FLOAT PLAN by Trish Doller was a single setting read. I enjoyed this book so much - the humor and romance and adventure and discovery of figuring out how to move past where you are to get where you want to be. I also really liked the settings in the book – a view into parts of the world that I have never visited. I think this is a really great pick for anyone that likes this genre. I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Is it possible to have simultaneously zero expectations and high expectations for a book? Because that's exactly what happened here. I've heard so many great things about Trish Doller's YA books - she's a favorite author for many of my friends. I generally enjoyed WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE but I think the hype got to me. I didn't have many expectations for FLOAT PLAN and truly requested it on a whim waaaay back last year before the pub date was pushed (I think?). I thought I would give her first foray into adult contemporary romance a try because the premise of sailing around in honor of her recently-deceased fiance sounded intriguing. The reviews started coming in and I saw how much people loved it, so my expectations increased.

I am thrilled to say that this is so well-deserving of all the early praise and I cannot recommend it enough. I read the first page or two of the book (also - major trigger warning for suicide) and thought, oh god - what am I getting into right now? I expected to be too sad for most of the book, but Doller so perfectly balanced all of the emotions. The journey that Anna went on had plenty of sad moments, but so many happy and hopeful ones too. She was honoring Ben on her journey while moving on with her life in more ways than one.

She hires Keane, a professional sailor, on a whim to help her after a rough couple of days of solo travel. She soon realized she was in over her head. Soon, the sparks are flying, but Anna is rightly hesitant but not overly nervous about moving forward. I was so pleasantly surprised at how well this transition was done for her - she never rushed, never glossed over her feelings, but knew the time was right when it was. I was happy that this book took place 10 months after Ben's suicide because fresher grief is always hard for me to read about. Frankly, I rarely read heavy contemporaries.

I LOVED reading about all of the islands and how to sail a boat. Doller must have done an insane amount of research for this! It felt like she took this journey herself and then wrote about it all. 

My reading is still all over the place so it means a lot when I say that I finished it in two sittings. I started it on a whim right after finishing another book, to keep the reading mojo going, and read late into the night, then finished first thing in the morning. Sidenote: I love the audiobook for this - I finished off the last hour via audio when I was getting ready for work and definitely wish I had for a longer period of time!

Overall, Doller's first book within the adult contemporary romance genre is a major success in my eyes. I hope to read a lot more from her in the future.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book. From the first page, I was hooked, read it in one sitting.

There was just something very appealing about Anna, and her genuine grief and desire to overcome it, and her absolute loss at how to do just that. How about waking up one morning to an alarm that tells you to set sail? Okay, let's do this. As someone who has sailed quite a few times, I distinctly remember one of the first time we ran aground. The captain told me to go up to the front of the boat and have a seat. When I looked back and him and asked "what now?", he said "get comfortable, we're going to be here for a while". That's just a nice memory, it was never scary for us, we could have walked back to shore, so I'm not just a crazy person.

Anyway, Anna takes her sailboat and finds herself on an adventure of a lifetime, and she creates a new life for herself. I highly recommend this for a little bit of an escape from current pandemic times.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

“Eventually—and I say this from experience—you’ll start building a new house beside the ruins of the old.”
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When Anna’s fiancé dies by suicide, he leaves behind a fixer-upper sail boat and detailed plans for a trip they’ll never take together. After months of struggling to crawl out from under her grief, Anna walks out of her life and onto their boat, desperate to find a way to live that isn’t just going through the motions.

She expects the challenge and hardship. She’s even prepared to fail. But she wasn’t prepared for Keane—a sailor who is carrying his own grief-filled baggage and who will take her down an uncharted path.

Where Trish Doller’s FLOAT PLAN really shone for me was on its rich & descriptive journey through the Caribbean. I felt like I had my finger on the nautical chart book and was traveling in the Alberg along with Anna and Keane. A year out from global travel shutting down, I’ve started to relish every glimpse I can get of life Elsewhere (s/o @saralynnburnett & @paigerragerreads for consistently sharing some ocean zen! 🌊) and I ate up the colorful details about every island they dropped anchor on with a spoon.

Keane and Anna’s relationship unfurls as they trace a path through the Caribbean, and while I sometimes felt these two threads could have been more interwoven, I appreciated how their story was as much about their individual reckonings with grief and survival as it was about finding strength and solace in partnership.
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Read this one for: your ‘sail away from it all’ fantasies, fun boat jargon, realistic depictions of grief & healing, and a hot Irish sailor.

Thanks @stmartinspress & @netgalley for the review copy & a stop on the blog tour!

I would classify it as contemporary romance while touching on topics of suicide and grief. The main characters, Anna and Keane, both have their struggles and reasons why they’re grieving and this book takes us through their process with some adorable, happy feelings moments along the way. The characters are lovable and their journey heartwarming. If you don’t know anything about sailing (like me), don’t worry. You might pick up some sailing lingo in this book.

