I really loved this novel. It was super awesome. The characters are really sweet. It was a great romance. There were super sweet moments highly recommend.

A little less than a year ago, Anna was planning a sailing trip with her boyfriend, Ben. They were going to sail from their home in Florida through the Caribbean, ending at Trinidad and Tobago. Unfortunately, Ben did not live to see their departure date. Now Anna is embarking on the trip solo, hoping to find some way to move forward with her life. She quickly realizes that it isn't a journey she can do alone, and hires Keane Sullivan to help her. He helps with sailing, and they help each other grieve for the lives they thought they would live.

Despite the sad opening (content warning: the book opens with Ben's suicide note), Float Plan is an ultimately hopeful story. I could have used a labeled diagram of Anna's boat, since I'm not particularly familiar with sailboats in general and have no idea what kind of size boat two people would use on a sailing trip of this magnitude. The book manages to be light without making light of mental health issues, depression, or grief. A solid read, but not one that's going to go on the list of go-to book recommendations.

This book starts quite heavy with Anna dealing with the grief of losing her fiancé to suicide. She decides that she's going to go on the sailing trip they had planned and hires professional sailor Keane to help her go on this trip. He's trying to adjust to a new but still active lifestyle after losing one of his legs in a car accident. They become close friends and tell each other things they haven't told anyone before. Most of the story is about Anna learning to live without Ben and not trying to control every aspect of her life. The romance was a very slow burn. The ending felt rushed and everything wrapped up too quickly. I would have liked to see Keane's POV because he was a lovely character.

This is a second chance at love story with two loveable characters, healing, going on an adventure, visiting exotic places, turning a new leaf, and brushing up on their survival skills.

TW: suicide, death of a loved one

story of my book reviewing life - read this over a month ago and didn't review immediately so it's not as fresh in my mind as it should be.
i loved the characters, i loved how the story evolved, i loved following along with them on their adventures, i laughed, i cried, it was a quick easy read (it took me a month to read, but that's me, not the book) and light despite having some seriously heavy shit. i loved it. hope we get more from this author soon.

this might have been 4.5, but enjoyed it enough to round up.

Tigger Waring- depression and suicide
This book is about Anna and her adventures on a boat where she is trying to understand how to deal with grief. On her way she meets people and the story was well written and also the character development was so good.

I expected the book to be a very sad story that would follow a partner after they have lost their fiance to suicide. But it was definitely not as heavy as the initial premise. It is a soft gentle recovery from loss and ultimately trying to find love and hope. I had a decent time reading the book

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Suicide, Mental Health

Anna has been overcome with grief since losing her fiance. They were supposed to go on a sailing trip together, so she decides to complete their voyage alone. When she realizes she needs help, she hires Keane, a professor sailor. As the two navigate their unpredictable lives, they also discover it’s never too late to start anew.

This was pretty deep and complex for a contemporary romance. A major theme was mental health and suicide which was shown as Anna processes her grief and begins to figure out what to do next with her life. I appreciated her struggle to be independent and begin living for herself again. There was a lot of tension leading up to her and Keane’s relationship, but once it started the plot remained focused on Anna’s journey toward independence. A welcomed theme, but a bit unexpected for a romance novel.

Overall, I found the book to be really enjoyable. I loved traveling through the tropics with Anna and even learned a bit about sailing as I read. This was a great book about loss, love, and finding oneself.

“The cure for everything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea” - Isak Dinesen

Well if that ain’t the damn truth. After trying to pick up 3 different books and just being unable to find one that was working…Float Plan sticks! Thanks to @smpromance for my gifted ecopy!

Anna is reeling with heartbreak when she sets sail to complete a trip she was supposed to take with her love Ben. Devastated and trying her best, she wakes up one morning after a disastrous night and finds her newest crew member Keane on her boat. Both are looking for something after experiencing loss and the open seas might just be the place they each need…

You know you’re hooked when you start listening and reading and are done in a mere few hours. My how I loved this one. Heartbreaking to start but then the chemistry was just built so well. The tension was everything. The journey to self discovery and conflict within. All just executed perfectly. For anyone looking for a heartwarming, fun and redemptive romance that you will most certainly finish in a day - this ones for you! // ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

TW: suicide

What do you do when you lose the one you loved the most in the most tragic way possible?

