Almost a year after the suicide of her fiance Anna gets a calendar reminder for a vacation they had been planning. Having spent the last 10 months lost to her grief she hastily decides to take the sailing trip solo. When things go wrong she realizes she's not equipped to continue on her own and hires Keane, a professional sailor that needs to get to Puerto Rico. Keane is battling his own demons in a life that took an unexpected turn. Working together in close proximity brings its own set of complications.

I have put off writing this review because I know that whatever I have to say isn't going to do it justice. Float Plan is an absolutely exquisitely written book. It handles suicide and grief so gently while giving them space to be what they really are, tragic and unpredictable. I was extremely nervous to read this not knowing if I could mentally take it, after the first page I had to stop and give it a little time. Once I truly got going I could not put it down. There are so many things I loved, the portrayal of grief was so accurate, the fact that a main character has a disability, the tenderness, and so much more that it's too much to list. I'm not someone who enjoys boats, or the water really, but Float Plan made my heart ache to go tropical island hopping. This is genuinely the best book I've read so far this year. I can not recommend it enough, despite its tragic plot, it's beautiful, hopeful, inspiring, and all of the synonyms that go with those.

Float Plan is definitely one of the best books I've read so far this year. While it is a romance, there is so much more to it than that. It's a story about grieving, moving on and learning how you want to live your life.

Anna Beck is lost and floundering nearly 10 months after her fiancé, Ben, committed suicide. She's still trying to understand why he did it and what her life really means now that he's gone. When she gets the alert that it's the day they were to leave on a sailing trip that had been one of the things Ben was looking most forward to, she realizes she has to take the trip. She leaves Ft. Lauderdale on the boat that is now hers and plans to make the trip exactly as Ben had planned. She quickly realizes that she doesn't have all the skills that she needs to make the long distance trip, so she decides to look to hire someone to travel with her and help her out.

Anna ends up hiring Keane Sullivan, who is an experienced sailor and is already on his way in the same direction she's heading. The two find a kinship due to the fact that Keane also understands loss given that he lost his leg in an accident. Anna is able to lean on Keane when the sadness hits her especially hard, but she also finds that she's beginning to see Keane in a different light as well. Is she beginning to move on?

There was so much to love about this book. Doller wrote it in a way that engaged you from the outset and you felt for and rooted for both Anna and Keane. We've all experienced loss in our life and have been in a position where we weren't sure which end was up and I appreciated the realness in which these characters were written. Do yourself a favor and pick up this very entertaining and at times heart-wrenching story.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

In "Float Plan," tells the story of Anna, whose fiance killed himself, leaving her the sailboat they intended to sail to their destination wedding in the Bahamas.

Anna sets off on the trip on the appointed day on her own, but on the first day, she realizes she's not capable of doing this on her own. She gets drunk and almost sleeps with a married man, then runs off and passes out, only to find herself returned to her boat by an Irishman named Keane, an experienced sailor who has been edged out of the profession he loves because after an injury, he has a prosthetic leg.

She hires him to help her navigate her trip, a trip that turns out to heal them both.

This is a gorgeous novel that makes me, a person who ranks beaches and tropical oceans at the bottom of the travel wish list, actually intrigued by the idea of visiting the Bahamas. In many ways, this is an ode to the parts of the Bahamas that are off the beaten path. For that reason alone, it's worth reading.

Readers should know there's heavy language and a lot of earthy references.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the advance read.

4.5/ 5 stars

Float Plan is the author's adult romance debut (I believe that she usually writes YA). This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it very much.

I had not read the book blurb. So the opening was even more powerful for me. I thought that the beginning of this book was very strong. And I was hooked right from the start.

The narrator is 25 year old Anna (1st person POV). Something happened in her life. And now it's a year later and she is still dealing with the aftermath.

I can't recall another book where the author got me to feel so much in just a few pages. I could tell right away that I was going to like this book.

This book has romance. But it is really so much more than that. To me this book is more about a person trying to heal.

My favorite thing about this book was the setting. I loved everything to do with the sail boat and the tropical setting. It was really a great thing to read in the middle of winter.

