Thank you to @stmartinspress & @trishdoller for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Anna’s journey of grief was so raw and honest. Her story begins 10 months after her fiancé, Ben, dies by suicide and embarks on a voyage that they had planned to take together. During this journey at sea she learns not only how to let go of the guilt, but she learns how to honor Ben and the love they shared by learning how to live her life without him. Along the way she acquires help from the most charming and gentlemanly Irishman- Keane Sullivan. Keane is the ultimate cinnamon roll hero. Devastatingly handsome and charismatic but also working through his own trauma that left him with a prosthetic leg. He provided Anna the support and encouragement she needed to move forward all while she was providing the same safe space for Keane to work through his trauma.

This book was an incredibly beautiful and touching story of navigating the many layers of grief and learning how to live life with grief. After my mom died, someone told me that grief is like the open waters. Some days the waves keep knocking you over you can’t seem to stay afloat and catch your breath. Other days the waters are so calm that you have to learn to learn how to tread both waters. This story beautifully conveyed that message. While I have never experienced losing someone to suicide, I will say that the grief and trauma was handled with such care. I would caution to read when your heart is ready.

I definitely was going to skip this one at first glance but was told it was great, and it was! I will for sure pick up Trish Doller's next book.

Float Plan was captivatingly raw and brutally honest. Trish Doller has conceptualized grief and its many stages in a heartwarming tale that takes readers on an emotional roller coaster of grief, loss, and self-discovery.

Float Plan follows Anna, the main character, as she tries to come to terms with the loss of her husband Ben, who committed suicide. One of their plans was to sail the Caribbean aboard their boat, the Alberg, and Anna decides to throw caution to the wind and attempt the journey alone.

I like to think of the Alberg as the catalyst for her life-changing journey. What started as a way for Anna to run away from dealing with her loss and a misguided attempt at trying to say closer to Ben through the only remaining connection she has turned into a profound tale of second chances.

Float Plan gave an unfiltered look at the harsh realities of the psychological effects of living with persons who suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts and an even more powerful lesson on coping without them.

Quote- "The stages of grief are not linear. They are random and unpredictable, folding back on themselves until you begin mourning all over again."

It begs the question, "Can you really move on? " For Anna, having her fiancé committed suicide left one resounding question on her mind- Why?

Quote- "I cried until my eyelashes hurt because there is no longer a we and I've forgotten how to be me without Ben."

The absolute dilemma of wanting to be happy and feeling guilty when you do was heart-wrenching.

Quote- "Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to paint over my old life and I feel guilty that Ben isn't one of the new colors." -
I bawled like a baby when I read this and I had to put the book down and take a moment. This statement while deceptively simple was profoundly accurate in describing how "trying to move on" really feels like.

Eventually, Anna learns to find synergy between her tattered past and her uncertain future. She is truly a survivor and a perfect example of opening your mind, body, and soul to second chances. Her display of inner strength and personal growth truly struck a cord within me. As Keane so aptly described it: "Eventually, you'll start building a new house beside the ruins of the old."

Keane is the definition of a wandering free-spirit, as my gramma used to say "rolling stone collects no moss" and Keane surely has no collection of material possession outside of some Guinness from his hometown and love for his family. I relished that despite being "disabled" Keane lived life to its fullest and did not allow his circumstances to pull him into despair. He is making the best of his situation and I admire his tenacity and emotional capability to open himself up despite his tragedy.

Keane and Anna were a lesson in finding the right person at the right time in your life. I enjoyed that this wasn't insta-love but rather a slow mingling of mind and body. Throughout the novel, their relationship was a slow burn that allowed a deeper more meaningful connection to develop.

It would be remiss of me to write an entire review and not "big up" the writer Trish Doller for putting the Caribbean and my hometown Trinidad and Tobago in the spotlight! Being from the Caribbean I will admit to being infinitely snobbish when reading writers' renditions of our scenic waters and picturesque flora and fauna.

It is abundantly clear that a lot of heart and effort went into perfectly describing each Caribbean island and its unique qualities and features. Her descriptively lush writing paid homage to the beauty of my home while still being realistic about the challenges of navigating small island politics (customs etc.).

While I am singing her accolades, kudos for including our colloquial words and phrases. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw her using the phrase "lime" which as she aptly described as "hanging out with friends" and I was tickled pink when I saw her eating a "doubles and roti" and drinking a "red solo and Carib" which is uniquely Caribbean. The authenticity and attention to detail were highly appreciated and I applaud the author for including the true heart of the Caribbean, which is its people.

A beautiful story about learning to find synergy between the past and the present and opening yourself up to second chances.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and St. Martins Press for providing me with an arc.