Perfect for fans of Katherine Center!

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC!

I don’t even know where to begin with Float Plan the new romance by Trish Doller. It was nothing like I expected it to be, intact it was much more. By looking at the cover I expected it to be a light-hearted romance that somehow incorporated sailing. You know what they say…never judge a book by its cover. While the cover is a brightly covered happy yellow, the book does not always live up to the look.

The book begins with a suicide note, so you are instantly forced into the feeling of grief that Anna is feeling over the loss of her fiance Ben. She is devastated, she quits her Hooters-type waitressing job and decides to take the Caribbean sailing trip they had planned on Ben’s refurbished sailboat, visiting the islands that they had planned to see together. However, Anna soon learns she might not be the person to be off sailing the high seas by herself and she hires Keane, an Irish sailor to guide her on the rest of the trip.

Keane is struggling with a loss of his own, a freak accident that had left him without a leg, and the people he had sailed for in the past doubting his ability to continue his job.

Float Plan is an emotional ride, it is a heartbreaking and honest look at trying to start your life over after a loss, of any kind. Trish Doller’s writing is beautiful and compassionate, helping you feel the pain that Anna is feeling as she navigates her way into learning that it is ok to leave the memory of Ben behind and continue on with her life.

The descriptions she weaves of the islands that Anna and Keane visit are vivid and took me away from a freak winter storm, transplanting me into the warm tropical waters of the Caribbean. The secondary characters, however short their time is in the book are unforgettable as they move in and out of Anna and Keane’s live, providing what they need physically and emotionally. And there is a dog…you can’t go wrong putting a dog to love in a book!

The romance between Anna and Keane is a slow burner, as it should be. I would have been very disappointed in the book if the two were thrown into instant love. It starts with friendship, and learning to trust, and feeling the pain of liking someone and not knowing if you were being unfaithful to someone else memory. Anna and Keane have great chemistry and they play well off each other with humor and kindness, and sometimes anger. It feels real, it feels raw, and this entire book will have you on a rollercoaster of laughing and crying. This book is real because that is exactly how life makes us all feel.

Reading Trish’s words is like setting sail on her very own ocean of storytelling... full of calm, deep, and uncharted waters. Just when you think you know what’s going to come next, she surprises you with all the emotions. I was honored to read an early copy of this many moons ago, & feel very privileged to see it through to this beautiful masterpiece it has now become.

If you’re a lover of travel & romance & stories that know just how to reach inside your heart, this book is for you. All the stars for Float Plan!

When I first requested this book, it was solely based on the cover and a friend saying they were excited to read it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it looked like a cute, fun read to get me in the summer spirit and take me away on a vacation I can't take in real life. I got SO much more from it.

Anna lost her fiancé to suicide ten months ago. She has been shipwrecked in all aspects of her life, so when an alarm goes off to remind her of the sailing trip they were supposed to take, she decides to uproot her whole miserable life and go. All it takes is one night sailing alone for Anna to realize she may need a little help navigating the open waters, which brings her Keane and all of his own baggage. Will the open ocean and their adventures help them figure out a future they can be happy with?

I am a huge fan of second chance romances, almost as much as I love enemies to lovers. Anna's story felt so real and raw, her emotions on the table and perfectly displayed to the reader. While she's struggling, she's still trying her best to make her way and be okay again - a female protagonist we all need and want to love. I really enjoyed reading about how she handled each stage of grief. Then there was Keane - truly everything you could ask for in a love interest in a romance novel. He was wounded (literally), damaged and carried more emotional baggage than most, but he was strong and willing to do whatever it took to prove himself. I really don't know what else to say without ruining any of the story line, but this book was just full of positive reinforcement, while also being totally honest and raw about negative emotions and feelings. And, of course, I loved the adventure Doller took us on while we're not able to travel ourselves!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the copy of this ARC.

float plan in one sentence: loved the setting, didn’t care for the characters.

this pretty much summarizes my feelings for this book, though i anticipated having a lot more to say.

when i requested this, i was quite excited at the prospect of reading a story about a woman grieving for a lost love, who embarks on a journey across the caribbean to rediscover direction, passion, motivation for life.

annnnnd…. apart from approximately 10 pages at the start and 10 pages at the end when anna is finally, blessedly, on her own, the rest of the novel is essentially wish-fulfillment nonsense: an insta-love-adjacent story about two attractive people being attracted to each other—but denying it, of course.

no one is fooled.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

➟ i wish there’d been more exploration of anna as an individual, sans the spectre of ben and sans keane.

