Float Plan takes us on a journey with so much adventure, healing, strength, resilience, and honesty that it’s hard to put down. Anna is an incredible woman who is not fully prepared for what she is about to take on. Grief can take us to some dark places and put us in impossible situations.

While she had some sailing experience, if it wasn’t for Keane, we wouldn’t have this story that I absolutely adore. Anna and Keane sail to some amazing places, and you get to do some traveling through the rich descriptions. This was a beautiful read. I loved watching Anna heal and the way Keane, in his quiet way, helped her to heal. They worked well together. A super fun read. Thank you, St. Martin's, for sending this along!

When Anna Beck loses her boyfriend to suicide, she embarks on a journey that he had planned. Knowing that she’s a bit over her head in the sailing department, she hires Keane Sullivan who will help for free in exchange for sailing him to San Juan, PR. Along the way they made discoveries both big and small about themselves. This story was one of saying goodbye and closing the door to what was. It was about opening the door to new possibilities and forging a different path. It was about following your heart and learning to love yourself. It was about finding love where you least expect it and letting it go so it could find its way back.

I received an advance copy of this book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

“I’m starting to understand how sadness and happiness can live side by side within a heart. And how that heart can keep on beating.”

I thought this was going to be a nice light romance read but oh this book is so much more than that. We meet Anna 10 months after her boyfriend Ben has died by suicide. Anna has decided to go alone on the sailing trip around the Caribbean that they were meant to take together. As her journey across the Caribbean continues Anna starts to process her grief, finds herself again and discovers that even after going through a devastating loss you can still learn to love again.

I don’t know when I last rooted for a character as much as I did for Anna. From a personal perspective this book really got to me and Anna’s experience of having to learn to live with her grief while also learning to love again was something I could definitely relate to and as a result I cried so many times while reading this book.

The author’s description of Anna’s journey, both the physical and the emotional, was equally realistic, heartbreaking and beautiful. The physical setting of the Caribbean islands and the colourful cast of characters Anna meets on her way was wonderful. And despite it’s, at times, difficult and emotional subject matter, it was also ultimately a book full of hope and a reminder that no matter how hard things may seem at the time there can always be brighter days ahead.

Such a great book! I loved all of it! I appreciate a slow burn romance, and this one hit me to the core. I had all the feels for Anna and her loss, and also for her adventure trip to find everything her soul needed. I wanted to be on the boat with them sailing the Caribbean. Definitely a must read!

*Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the egalley in exchange for an honest review.*

"It's a lovely way to live, don't you think? Letting the present peacefully coexist alongside the past."

Roughly a year after her fiancé passed away, Anna takes their honeymoon trip — sailing the Caribbean — by herself. After a disastrous first night at sea, Anna realizes she needs help navigating Caribbean and enlists the help of an experienced sailor, Keane.

I found FLOAT PLAN to be a very moving read — Anna and Keane have been through a lot in the past year, with Anna grieving and learning to navigate the world without her fiancé and Keane adjusting to life after his accident. I loved the overall message that you can love and respect what was in your past, and learn to build the future alongside it.

4.5 stars; Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I just finished reading this book and I’m so happy I get the chance to promote this endearing book about the process of healing/overcoming the grief of losing someone or something important.

A story that made me feel like I was sailing around the world along with Anna and Keane, as I learnt bits and pieces of the history of the various places. I completely felt like I was a fly on the wall, experiencing everything with them. The romance was sweet, very slow and natural and oh so realistic, where can I find myself a Keane Sullivan? I loved the honesty and unproblematic ways of both characters, their ways of resolving conflict is 100% admirable, moving forward I aspire to be like them with whomsoever I end up giving my heart.

The story pacing is not so fast, but it’s not slow it’s perfect for the kind of story the Float Plan is. It’s a story not to be rushed, but to submerge yourself in its message and beauty. There’s a lot going on in the story but the most beautiful thing about it is how it gives so much hope that there’s still so much good in the world, and all you have to do is give yourself the space to explore and experience it.

I highly recommend this book if you need a break or want to feel like you’re on vacation, although I’ll have to give a trigger warning as suicide is a major theme in this story.

This was such an amazing book! I was drawn in right away to the title of the book, and the beautiful cover. What’s inside the book is even better then I imagined. This is such a beautifully written romance story.