This book was emotional and moving. And I wasn't expecting to feel so much. I would definitely recommend this book.

I can have a heavy heart these days and this book lifted me up a little bit, taking me across the Caribbean even though yes, I'm still in my Brooklyn apartment. I hadn't read any reviews before I picked up the book so I didn't know about any of the trigger warnings: There are quite a few, main one being self-harm.

After losing her fiancée, Anna decides to take the boat they had bought together and sail 1,700 miles to get to the island where they would have gotten married. But her journey takes a different turn when she meets Keane, who is also dealing with loss but of a different kind. (He lost one of his legs in an accident a year ago.) I loved their chemistry but I'll say the book is a 4 and not a 5 because 1) the end feels a bit rushed and 2) I wanted more steam!

I'd definitely suggest this book for those looking for a quick but well-written read.

If you only read one romance this year, let it be this one. Float Plan was everything I needed and more right now. A second chance at love romance with sailing and a differently abled main character made this book perfect. Top that with a slew of characters you just have to meet and Float Plan was knocked out of the park for me. I'm pretty sure this is going to be my favorite romance of the year.


Triggers: Fear, suicide

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in return for my review.

Give me a minute to stop crying and attempt to form coherent thoughts......

I had zero expectations going into this book. I didn't really even remember requesting it. The colorful cover made me think it was a rom-com, but it is so much more!

Anna's fiance Ben, died by suicide after suffering from depression. He had been planning a bucket-list trip on his sailboat through the Caribbean. Anna at her dead-end job at a pirate-themed restaurant until one day she gets a notification on her phone. Ben had programmed it before he OD'd. "TODAY IS THE DAY ANNA! WE'RE GOING SAILING!" Anna impulsively quits her job and decides to tackle the trip solo.

She's an inexperienced sailor and barely makes it in one piece to Bimini. There, she encounters Keane, an experienced sailor looking for a crew gig that will get him to Puerto Rico.

Keane is suffering loss, too. An Irishman, once considered a world-class sailor, he's dealing with the loss of a leg to a freak accident. His job prospects are now limited - not by his ability, but by others' perceptions of his ability

Together, they set off to navigate along Ben's route. In the process, they learn to let go of their old expectations and instead forge new paths.

This was the kind of book that I alternately could not put down and at the same time, did not want it to end! The descriptions of their adventure were absolutely stunning. I've never been on a sailboat and I'm not really a water/beach person, but I am ready to head to the Caribbean to see these places for myself.

Float Plan releases March 2, so pre-order it now.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read a digital advance copy in return for an honest opinion.

After her fiance commits suicide, Anna decides to sail from Florida to the Caribbean to honor her late fiance's dream. Along the way, she hires Keane, an Irish sailor, to help. Along the way, Anna deals with the loss of her fiance and her newfound love of sailing and Keane. This book was sweet, but fell a bit flat. Both characters are instantly likeable and loveable, and although we're supposed to believe they experience a large amount of growth throughout the book, I never really got the sense that they did.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

There is so much to love about this story. Anna’s journey of self discovery and learning to hold both sorrow and joy simultaneously felt real and natural to me. Healing and grief aren’t linear and that’s shown in this book. Float Plan has a great slow burn romance and I enjoyed following Keane’s own, but much different journey of loss as well.

It’s a major bucket list dream to sail through the Caribbean and this book made me wish I could be doing that right now! The descriptions of the islands, the water, marine life, and the camaraderie of strangers you meet when traveling definitely increased my wanderlust. I didn’t want this island hopping adventure to end!

TW/CW: Suicide. Depression. Grieving a loved one who has died by suicide. Language. Open door romance.

Float Plan is a beautiful love story. It is not just about finding someone to love but learning to love yourself. I have been sailing and know how much work it is. I was petrified when Anna set off on her grief tour alone! Keane was the perfect partner- albeit with a disability. Hearing about the different islands they visited and all the friendly people they met makes me want to go traveling immediately. I would love a sequel!

