Trish Doller is one of my autoread authors and I really loved the previous two books in this series, but sadly this was definitely the weakest of the three for me. There were things I liked about this one, but overall I didn't connect with it in the same way as the others.

First, the good! I loved that Carla was a confident, independent traveler and I really enjoyed hearing about her adventures with her dad growing up. Trish is so good at writing romances that also have heavier themes to the story, and I thought that was done really well here. The Ireland setting was always going to be a winner and experiencing Carla and Eamon's travels and mishaps across the country made me long to go on my own trip! It was also so fun getting to see Anna and Keane again and check in on how they're doing.

Unfortunately though, I found Carla very inaccessible as a narrator, I just really didn't like her. She felt very "not like other girls" and even though we have things in common I couldn't relate to her at all. The romance was also super instalust/love and I didn't believe the connection or chemistry between them. This book is much more open door than either of the previous two, and while those scenes were written well, I just didn't feel any heat.

I wish this had been a more enjoyable read for me, but I continue to look forward to Trish's next book!


Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quirky, fun adventure as Carla meets Eamonn in Ireland for a wedding. Their instant attraction and madcap adventures are topped off by steamy sex scenes. This is a definite beach read and is fast and fun. I laughed, cried and hated to see it end.

When I read the description of this book, I figured it was a good Leap Year knock-off and I wasn't wrong. This book was your bog standard rom-com, nothing special but a good and quick read.

I didn't know it was part of a series when I read it and you can totally read it without having read the other ones.

**contains spoilers**

After Carla arrives in Ireland for her best friend's wedding, she meets up with Irish brother-of-the-groom Eamon for a ride from Dublin to the wedding. Their insta attraction starts in the first few seconds as she grabs him and uses a kiss to ward off a stranger hitting on her, and it grows as they add a series of little excursions to their trek across the country.

I am not a big fan of insta love, and the instant attraction turned into immediate spicy scenes that I just didn't care about at all because there was no build up. As the book went on, I waited for their physical connection to turn into true emotional connection, but it just kinda felt the same from start to finish. 

I found it way too convenient that Carla's nomadic traveler lifestyle just happens to be Eamon's exact lifelong dream that he's prepared for with every type of camping equipment and the exact perfect car, and she just falls into his lap with every single other thing he needs to finally plan his big life-changing trip.

The big emotional moments seem to just appear without much build up and everyone talked about their emotions without any trouble ever, including Carla and Eamon's mom, about 5 minutes after they meet. As a result, the big moments just came without warning and because there was no buildup, they didn't pack quite the punch. 

The few chapters with Carla and her dad were easily the best parts of the book, and I felt like the book could have easily existed without the romantic storyline whatsoever; Carla and Eamon's relationship felt like an afterthought after such a powerful story between father and daughter. If it had been given the time and attention it deserved, their story could have been a really powerful and beautiful book all on its own. Instead, their storyline ended abruptly and, again, the author conveniently just removed that obstacle from Carla's life so she didn't really have to choose how to handle it on her own.

In the end, I felt like both Carla and Eamon had the opportunity to grow but conveniently didn't really have to. I felt like Carla was set up to realize that her travel-the-world life and her settle- down-and-stop-being-scared life could exist together, especially after her big moments with her dad in those end chapters, but Eamon gave her the chance to not reality have to change at all. Eamon didn't really change that much either, just going from working to make his mom happy to working to make Carla happy instead. 

Overall, this was a book with untapped potential that relied on a lot of amazing coincidences to survive. Unfortunately it made me a little more frustrated than anything else. I will say I didn't read the first book in this series and was not as connected to the characters from the start as others might have been, so that definitely could have affected my experience.

This book is wanderlust at its finest. The author describes all of the places Carla, the MC, has traveled in her lifetime (with her dad Biggie, who now has Dementia 😢)and it immediately made me want to book a flight to anywhere.

When Carla travels to Ireland for her best friend’s wedding, her ride is the groom’s incredibly hot brother, Eamon. Their connection is instant and dare I say, hot- and I enjoyed reading about their adventures through Ireland on their way to the wedding.

This story has friendship, love, family, adventure and a young woman still trying to find who she is and how she fits in the world. Definitely me favorite book out of this series! Add it to your TBR for March☘️☘️

CW: dementia, parental abandonment, loss of a limb (recounted), death of a parent, stroke

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Come away on a trip to the beautiful countryside of Ireland as Carla Black and Eamon Sullivan take a road trip from Dublin to Tralee. While Carla has been on the road traveling for years, she takes an interest in Eamon’s dreams to leave his 9-5 and travel full-time. Though once they get to Tralee after a series of detours, will they choose to take a chance on love?

Off the Map is such a cozy and beautiful love story that plays on the manic pixie dream girl trope, but isn’t obnoxious about it. From the first page, I loved Carla’s adventurous spirit in her travels and I feel like you get to see her more in-depth throughout the book. It’s a quick read with good chemistry between the two MCs (even if they can be a bit impulsive at times) and it does make you want to have the same sense of wanderlust that Carla and Eamon have.