This book had me hooked right from the beginning, once I started I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put it down. Anna lost her fiancé to suicide, and decides to sail off on the adventure he had planned. Along the way Anna hires a professional sailer, Keane, to accompany her along the way. I loved both the characters in this story. Both of them are dealing with their own inner demons. Both of them are trying to move forward in their lives. I loved following along on their journey and seeing where things would take them.

This was just such a great story, one I am going to keep recommending for awhile. In this book there is self discovery, overcoming loss, second chance romance, and so much more. I also loved learning all the things about sailing. It had me wishing for warmer weather for sure! I could not get enough of this book. I would highly recommend it to everyone!

TW: Suicide

I have to begin by saying, do not let that cute and colorful cover fool you! This book packs quite the punch, but is still hopeful, heartwarming, and tender. The romance is tentative and a slow burn, but because Anna is grieving her boyfriend it is very realistic and you can’t help but cheer for Anna and Keane. The sailing aspect was interesting and detailed, but not over-the-top and really made me want to go sailing (if only I didn’t suffer from seasickness). The steam is closed-door.

Float Plan is perfect for fans of Evie Drake Starts Over, readers with wanderlust, and readers that enjoy contemporary romances that deal with heavier topics.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my gifted eARC.

This was an unexpected read. By the cover, I was expecting something lighter and then you get hit with that content warning!

The female protagonist is reeling from her boyfriend's suicide. On the anniversary of when they were supposed to set sail around the world, she decides to do the trip on her own. She found herself way over her head and hires help, who turns to be a man she falls in love with. Now, we all handle grief in different ways, however...

Several things I didn't enjoy from this book: the heroine's refusal to get professional help for her grief and inability to cope with her boyfriend's death. And, her irresponsible behavior when she docks on her first port (that could've gotten her raped or killed). I'd like to think no woman is this irresponsible, much less one that has the type of job she did. (Women are trained pretty much since the cradle to remain alert in unknown surroundings)

However, if you're willing to get past these issues, you'll find yourselves enjoying an Irish sailor hero, plenty of adventure, and interesting side characters that make up for the hot mess express heroine.

**ARC Provided by St.Martin's Press in exchange for an unbiased, honest review**

An amazing book! Anna Beck is on a farewell sail. She has the book that her and Ben put together. Mapped out all the islands they wanted to visit and the last island where they were going to get married. So the planned alarm went off and she packed up her clothes and set sail. Keane Sullivan is island hopping hoping to get to Puerto Rico to see if a crew spot is available. She agrees to hire him to help her to complete the mission. I literally looked up maps of the Caribbean. Some of the islands I've heard of and others I didn't. I could feel the wind in my hair. All the wonderful places and people they met along the way. I love that she adopted a pot dog. As the New Year comes in, they admit their feelings for each other. Keane has been offered the chance to crew a ship for a regatta. Although not happy, Anna tells him to go. She still has to finish the trip and lay Ben to rest. When all is said and done, she has to decide what to name her boat. The unexpected surprise is Keane showing up. No matter where Anna goes, he is following. They never want to be separated again. I love where they decide to sail to next.

Ten months after Anna Beck came home to find that her fiancé had taken his own life, she decides to take action. They had made plans. Ben had bought a sailboat and they were going to sail through the Caribbean together. Ben had it all charted out, all the stops, all the adventures. And then his depression overtook him, and he wasn’t there to take the trip. But Anna is still alive, and she needs to do something with her grief.

So on the day that Anna and Ben had been scheduled to leave, Anna throws some clothes in a bag and heads for the marina. She abandons her job waiting tables and takes a leap of faith onto the sailboat and sets sail on her own. Anna knows that she won’t be able to make the entire journey on her own, but just getting to the first port takes so much out of her that she puts up a sign saying she’s looking for an experienced crew to help her sail to Puerto Rico. And then she gets really drunk.

She wakes up on her sailboat the next morning with no memory of how she got there. She discovers an Irishman, Keane Sullivan, who had found her cried out and passed out in her dinghy and returned her to her boat. Then he slept on the deck, leaving her to wake up alone, confused and hung over. Anna is impressed by his kindness, and when she realizes that he was the one who answered her ad for experienced crew, she hires him immediately.