Trigger Warnings: Death by Suicide

I had procrastinated in picking up this book, mostly because I didn’t think I could handle such a heavy topic within what could be construed a romance novel.

But I was pleasantly surprised. Float Plan is heart burning, emotional and a hopeful second chance romance when the world beneath your feet has slid away so fast, that you couldn’t even find time to hold yourself on to something before you are also swept away.

Na just lost her fiancé to suicide - and while she has been struggling to even wake up in the mornings; she finally makes the decision to leave her job and her family to finally undertake the sailing trip that she and her fiancé were planning before tragedy stuck.

She knows she isn’t the skilled sailor; she has no idea beyond the basics of what she is supposed to do, but she does it, because she honestly doesn’t see any other way to even try and move on.

When she realises that she needs a little help, she crosses path with the one man, who needs her help as much as she does.

Keane finds and saves her when Anna gets herself in a fix and when he answers her ad for help - they strike up an easy going friendship, not realising that they both need each other more than either of them realise.

Adorable, emotional and breathtaking, Float Plan is a wonderful second chance read - second chance not just at love, but at life.

I think Trish Dollar is a master in the exploration of grief. And not just the act of getting through it and making it to the other side – but actually confronting it, in all its messy, gritty, sorrowful, triumphant and bitter ways.

If you’re new here, you should know that I absolutely adore Trish Doller. Ever since I read her first novel, Something Like Normal (read the review on my blog, but trigger warning: grief, military life, and loss, since that’s why it connected to me so much), she has found a steadfast, loyal reader in me, and every book I read of hers just strengthens that support. Full disclosure: I have another very personal connection to the premise of this book; and though I’m not willing to discuss it like I do in the other review, just know that I understand the utter loss, confusion, and loneliness of being left behind.

At first glance, Float Plan looks like a fun, adventurous rom-com (just look at that bright, energetic cover!)—and don’t get me wrong, it is all that. But even just reading the synopsis, that the whole storyline happens as fallout when her fiancé dies by suicide…you know that it’s going to become so much more. It is great fun in some parts, and I have never wanted to go sailing so badly in my life (or adopt a dog - I loved Queenie!); and Keane is just such an effervescent character, whose heart and charm leap off the pages. But there’s also real moments of darkness and uncertainty and such deep, bone-weary sadness. It’s honestly such a pleasure and joy to read Anna and get to know her, through all the good and bad. She felt so real, and so relatable at so many points, that to this day I feel like I could take out my phone and text her if I wanted to. Even Keane, who is like literal laughter and sunshine, develops into this bold, multi-layered character over time as you learn more and more about his shadows, too.

I don’t want to make it sound like this book is a downer saved only by the man (men – I’ll include Keane’s brother too, who just deserves his own series of spinoffs!) – because as great as they are, it’s really Anna who shines as she struggles her way through finding a new version of herself after loss. She’s so multi-faceted, and brave, and scared, and just the perfect mix of back-and-forths so you can see that these things can coexist in one person.

I also have to mention the setting of the book – or settings, really, since Anna sails to so many different locations. You can tell that sailing and these locations are so familiar to the author, because how she describes all the different islands and people is just so…loved. Taken care of. It’s so evident how well she knows these places and characters she meets on each island, and I felt instantly transported to anywhere Anna docked. I know next to nothing about sailing (actually, amendment – I know NOTHING), but never once did I feel like I didn’t understand what was going on. Trish described it so well and defined terms in the perfect way to not make me feel dumb or take me out of the story to a classroom. It was such a delight to learn and travel this way.

Normally I try to round out a review by talking about a part that didn’t work for me, or that someone might not like…but honestly, I just can’t think of anything. Even as I write this review, a couple months after reading the book, I can’t think of a single element that I didn’t love, felt didn’t work, or could have been written/described/done better. All these characters are so special, I felt transported by the whole book, and truly, how raw and real all the ups and downs of Anna’s journey will live within me for awhile. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Recommendation: Put This At the Top of Your TBR!

St. Martins press has picked yet another great book! I Absolutely loved this book. I was hoping for Anna through the whole book.

This book is about a young woman who experiences a tragic loss. After, Spending almost a year sulking in misery and depression, Anna takes the steps to gain her life back. She quits her job, leases out her apartment and takes the adventure of her dreams. She soon realizes though, that the adventure might not be all it's cracked up to be on a solo mission. She then highers a deck hand to help her sail the rugged waters to her final destination. Along the water, Anna comes out of her shell. She starts making her Own adventure on the map and might possibly have found a new love.

This book is not only about adventure in the sea but also, about loss, finding yourself and even love all over again. It definitely made me want to start sailing!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this book for my honest feedback.

The thing I loved the most about this book was how realistic and relatable the characters felt. They were doing things that felt very exceptional (sailing long distances), but it still felt like they were people I could know, and it made their relationships and conversations feel genuine.

The one thing that took me out of the story an bit were some of the “scenes” with Anna’s mother and sister. Because the characters didn’t have much to define them, I had a hard time feeling interested in or grounded in those parts of the book. While I can understand and relate to family being worried, there just seemed to be a little something missing that was there with the other smaller characters from the islands.

I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Trish Doller for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Despite the traumatic nature of the tragedy at hand (suicide), this was such a uplifting and courageous story of travel and moving on, and I adored the setting(s) SO MUCH. It was the most unique book I read all year, and I won't forget it for a long time.

⚠️CW: suicide, grief, physical trauma

After losing her fiancé to suicide, Anna’s all-consuming grief has taken over her life. Then one day, she gets a calendar notification for a trip they were supposed to take together, and she drops everything to set sail - alone. After a harrowing night of rough seas, she realizes she isn’t nearly experienced enough to complete the voyage on her own, so she hires Keane, a professional sailor. Keane has his own demons and trauma that he’s still processing, but sailing through the Caribbean together, they just might find comfort, healing, and maybe even love.

This will make you want to drop everything and buy a sailboat.

And you’ll want lots of rum.

It also gave me such Joey and Pacey feels - remember THAT? 😍

So basically, this made me want to be on a sailboat in the Caribbean drinking rum punch and watching Dawson’s Creek. Is that really so much to ask for?

This book is so heartfelt and moving, and the setting is the stuff of dreams! I loved Anna and Keane and the ways they helped each other through their life-altering traumas. I loved the themes of self-discovery, life moving on after tragedy, and finding happiness even when the life you planned on is taken from you. It’s a perfectly immersive beach read (bonus points if you read it on a sailboat) with a lot of heart, humanity, and hope. Keep tissues and rum close by. You’ll need them both. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back when I was still actively reading YA books, Trish Doller was one of my favorite authors. I was eager to see her dive into adult romance because I knew she would be able to deliver on the kinds of romances I enjoy reading: angsty and heartfelt. I went into Float Plan feeling fairly excited, but I was left with mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible book or anything like that, but I was expecting much more emotional depth than the story actually delivered, especially because of the premise.

Float Plan tells the story of Anna who sets off on a sailing journey to the Caribbean islands that she was originally supposed to take with her late fiance. The journey presents a self-reflecting and healing opportunity for her as well as another chance at love with Keane, a sailing expert that Anna hires. One of the parts that Trish Doller does beautifully with this book is the exploration of the islands. You get to "see" the different islands through the book and learn a thing or two about them. My favorite was all the different personalities that Anna and Keane encounter throughout their adventures.

The romance itself is sweet and touching here. Keane is a very likable romantic character and he is dealing with some own pent-up issues that resulted in him having to wear a prosthetic leg. Keane definitely takes backstage to Anna so I do think his story and background could have been explored with a little bit more depth. This is her journey after all and that makes sense. Anna's journey is one I think many readers will appreciate and be touched by. She learns to let go of her grief, forgive herself, and becomes a stronger woman. It's hard not to want to root for her.

My mixed feelings mostly come from not making a very strong emotional connection to the story. I expected more depth, more angst and I expected to feel like I was a hit by a truck. For much of this book, I felt like a passive reader who didn't really react all that much. Again, that doesn't make this a bad book but perhaps one that I should have gone in with different expectations. I will say that this book is very easy to sink into and that's because Trish Doller has a very smooth writing style that hooks you in.

All in all, Float Plan is a book with a unique premise and likable characters. I look forward to reading whatever Trish Doller decides to release next.

This book was AMAZING! I was able to relate to Anna on so many levels. Grief was so well described and demonstrated in this story. I loved Keane's character so much and appreciated the inclusivity of his "dis"ability. This was such a bittersweet love story!

Loved this story! We follow Anna as she tries to recreate the sailing trip planned with her Fiancé who committed suicide. She meets a cast of characters on her adventure, who help her work thru her loss. You will cry, feel heartbroken, worry and laugh throughout the book. Very well written, couldn't put it down!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own. Thank you Netgalley for the copy.

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to dive into this book. It wasn’t on my radar before the publisher reached out to me but, it sounded right up my alley.

Some Things I Liked

Sailing themes. I actually really enjoyed the sailing motif here. I’m not a sailor myself, but I enjoyed the themes and the way the author worked it into the story. It felt realistic but not overly detailed to the point that a non-sailor wouldn’t understand the story.
Grief as a central theme. While this was a romance, I really loved the way the main character felt a full spectrum of emotions. Her story had a ton of depth and realism and I loved it. Similarly, both main characters felt their fair share of hardships. This story wasn’t a “fairytale romance” but rather a sweet romance grounded in realism.

Series Value

There’s not really much series value here. The story had a nice ending and we didn’t really meet any other characters with unresolved plot lines. I could see this evolving into a series based on sailing in the same region of the world and if that happened, I’d keep reading. Otherwise, this was a perfect standalone.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t what I expected in the best way. I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of rom-coms and fans of more serious themes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anyone who's been missing travel will enjoy vicariously exploring the Caribbean through the pages of this novel. Float Plan's heroine, Anna, has been struggling with grief since the death of her fiance and desperately needs a change. So, she sets out alone on the sailing trip through the Caribbeans the two of them had planned to do together. After swiftly realizing she's ill-equipped to do the entire trip on her own, she takes on a crew member who's journeyed through his own loss. The author is an experienced sailor in the Caribbean, and it shows in the realistic portrayals of life at sea and each of the island stops. And, while the experiences of loss are at times heavier than the cover portrays, Anna's slow growth toward healing and a new life with each leg of her trip is hope-filled and rewarding.

I really enjoyed this one! Man, did it make me miss travel! I think what I enjoyed most was learning a little about all of the places they visited in the Caribbean. I'd never want to do a sailing trip on my own or even with one other person, but this almost convinced me :) It was meaningful to have Anna's journey with grief progressing along with her travels. In some ways, I thought it was a little unrealistic that just a few weeks of sailing helped her to be able to move on in a significant way, but I also appreciated some of the commentary on grief, like when she mentions that grief isn't linear and all stages can hit you at any time, even if you think you've moved past it. Keane was lovely, and I really liked his kindness. I think I wanted a little more of the uncertainty of how he felt about her and for the will they-won't they to be beefed up a little more. That being said, this was probably more realistic and mature, so I can't complain too much :)

This book is full of humor and heart, Doller has crafted a romantic adventure that features fully-realized characters that are both lovable and complicated, and she tenderly and respectfully portrays the realities of their respective worlds (grieving and healing from loss). A perfect read to escape the doldrums of a pandemic when many readers are still at home, this trip through the Caribbean is both tantalizing and absolutely compelling. This reader couldn't put it down - and suspects the same for many others.