➟ i wish anna hadn’t been immediately in lust/love with keane the minute she laid eyes on him (his face, according to her after 1 second of looking at it, was “a religious experience.” 🥴)

➟ i wish anna hadn’t been so damn possessive of keane when she was swearing up and down that she didn’t have feelings for him. instead of acknowledging anna’s obnoxious jealousy when keane flirted with another woman, the book tritely paints the other woman in a totally petty light. essentially the book says: anna’s not jealous, she’s just *looking out* for keane! because he’s disabled and most girls are mean and ableist—but anna’s *not like other girls*! in fact she’s just making sure the lucky lady is actually *worthy* of keane!

➟ lastly, i wish the ending hadn’t felt so rushed and so canned, so blithely happily-ever-after.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

bottom line: i'm coming to realize that romances between thin hot white people are just not my thing :( hit my quota for these types of stories at least a few years back. that being said, float plan was a great escapist read for quarantine times!


many thanks to netgalley and st. martin’s press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so much more than a fun travel story. Float Plan is one of those books that just sneaks right up on you. The first few chapters allow you to experience firsthand Anna’s grief upon losing her fiancé Ben. You then get to experience how Anna copes with the loss of Ben and her emotional journey throughout the process. I saw myself in Anna. I felt her pain so raw as if it were my own.

Then enters Keane. Keane, Keane, Keane. How could you not love him from the first moment you meet him? Keane is one of the most humble and huggable characters I have ever read. I loved how family oriented he was and how many people in his past and current life loved good ole Keane. I also really appreciated the disability representation Trish Dollar incorporated into Keane’s story.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I loved this book and have already purchased a physical copy for a review on Instagram.

Float Plan was not what I expected, especially because there were so many high rated reviews. Anna decides to set sail on a planned tip that her ex- boyfriend Ben had planned for them. He committed suicide and I do think that wild the book touches on grief, the romance was so forced.

The romance between Anna and Keane was so blatantly over their looks and their looks alone. They kept talking about how amazing the other one was but there was no reason or proof behind why they were amazing. They literally don’t know anything about each other. On top of that, Keane continues to say that he can’t be Anna’s rebound but then will continue to flirt with her. Make up your mind.

I think the book would have been much stronger if it focused on Anna’s healing process with this trip and having Keane as a friend. The romance ruined it and their relationship was insufferable. The only thing I liked about the book was the trip that Anna decided to take through the Bahamas to Puerto Rico, etc which sounded super fun since I love a good travel adventure.

A lot of people seem to love this book so I would take this review with a grain of salt but I REALLY did not enjoy this book. Thank you to Netgalley and St. martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

This adult rom com was just what I needed! It is a well developed story about finding yourself and love after tragedy and learning to make peace with your grief.

Anna is making her way through life in a fog. After finding her fiancé dead from suicide 10 months earlier she’s found herself just going through the motions. Until Thanksgiving Day comes and she decides to take that trip around the Caribbean her fiancé Ben mapped out for them. Her mother thinks she’s completely lost it now.

Not even a week into her journey she realizes that maybe she can’t sail by herself. Keane is not what she was expecting. I enjoyed the dynamic between Keane and Anna. The banter and the feeling that they just get each other is on point.

After reading Float Plan all I want to do is sail the Caribbean with a hunky guy!

**Full review will be shared on my blog and other retailers for the blog tour on 3/12!**

4.25 stars!

I've always been enamored with the idea of sailing. I say 'idea' because I've never actually been sailing. And anytime I come across a book that features sailing, I'm almost always interested. Float Plan was no different.

The synopsis struct me at once. A grieving woman cuts her ties---and without much forethought---sets sail on the course through the Caribbean Islands she'd planned with her fiancé. It's brave, heart-wrenching, and most assuredly doomed to complications. Who doesn't want to read that inspirational story??

Immediately I was sucked into Anna's character. She's well-written and convincing, leaping off the page as a fully-formed person. How would this experience change her? How would she handle the curve balls the trip tossed her way? I wanted to know more about her and where her journey would take her.

Speaking of the journey, I found myself googling every one of the boat's destinations. If you're a follower, you know I love road trip books, and this was basically a road trip book on the sea. Doller's descriptions of the islands and ports made this traveler-stuck-at-home so happy. I lived vicariously through the characters, yearning for the warm sun, the smell of the ocean, and the local cuisines.

Keane, the Irish sailor Anna finally hires to help her, is a refreshing addition to the story--especially refreshing is how his disability is handled. He's patient and kind, even though he's dealing with his own demons.

My only complaints about this one: sometimes the transitions were too abrupt---I needed more time to sit with the emotions---and some of the dialogue wasn't organic. But these were minor issues that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the romance.

Float Plan is one I would read again, and I would enjoy reading more from the author, as well.

And can someone please make this one into a film??

4.5 stars

Wow!! I was really impressed with Float Plan. This book had a some real life emotional trauma and I think the author did a great job of portraying it.

