Starting over in the little town of Occoquan, Katie Young finds solace in small-town life with best friends at their thriving gallery and a deepening romance with the town’s resident scientist. Her college-age daughter bakes up holiday memories in their river house. And Katie can’t wait to captain the boat parade and deliver Santa to the town dock on her new ferryboat.
But when the holiday-averse Deke flies south for the season and Santa goes swimming, Katie wonders if she needs a survival suit—or just a really strong cocktail—to weather midlife mayhem. Can the single mom save the holiday festival and salvage her belief in love?
With the help of the Beach Bonfire Babes, a dash of holiday magic, and a lot of heart, Katie just might navigate life’s choppy seas to kick off the town’s festival and get her perfect Christmas gift: a second chance at a forever love.
Filled with heartwarming humor, time-honored tradition, and the soul-stirring natural world, Carolyn McBride’s second book in the Potomac Shores series is a delightful escape to the enchanting banks of Virginia’s Potomac and Occoquan Rivers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Santa Overboard is a fun, fast-paced holiday romance with some very unique elements. This is the second book in the Potomac Shores cozy mystery but can be enjoyed as a standalone. The story follows Katie Young, a middle-aged woman who’s moved to the town of Occoquan, where she meets and falls for Deke, the town’s resident scientist. As Deke is set to venture on a work assignment over the holidays and won’t be with Katie, she becomes unhappy with their relationship. The book features some popular romance tropes, including small town romance, second chance romance, and slow burn romance.
The story’s main protagonists being middle-aged brings a fresh and unique take on the holiday romance trope. Even still, some of Katie’s actions, especially her unwillingness to have Deke spend the holidays away from her, come across as quite immature and selfish. Overall, the characters are realistic and relatable, and their dialogue has some meaningful moments, especially for such a short book.
It should be noted that this story takes place in 2021, and there are references to COVID and some challenging related experiences for the characters. Unfortunately, the amount of COVID mentions takes some of the cheer from the story; it would have been more effective to have limited the COVID references and added a bit more substance to the storyline.
Narrator Maria Marquis does a great job narrating this audiobook using an exuberant voice filled with emotion and well-placed dramatic flair for the climactic moments. Her excellent pacing and delivery of distinct, authentic voices for the characters enhance the listening experience.
Overall, this is a lighthearted holiday romance with unconventional middle-aged characters. Being a short listen at less than 4 hours, the story can be read in a single sitting. If you enjoy small town romance, realistic characters, and quick holiday reads, this book is one to consider for the holidays!
