The book starts with a note "be advised, this novel contains discussions of self-hard and suicide." Honestly I almost didn't read farther because is a heavy topic and very triggering, and the book description that she "lost her fiance" felt misleading after we found out what happened.
That said, I read the book in two days and enjoyed it. Anna abruptly leaves her life in Florida to sail on the trip her fiance had planned. She quickly learns she needs help, but Keane ends up helping her in so many ways beyond assisting with sailing the boat. She works through her grief, learning how to sail, increasing her confidence, and beginning to picture what moving on could be. There is a part long into the book where she accomplishes something, and she says to herself that she knows Ben and Keane would both be proud of her but more importantly she is proud of herself. The development of Anna's relationship with Keane felt realistic to me, as she explored her feelings over Ben and starting something with someone else.
The story has a lot of sailing information, and she visits a long list of destinations between Florida and Trinidad. The destinations were a nice virtual vacation.
On page one I was worried the book would be dark, but it was hopeful and Anna experienced a lot of personal growth.

I enjoyed the examination of grief and acceptance. The settings and descriptions were what made this book. Unfortunately the love story fell flat for me. Keane just never really felt believable to me. Wish I loved it, but this was a mere like for me.

Float Plan is a complicated, delight of a journey that sailed this novel into my all time favorite romances! I went in to this story knowing very little, other than it had to do with a sailing trip after the loss of a loved one. Trish Doller expertly wove together themes of complicated grief, traumatic recovery, and personal growth in ways that felt very real, but were redemptive and never too heavy handed. The reward was a beautiful romance, incredible descriptions of tropical ports (adding to my bucket list!) and local flavor, and friendship - both human and canine - along the way.

Float Plan is my favorite kind of romance: a couple of people who are a bit broken, who must overcome their pasts before they can open up their hearts to the possibility of love. Anna is still reeling from the suicide of her boyfriend when she sets sail on her own, charting the course her boyfriend had planned before his death. She hires Keane to help her sail with her, realizing that going solo is not safe or smart. Keane is utterly charming and open, and I loved watching their relationship develop from acquaintances to friends and finally to something more. Their feelings grew naturally and organically, and I enjoyed watching their journey—both emotionally and geographically. I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt book.

Two drifting souls find purpose - and love - on the high seas.

When Anna lost her fiance eight months ago, she ended up losing herself as well. So on the day when she was supposed to sail with him to the Caribbean, she hopped aboard their boat and left her job, her family, and her life behind.

Of course, life has a strange way of putting you on the path you're meant to be on, even if you don't realize it.

After struggling with the boat on her own, Anna meets Keane, a former competitive sailor, sidelined by a prosthesis, who just happens to possess an Irish accent and the boating know-how to get them to her destination. Missing her former fiance, Anna finds herself fighting her growing attraction to Keane - that is, until she realizes there's room in her heart for the man of her past and the man she wants in her future.

Float Plan is a fantastic new addition to the romance genre. I was initially worried that I'd be lost in all the boat terminology, but author Trish Doller does a fantastic job of making sense of everything without over-explaining everything and detracting from the story. I loved the escapism of Anna and Keane's story, the pull of the open seas ahead and nothing behind. Both Anna and Keane, as well as all the fabulous characters they run into along the way, are wonderfully dynamic; Anna's journey was physical, mental, and emotional, and her growth throughout the story was great to follow. And, in testament to the genre, Anna and Keane's relationship will leave you warm and fuzzy inside. Float Plan is a perfect, sunny weekend escape from the dreary cold of winter.

A huge thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for the advanced copy of Float Plan.

I have a 'thing' for books about sailing around the world (why I have NO idea) so the premise of this book grabbed me, especially since we can't travel right now and I wanted to at least be somewhere tropical in my mind. Float Plan was the PERFECT choice for a bit of romance, a good story and a delightful escape to the tropics!

I really loved the characters, especially Anna. Keane is also pretty awesome and I love how they didn't focus on his amputation too much. He's a normal guy which is what he IS and it was refreshing to read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone needing a bit of an escape and a book that is impossible to put down. I loved every second.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. I started this several months ago then set it aside. The beginning is tough to read-it's very raw and the first person tense threw me. When I picked it back up, I flew through the book. The pain and grieving is so real, and the book lets in just enough hope that it feels very truthful and meaningful. It's unlike a lot of romances because of how dark it gets, for both the main characters. I loved the descriptions both of sailing and prosthetics, it gives enough information about the processed involved with both without feeling encyclopedic. The ending felt rushed, I would have liked a few more chapters of the HEA!

