I absolutely adored this book. I started and finished it in the same day; by the 50% mark I was texting friends that they needed to add this to their TBR, and by the time I finished it had me exclaiming "Books are so lovely!"

First off, I can't even begin to say how much I appreciated that Trish Doller had content warnings write at the very beginning of the book. I think we need to normalize this in publishing, so I was very happy to see those! This is the first I've read by the author, but just that little act made me feel like I could trust her with my emotions during this book, and goodness am I glad I did!

This book is so much more than its plot; it's grief, healing, exploration, emotions, and love. I don't know if I would necessarily classify this first as a romance necessarily, but it is a love story. And I think the biggest love story is between Anna and herself and her new life, which is wonderful. I think this story will speak to people in different ways depending on where they are in their life, but for me, this book felt like a gentle, hopeful hug. It also made me wish I didn't get seasick!

I didn't expect to feel so much because of this book, but it's easily become one of my early favorite 2021 reads, and a book I know I'll read again over the years so I can see what other emotions it can pull and quiet wisdom it can provide.

Float Plan is funny, sweet, heartwarming, and impossible to put down! I couldn't recommend it more!

Anna is inspiring. After her fiance commits suicide, she fulfills their plan to sail through the Caribbean. I thought the story was hopeful and empowering. Anna was able face her grief and find the path for her life on her challenging journey. Keane was a perfect partner for Anna on this trip and for her future. I loved him. The book paints a great picture of the various islands and differences between them. The book is full of interesting characters. The changes in Anna from beginning to end were completely believable and inspiring. I truly enjoyed this book. I received a copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

How does one cope with loss and grow from there? That’s the premise of this book when you try to essentially run away from your life, but unknowingly, run towards a different life. Of course, it’s a cute romance and it gives you the warm fuzzy feelings of friendship and respect that turns into perhaps something more. If you love travel and the Caribbean, this book explores the islands and what they have to offer. I wished I was on vacation instead of in Covid lock down and the book makes you wish for azure seas and beautiful secluded beaches. It also gives you an insight into the world of sailing and the sailing culture if there is such a thing. If you are looking for a break from more serious books, this is a perfect book to curl up with and smile.

4.5 / 5 ☆.

Trish Doller's debut romance about loss, love, and finding yourself was a story that's going to stick with me for a long time. We meet Anna, reeling from the loss of her fiancé. Even after the year, she's struggled to figure out what life is without him, and when a trip reminder pops up, she decides to embark on their sailing trip solo. Unprepared for the challenge of manning a sailboat on her own as she travels the Caribbean, she hires a professional guide to help her with the rest of her journey. Keane has struggles of his own, as an injury in his past derailed the career that he'd been working on building. As they embark on the rest of the journey together, they each have a chance to rebuild and discover what's next for their lives.

I loved watching both Anna and Keane on their journey through the Caribbean and along their journeys. The characters grew to know each other slowly and naturally, even though their sharing the space on small sailboat together. The pacing as they get to know each other is all the more rewarding when the romantic elements come into the plot. I loved Anna and Keane from the early pages, and I was cheering for them all throughout the book. The author's writing style is flowing and easy to read, and I found her descriptions vivid enough to pull me into the scenes with Anna and Keane.

The narrative contains messages that are worth taking to heart, including messages of overcoming grief, finding yourself, and appreciating others in our lives, no matter how temporary their stay. These are some of the themes that will stick with me long after I've finished the book.

Warning: This book discusses some sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers including self-harm, suicide, loss of a loved one, and traumatic injury.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

To put it plain and simple, I thought this book was absolutely heart-wrenching at times, delightfully adorable at times, and refreshingly hopeful at times. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought me out of a rather harsh reading slump and had just the right amount of everything to really make this book "sail" by for me. I read it in one day and was not disappointed. As a warning, this story does mention self-harm and suicide.

