After reading The Float Plan back in 2020 I have been impatiently waiting to get my hands on Trish Doller's next book! This one is a cute romcom following Annas sister Rachel after she loses her job in Florida and uproots her and her daughters life to take a management position at a small hotel on an island in Lake Eerie.
I loved the overall premise of this book but didn't enjoy how little romance we got. Mason and Rachel are swoon worthy, but the story felt derailed and rushed by the Brian subplot (which also felt rushed and unimportant). Overall enjoyable, but I was disappointed after how much I loved Float Plan.

So I am officially a fan of Trish Doller! After reading Float Plan and totally loving it, The Suite Spot was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. After finishing it, I can confirm that it was excellent and I give it five big stars!

I loved the characters so much. Rachel was wonderful and I feel like she is someone a lot of people will easily relate too. A single mother, trying to do best by her young daughter while also trying to achieve her own dreams. While she had her struggles, I love the way she came into her own and showed true strength. Mason was also such a great guy. He had his own back story and struggles which left him a bit surly. But as the story went on, he too opened up. Together, they worked so well and they brought out the best in each other. The side characters were all equally awesome and I loved Rachel's daughter Maisie!

The setting was amazing! A small little island in which a brand new hotel with cabins and a brewery was being built. It sounded picturesque and perfect! I had a vivid picture in my mind of what it would look like.

This book gave me all the feels and was an excellent contemporary romance. I like the way it referenced Float Plan, as the main characters from each novel were sisters. If you want a little more back story with Rachel's sister I would recommend picking up Float Plan first but it's not necessary. In my opinion, this book could easily be read as a stand alone.

Add this one to your reading asap! Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for my review copy.

I thought this book was wonderful! I absolutely loved the development of both characters - Rachel and Mason. I really enjoyed reading about how they collaborated to create the hotel and how their relationship slowly developed. It was heartwarming to read about how Mason developed a relationship with Rachel’s daughter after his tragic past. Trish is an excellent author and the entire time I was reading I felt like I was right there with ten characters. Can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

The Suite Spot

📚Book Review 📚

The Suite Spot by Trish Doller was the perfect book for me to read! I thought it was charming, inclusive, and discussed serious topics all at the same time.

I have had Float Plan sitting on my shelf and haven’t read it yet, but I can’t wait to read it. I know it is the first in the series, but I want to know more about the Beck Sisters.

What I liked:
❤️ I loved the character delelopment in the book.
❤️ When I realized this was the second in a series, I got nervous I was going to be lost. I never once felt as if I needed to stop and read the first book first.
❤️ The characters faced real world problems without it being too emotional. The book was gentle.

Thanks you to NetGalley and St. Martins press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: OUT NOW

QOTD: What was the last book that was good for your soul?

The Suite Spot was a sweet read. I enjoyed reading about Rachel, a single mom, working to find her self and her passion in life when she relocates herself and her young daughter to a small island in Ohio. I also liked Mason and the brewery background. I felt like I had a chance to learn a bit about the brewery world while reading this book, which made it all that more interesting. Dollar does a great job of creating strong characters and a well developed story.

I received an arc exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. All the opinions are my own.

I decided to read Float Plan before reading this one and I’m glad I did! Because although they’re “stand alones” the characters from Float Plan do make an appearance, so I feel I got the full effect reading them in order.

Unfortunately, I liked Float Plan muchhhh better than this one. I really enjoyed the setting and the trials the characters overcame but I felt like a lot of the progress that was made in their relationship was really abrupt.

The first spicy scene caught me off guard and almost seemed out of place for that moment, I would’ve liked a little more tension and build up. I also feel like the conflict in the end was resolved too easily for what it was.

All in all I did enjoy this one, I just absolutely adored Float Plan (devoured it in a day) and this one just didn’t follow up as well as I had hoped.

I really enjoyed Float Plan and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the other Beck sister’s story! Rachel loses her job and it gives her the push she needs to go out on her own. When her dream job falls into her lap, she has no excuse but to take a leap of faith and see what she can do. Mason is a man suffering from a tragedy and the ending of his marriage, ready to live out his dream but he needs help and that’s when Rachel falls into his lap.

I really liked all the characters, including the side ones. I thought the brewing part of the story was really interesting. This was a really cute story, with a quick conflict and resolution and a lot of sweetness throughout. My only issue is that Rachel and Mason’s love story fell a little flat for me. I was happy with both of their development and was definitely rooting for them but I felt like something was missing.

If you’re looking for a sweet romance, with some beer brewing and people who love what they do, you can’t go wrong with this story.

What a fun and refreshing read. Trish Doller did it again with this one! And a cabin! We love it! Can’t wait for her future books!

Rachel is a single mom who is working at a hotel in Florida when she gets fired for something she didn’t do. She takes a leap of faith and accepts a new job in Ohio helping open a brewery hotel. Mason owns this new hotel and doesn’t exactly know what he’s doing and could desperately use her help.

I loved this story! It’s a sweet romance where nothing crazy or over the top happens. Just two people falling in love. Rachel and Mason have both been through a lot in their lives but they work perfectly together and help each other move on.

The setting of the story is so fun - a hotel on an island - and the people who live on the island are great! I enjoyed all of the side characters and getting to know everyone.

I didn’t read the first book (Float Plan) and wasn’t lost at all. I’ll be going back to read it though since I enjoyed this story so much!

There are great content warnings in the beginning of the book - sexual assault, suicide and mentions of child death.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Beck's careful life crashes when she loses her job as a night manager at a luxury hotel in Miami Beach. She's fired thanks to a wrongful accusation from a wealthy guest who actually assaulted her. Blackballed in the local hotel industry, Rachel follows a lead from a friend for a management position at a brewery hotel in Lake Erie at a place called Kelleys Island. Despite the owner's slightly gruff manner, Rachel decides to move herself and her daughter to the island, looking forward to the chance to run a hotel and brewery. But when she arrives, she finds the hotel... isn't built yet. Mason, its owner, begs her to stay, offering her carte blanche in the creation and design of the place. As the two work together, she realizes Mason has his own troubled past, but that working together on Kelleys Island might just be the second chance they both need.

"A career I spent nearly ten years building, gone in an instant because the Blackwells of the world always get their way."

This book was such a fun and pleasant surprise! I'll admit that I didn't really love the first book in the series, FLOAT PLAN, which featured Rachel's sister, Anna. It was a little too slow and sad for me. I wouldn't have really guessed that PLAN and SUITE SPOT were written by the same author, honestly, if they weren't linked by Anna and Rachel. SPOT does have a sad side, due to what we learn about Mason's past, but it's also sweet and romantic and funny.

The setting for this one is fun--a small island with a group of island folk that we get to know. Rachel is an interesting character; she's tough and motivated, but she has a soft side too. Her daughter, Maisie, is adorable, and it's enjoyable getting to know both of them. And Mason, is of course, a grumpy guy with secrets, but he does not come across as a cliche or trope, but a man with depth. He was easy to like, and I loved the chemistry between Mason and Rachel. I didn't like that there was only a hand wave to Rachel being plus size--not sure why that was introduced and then only briefly mentioned once or twice.

This book made me laugh and cry. It's really witty (there's an amazing appearance by a cat). I loved the themes of family and believing yourself that ran through it. This is a great read--sweet and inspiring.

Overall rating: 4.3

Heartwarming, cozy read with a slow burn that had me smiling, despite some real trauma in both Rachel and Mason. This was my first book by Trish Doller, and now I wanna go back and read Float Plan, especially since we get a good amount of Anna and Keane in this book as well.

First of all, I love small town/island settings, since it generally comes with welcoming and supportive community and this is no exception. I loved the townsfolk, like the book club group, and especially Rachel's bestie! They all do their best to welcome Rachel to their midst, and help her out with her child, the hotel. They're definitely a group of people that we all need in our lives.

Plus, the setting of a brewery/hotel in nature just sounds fantastic. Can I stay there please? The author did a great job describing the essence of the place, and how it was decorated. I actually learned a lot of decoration lingo thanks to this book. I always love renos, I always have HGTV on, so I loved that for most of the book the two MCs are working on building out this new hotel. I almost wish we got more of it!

Mason's pining was just adorable. Very subtle but still impactful. And he was so sweet throughout the whole book, even while he was still going through his personal struggles.

I also loved the daughter, Maisie. I don't know if she was a realistic 3 year old but she was an adorable toddler! I also loved seeing her relationship grow with Maisie, and I loved that she was besties with an unmanageable cat.

I really enjoyed that both MCs had a parent that was an immigrant. It added a lot to the story, both in terms of how it affected the main characters and what the characters do to stay close to their heritage but I also loved hearing their stories of how they ended up in this country.

