If you’re into slow burn romances with a teaspoon of steam, this is the book for you. It’s about a girl who takes her late boyfriends boat and decides to take go on a journey they had planned before he committed suicide (*trigger warning*). After she gets to Bimini, she comes to the conclusion that she probably couldn’t get to Trinidad with her limited sailing knowledge. So, she hires a sailor to accompany her. You can already guess the ending.

It’s very cute but also way more intense than I was expecting. Our female protagonist is dealing with so much grief and feels like she doesn’t have purpose. She’s effectively throwing away her life and sailing away.

The author did an amazing job at making you feel like you were invited along for the journey. While sometimes the sailing jargon was confusing and the islands all mixed together, it made me want to buy a sailboat SO BAD!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced readers copy!!

Really enjoyed this novel. Heartbroken Anna, runs away from home to complete the dream of Ben. He committed suicide ten months prior and left her struggling with grief. Anna discovers she is stronger than she knows and meets interesting characters on her journey of discovery. Not least of which is Keane Sullivan. Well written.

I enjoyed this book. The MC sails off on a voyage of discovery after her fiance commits suicide. On the way she meets new friends, new love, and some measure of healing

I do have to say that the cover doesn't really match the story. I thought it would be more of a romantic comedy then it was based on the bright cover that is similar to many rom-coms that have come out recently.

I liked how no one cared about Keane's injury. It was just another part of him. And I felt as though the difficulties he'd had finding work rang true. Unfair, but true.

I wasn't sure about the ending. What had changed that brought them back together? It seemed so easy that a few days away for Keane made him renounce everything he''d ever wanted and was now sure he'd be content living in Florida.

Overall an enjoyable read.

Do you like when two brooding characters find ways to move past their own hardships and fall in love in the process? Well, I sure do which is probably why I finished this book in less than 24 hours. This novel follows two characters sailing through the Caribbean together as Anna recovers from her fiance's suicide 10 months previous and Keane comes to term with the fact that an accident that removed part of his right leg has limited his career as a professional sailor. I really appreciated how the author handled grief and life with a prosthesis while capturing the beauty of various Caribbean islands in a way that reminded me of Elin Hildebrand. My one complaint with this novel is that, aside from the major issues each main character is dealing with, the other conflicts are relatively small and even the hard stuff is resolved pretty easily when they could have added more depth to the novel, so this novel is a solid four stars for me. If you're looking for a sweet rom com set on a sailboat, I would definitely recommend picking up Float Plan.

This book was exactly what I needed — a comfort read laced with humor and a little catharsis. For someone who knows very little about sailing, it was also an adventure. I loved reading about the technical aspects of a journey like this, and the lifestyle of sailing from island to island. I'd definitely recommend it, but be warned: It will make you want to set sail on a trip of your own.

Oh my goodness, what a book! The main character was so excellent in her grief, her bravery, and her growth. I loved the romance, but seeing this woman blossom was an absolute joy.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC ebook.

Anna is trying to pick up her life after her fiance's suicide. It has been 10 months and she decided to take a boat trip they had planned before he died. She hires a man named Keane to guide her along the trip. Before long there are sparks between them. Anna doesn't know if it is right to fall for someone so quickly, but she lets her guard down and falls for Keane.

I LOVED this book!! You get to follow along as Anna falls in love with Keane. He is just so perfect for her. Although she is still grieving her fiance, Keane does, and says all the right things to help her through it.
If you love second chance romances you will love Float Plan.

APPLAUSE!! APPLAUSE!! APPLAUSE!!
( With a standing ovation!) What a great read!

Anna Beck can't make sense of her world. Her fiance, Ben, killed himself after battling depression all his life. Unable to get on with her life, Anna makes a rash decision to complete a trip that Ben had planned for them - which would have ended with their wedding ceremony on the sandy beaches of Trinidad.

But Anna soon realizes that she lacks the skills to make the long journey through the Caribbean's unpredictable waters, so she hires Keane Sullivan, a professional sailor to help her complete her odyssey.
There is a cute scene where it appears that the fates contrived to bring them together (no spoilers here - read it for yourself!) Keane is such a decent guy - and a true friend to Anna. Doesn't hurt that he is incredibly good-looking, too!

Time and again Keane is a shoulder Anna can lean on while she battles her still raw grief for Ben. Keane is someone who understands life-altering suffering, having lost lost part of his leg in a car accident a few years back. The descriptions of all the enchanting stops along the journey, and the many harrowing incidents on the trip itself, make for totally riveting reading.

There were so many quotable lines in this story. Both Anna and Keane have had to endure heartbreak and the shattering of their dreams. I love Trish Doller's clean, realistic writing style. Anna and Keane felt like real people, facing real problems, who were doing the best they could to find a new normal.

Highly recommended!!! I give this one a 8 out of 5 score: I was that engrossed and entertained!
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book to review.

Fair warning, this book begins with a suicide. It is not about suicide but that is an underlying theme that propels the story forward. It turns out to be a much lighter story that involves self discovery, loss, love and adventure.

We follow Anna who is trying to find her own purpose and identity after losing her fiance. She sets out on the open sea trying to gain closer and find perspective. Along the way she finds that she is chasing after the dreams of someone else. She now has to find out what she wants. She learns that she is able to do much more for herself than she thought. She is alone much of the time and has to be self reliant. She learns about letting go, moving on, and finding her own happiness in the midst of sorrow. It is fun to see the many places she travels to, the people she meets along the way and the lessons she is learning. It is a great book to read during the summer because of the beach and sea atmosphere. The majority of the book takes place on a boat. If you are not familiar with sailing and boats some of the language can be distracting, but it is nothing that takes away from the story and if anything, makes the reader feel like you are right there on the boat.

Oh my goodness, how I adored Anna and Keane. I was nervous because of a trigger warning regarding suicide at the very beginning. It was poignant and the reader could definitely feel Anna’s pain. Anna sets off as a tribute to her late husband to sail but quickly realizes that she needs help. Cue Irish-accented Keane.
Keane was such a well-written character and his actions and words were just so sweet. Sexy and hopeful, I could not put this book down!

Being my first ever ARC read, I am extremely impressed with the quality of this book written by Trish Doller. I researched the author and found out that she is a sailor herself, hence why I believe that her first romantic adult debut is surrounded around the topic of setting sail.

Themes:
Grief, Romance, Hope, Fate, Travel, Friendship, Discovery

Plot:
Anna has lost her fiancé and is shipwrecked with grief. She decided to take a trip from Florida to the Caribbean to honour the wishes of him. In their boat, she travels alone but realised that it would be much easier to travel with a professional sailor companion. This is where Keane, an Irish gentleman comes in! Together, they realise that it is never to late to chart a new course, a new future.

Opinion:
First of all, what drew me to this was the cover art! Super beautiful and pulled me in and away from the others! The theme of travel definitely makes the reader want to travel and have adventures of their own. 3/4 in is where I really started to enjoy the story line, where the real magic begins. I wish that it was like this sooner though. I appreciate the authors attention to detail when describing the places visited and even the parts of the boat; it really made the story come to life as I could imagine everything explained so vividly! Now I want a boat!

A nice debut from Doller.

I'm able to connect to this story line and it reminds me that hope can exist.

I can’t pinpoint what exactly made this book so appealing, but I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it.
There wasn’t a lot of action, but instead of being bored I just felt like it was really relaxing to read.
Overall I really liked this and am pretty sure I’ll reread this book at some point once it’s officially released.

This one was so charming. The storyline of "finding yourself again" after tragedy is compelling enough, and then you add an endearing love interest, and a beautiful setting; I'm set!

The main character, Anna, has just the right amount of sass and gumption. You also can't help feeling compassion for her as she deals with the death (tw: suicide) of her boyfriend.

The love interest, Keane, is a perpetual sailor from Ireland with a huge heart. He also happens to have a prosthetic leg (yay, representation!). The author handles his disability with respect and an appropriate amount of "interference" in the character's daily life that would be authentic of someone living with a disability (in this case, addressing the fact that he needs to consistently care for his limb and prosthesis).

The two main characters are brought together by the sailing trip Anna was supposed to take with her recently deceased boyfriend. She embarks on the trip alone and quickly realizes she needs help. She meets Keane in the Bahamas and hires him as her guide. Of course, it doesn't take long for a relationship to form between the two.

I'm always willing to excuse the "love at first sight" thing if the characters are spending every waking moment together for an extended period of time (usually on a journey together). Shared longer term experiences are like the crucible of relationships, so that's fine with me. And in this case, Anna isn't willing to play into the "love at first sight" vibe because she's still grieving. So, that dynamic of her survivors guilt versus her burgeoning feelings for someone else (or survivors guilt versus acceptance) is compelling.

I've used the word compelling twice in this review. Three times now. But I think that's an apt description of this sweet little book.

Definitely enjoyed this author and would read more of their work in the future.