3.5 stars - a fun, quick love story about second chances and moving on. Loved the setting and the characters!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Float Plan is a unique book - well-written and a great escape. Anna has been devastated by the loss of her fiancé to suicide almost a year ago. A reminders warns her that a trip they had planned together is coming up and Anna impulsively decides to set out on her own. The sailing plan was set and the ship ready to go, but Anna has little experience sailing and her first night alone on the boat is disastrous. A note on a message board in her first port turns up Keane, a handsome Irishman with a prosthetic leg whose expert sailing skills are just what Anna needs. I was expecting the story to turn in to a cut little romance at this point but was pleasantly surprised to learn it is much more. Anna and Keane embark on a journey of self-discovery where they both learn to rethink their lives and the goals they were hoping to achieve. Float Plan was heart-breaking, humorous, and exciting. I read it during a snowstorm and welcomed the tropical settings and Doller's fabulous descriptions of island life and the trials and wonder of sailing on your own ship with people you come to view as family. I recommend Float Plan to anyone who likes a good book, needs a little break from winter, or just wants an excellent read. Many thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

Q: are you/could you be a light packer?

If a hard-hitting romance with a heroine who must find what happiness looks like on the other side of loss + a charming Irish hero on a captivating sailboat journey sounds like your cup of tea then I definitely recommend Trish Doller’s Float Plan.

Anna Beck’s beloved fiancé Ben committed suicide nearly one year before & she’s been in a fog of grief since. When she receives a reminder that they’re supposed to leave on the sailing expedition he planned, she quickly leaves by herself without telling her best friend or family or quitting her job.

Also without having totally mastered learning sailing a boat on her own.

A scare on the first leg of the journey convinces her she needs help & she enlists Keane Sullivan, Irish rogue & all around sweetheart. As Keane tells her in one moment, he’s had to learn to live with loss, too, after his leg was amputated & his professional sailing dreams were threatened...if not destroyed altogether.

Anna & Keane will journey to Puerto Rico together & then she’ll continue without him to Trinidad. Only things don’t really work out as planned.

With outstanding, vibrant descriptions of sailing, the places Anna & Keane travel to, & the people they encounter, Float Plan feels like an adventure. The storytelling is fine, the voices wiggled their ways into my heart, & the friends to lovers slow burn tale is so moving—though I did feel like things get a little anticlimactic toward the end. Temporarily.

While Keane is a stud, without question the real standout for me is Anna, who makes the decision to leave everything she’s ever known & along the way learns how capable she really is & what the world looks like—what her life can look like—from the tiller of her boat.


TW:

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Anna’s fiancé Ben committed suicide before the book begins but she flashbacks to finding his body. Second, there’s an uncomfortable moment for me when Keane segues from his discussion of a series of statues honoring slaves who died off Martinique to “honor[jng] the memory of those we’ve lost”—in her case Ben. I found the suggestion of comparison somewhat unsettling.


4.5 ⭐️. Float Plan publishes on 03/02.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I feel like the main theme of the story is fantastic. I felt like parts of the story were a little drawn out. It was worth my time reading but not one I would re-read.

Float Plan is Trish Doller's adult debut and also the first book I've ever read by her and to say it was anything short of greatness would mean I was lying.

This novel is absolutely heart wrenching and starts by advising readers that there are discussions about self harm and suicide which I think is incredible and more books should definitly do it. As someone who has experienced a lot of loss I would describe Float Plan as two individuals journey to help them move on from loss.

We first meet Anna whose fiance died by suicide a year ago. Anna and her fiance had planned to go on a sailing adventure and instead of staying home with her grief, Anna decides to embark on the journey he had planned for them. She then meets Keane, a professional sailor and hires him to help her continue this voyage when she realises she can't do it alone.

I loved how we travelled with Anna across places like the Virgin Islands and Trinidad. We see Anna and Keane open their hearts as they experience the wildness of the sea as they try to survive and how much you have to expose yourself to heal past wounds.

When I started this book I was really in the mood for a romance book and while there are romance aspects in this book. I would definitely describe it as a slow burn and gentle romance book that crafts itself around the grief, pain and struggles of both Keane and Anna. This story is brutally honest about the struggles of both Anna and Keane which is just part of why it is so incredible.