I thought the chapter beginnings were brilliant, an untranslatable word, each from a different language, lightly summarizing the feelings of the chapter. *chefs kiss*

There were only two small things that I didn't like and both have to do with the last bit of the book. I found the final conflict somewhat forced. I feel like the problem could have been resolved in many different ways without causing that conflict, and even other characters mention this within the book. And then after the conflict, the end felt a little rushed. I wanted to see more of them, but the focus felt almost more on the hotel than the MCs.

Overall though, this book was a great cozy read with great characters, sweet and slow love story, fantastic setting and good emotional depth.

Rachel Beck is out of work, out of money and out of options. As a single mom with a sweet but useless on-off again boyfriend she is staying with her own mother but searching for a way out. When a friend of a friend hooks her up with a job opportunity at a hip new brewery hotel Rachel is torn. Lake Erie is a long way from South Florida, another world, far from anything she has ever known. Deciding that Mason, the owner, sounded decent on the phone and the fact that she has no other offers, Rachel hits the road. Feeling positive and hopeful she arrives with her little girl to a breathtaking location … with no hotel in sight. Mason didn’t mention on the phone interview that the hotel is under construction and he is desperate for help. She has nothing more to lose and dives right in. Rachel is organized and creative and it just so happens that moody Mason is extremely cute. As the two slowly become friends, the hotel vision comes alive and it is everything she ever wanted. When her ex starts some trouble it is up to Rachel to redesign her own future as well. Adorable, fun romcom with a sexy creative cast. Rachel is the sister from The Float Plan (which I loved!) but you do not have to read in order to enjoy.

This was an excellent follow-up to FLOAT PLAN and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll admit that I normally shy away from books with kids in them (just not my jam) so I was nervous going into THE SUITE SPOT, but found myself pleasantly surprised. Overall, this was a very sweet (and very mildly spicy) contemporary romance. Would definitely recommend to anyone!

This was like a mug of hot chocolate and I am not complaining about it. This was the comfort of comfort reads. It was nice to curl up in bed with this one each night as it did not demand too much of me and it also brought me a lot of joy. I do not know if it is as compelling as Float Plan and I suspect many would say it is not, but I actually loved the simple qualities of this one and how sweet it was overall.

I have zero complaints really and isn’t that a good thing? I think if you need a romance with a dose of seriousness and lots of sweetness, then you have come to the right place! Sit yourself down and relax with this lovely read. I don’t think you will regret it. This has a lot of heart and it definitely one that impacted me in the best of ways.

Float Plan was one of my favorite books last year so I was eager to read Rachel's story. The Suite Spot did not disappoint. It was just the sweet, feel good romance that I needed. The drama was mostly low key, which I very much appreciated. No fabricated break up here.

Rachel is a single mom working a job she enjoys with a beyond crappy boss. She gets fired because a rich a**hole tells the owner too, despite the fact that he clearly should have been the one to A) be arrested and B) told to never ever come back. Rachel handles this the best that one can and ends up jumping on an opportunity on a cute little island in Lake Erie.

Mason is the owner of the soon to be hotel and taproom, but is stuck in renovations and needs a big shove. He takes a chance on Rachel, which was well worth it as she helps get the taproom, cabins and Mason back into shape. Mason has his own issues, which unbeknownst to Rachel she brings to the surface.

Mason and Rachel's relationship develops slowly, as they are both working through their issues, and the opening of the hotel and taproom. They have a really strong foundation to fall back on when things go sideways for Rachel when Maisie's father steps back into the picture.

If you didn't read Float Plan you can definitely read The Suite Spot, though you should read Float Plan anyway.

I adore Trish Dollars writing so much and I absolutely enjoyed this adult romance. The plot and the characters were so different than a lot of the books out there and it was a refreshing read. I found myself shaking my head a couple times but understand the balance of trying to co-parent.

Looking forward to TD’s next story!

This was a cute yet emotional read at times. The very basic bones of the story is our main character, Rachel, takes a leap of faith at her dream job in Ohio helping open a resort / brewery leaving everything she has known behind in Florida.

But we also get topics like sexual harassment in the workplace, single motherhood, child custody issues, death of a child, and divorce just to name a few that intertwine into the story.

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading it but the ending felt a bit rushed because common sense wasn’t used and it was a bit out of character.

4/5⭐️

I liked this novel, but I didn’t love it. Rachel is a manager at a large luxury hotel in Fort Lauderdale, when she loses her job after she’s sexually assaulted by a wealthy patron. When she can’t find a decent job in Florida, she moves to Kelley Island in Ohio for a job working for Mason Brown, managing a brewery/hotel.

This is book #2 in a series, and I always prefer to start with book #1, which is called Float Plan – though I find most romances can stand alone without giving too much away about the previous book (since you always know who ends up together).