Oh my I loved this book! The perfect amount of romance, self discovery and starting over!

After the death of her fiancé just one year prior Anna has struggled to move on. With the date of their vacation sailing the Caribbean approaches she decides to set sail alone. What starts off as a solo trip soon becomes a trip for two after Anna realizes she may need more help then she first thought. Keane is a professional sailer who has suffered a tragedy of his own. While sharing their stories of lose and what comes with it, Anna and Keane first develop a friendship that may have the potential for more.

Though this book is short it definitely packed a punch! I absolutely loved Anna and Keane and their relationship was just so pure and heartwarming! Trigger warning, suicide is prevalent in this book as it is how Anna lost her fiancé and much of her reflection centers around this topic! If you are looking for a short perfect book to add to your collection, this is it!
Oh my I loved this book! The perfect amount of romance, self discovery and starting over!

After the death of her fiancé just one year prior Anna has struggled to move on. With the date of their vacation sailing the Caribbean approaches she decides to set sail alone. What starts off as a solo trip soon becomes a trip for two after Anna realizes she may need more help then she first thought. Keane is a professional sailer who has suffered a tragedy of his own. While sharing their stories of lose and what comes with it, Anna and Keane first develop a friendship that may have the potential for more.

Though this book is short it definitely packed a punch! I absolutely loved Anna and Keane and their relationship was just so pure and heartwarming! Trigger warning, suicide is prevalent in this book as it is how Anna lost her fiancé and much of her reflection centers around this topic! If you are looking for a short perfect book to add to your collection, this is it!

Soon after I requested this book, I experienced my own loss. It has been on my shelf for a while and I read it just yesterday. OH MY GOSH! I love this story SO HARD! I can easily see myself re-reading this every few months. What a unique story. And that meet-ugly I'll call it.... I've never read any of Trish's YA novels - i'm so glad I had the chance to read this. I can't wait to tell friends and patrons about it. I need to get a map and see all the islands Anna and Keane visited. I am a cat person but I also fell in love with Queenie. So many contemporary romance novels are good but don't have the emotional maturity, the true darkness that life serves us. I love that Anna reached a "state of grace." Keane is perfectly imperfect. Love, love, LOVE this novel!!!!!

Anna is floundering. After her fiancé took his own life, she’s feeling stuck, that is until an alarm on her phone reminds her it’s the day she and Ben were supposed to leave on their sailing voyage around the Caribbean. On impulse, Anna hops on the boat Ben left her and decides to make the journey herself: the only problem is, she doesn’t quite know how to sail. After a treacherous first night, Anna decides to recruit an experienced sailor to help get her to Puerto Rico. Keane Sullivan has been having a tough time getting hired to sail, and jumps at the opportunity to help Anna. Both Anna and Keane must navigate uncharted territory, and grapple with the things they’re running, or in this case, sailing away from.

Although I assumed Float Plan would remind me of other “close quarters” romances, it actually more so reminded me of popular travel memoirs like Eat Pray Love and Wild. It focused much more on themes of grief, redefining one’s capabilities, and find meaning in small moments along the journey. Anna and Keane were both likable, flawed, and compelling, and while their romance felt inevitable, I’d say it was their friendship that was the most compelling portion of the story. If anything I felt that the last few chapters were a bit of a disappointment in how the romance plot line tied up; where as the rest of the book felt very much “it’s the journey not the destination” I found the romantic conflict and resolution to be pretty abrupt, underwhelming and low-stakes. Overall, however, I thought the premise, characters, and adventure were very enjoyable and will be easy to recommend to library patrons.

“Be brave, but careful. Be smart but also reckless once in a while...And don’t dunk the boat.” Float Plan by Trish Doller

4 stars. I like this book a lot! It’s about the journey of Anna in her boat, at sea, sailing to fulfill the dream of her beloved boyfriend, who committed suicide almost a year ago. Along the way, she meets Keanne, a sailor at loose ends at the moment, and hires him.

Anna had struggled after Ben’s suicide. And truly brave of her to sail first by herself. And then sensible enough to know she needed help. I like that she came out of her depression, I like how she came out it it, truly a journey. I like Keanne, and how he is good to her. And how they grew into each other. I like how she learned she can live without her new love, but chooses not to. I like how her world expanded so much. And I like the happy ending.

It’s a love story and women’s fiction too - more of the latter for me because Anna grows here.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this book. Enjoyed it!

I felt every emotion reading this one. I felt Anna's pain but also could feel her being put back together again by a journey she was meant to take with man who left her just shy of being a widow. And Keane, with struggles of his own, is everything we needed him to be. Well done.