The story focuses on Anna, a Florida waitress we encounter almost a year after the tragic death of her fiance by suicide. Three years before his death they had started making plans to sail through the Caribbean islands with an ending destination at an island where they would get married. Still stunned and stunted in her life since his death, Anna decides to take their sailboat on the trip despite her last minute decision to try it and her very basic sailing skills. On the first leg of the journey, after almost getting hit by another boat and passing out in her dinghy from a messy night on the closest town's shore, she ends up hiring a more experienced sailor to help her get to her destination. Keane, an Irish professional sailor who lost his leg in an accident unrelated to sailing, is a calming, steady foil to Anna's attempts to clarify what she wants in her life going forward without her fiance.

The plot flows nicely, the scenery described is lush, the food sounds amazing, and the characters are wonderfully flawed and just trying to make it home, wherever or whoever that may be. Anna was a character you can't help but want to give a hug and a pep talk to. She's all over the place at times, but you can tell she's genuinely trying and finds herself mellowing and becoming increasingly confident as the journey goes. Keane, on the other hand, is a precious, adorable man who also has his past to wrestle with just as Anna does. I loved that even though both struggled throughout the journey with their past and their feelings on how to move forward in their own personal lives, they were always respectful, considerate strongholds for the other to lean on when they had to break down for a moment.

Ultimately, a lovely, solid 4 out of 5 stars. Read it in one day and loved every chapter. Anna and Keane find themselves unexpectedly on a sailing trip together where they hope to run away from certain parts of their life. When in reality, they may find that they're running to something instead. Also, love Queenie the pot hound. She's truly the scene stealer in the story. As the preface of this book warns, there is mention of self-harm and suicide in this book. This story is a heartbreaking, heartfelt journey through how someone left behind by that act finds her way acknowledging that her past will always be with her but knowing that she can have hope for a future that can be navigated with someone else or even standing on her own two feet. Would recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title.

4.5/5 stars!

Float Plan was so much more than I anticipated. The slow burn romance was definitely there, but I was surprised to find that there was also a journey of grief, self discovery, and life lessons. Sailing was also a major part of this book - While I found it to be an interesting element, it was a bit over my head at times. Still, it helped add to the settings and locations mentioned in the book so the details were important.

Since the untimely death of her fiancé, Anna has barely been surviving. She's drowning in grief and basically just going through the motions of life. Her identity had been so wrapped up in being a couple, that she didn't know how to exist once her other half was gone. When her alarm goes off one day signifying the departure date of the sailing trip around the world she and her fiancé had planned, Anna impulsively decides to go ahead with their trip solo. When she soon realizes she can't complete the trip on her own, she hires Keane to help her navigate the boat. She has no idea that Keane will help her navigate her way through so much more than just a sailing excursion.

Trish Dollar writes about the debilitating pain of loss with such grace and authenticity. Whether it's the loss of a loved one, the loss of a dream, or the loss of the life you thought you'd have - Float Plan seamlessly ties in the grief journey woven throughout the shared theme of loss. I did not expect to be so deeply moved when reading this book. I was expecting a feel-good romance novel - but this was so much more. Float Plan is a novel about love... holding on to love, letting go of love, and learning to live with the idea of both.

**I appreciated the disclaimer at the beginning of the novel indicating the inclusion of sensitive topics that may cause distress to some. This was a thoughtful addition for readers who may be triggered by such circumstances**

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for our gifted review copy.

Oh wow! Can I just say to read this book, that you will love it & please DM me so we can chat about it? Is that good enough for a review?!?

Truth be told, I am going through this funny stage in my reading. I am LOVING love stories and/or women's fiction that all have a side dish of grief. Float Plan by Trish Doller is no different.

As soon as I read the synopsis, I'm thinking this book sounds great but also sounds very heavy. Less than a year ago, I lost a person I love deeply who died by suicide. I've avoided this book because I felt I wasn't ready to tackle such a heartbreaking topic.

Honestly, Doller handles the topic with grace, clarity, and truth. There's no beating around the bush about Ben's death and the aftermath for Anna. We see Anna face raw emotions and it is just beautiful.

Then we meet our hero, Keane, and oh my goodness, I love him so much. Sometimes people come into our lives at the exact right moment and this is Keane. To know him is to love him. He's not a perfect hero because he is definitely flawed. His imperfections, vulnerability, and honesty are what make him so wonderful!

I've read a ton of romance this year and this is by far at the top. As soon as I can, I am buying a hard copy of this book because I want to just look at it on my shelf and remember the wonderful and heartfelt adventure Trish Doller takes readers on. This is a must-read and surely going to be a top 2021 read!

Take a boat trip vicariously. Adventure, romance, heart break, a dog, friendship and family. Enjoy the journey. Not something I would ever consider doing is sailing a boat either alone or with help, but I certainly did enjoy reading about it.

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley
#NetGalley #FloatPlan

I loved this book with it's unique characters. It was a fun easy read. I would recommend.

Okay, a little back story about me will help me explain my feelings when I read this book.
Anna, the protagonist, has recently lost her fiance Ben, from suicide. I lost a close relative in April last year, not from suicide but she also struggled from mental illness difficulties at times. 'Float Plan' described the grief I feel every day perfectly, when I do let those feelings in. "I'm trying- really trying- to figure out how life works without [them]" This was a painful and stark read for me, and whilst I am not at the accepting stage yet, it was good to have a hopeful perspective when I am ready to finally work through the pain of my grief, whenever that may be.
Secondly, I have a disability- cerebral palsy, that I have lived with since birth. My frustrations and acceptance of my CP is an ongoing daily battle. Keane, Anna's hired sailor, lives with a prosthetic leg after having it amputated after an accident. Whilst slightly different, as Keane has lived part of his life with and without a prosthesis, and I haven't, his attitude to his disability gives me so much strength. I had always thought acquiring a disability later in life would be harder to deal with, because your previous capabilities have been taken away from you. Other people's attitudes have on the whole been positive about my CP, but I was definitely wrapped in cotton wool growing up! Keane's frustrations at others definitely mirrored mine- "Their perception of my disabilities eclipses my capabilities."
So after massively identifying with Anna and Keane, this book has been extremely poignant for me. Whilst I am aware people's life experiences are unlikely to parallel mine, as a novel it is extremely well written and depicts these life events very accurately. Bereavement is a path that no one walks down the same way, but Doller certainly understands people's pain and fear.
This is a novel that will give readers a little hope and strength for the future, and it has certainly achieved that for me.

Anna is struggling after the unexpected loss of her fiance. When the day of their big sailing trip arrives, she decides to take it by herself even though her friends and family don't think she can do it alone. She quickly realizes they may have been right and hires a professional sailor, Keane, to take the journey with her. Through this trip, Anna learns she is stronger than she ever thought and learns how to begin again after tremendous loss.

Be warned, this is not a fluffy rom com filled with laughs and fun. It has its fun moments, but it's much deeper than that. It's about grief and mourning, struggling to start over, leaving your old life behind to start something new. As Anna's confidence and sailing skills grow, she learns it is possible to heal a broken heart and love again.

This book made me want to learn how to sail. Anna's detailed adventure makes the islands come to life. Each new place she lands is full of life and people and color. As you read, you will find yourself wanting to know as much as possible about each of these tropical destinations.

As for Keane, he's faced some struggles of his own in the past and you'll learn the reasons this trip is just as important to him. Although their budding romance is a secondary piece of this novel, I loved that aspect just as much. It's slow and gentle, but just as beautiful as the rest of the story.

If you're looking for an emotional yet heartwarming book with beautiful characters and even more beautiful scenery, this is the book for you.

TW: suicide

I think I’m going to quit my job and just travel.

I’m kidding, obviously, but wouldn’t that be magnificent?

Granted, our heroine begins her journey under far more devastating circumstances, but my dormant sense of wanderlust was kicked into overdrive while reading this book. I will say that I was incredibly annoyed that the blurb didn’t mention at ALL that the heroine lost her fiancé to suicide and just instead said “she lost him” because that was kind of an abrupt slap in the face for me when I started (as someone who has lost someone to suicide) so I’m telling you all here now.