I liked the two main characters a lot, loved the small town setting, and I liked the way the author went into a lot of detail about the work of creating a brewery and small hotel. I really enjoyed reading about what goes into designing a hotel room (balancing comfort, cost, and atmosphere) and also the creative ways they tied the brewery and accommodations together thematically. I also liked that initially, these characters were not a great fit for each other — he’s a little older than she is, she’s a single parent, he’s getting over a divorce and the death of a child, and they are trying to get a really difficult business venture off the ground. Oh, and there’s the fact that he’s her boss.

I should say right off the bat I think it’s really hard to write a good romance where one character is the other’s boss. That’s a really problematic relationship. Doller doesn’t ignore that, but in this book it’s a double whammy – Rachel not only works for Mason, she lives in his house. That part made me a bit uncomfortable, especially considering her child lives in the house too. That’s a whole lot of trust in someone you’ve never met.

Doller says in her acknowledgements that since she wrote it during the pandemic, she wanted it to be “warm and gentle”. It’s definitely that. Sometimes romances are full of manufactured conflict that doesn’t add to the story, and I can appreciate that Doller didn’t do that. If that appeals to you, feel free to stop reading this review and grab this book. For me, though, everything in this book felt too conflict-free.

Maybe I’ll sound like a terrible person when I say these characters are too nice to each other, too understanding. I wanted more push and pull – not manufactured conflict, but the very real stresses that occur when two people make themselves vulnerable to each other. In this book, everything fell into place much too easily, from Rachel’s friendships with the other residents of the town, to getting their business off the ground, to the relationship between Rachel and Mason.

Ironically, Doller put plenty of potential landmines in place, some serious and some just situational, but none of them ever pose a problem. For example, there are places where they might disagree on some of Mason’s or Rachel’s business choices, like when Mason spends thousands on a giant antler chandelier – but they never disagree. They both seem to be perfectly in sync when it comes to Rachel’s daughter. Even the weather never presents a problem, despite the fact that Rachel has moved from sunny Florida to a place so cold no one can leave the island 3-4 months of the year. I wondered how Rachel would adapt when the weather got really cold, but it never comes up.

If you’re looking for a kind and gentle love story, this is a great book for you. It’s well written and I liked the story, including the diversity of the characters. But the romance didn’t sizzle for me, and everything felt too easy to be realistic.

Note: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher St. Martin’s Press. This book published March 8, 2022.

I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read and review this book. I had read Float Plan, the first book in this series, and loved it. This book is at least as good, but in a more low-key way. It is Rachel's book - sister to Anna who was the main character of Float Plan. While it's not necessary to read the first book in order to enjoy this one, both books are phenomenally good. The sisters are in different situations - Anna lost her fiance to suicide in Float Plan, and Rachel in The Suite Spot is a single mother who initially has a financial crisis. Both women were desperate for change when their books started, but for very different reasons.

Rachel 's life falls apart when she loses her job at an upscale hotel in Florida. She and her four year old daughter live with her mother in a very small house. Her ex-boyfriend, Maisie's father, is unreliable at a long list of things, including paying child support and showing up to visit his daughter. Rachel finally finds another job at a much lower salary at an unsavory motel. One day a friend tells her about a job that would be her dream job - managing a small hotel associated with a micro brewery of specialty beers. The catch is, it is on an island in a lake in Ohio. Cold, snowy winters. Quite a change from Florida near the beach and no mother to help her with Maisie.

When Anna arrives, she finds a different situation than she expected. Her new boss, Mason Brown, is very quiet and reserved. His hotel isn't ready for guests as he is still renovating it. He's further along with the beer brewing. Fortunately, Anna was able to steer Mason in his hotel renovations and and the two shop together for room furnishings. Their relationship develops slowly, as Mason is grieving. One thing I really enjoyed about the book was seeing Anna and Maisie make friends, and bloom in their new community.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the advance reading copy of this book. It was a pleasure to read and review.

The Suite Spot - this story focuses on Rachel, a mom who loves her job in hospitality management…but loses it.
She hears about a dream position, out of state, in a remote area. Rachel decides it is the best decision for her and her daughter.
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Enter Mason.
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Cue the adventure.
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If you loved the Float Plan, dare I say, I liked this even more?
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Congratulations @trishdoller
I adored Rachel, Maisie, and Mason.
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I felt the conflict with the ex at the end was a bit rushed and weak, hence the 4 versus 5 stars.
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Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an advanced copy, this is an honest review.