Float Plan is an incredible book that stays with you beyond the last page. I would highly highly recommend it.

What a heartwarming treasure Float Plan is! As I snuggled, completely snowed in, this book was a perfect escape.

Anna has lost her fiancé to suicide. What an absolute travesty. I was brought to tears many times throughout her story trying to imagine the pain. I’ve never experienced that type of loss but definitely loss I wasn’t prepared for. She takes a journey on his boat (one they were to take together) as a final testament to him. She’s in her most broken and lost state. She meets Keane on an island and he becomes her crew mate and companion. I fell in love with Keane the moment we met him. He was brave but quiet and kind. He’s exactly what Anna needs (which is fun for the reader to realize before she does.)

I won’t pretend I can even understand all the aspects of what it’s like to sail a boat for 2000 miles. I probably couldn’t even successfully get to Starbucks in the current snow. I do feel Doller did a good job painting the description of what the journey was like. I have been to a few Caribbean islands which definitely helped my visual.

Anna’s journey to rediscover herself was beautiful. It scared me at times but I was always so proud of her. I loved Keane and all he was for her. Such a beautiful story that truly warmed my heart. I really enjoyed this book!

I've never been travelling on a boat but after this, I really want to!

This book is full of fabulous settings going along the Caribbean and that's what makes it so unique and special. Seeing the main character discover new island and meet people, all to arrive at a final destination. It's the epitome of the the journey is more important than the destination.

The love story in this book is so differnet from any other book I've read. I really like how the author dealt with loss, it's such as important thing to write about and I think Trish Doller did such a lovely job showcasing how Anna moves on with her life and how she isn't afraid to meet someone new if the time is right.

I enjoyed so much of this book and I think everyone should read it at least once. It is so much more than a romance book and I love that about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the earc for an honest review.

This was a wonderful story that deals with grief and the aftermath. I love the diversity and representation in this book. It was well written and well paced, even though I do wish the ending had been drawn out a bit more.

This was my first book by the author and it won’t be my last for sure.
From the cover only, I knew I’ll be in a good company with these characters and their love story.
I enjoyed the banter and heartbreaking moments but also the humour and suspense scenes.
It’s a great story about grief and young love and how everything goes on after a heartbreaking past.
Quite an entertaining book.

I am obsessed with Trish Doller’s books. Her writing has spanned essentially the whole of my time blogging, so I feel a fondness for them – starting with Something Like Normal going all the way to Start Here and now her adult debut Float Plan. And you know what? I will gladly look forward to all of her future releases as well. Although – I do still have to read In A Perfect World but I am hanging on to that one for when I need a guaranteed good book. Anyways, if you’re looking to dive into adult fiction from YA fiction, you should pick up a copy of Float Plan to ease right in.

Float Plan opens with main character Anna deciding to leave her Fort Lauderdale life behind and take the boat her fiance left her on a journey he had planned. You see, Anna is drowning in grief from Ben’s death by suicide. However, if she sails out the route he left her, that may help her move on. Only, as Anna discovers, she isn’t quite prepared for the trip. She needs help. Help finds her in the form of Keane, a dashingly good looking sailor just five years her senior. He also is thoughtful and has the best sense of humor. Oh, and he is Irish. With Keane’s help, Anna is off on her journey and begins to heal.

I inhaled Trish Doller’s adult debut. This book is definitely going on my birthday wishlist (I only ever wish for books that I’ve read seeing as how they’ll be staying on the shelf). That’s right, Float Plan is a keeper for the shelf. I loved the story of how Anna heals her broken heart and I’d say broken soul. The chemistry between Anna and Keane was blazing. How the relationship progresses is honestly perfect. I loved the pacing and character development within the writing. Honestly I have no criticism of this book. Float Plan came to me at the exact right time and I completely adored it. And well, now I will be eagerly awaiting Doller’s next release but thankfully have one more book waiting in the wings to read if it does happen to be a long wait.