Trigger Warning- self harm and suicide.

Grieving the loss of her fiancé, Anna impulsively decides to sail the Caribbean on a trip they planned to take together. Shortly into her trip she acknowledges her inexperience and hires a professional sailor Keane to help guide her travels.

Do not let the cute cover fool you! This book packs an emotional punch! This was a beautiful and compassionate story about love, loss, and sailing. Anna and Keane are both facing their own demons and grieving their pasts. You follow along as Anna grows through her grief, trying to figure out how to live her life without her fiancé. They are both grappling with their dreams shattering, and together try to forge their new normal. The emotional connection with Keane is strong as he is so attuned to her needs, comforting her at the right times and giving her space when she needs it too.

I also enjoyed hearing the technical components of sailing—you felt right there on the boat with them. The descriptions were so vivid as they charted the open sea, faced some dangerous scenarios, and explored the islands. It definitely makes you want to go on an adventure!

I loved this story and highly recommend picking it up!

Anna is grieving her fiancé, Ben, after he lost his battle with depression and died by suicide a year prior. At the last minute, she decides to take the sailboat trip they’d planned together from their home in Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean Islands. After barely making her way to Bimini, and a drunken mishap with a married man, she meets Keane, an experienced sailor for hire. Anna hires Keane to get her safely to her destination, discovering who she is without Ben along the way.

You must read this book! It was fabulous. The beautiful writing flowed off the pages, telling Anna’s story with adventure, emotion and tenderness. Strong and independent, Anna learns much about who she is and who she wants to be on this one of a kind journey. Float Plan is the best book I’ve read this year!

Float Plan was a wonderful story of hope. I loved that there was a little romance mixed in with the thought of hope after such a loss. The characters were extremely likable and well written. Anna is brave, and Keane's optimistic outlook is the perfect match for her.

I found Float Plan to be a wonderfully written book, full of a heart wrenching storyline but one that is also filled with inspiration. The book is action packed, and I thought a unique read. Anna sets off to for fill a voyage that had been planned for years on the spur of the moment, what follows is coming to terms with loss and grief. Two lost souls, both hurting find a second chance at love. I would certainly recommend this read to everyone.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and am under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

3.5 Stars

Anna has been holding onto grief and pain for the last year since her fiancé committed suicide. She decides to go on a trip that they had plan to take together. She set out on their sailboat but realizes that she needs a bit of help. She hires a sailor who has his own set of issues to deal with. As they spend more time together, they realize they can help each other.

Honestly, I had thought this book would turn into an emotional downer. I braced myself for it but I was pleasantly surprised at how the author handled the subject matter. The story starts off on a heavier note which lately I have been trying to stay away from. Suicide is just never an easy subject to discuss and when the main character is wallowing in it initially it makes it more difficult.

In the beginning, Anna is a wreck. She is just going through all the motions of life. When she starts her journey, she is so raw and torn with pain. She gets herself into a little situation and ultimately our hero, Keane, helps her out and that is the very start of their friendship. Anna is embarrassed that her companion on this trip has seen her at her low but it helps to break the ice.

I love how the author capture’s Keane’s disability and explains his story. His ability to let down his guard and figure out a new path in life is truly heartwarming. The story is a romance but it is a story of personal growth, courage and taking chances on life. By the end, readers will have enjoyed the growth of Anna and Keane.

The only thing truly stopping me from loving this book is that the author rushed the romance at the end. The bulk of the book is a very slow burn romance and the ending quickly wraps up their romance which is odd since it just began. I also wanted more steam from the couple. It is a clean romance.

Overall, I look forward to other books by this author.

~ Samantha

4.5 stars!

Climb aboard and get ready to set sail! What a captivating tale. It made me want to hop aboard a sailboat and sail away. And that's just what Anna did.

Anna is lost in a mire of grief. Her fiance killed himself about 10 months ago, but you see, they made plans to sail the Caribbean. With no clear direction, Anna leaves everything behind and sets sail. Her first leg of the journey is somewhat troublesome and Anna decides to hire a crew member, otherwise she won't survive the trip alone.

Keane is searching for more. He, too, doesn't have a clear direction but he is trying to prove his capableness not only to himself but to the yacht racing community.

They set off together and form a fast friendship. Anna struggles in her grief and learning that it is possible to move on.

This story was amazing as we traversed the unsteady waters of the Caribbean and island hopped. The imagery was beautiful and makes you ready to board a ship and try it for yourself. You should definitely one-click it today.

This book was really good, I loved the writing and the descriptions made me feel as I was sailing right there with them, I can’t wait to read more book by the author.