The heroine sets off on her journey because her fiancé killed himself and that lingers throughout the book.

The situation was handled well by Doller, and her discussions surrounding grief and how quickly people can move on from something this absolutely devastating and traumatic were spot on.

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

Anna, our heroine, deals with moving on from her fiancé’s death in an incredibly natural and realistic way, and I identified with it. Grief is not linear, there is no timeline, and there is no magic formula for when you’ll feel okay again. In fact, you might never feel totally okay again at all, but that itself is okay, and seeing Anna go through this and process this information and realize that she can live, and that she can be happy and sad at the same time, and that she can have new experiences and do new things even without Ben by her side, was moving and authentic. We grieved and suffered right alongside Anna, but we also learned how to make room for the future and just be free with her as well.

"But 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."

Float Plan was not what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. After a terrible solo sail to Bimini from Ft Lauderdale, Anna realizes she can’t make her voyage alone and seeks help. There, on Bimini, she meets Keane Sullivan, an Irish sailing vagabond with a prosthetic leg that he never lets get in his way. Kean was remarkable and wonderful and just so damn nice, and I loved every minute he was aboard that boat with Anna. Their love was such a good slow burn that grew stronger with every flip of the page, and it was lovely reading how Anna and Keane realized that they were exactly where they were supposed to be and with exactly who they needed: each other.

The one thing that did kind of slip me up along the way however, was all of the sailing terminology. This book was incredibly well researched and thorough, but for someone who has never been sailing before, I felt tripped up a lot when they were describing what they were doing. I felt a bit like Erin from the Office when Andy is teaching her about sailboats, and to be honest, I’m still kind of lost? I respect the hell out of the knowledge Doller dropped about sailing and the islands that Anna and Keane visited, but it was still a bit too expert level for me in some cases.

All in all, this book will tug at your heartstrings, it will make you angry, and it will make you incredibly sad, but it will also have you laughing and smiling and generally itching to grab your passport and just GO. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to go on this journey of self-discovery with Anna, and I hope you are, too.

"I reckon if you stay in one place too long, you might start taking it for granted,” Keane says. “But if you keep moving, everything holds its wonder. At least that’s been my experience.”"

{Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Griffin for the ARC}

What a lovely read! In the acknowledgements, Trish Dollar says she planned to write the book that she would want to read herself. And me too, I guess! This redemptive love story, set upon the backdrop of the Caribbean, kept me from putting it down every time I picked it up.

Anna and her fiance have been planning to sail from Fort Lauderdale to Trinidad, but he commits suicide a year before the departure. In a funk, she decides to set off on her own, hoping to ease her grief. Along the way, she meets and recruits Keane, an experienced sailor who is battling his own loss, to assist her in the crossing. The author definitely did her research regarding the various islands described in the novel, as well as the logistics of sailing. It was a great to picture all of the adventures they experience as they learn to believe in themselves and each other.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance copy for review.

I LOVED this book!! I will see myself reading this book again.

Right off the back tho .. I want to warn that this book contains topic that maybe a trigger for some people. So be warned this book deals with a woman who is grieving her Fiancé who died by Suicide. Yes I know a tragic theme but this book is written with class and authenticity. I found the author beautifully written how one is able to come to the other side of grief and even tho that pain will never go away the main character Anna was able to comes to terms with what had happened and go on with her own life.
This book showed how Anna was able to find happiness within herself and put herself back together after such a tragic loss. I can’t recommend this book enough.. pick it up , choose this for your next book club!!

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.

When I first read about Float Plan, I thought this was a fun romcom, like The Floating Feldmans or The Jetsetters. I was so wrong, and it feels so good to be wrong. Float Plan was a book that I probably would not have given a second chance if I actually paid attention to what I was requesting. It’s a good thing my ADD got in the way! 🙃 Float Plan is not a fun lighthearted romcom. Anna’s fiancé died by suicide and she’s left heartbroken going on the trip they were supposed to go on together. But the journey itself is a beautiful thing.