As Anna sets off on the voyage that her now deceased fiancé and her had planned across the Caribbean, she is met with many uncertainties. First being that she isn’t real familiar with how to operate the boat that she’s sailing on. And second, she’s grieving the loss of Ben from suicide. For Anna this journey became more about healing than running away from Ben’s death. Throughout the book I could definitely see her growth and I think her relationship with Keane helped her move on and grow. Their friendship was a great base for the start of a relationship and I really enjoyed reading about it.

Overall this book was well written, I loved the story and as I said above the author touched on a deeply touchy subject of suicide and did a great job with it. I would definitely recommend Float Plan and I can’t wait to check out Trisha Dollar’s other books!

Absolutely loved it! A great romance that had some depth and some fantastic characters! I loved the inclusion of Keane's disability and how he overcame it! One of my favorite romances of the year so far!

CW: Suicide

After her fiancé’s death, Anna feels lost until she makes the impulsive decision to take off on their sailboat on a trip they had planned to take together. As she island-hops through the Bahamas and further south through the Caribbean, she begins to piece herself back together realizing that she is stronger than she knew.

On GoodReads, Trish Doller says, when writing Float Plan, she took the advice to write the book she wanted to read. And I couldn’t agree with that sentiment more! Her passion for the context and the characters shines throughout the entire book. Anna is well-developed, complex, and felt like someone I would want to be friends with. Anna meets Keane when she most needs him, but their encounter felt serendipitous rather than forced. He’s a perfect gentleman but not contrived and exactly who she needs in her life when she is feeling most alone. They form a fast bond after spending days together in close quarters and Keane urges Anna to live for herself without forgetting her positive memories of her fiancé. I found myself rooting for them to develop a romantic bond, but even more so for Anna to heal and find joy in her life again.

Trish’s writing style was exquisite. She pulled me into the book from the first chapter and I couldn’t put it down. It was comfortable, but not lazy. This is one of those books that feels like a comforting hug that you miss dearly when it’s finished. Float Plan had great pacing: short chapters that flow together smoothly and led to long binges before I realized how long I had been absorbed in the story.

Though I don’t know for certain, I expect Trish is a sailor herself or did very thorough research. I learned a lot of sailing terms, boat etiquette, and Caribbean geography while reading. I found myself reaching for my phone to look up sailing terms that felt perfectly natural in the context of the book but were unfamiliar to me. The descriptions of the locations Anna visited were exquisite! I felt I was island-hopping along with her and witnessing the beautiful locales though I have never seen them myself. It was fun tracking Anna’s progress on a map while seeing the world through her eyes. I also found myself hoping to be able to take a sailing trip such as this someday! Thank you, Trish, for giving us a book that made me feel as though I were exploring at a time when we were stuck at home while also providing ideas for future travel.

Float plan was at times heartbreaking, hopeful, joyous, introspective, and adventurous. What a gem! I would love to see more like this from Trish Doller; she is an amazing talent. Thank you to Netgally, St. Martins Griffin, and Trish Doller for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, how I loved this book! My only complaint is that I wish it had been longer because I absolutely loved watching Anna’s journey of healing and her budding relationship with Keane. The whole setting was absolutely addicting: the sea, Caribbean Islands, a handsome Irish sailor, and a woman trying to find herself after an immense tragedy.

I felt like the characters were so well developed and even though it’s a quick read, Float Plan is such a rich story, full of the beauty and pain involved in healing and what can happen when you finally push yourself to live again.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you @netgalley, @stmartinspress, and @trishdoller for giving me a chance to read and review this novel. The full review is up on our blog!
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Float Plan is compared to "The Two Lives of Lydia Bird" and that being my top favorite last year, I knew I had to request Float Plan.
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This book follows Anna after she loses her significant other and is working through her grief (so not a rom com). If you are looking for a book with loveable characters, a second chance love story, Float Plan is it! There is so much rawness and emotions involved. It is a book that is painfully honest and relatable.This book grabs you by the heart from the first page and just doesn't let go. I finished this book weeks ago and still think about it.

This book begins with content warnings of self-harm and sucide, I truly appreciate this coming from the author and publisher. The book opens with Anna’s fiancé, Ben, leaving a sucide note for Anna then jumps to a year after his death. The rest of the book is an adventure sailing the ocean, navigating grief, finding a “new normal”, and opening up to love. Anna and Keane's path become interconnected and I enjoyed seeing their personal growth together. I highly recommend this book because it addressed big themes but still provides laughters and love. I felt like I was on the “trip of a lifetime” with these characters and wish they were my real friends. I also appreciated the main character Keane being a person with a bionic leg. He advocates about how people don’t need to “feel sorry for him” and he can still live a full life with a few modifications. These are real messages the world needs to hear to become more opened minded for people with disabilities. Thank you Trish Doller for helping with normalizing these topics of grief, mental health, and disability awareness.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Mcmillian Audio for my gifted copies in exchange for an honest review.