Keane, meanwhile, is haunted by ghosts of his own. He is an experienced sailor, having been on boats all his life. But his prosthetic leg has changed the way others look at him. They no longer call him and ask him to crew as they race. He no longer gets job offers to help on the big, expensive boats that he used to call home. He knows he can still do the work. He just needs a chance. Anna gives him a chance, understanding that his experience is worth far more than any disability he may be facing.

As Anna and Keane sail through the islands, stopping for supplies and adventures, catching flying fish out of the air and eating them raw, camping on a quiet beach, rescuing a lonely dog, and finding friends to celebrate the holidays with, they also find that they are working through their individual grief and coming together as friends, and maybe more.

Float Plan is YA author Trish Doller’s first novel for adults, and it’s a lovely slow journey through the denial, anger, bargaining, and depression to the acceptance that offers those who grieve a new start. The symbolism of the journey these characters take on the boat is the perfect metaphor for recovering from a life-altering experience, and this journey is just as powerful for the reader as it is for the characters.

I wasn’t expecting Float Plan to be the type of story it is. I was expecting a fun, fluffy romcom that started with a meet cute and went on through a series of wacky sailing adventures that finally brings the boy and the girl together in a Hollywood ending that’s all tied up in a big bow. Instead, what I got was the story of characters who feel as real as the people you see every day. There are big feelings, honest tears, and a friendship that builds slowly but seems inevitable, and you can’t help but cheer for Anna and for Keane as they laugh and move forward and throw the plans overboard to embrace a new life.

Float Plan is not the romance that’s like all the others. It’s just the story of two characters who find themselves in the right place at the right time to recover the best parts of themselves and move forward into a big life. It’s warm and uplifting and a beautiful story for anyone who is grieving a loss (and, frankly, I don’t know anyone who isn’t grieving something these days). So get yourself a sailboat and a plan for sailing the big, wide ocean. Or just buy this book and find a comfortable beach or hammock or sofa and set off on a journey that you won’t soon forget.

Egalleys for Float Plan were provided by St. Martin’s Press (Griffin) through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Float Plan
By Trish Doller

Anna lost her fiancée Ben to suicide. An alarm on her phone set prior to Ben’s death about setting sail for an adventure triggers Anna to drop everything (work, family life) and set sail. Anna is quite inexperienced in her skills sailing, and in the midst of some embarrassing moments, she was rescued by Keane who helps Anna in the next leg of her sail.

This was a beautifully written novel that immersed me into the story and one that grabbed me right from the very first page! I loved the amazing development in the characters of Anna and Keane, as the story progressed. I really enjoyed tagging along in their journey from being lost, to them finding themselves and in each other in the process.

Both characters were dealing with loss and grief, and in each other, they find solace, hope, and a chance to heal their hearts to move forward in their lives.

A beautiful and heart warming story that will tear your heart apart and piece them back together again. I loved this book!

Thank you @smpromance for the chance to read this brilliant novel. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars! I absolutely loved this book. It was heartbreaking, captivating, inspirational and gut wrenching. A beautiful journey of second chances. I adored the characters and felt like they were good friends. I wish we would have seen more of Anna and Ben’s life so we could have felt that heartbreak with her but it was still a great rollercoaster ride that we got to share with her. The storyline was really great and the writing was excellent. I couldn’t put this book down. I highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Highlights
- this was a beautiful journey of grief and healing, while finding growth and friendship and new love. I felt for Anna’s character the entire time and really appreciated the journey we went on with her - both physically and emotionally
- this was a very emotional read because of how sad and real and raw the subject matter was. Despite this, the focus on acceptance & living with your grief while moving forward was at the forefront of this novel
- I enjoyed the disability rep, dealing with an amputation and prosthesis. I appreciated that the author didn’t shy away from the truth of what it’s like to live with that
- this story made me want to go to the Caribbean more than ever & explore the islands & be in the warmth & on the water :relieved: one day :crossed_fingers:
Lowlights
-I feel like it could have used a bit more editing in terms of transitions. Often, there would be something happening in one paragraph that doesn’t feel complete and by the next paragraph we were already somewhere else
- there was a lot of sailing and boat terminology that likely helped make the story seem more realistic, but in all honesty, it flew way over my head

Overall, I found this to be a heartwarming romance with lovely characters and beautiful settings. It definitely make me yearn for my own voyage. I would caution again to consider the content warnings because the themes are quite prevalent throughout the entire novel and I can see it being incredibly triggering for some.

This was a book I was very much looking forward to. I was slightly worried that the hype would not live up to the book. This was simply not true. While the subject matter wasn't easy and the main characters heart seems to be ripped out repeatedly, it was a great read. The character was likeable and the character that passed due to suicide, was likeable as well. It feels like Ben is really part of the book as a living character, through the way the main character talks of him. This book also shines important light on mental health awareness and all the stigmas around mental health. A great book I won't soon forget.

This is such a sweet book. It was so good. OMG! I loved it and can’t wait to read more from this author. It was a wonderful story.
I witnessed acts of kindness. I felt the pains of suicide. I learned about pot hounds (which I want, don’t tell my husband). And I had a front row seat to a trip that would push anyone to their limits.
But my favorite things were the romance! **sigh** They had chemistry that was like fireworks when it happened. I was absolutely in love with Keene, he was so swoon worthy.
I highly recommend this book. I hope everyone reads it and enjoys it as much as I did. I gotta go, I have a book hangover.
Thank you St Martin’s Griffin via Netgalley for this wonderful read. I’ve voluntarily given my honest review.

I was so excited to read this book because it sounds just like the type of story I love to read!! Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me. I didn't hate it but i also didn't love it, the story was just 'ok' for me.

I loved Float Plan! This is my first book by Trish Doller and I’m looking forward to reading through her past releases.

Anna Beck needs to run away from her life. Less than a year earlier, her fiancé committed suicide and left Anna alone and spinning from the fallout. For the past ten months, she’s barely survived, just worked at her waitress job and lived with her mom. But she and Ben had plans to sail through the Caribbean, and Anna decides to go on their planned trip solo. She purchases supplies, climbs onto their sailboat, and heads out. She is not an overly experienced sailor but she’s adrift - if she doesn’t do something now she’s afraid she never will.

Anna barely makes it from Fort Lauderdale to Miami to Bimini in the Bahamas. She realizes she needs help and posts an advertisement hoping to pick up a crew member for her sail through the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Virgin Islands to Trinidad off the coast of Venezuela.

Keane Sullivan left Ireland when he was seventeen to become a professional sailor, but when he was at the top of his career, a freak accident cost him part of his leg. He is still more than capable of professional sailing but the owners of racing boats aren’t willing to take a chance on him. He has some potential odd jobs on offer in Puerto Rico and agrees to join Anna for the ride there from Bimini.

A tentative friendship between Anna and Keane develops quickly. They are both upfront with their stories and respectful of each other’s boundaries, and under Keane’s guidance, Anna gains the skills she’ll need to complete the journey after she leaves him in Puerto Rico. For now, Keane is her tour guide of the islands. But it’s hard for Anna to relax and enjoy the experiences she’s having. Ben had a very thorough plan for their trip and now Anna is struggling with honoring Ben’s plan and making the best decisions for herself in her new reality. She’s not sure what she expected from this trip but her talks with Keane are helping Anna to process and hopefully make peace with what has happened:

“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop thinking about him.”

“Don’t know why you would,” Keane says. “Eventually - and I say this from experience - you’ll start building a new house beside the ruins of the old. When you’re ready, you’ll know.”

From what I’ve written, you may be thinking this book is heavy, full of coming to grips with grief and loss. And it easily could have been. But instead, it’s a celebration of life. A tribute to those who pick up the pieces after the worst has happened and build again. Anna and Keane’s travels are dotted with moments of melancholy and tears but also moments of hilarity and triumph. This ended up being an unexpected feel-good book!

Anna is just a regular girl from Florida. Her plans with Ben were to be the most adventure she’s ever had. She’s easy to root for - kind, willing to listen, clever, and loving. She knows this trip is beyond her but is willing to take a risk and not let life beat her. Keane is a delight. He’s had his share of hard knocks but is still optimistic about life and love. His heart is enormous and he practices the benefit of the doubt - an undervalued attribute in heroes! Anna and Keane’s love story is sweet, unexpected, and delightful!