I struggled to get through this one. Overall, a lovely story of grief and journey of letting go. I personally struggled connecting with the characters and ultimately left disinterested in finishing.

Float Plan is not just a romance. It is the very definition of Women's Fiction, Mental Health, Grief, and some comedy thrown in. A very strong contender for best book of the year.

Anna Beck has lost her Fiance to suicide. She has lived 10 months and 6 days without him. So on the day they planned to leave on his Alberg to sail around the world, Anna does it anyway, even though she is a novice at sailing. She rents her apartment, quits her job and leaves telling no one. After a few rough days at sea, she needs help and finds Keane, a former professional sailor who has lost his leg in an accident.

This book is about grief, and the crazy things that it will make you do. As a Reader, I feel like someone has finally gotten this right. Trish Doller has done an amazing job of describing how to put your life together after losing someone you love. Throughout this book, we laugh and cry with Anna, commiserate with her breakdowns and cheer for her at the same time. The descriptions of the beautiful places we visit in the book make us want to be there with Anna and Keane as we can clearly see it through their eyes.

Never has a book completely touched me in a way that makes me want to share it everywhere. Doller's beautiful writing and her depth of the characters make the reader want more. I haven't cried at the end of a book in a very long time. Five stars for this amazing novel.

This book was sooooo:

mel·an·chol·y

noun
a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.
"an air of melancholy surrounded him"

There were things that I really loved about this book and things that I didn't.

But I read it in 1 day and it made me feel all the feelings so that is always always a win in my book.

There are triggers:

(view spoiler)

4.5 stars

Mare~Slitsread

4.5 Stars

It being February, I had decided last night to double down on my romance reads for the next couple of weeks and somehow managed to remember I had a copy of this on the ol’ Kindle. When I woke up this morning it was around 50 degrees, but by 9:00 it was 30, dropping and the snow was blowing so hard it was a near whiteout. That right there is what you call the gods smiling upon your choice to read a book set somewhere warm.

Float Plan is the story of Anna who has barely been going through the motions for nearly a year after her fiancé Ben’s suicide. As a last ditch effort to propel herself through the final stages of the grieving process, she decides to set sail – literally - and takes the boat he painstakingly prepared for one epic journey through the Caribbean. However, it doesn’t take much more than making it to her first port before she becomes painfully aware that this was not meant to be a solo task. Enter Keane – a man suffering his own loss who responds to Anna’s advertisement seeking a skilled sailor who will help her get at least to Puerto Rico. Of course eventually this happens . . . .

♫♫♫And your lips taste like Sangria♫♫♫♫

Sorry, got sidetracked for a second there.

Anyway, this is a super slow roller with a little bit of melancholy (which I really sort of dig) and almost fade-to-black sexytimes with two very likeable characters . . . .

“In a matter of days, you’ve solo sailed across the Gulf Stream, dodged a one-nighter with a married man, eaten flying fish, and scaled a mountain. Granted, it was a wee hillock of a mountain, but how many mountains would you have scaled otherwise?”

“None.”

“So maybe you know more than you think.”

“God, you’re like an Irish Mary Poppins with facial hair.”

Who are both hoping to eventually find a “State of Grace.”

It loses a half star because the added conflict was simply thrown in for dramatic purposes only and the timeline immediately prior to the happily for now got waaaaay rushed compared to the remainder of the story.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

Loved this book! The character development and chemistry were great and the descriptions of all the islands and people were so vivid. Highly recommend!

Well this wasn't what I was expecting. To be honest, I'm not certain what I was expecting. What I received though i LOVED

This was basically a wonderful captain's log of adventures of the sea and finding ones self during grief. It was fantastic.

I loved the amount of detail we recieved about everyday sailing terms. It was the perfect amount.

I also appreciate that everything felt completely realistic. Anna's feelings are shared so beautifully. I would have easily read 100 more pages of this.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalleu for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy of Float Plan in exchange for my honest opinion.
I devoured this fun book in one day, in part because it was so entertaining that I couldn't put it down! Anna takes off on a wild adventure that she isn't entirely prepared to accomplish, but Keane helps her learn more about sailing and about her self. I thought it was incredibly cute and fun, and I loved being able to witness Anna's experience - both her boat's journey around the Caribbean and Anna's personal growth to overcome the tragedy in her past and start to become the person of her future.
If you're looking for a fun read with beautifully detailed descriptions about the Caribbean islands which makes you feel like you're traveling there yourself, I highly recommend Float Plan!

ADORABLE. I loved this one!! Sweet, emotional & raw, this one was refreshing but also swoonworthy! Would totally recommend to rom-com fans.