When Anna’s fiancé, Ben, dies by suicide, she struggles with her grief. After ten months, she impulsively decides to take their sailboat on the trip that she and Ben were supposed to take together. Anna has a very difficult first night on the boat, and decides she can’t do the voyage without help. She hires Keane, an expert sailor, who has struggles of his own.
⛵️⛵️
This book is Anna’s story about her grief. And it’s about doing something that she never thought she could do...sail a boat through the Caribbean. I liked Anna and I rooted for her. It’s about finding joy even after a soul-crushing loss. The author describes sailing in vivid, beautiful detail. I felt like I was on the boat with Anna. I loved visiting all the islands right along with her.
⛵️
Yes, Keane is a bit too good to be true and this story is billed as a romance, but it’s more about Anna’s journey. This little book was both sad and uplifting. I’m so happy I got the chance to read it. 4.5 stars!

✨Summary✨
After losing her fiancé, Anna sets sail for the Caribbean on a trip they were supposed to take together. She plans on doing it alone, but didn’t quite think through some of the challenges she would face. This is where expert sailor Keane steps in. Dealing with a loss of his own, Keane is eager to help Anna on her voyage. Both looking for closure and a new beginning, they set sail on one unforgettable trip.
✨Review✨
Ok, I loved this book SO MUCH! I’ve never been sailing around the world (or anywhere) but I thought the author did a fantastic job of describing the islands, the people, and the food 😍. Anna and Keane were fun characters that dealt with hard problems, each in their own way. Overall, this was a great read and now I want to go sailing ⛵️

Thank you for my advance copy for an honest review

In her adult romance debut, acclaimed author Trish Doller shows readers how something beautiful can come out of a tragedy. Float Plan, which comes out on March 2nd, tackles finding yourself, dealing with grief, and learning how to love again.

I just adored this book and genuinely didn’t not want it to end. The plot was perfectly paced out, the characters were fantastic, and there was just enough steaminess to make this romance lover fall even more in love with Anna and Keane!

I really enjoyed reading about all of the unique and gorgeous places in the Caribbean that Anna and Keane explored. It makes me want to jump onto a boat and see these islands for myself (well maybe a plane instead... I don’t know if boats are really my thing...). But this definitely will make you want to go on an adventure and experience the beauty in the spontaneity and in the world.

The way Doller talks about Anna’s grief and how she tries to move on from Ben is so real and authentic. She doesn’t try to sugarcoat anything and really shows the complexities of moving on from someone you care about that was taken from earth too soon. She also contrasts Anna’s grief with Keane’s amputated leg and how he lost something as well. However, Dollar emphasizes that idea that we can still carry the things and people we’ve lost with us and that learning to move on in our grief doesn’t make those things forgotten. And even though the way our lives work out don’t match up with our initial plans, everything has a way of working itself out in the end.

As I turned the last page of this book, I was so disappointed that Anna’s story was over. I can only hope that Doller will write a sequel or release another book like this one to satisfy me. Any fans of Katherine Center or romance in general will love this book and I am definitely adding Trish Doller to my auto-buy author list! In summary, this book is a must-read for all!

*I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest opinion.

Do me a favor? Go ahead and pick up Float Plan right now! I loved this flirty romance. Some serious topics and it was refreshing to read something that had some realism along with some 'never would this actually happen'.

CW: Suicide / Self-Harm

I have never been one to want to take a long boat ride anywhere, let alone travel, but this book made me want to drop everything and feel the wind in my hair!

The setting was a perfect escape full of tropical places, island hopping, and sight-seeing on an adventure of a lifetime for Anna after losing her fiancé. Not only is it filled with all of those things but it is also a journey of healing as she deals with the grief of what she has lost.

Although I have not lost my spouse, I can understand grief as I have my own when it comes to losing my grandmother due to old age. I have also seen my step-sister deal with the loss of her father to suicide. Grief may be caused by different outlets but it is still one of the hardest things to deal with and learning to cope with it is different as well. Anna chooses to deal with it when her phone alarm sounds for the day they were both to depart on this trip. She packs up and leaves her life behind after spending many months in bed. Honestly, it takes guts to do what she did! I don’t think I could ever manage such a thing but it was so refreshing to see her face everything head on.

Things don’t always go according to plan and that’s when Keane enters into the picture.

One thing I loved about the romance and the relationship that blossomed was that it didn’t happen overnight. It took time and Keane was understanding of her and what she had to work through on her own but was also there to give her a boost, especially when it came to sailing. I liked learning more about him and what happened to his leg. I honestly can’t remember reading a book where someone had a prosthetic but it’s great to see all of the different rep in books these days.