Another thing I really appreciate about this book is the way Doller portrays the realities of being a caregiver for someone with a terminal illness. In the book, Carla’s dad, Biggie, has dementia and Carla’s unofficial stepmom, Stella (which I don’t know if Biggie and Stella were actually married since they book seemed vague on it) mainly oversees Biggie’s care. Being a caregiver for someone with dementia or any other terminal illness isn’t always easy, and I think that Doller does a great job with illustrating some of those challenges.

Now, there are some critiques towards this book. Specifically, it’s not that great to read as a standalone. The reason why I say that is because Doller makes references to her two other books in this series and I feel like you would need to read the first two before you can understand some of the minor plot references that come up in Off the Map.

Nevertheless, Off the Map is the perfect rom-com for the adventurous spirit in your life or readers in need of some wanderlust. Though, you might want to read the first two books in Doller’s series before you start Off to Map.

I will leave a review on Amazon and B&N on Mar 7th

I found this to be an enjoyable read, but also one that was emotional since I lost my mother to Alhemizer's. Such an awful disease, I loved how Carla was brave and went out into the world traveling by herself. The chemistry between Eamon and Carla was off the charts. I would recommend this book to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin, I am leaving my review voluntarily and the opinion expressed here are my own.

4.5 Stars!

Off the Map was fantastic! Carla Black, a free-spirit adventure traveler who never goes home and Eamon Sullivan, a mapmaker that seems to be lost, meet when he’s her ride to the wedding of Anna Beck (her best friend) and Keane Sullivan (Eamon’s brother) from Float Plan. A simple drive across Ireland turns into something so much more that neither of them ever expected. Their attraction and instant connection is undeniable so after a decision to take a slight detour on their way to the wedding, a whirlwind few days of adventure and the wedding itself, Carla and Eamon come to the realization that not only are they crazy about each other, but they need to make some changes. Unfortunately, that also means making the tough decision to go their separate ways. Will it be forever?

I loved Carla’s growth. Her need to run could have been a hindrance on her like-ability for me, but she realized and understood she couldn’t run forever and that the adventures she had both alone and with her father shaped her and should be cherished.

Eamon was everything a book boyfriend should be. I adored him. He was exactly what Carla needed and she him.

While, of course, Carla and Eamon are the focus of the story, a big part was also Carla’s relationship with her father, Biggie. They were two peas in a pod. It was a wonderful, loving relationship.

All in all, I pretty much loved this story and these characters. Definitely recommend!

Wow. What a ride this book has been!

WHAT I LOVED:
-Adventure. Trust in Trish Doller to always deliver on this. She has such a gift for taking you straight through the pages, making you feel like you're right there along with her characters.
-Communication. I loved the conversations between Carla and Eamon. And of course, Carla and Anna, too.
-Seeing characters from previous books but especially Anna and Keane!
-Found family 🧡
-The balance the author found between fun and happiness, and grief. The last 30% of the book was such an emotional read. There were some heavy topics happening, and also talked about, on page, but I feel like Doller handled it with lots of care and grace.

If you're looking to go on an adventure, look no further. This is it.

Carla is a wanderer and ready for any adventure. Eamon’s life is crumbling, but when he meets up with Carla for her best friend’s wedding to Eamon’s brother, sparks fly immediately. As they travel to the wedding through Ireland, they take detours along the way and fight their feelings for one another. This is the third book in the series but can absolutely be read as a stand alone. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

I love forced proximity and I love Trish Doller. I also love these sisters and I can't help but smile the entire time I read one of Doller's novels. They all have such a different feel to them, which is wildly cool considering they're all part of the same world. I also just really want to go to Ireland now? Her books have a way of making me want to live whatever the characters are doing. The banter between Carla and Eamon was SO funny that I found myself audibly chuckling while reading this. And the ending--chef's kiss. Another slam dunk by Trish Doller!

I will start off by saying how much I loved the first two books in this series, especially "Float Plan." Sadly, "Off the Map" did not live up to my expectations. Carla heads over to Ireland to stand up in a wedding, and meets up with best man Eamon for a ride. Along the way they run into several hiccups, adventure, and even romance. When I started this book, I honestly thought I accidentally was starting in the middle of the book. The story jumped RIGHT in, I had no idea who the main character was until further into the chapter, or what was really going on. I did not enjoy the insta-romance and felt like there was very little plot for about the first 2/3 of the book, just lots of romance and sex scenes. It was great to see some old familiar characters like, Anna, Keane and Rachel. During the last 1/3 of the book things got so much better as Carla reconnects with her family. This was the depth I was looking for the entire time! Overall this wasn't my favorite of the series, but would look forward to catching up with these characters again. Due to the very slow and minimal plot at the beginning, I give this book 2.5 stars, the extra .5 due to the wonderful heart -filled ending.

I really loved this book. Once I started it, I finished it in less than 2 days. I really enjoyed the love story. I also thought the relationship with the main character and her father with dementia was really sweet.

Trish Doller does it again! I've read the previous two Beck Sisters novels and this one stands up quite well. Carla and Eamon have wonderful chemistry and I knew from the moment they met that I was going to love this book. And if you don't want to take a trip or go out in the world to find your PERSON, then you really haven't read this book.

This book deals with dementia, the loss of a parent, family issues, and much more. I always am in for a book where a character grows and learns something new about herself, her relationships, and the world. This has all of that. Carla is a smart, creative, and capable woman who needs to figure out for herself that running away and never getting attached isn't the way life was meant to be.

My one issue with this book is that the relationship between Carla and Eamon is labeled a fling, leading to insta-lust and insta-sex! I would have preferred it if they hadn't jumped into bed 5 hours after meeting each other!

Off the Map is both a love story and a love letter to travel and adventure, perfect for fans of Catherine Walsh’s Holiday Romance and The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary.

Off the Map is the third installment in the Beck Sister’s series, coming after the exceptional Float Plan (Beck Sisters #1). Trish Doller proved in Float Plan how deftly she can write the most emotionally complex situations without being maudlin.

Off the Map was no exception to this rule, as the heroine navigates the difficulties of a parent in the early stages of dementia and her own fears about the future when she is losing her ballast.

Carla and Eamon are thrown together on a road trip adventure in Ireland and its instant attraction. Eamon is a bit of a cinnamon roll hero, which proves perfect to play against Carla’s own strong personality type.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who loves a road trip romance.
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Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication March 7, 2023.

Off the Map

Let’s ignore my attempt at photoshopping the cover on my kindle! I was granted access to Off the Map by Trish Doller from NetGalley!

I loved her previous books in the Beck Sisters series so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. I was not disappointed. In her usual fashion, the author brought up a hard topic, losing a loved one to dementia, and flawlessly streamlined it into a romance novel.
Carla is a world traveler, only staying in one place long enough to get money for her next adventure. Eamon is her opposite, he has a steady career and a neat home, but is missing a spark in his life.
The two main characters embark on a series of small trips on the way to the wedding where they’re the best man and maid of honor. If you read Float Plan, you’ll recognize the characters getting married!!

I loved this fast paced romance read. There was enough movement to keep the story progressing. My only sour point is the “insta-love” trope, I like relationships to take a little longer to build.

#bookreview #bookstagram #booklover #books #netgalley #netgalleyreads #romancebooks #fictionbooks

I really liked this one. I read and enjoyed The Float Plan about Anna. This one is about Carla Black. Carla is fill of adventure. She works as a bartender in Fort Lauderdale during the months when the snowbirds are in FL. Then she explores the world in the Jeep named Valentina that her father and her used to explore in when she was little. She has no interest in being in love or finding a soulmate or staying in one place. However, she meets Eamon, Keane's brother. Keane and Anna (from The Float Plan) are getting married. Eamon picks Carla up at the airport. Some sparks fly. They are both single and could have a chance at love, but will they take it?

I loved this! I was really looking forward to more of Eamon’s story ever since I read Float Plan and this didn’t disappoint! This was a bit spicier than the other books in the series but I’m not mad about it - the steam was well written and well placed within the story.

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Trish Doller does it again! She is the boss of aligning two characters in the most unique and romantic ways. Off the Map is the best book for the reader who loves when things go wrong but romance goes right.

Though not a Beck sister, Carla is Beck-adjacent, working with Anna at the pirate-themed bar in Florida that Anna skipped out of to sail the world in her dead fiance’s boat in Float Plan. Now Anna is getting married to Keane in Ireland, and Carla is going to be the maid of honor. Eamon, Keane’s brother, has been tasked with picking her up from the airport, but instead, invites her to meet him at the Confession Box, a tiny hole in the wall bar. She taps Eamon as her fake boyfriend the moment he walks in, kissing him to deflect unwanted advances from another barfly, and drinks turn into dinner, which leads into making love at his apartment.

A world traveler, Carla regales Eamon with stories of her single dad, a history teacher with summers off who took his little girl to nearly every state park in the country to stave off loneliness. Eamon has always longed to backpack but feels obligated to do what his family expects of him. With several days before the wedding, Carla talks Eamon into a little car camping and sightseeing. There’s a deadline to their fling, and the best man/maid of honor hookup is totally cliche, but this story works.

Like other novels in the series, this is highly character driven, and the journey motif is physical and geographical as well as internal. Carla’s dad is suffering from dementia, and she hasn’t been home to see him in six years–at his encouragement. She lives her life by a traveler’s code he ingrained in her from a young age, like “if it doesn’t fit in your backpack, you don’t need it,” and there is no such thing as being lost. After meeting Eamon, though, she begins to question her rolling stone gathers no moss philosophy and mourns that she met The One at a time in her life when she still doesn’t want to settle down. She also recognizes she might not want to be a seasonal bartender at retirement age. She breaks it off with Eamon… and goes home to see her dad, where his second wife and caretaker is all too happy to get a break for a few days. Details about caring for someone in mental decline are sensitive and authentic. Fans of the series may find this is little lighter and a little faster paced, but very satisfying nonetheless. Making a choice to forge a new path might be the plan, after all, and Carla may not be as off the map as she thinks.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #OffTheMap from #NetGalley.