*Review* Santa Overboard by Carolyn McBride

 

Genre: Holiday Romance

Published: September 24, 2024

Pages: 214

‘Twas the night before Cruisemas…

Katie Young is embracing her new life in a charming riverfront town in Virginia. With her devoted friends, the Beach Bonfire Babes, a budding romance with a swoon-worthy scientist, and her college-age daughter baking up holiday traditions in their cozy river house, the season promises to make up for past struggles.

As captain of the town’s Christmas boat parade, Katie can’t wait to ferry Santa to the dock on her new boat. But when plans go off course and Santa takes an unexpected dip, Katie and her trusty crew navigate the stormy seas of midlife in the best way they know how—with their favorite foods, a cocktail or two, and a dash of holiday magic.

Brimming with laughter, the natural beauty of the Potomac Shores, and yummy holiday recipes, Santa Overboard is a quick read that delivers the perfect Christmas gift: a second chance at a forever love.

For the backstory on Katie and the Beach Bonfire Babes, check out Carolyn McBride’s The Cicada Spring, the first book in her Potomac Shores series.

I received the audiobook version of this through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I was looking for a short, quick holiday read, and on that score, this book delivered. It did not give me any serious holiday magic though, so it really just felt like a book set around the holidays rather than a holiday book. 

One of my big issues with this book is Katie. on the surface, she's fine, but for being a whole adult in her peak mid-life crisis years, she acts like the world revolves around her at times, and she should've grown out of that by now. For instance, she basically decides her current relationship should be over because her middle-aged divorced boyfriend tells her he will be away over the holiday, like he does every year because his kids spend the holiday with his ex, and she immediately interprets that as he doesn't want to spend that time with her. Like grow up lady. 

The narration was pleasant enough and I didn't find myself bothered by the opposite gendered voices. 

Overall I give Santa Overboard 2.1974 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Carolyn McBride, a seasoned boater, has always been drawn to the water, and Virginia’s Potomac River is the stunning backdrop in her Potomac Shores series. Like Carolyn, her characters are grandmothers, mothers, wives, daughters, friends, pet lovers...and boat captains. Her holiday novella, Santa Overboard, is told through the eyes of a female boat captain as she restores her inner compass on a rollicking yet poignant cruise of second chances. The first book in the series, The Cicada Spring, is a poignant and heartwarming novel for women who are ready to rewrite their own stories and discover the strength that lies within.

Carolyn writes about the places she lives and loves, from South Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to Virginia’s Occoquan River. A former editor and columnist for National Geographic Traveler and graduate of the College of William and Mary, she is completing an MFA in fiction writing.