I will say that Keane could be a bit too perfect and there wasn’t as much drama as I thought there would be, especially compared to other books in this genre, but it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. There are genuine guys out there and I liked seeing one in a book that didn’t end up being a dillweed for some stupid reason.

Overall, there was so much to like about this book! I’d definitely recommend to those who enjoy this genre.

I absolutely, positively, 100%  judged this book by the cover.  I was expecting a breezy, cocktails on the lido deck type of vacation story.  What I got was an emotional journey about navigating through grief and finding yourself along the way. 

Quick Synopsis: 10 months after Anna's finance Ben dies by suicide she takes the sailing trip they had planned to take together. After a unforgettable meet-cute she hires an Irish sailor, Keane, to help her reach her destination. 

I would describe this book as contemporary romance adjacent. There was certainly an element of romance, but it was more about growth, community and  self discovery.  It's a quick read at less than 300 pages. I loved being a stowaway on their trip and learning more about sailing. But I really loved escaping to new-to-me Caribbean islands and learning more about their unique history.

CW: Suicide, self harm
REPRESENTATION: Disability amputation.

This is different from other romance reads I've read. We start the book with Anna, she lost her fiance by suicide less than one year earlier and she is taking the sailboat to go on the trip they were going to take together, sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Trinidad. This is a close proximity romance read.

At first seeing Anna's grief and her mental health, I wasn't sure how this could be a romance read. But, I think the author did a really nice job having her find moments to herself to find that growth and to be ok to process and move past just sitting in her grief.I loved Anna's journey to find ways to honor her late fiance's memory.

I am not very familiar with boating logistics and there were several terms I didn't know, but I understood from context, or the author described well, but nothing to prohibit my overall enjoyment with the book. It was actually quite interesting to learn more about boating, the mechanics, and how you actually live and travel on a boat!

My family vacations to Turks and Caicos every year and I loved seeing this spot from their perspective. It was fun to see the restaurants and spots I've visited as well - like experiencing driving on the opposite side of the road, all of the round abouts, and eating conch, an island specialty. I also loved all the other Caribbean islands they traveled to and their glimpses into different cultural aspects and Island specific foods. I do have one small clarification! The stray dogs on Turks and Caicos islands are called pot cakes (not pot hounds as referenced in the book)! And these dogs are EVERYWHERE on the island! There is a really wonderful shelter and rescue center on the island where you can go and see the dogs, walk them on the beach, and rescue them home as well! A couple of the pictures I shared today are from the pot cake shelter.

Keane is disabled and I really loved learning more about ableism, his struggles, and misconceptions he experienced. He is a delightful lead character and would have loved to see a little more from his perspective but also understand this is more about Anna's journey through healing.

Thank you for my advanced copy.

This book is so much more than a cute cover. I found myself in tears pretty frequently. This is a story of loss and digging yourself out from the pit of it. It’s about learning to move on when you have no idea how you will do it. The story of Anna and Keane is slow and sweet. These two have earned their share of heartaches and form a bond they never saw coming. The description of islands and all they experience along the way had me begging for summer and life on the water!

Overall 5 stars for this book. I really enjoyed it. It was a sweet story filled with emotion and adventure.

My review appears on my good reads page at the following link
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3865186054?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

It will appear on my Instagram page on pub date at the following link

https://www.instagram.com/readresa/

Adventure
Slow burn romance
Character growth
For fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Beach Read

I can see the similarities to this and Evvie Drake: both characters struggling with loss, a close proximity relationship, sweet slow burn, and well written character growth. I loved learning more about sailing in this book. I have read two of Trish Doller’s YA books gave them both 5 stars as well! She does an amazing job at writing characters that you really feel and care for and putting them in settings that unique in a romance.

"It's pointless to speculate what might happen. What we need at present is to not let fear rule the day...."

When a book begins with self-harm and suicide, you take a big breath and prepare yourself for the heartbreak to follow. However, this book focused more on the grieving, self-discovery and strength.

After Anna's finance dies by suicide, she takes the sailboat he has left her and his navigation book and decides to sail the course he has mapped out. After the first voyage she realizes she is in over her head and needs some assistance. This is when we meet Keane. Keane is a "former" professional sailor who is dealing with his own sense of trauma and loss. Together the two of them navigate the Caribbean in search of healing and freedom.

I read this book in just over a day. I loved the characters, I was hooked immediately. I knew where the story was going, but I needed to keep reading to make sure I was correct. I can't recommend this book enough, a great vacation or beach read. It is a quick read that will have you hooked within the first chapter.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC.