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.
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