This was one of the best books I’ve read all year. I loved everything about it. I loved reading about the Caribbean islands and life on a boat. I even found myself checking my phones map to see where the islands Anna was traveling to were! Truly a great summer romance with so much more!

The first 3/4 of this was a 5-star read for me. It was a book that I lived in and I loved learning about sailing life and making the voyage with these two. I was all-in for the romance, but unfortunately when they finally got together, I found the descriptions and dialogue took me out of it a bit and felt a bit more “Disney fireworks and rainbows” than fitting with the natural ease of the writing up until that point.

I also felt a little uncomfortable at times with the comparisons between Keane (who joins Anna on her trip) and Ben (her fiancé who died by suicide). I don’t know what it’s like to grieve a partner’s death or have to reconcile the idea of falling in love with someone new and it’s not my place to judge Anna’s feelings, but it feels a little different because it’s fiction and the author didn’t disclose whether they’ve experienced a similar loss. Talking about how kissing Keane is better or how Ben always had an exit strategy seemed a little unfair. From what we know, Ben had depression and this disease made him sick, but that doesn’t negate the love he had for Anna or mean he was always feeling that way or trying to get out of the relationship. He was trying to escape his disease. I just think it’s possible for her to still love him and not discount that or throw it away, while still opening herself up to this new chapter in her life. Up until then I was on board, but felt it tried to muscle Anna into what we think of as “acceptance.”

I still really enjoyed everything else about it though and would recommend it for an escapist read on the water.

LOVED IT!!! A sweet, contemporary romance about rediscovering oneself.

After the loss of her fiancé, Anna decides to set voyage sailing around the Caribbean. Having little experience on a boat she hires Keane, a professional sailor, to help guide her on her journey. Though Keane is dealing with his own hardships, he is a shining light in Anna’s life, helping her in more ways than one.

Despite the fact that this book has heavy topics, the story is sweet and uplifting. It is perfectly paced, and the chemistry between the main characters developed in a natural, beautiful way. Unlike many romances, there is no miscommunication between Anna and Keane- even while dealing with heavy emotions, they are both open and honest with one another which is refreshing. They fit together so well, by the end you’re rooting for them to be happy. I would love to see this book turned into a movie!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC!

A geographical and very emotional journey for a heroine lost in grief, “Float Plan”, by Trish Doller (St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin), is more about Anna making peace with her tragic loss and memories than about the romance between her and the very normal and apt wounded hero, Keane.
Keane is practical, steady, considerate and honorable, a sexy and sweet hero you can’t help but fall in love with. He’s also a very competent sailor and his disability, always present, is no hindrance.
As Anna’s itinerary of loss is replaced with new memories, and the author skillfully explores serious themes of mental health, romance develops and grows while the couple accomplishes the sailing trip meant for another traveller.
The sailing and nautical world seems very realist and well-researched, although for me the extensive journey was the least interesting part of the story, detracting from the romance and making the chemistry between Keane and Anna feel a bit bland.

I’ve read a lot in the past few months (haven’t we all!), and this book was like finding a polished stone in a pile of rubble. It was memorable. While the plot line wasn’t new, two people trying to recalibrate their lives after a loss, it was handled in a refreshingly direct way. I can’t articulate exactly why, but for me it was a page turner - I couldn’t put it down. Maybe because the author made it so easy to walk in the shoes of the main characters, and to wonder if you would make the same choices. Or maybe it was just good storytelling.

I’m not a sailor, but it appeared clear the author knew her way around a boat. And since the boat was almost a character in the story, that was critical. The descriptions of the ports on the characters' journey was almost a travelogue, but they didn’t get in the way of the narrative.

Most importantly, I think, was that the relationship between the main characters developed in a natural and unforced way. It was perfectly imperfect. Which made it a lovely, interesting, and entertaining few hours of reading, a rarity that I treasure.

I loved this book! No- I devoured it. I don’t know anything about sailing and yet Dollar paints a world so vivid and real, I can picture every moment so clearly- even if I don’t know what the term means.

Anna is getting over a bad break and challenges herself on an adventure she probably isn’t ready for. And while it has “damsel in distress” written all over it; it’s so much more than that. Keane and Anna save each other.

I also have to give Dollar kudos for crafting a male protagonist with such depth and complexity. Often times, the male counterparts just sort of exist but Keane is my favorite part of the book. The way he pushes Anna, while bringing real, tangible demons of his own.

I really loved Float Plan. It was a quick (6 hours!) read and kept me turning the pages for more.