Montserrat. This book will have you falling in love. I fell in love with the destinations and the journey they went to. I specifically became fascinated by Montserrat and will be definitely booking a flight once it’s ultimately safe. “People expect to see only devastation, but there’s so much beauty here”. Loved that line. I feel like this isn’t just about the island, but about Keane and Anna as well.

Overall, I am in love. This book is just unlike an other I have read. I have googled and wiki searched every island and bay they ventured, and am just in love with this story. Isn’t it funny how some of the books you don’t realize the plot turn out to be some of the best you’ve read? The only thing I wished was that that I didn’t want it to end! The ending was absolutely perfect, but I want a follow up, a series, a Hollywood movie. I want it all.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy. Float Plan is out Tuesday, March 2nd, and I will be getting a physical copy. You should too.

I loved this book. It was more than just your typical romance. Anna’s fiancé killed himself 10 months ago. She decides to take his boat out on the trip they had planned to take. Along the way she realizes she needs help, along comes Keane. What follows is a story of healing and new love. I loved this unique storyline. So many great quotes that made me stop and think. If you like a romance with some substance with it, pick this one up.

4.5 ⭐️
🦋🦋🦋
🔥🔥
💧💧
“When you looked at me and said ‘I’ve changed my mind about those eggs,’ your face was frightened and fierce, and right then I knew I’d follow you to the ends of the earth if you’d let me.”

Who said strangers to friends to lovers was not superior??
This book is exactly what you need right now! It is the perfect spring romance.
This book was everything I didn’t know I needed. When I was approached by St. Martin’s Griffin to review this book, I was already hooked. This is a book about dealing with grief, starting over, finding yourself, but it is also a romance story about two people finding comfort into each other.

Starting over while grieving isn’t always easy, but I’m glad Anna found Keane. He is everything that she needed at that moment and I’m here for it.

I loved all of the adventure and sightseeing they went on. It made it easier to imagine the places they went with the help of Google. Now I definitely want to travel to a few new places😊

Although, I wasn’t too keen by the mentions of religion, I still enjoyed the story. It is the perfect adventure-romantic read to get out of a reading slump.

Thank you Trish Doller and St. Martin’s Griffin for letting me read and review Float Plan prior to its release, it was a wonderful and truly enjoyable read!

Float Plan follows the story of Anna Beck through the grief of losing her fiancé as well as rediscovering herself in the process.

I loved the disability representation and how grief was dealt with in a nonlinear fashion.

While I I am definitely in the minority here but this fell a little flat for me. I had issues connecting to the writing style and the pacing - some parts were a lil too sped up and others were just.. not in depth enough for me to feel a connection. I feel like some sections of the story were simply told to me instead of me feeling like I was going through them with Anna.

By the title I really expected the book to be a bit of fluff. A silly girl with no experience decides to sail across the Caribbean alone and have madcap adventures. Boy was I wrong. This book was so much more.

Anna Beck comes home one day to find that her boyfriend, Ben, has committed suicide. They had planned to sail around the world in a sailboat and he leaves her the boat and the plans they had made to sail around the world. Almost a year after his death she decides to take this trip alone. She gets to her first stop in Bimini, decides she needs help and hires Keane Sullivan. The characters of Anna and Keane were wonderful. At first Anna wants to do all the things Ben planned but Keane has to change the plan at times and she gets angry. The time Anna and Keane spend together brings them closer and she can finally let go of Ben and enjoy the things that weren't in his chart book and find adventures of her own. Keane is an Irishman with a passion for sailing but he lost part of his leg in an accident and is no longer seen as an able-bodied seaman. This book is about grief, holding on to it, accepting how things are and finally letting it go and opening up to new experiences. The vividly described places they visited, the colors and the idea of living on a sailboat made me wish I didn't get seasick.

This book was a delight.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I absolutely loved it! It was the perfect quick read! Anna is recovering from the tragic death of her fiancé. Keane is a sailor trying to regain his position after the loss of his leg. Their chemistry is delightful and sincere and the setting of the Caribbean is gorgeous. I highly recommend this book if you like complex yet relatable characters and exotic settings.