realistic. Life is never just one issue. There is always something happening and nothing ever goes to plan. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot!

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A cute holiday romance, I read Carolyn McBride's Santa Overboard: A Potomac Shores Holiday as a standalone. To be honest, I didn't even realize it was the second book in McBride's Potomac Shores series til I came to review it.

The author spends a lot of time reminiscing about the pandemic and it brought back so many memories. I have kids this age too, and boy did COVID change life for my 20-somethings.

I enjoyed the narration by Maria Marquis, they deliver a fine performance.

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Santa Overboard: A Potomac Shores Holiday by Carolyn McBride
Narrated by Maria Marquis
Publisher: Make Waves Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks
Genre: Novellas & Short Stories, Romance, Women's Fiction
Published: September 24 2024

Santa Overboard is the second book in the Potomac Shores series by Carolyn McBride. I haven't read the first book but was able to read this as a standalone romance.

The narration by Maria Marquis was very enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this book. It's a quick Christmas read and I'm all for getting into the holiday spirit. But for me, it fell flat. There was so much emphasis on the pandemic, vaccinations, and the struggles around COVID that I thought the fun was sucked out of it. I read books to get away from reality and this one kept bringing up the pandemic (at least once every chapter it seemed) that I couldn't get away from it. I feel like this book was released like 2 years too late (or way too soon for people to have gotten past their own hurts).

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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I'm sorry to say but the only reason I kept listening to this book was because of the narrator, I enjoyed her voice. But the storyline to me was so mashable, maybe because I didn't read The first book, but even being able to read it as a standalone it was still kinda odd. So much COVID being mentioned, yes we had that as a timeline in our history why have it mentioned so much? But either way, I kept listening because of the narrator, thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen.

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This was a cute, fun little story with a pleasant narrator. Friendship, romance and holidays are a good combination, and I liked the main character, who was dealing with some insecurities. An added bonus: I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but there was some trivia too, and I learned a few things; the new facts were nicely added in a lighthearted way. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

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This is a story about friendship, love and ambition the main character is Katie who we follow around in this narrative, as she tries to set up her business and navigate her relationship all with the support of her friends, the Beach Bonfire Babes.

I love the character of Deke and how patient he is with her. He truly does want the best for her, giving her the space and time that she needs.
But the best part was the bond between a group of women who are constantly lifting one another up and cheering one another on.

This is a truly beautiful story of friendship.

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This book was a cute, funny, fast paced holiday read. I enjoyed the cultural aspect it provided as well. I feel like this book focused a little too heavily on Covid, other than that the book was pretty light.

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Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book! I didn't realize this was book two until I had already started it. I don't think you need to read the first one to be able to appreciate the characters in this one. Although it is not a standalone, so you probably get more backstory in the first one. That said, I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick and fun listen on a beautiful fall day. I will be going back and listening to the first one now and probably come back and listen to this again. This story is a great holiday season read. A little bit friendship, finding oneself post divorce(s), and holiday traditions while missing family members.

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Katie is looking forward to captaining the Christmas boat parade and delivering Santa. Just when she thought her romance with Deke, the scientist, was going somewhere, he tells her that he won’t be around for Christmas as he’s heading south for work. He initially hopes she’ll join him, but she told him it wouldn’t be possible until January when her college-aged daughter returns to school.

What will the holidays have in store for Katie?

Thank you to NetGalley and Make Waves Press for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this novel. #NetGalley #SantaOverboard

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This was a quick and easy listen. Cute story, kept my attention on my daily commute, and the narrator was pleasant. I was hoping for a bit more holiday, but felt it was lacking a bit in the festive spirit - but I’m not sure what I was expecting. There were some witty moments that made up for it.

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Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

I don't go for rom-com types often, but they are a nice break here and there. I thought this one would be a cute, heart warming story, and maybe it is for others, but not for me. The pandemic was referenced far, far too often. I get it, we all lived through it, and probably all need to talk about it, but it seemed like not one paragraph failed to mention the pandemic. It was just too much, and took away from the story as a whole. Just didn't work for me.

2 stars for 'it was ok'

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Unfortunately I was unable to listen past the first chapter. Way way way to many mentions of pandemic and covid, it was just to overwhelming and turned me right off. I did enjoy the narrator. Also 3 previous marriages and then a new relationship doesn't really align with my personal values. I'm sure many will like the book but it was not for me.

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The concept of this book was great! I didn’t think the covid/pandemic mentions would bother me- but it was a lot. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters.

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I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was really looking forward to this read but honestly it was kind of a let down. Yeah we heard the word Covid too many times. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and I just didn't click with them. I feel like it was just kind of a let down. Just not my cup of tea. The cover is really cute though!

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