I also loved the travel aspect of this book. My advice to readers is to have a map of the Caribbean and surrounding islands on hand while reading! Visually following Anna and Keane’s travels enhanced my enjoyment of the book. With each new island reached, it seemed as though another part of Anna was exposed and then healed:

The stages of grief are not linear. They are random and unpredictable, folding back on themselves until you begin mourning all over again. I have bargained with a universe that is not listening. I have cried myself hollow. I have leaned into the belief that I can’t live without Ben Braithwaite, but kneeling here in the sand on a beach four hundred miles from home says maybe I can - and that terrifies me.

Float Plan took me by surprise and I struggled to put it down to make dinner or do my actual job! And I felt all warm and hopeful when I finished it. For me, that’s about as good as it gets in the reading world. Highly recommended!

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I have read many second chance romance stories, including those where the loved one passed away. Float Plan addresses this type of story and gives a heart-warming story about grief and how the main character attempts to put her life back together. Our two central characters were very likable and their thoughts, feelings, and actions all feel very relatable and enjoyable. The novel feels very genuine as the dialogue, characters, and events all seem like could happen in reality. Although the book is centralized on some heavier topics, it is done with grace and heart that take the world of sailing and seamlessly blends it with a story of love, loss, and personal growth.

Anna Beck is a twenty-five year old waitress/bartender at a pirate themed Hooter’s style restaurant. Her fiancé, Ben, killed himself via suicide ten months prior to the story taking place. From the day Anna found out, she lived in a state of depression wondering how to move on and trying to deal with the shock of the sudden loss of her other romantic half. A notification on her phone saying that the day has come for a trip brings a sudden epiphany to Anna. The notification was an alert that the sailing trip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Trinidad was about to begin. Anna decides to drop everything and go on the trip that she and Ben planned to do together with their wedding taking place on the beach when they reached their final destination. Unfortunately, it would be without Ben and she would be making the trip alone.

She sets sail and everything seems to be going well, except when it all starts going haywire. She soon realizes that maybe she might not make be able to make the journey alone, so she decides to post an ad for a professional to assist when she finally lands on Bimini. Enter, Irish, late twenties/early thirties (he has a birthday during the story), professional sailor, Keanne Sullivan. He is looking for a chance to prove that he is still an excellent sailor, as it is his true passion, after an accident leaves him with the loss of one of his legs. Anna agrees to hire him for the journey and the two of them set sail on a breathtaking journey through the Atlantic/Caribbean. Keanne is from a small town near Killarney and it was very relatable when it was mentioned that he learned to sail in Tralee, Ireland. I was very excited as I took a sailing course in Tralee when I lived briefly in Ireland. Granted, I took a brief introduction course, but it was a very fun surprise for me as a reader to relate to a character.

The story sails through Anna and Keanne’s journey through all the islands starting in the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and other islands scattered throughout the Caribbean. As the two of them are sailing along, the two of them get to know each other and they introduce their backstories and their thoughts/feelings to the reader. Each island brings a new adventure as they meet new people and reunite with some old friends, have new experiences, and slowly heal their own wounds while supporting each other. Sometimes the seas were smooth and everything is lovely and other times the sea turns on them and the harsh realities of the journey are illustrated, both literally for the sailing and metaphorically when describing the characters’ journeys.

The writing is well-done as it felt natural when reading. There were times when some sailing terminology was used and it took me a minute to try to remember what it means or try and place it in the context of the paragraph. I am the type where I want to picture the story in my head, so I wanted to officially know what each term meant. I loved reading about the sailing aspect and their at-sea and anchoring adventures as it was very interesting. The descriptions of each of the islands make me immediately want to go to each of them and explore as much as I can!

Overall, the story was excellent as it gave a more realistic description of moving forward after setbacks. Both of our main characters were on their own journeys and they each grew in their own way. Each character remained true to their nature and grew at their own pace without wavering for the sake of moving the story along. Everything felt sincere in their journeys. The romance between Anna and Keanne has a natural progression as they understand that neither is in a place to immediately jump into a new relationship. The story seemed a little rushed at the end as I thought there was a lot to wrap up and yet I was already at the 90% mark. It was still a satisfying ending and I walked away from the story feeling like I spent my time well by deciding to take the time to read this novel. This was my first novel by Trish Doller and it will certainly not be my last!

**I give another special thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book that I received via Netgalley. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

Absolutely one of my favorite books I've read in the past year! Beautiful story, characters and setting.