One of OprahMag.com’s Most Anticipated Romances of 2021! *Heartbroken by the loss of her fiancé, adventurous Anna finds a second chance at love with an Irish sailor in this riveting, emotional romance.After a reminder goes off for the Caribbean sailing trip Anna was supposed to take with her fiancé, she impulsively goes to sea in the sailboat he left her, intending to complete the voyage … voyage alone.But after a treacherous night’s sail, she realizes she can’t do it by herself and hires Keane, a professional sailor, to help. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned. As romance rises with the tide, they discover that it’s never too late to chart a new course.In Trish Doller’s unforgettable Float Plan, starting over doesn’t mean letting go of your past, it means making room for your future.”The perfect escape. Fresh, funny, and romantic. I wish I could sail away with this book.” – Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries and Little Bridge series
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Float Plan grabs you by the heart and never lets go. I wasn’t sure I was in the right headspace for this one, but once I started reading, I didn’t want to put it down. The writing was phenomenal and there was so much raw honesty and emotion that it sometimes made my chest ache. Anna’s character arc and journey is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. It’s painfully relatable and so wonderfully human. Her struggles and triumphs become the readers. So much so, that you might find yourself crying right alongside her and also cheering for her victories.
The friendship that blossoms between her and Keane was truly beautiful. The tenderness, vulnerability, and rightness in that relationship gave me all the warm fuzzies. Yes, the forced proximity amplified everything, but the connection also shifted so organically and naturally between them. I loved how they helped each other face their own demons and made each other stronger. Strong enough to even stand alone when needed. Keane was such a wonderfully rugged cinnamon roll. Half the time he opened his mouth to speak I was swooning and the other half I was laughing. As much as I loved Keane though, I loved Anna more. Watching her grow, heal, and really come into her own is the heart of this novel. Everything that happens (even the bit of angst at the end), shows how far she has truly come. I had a huge smile on my face and a hopeful heart as I finished this one. An absolutely amazing novel from start to finish and one not to be missed!
CW: suicide, depression, amputation, grief
*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*
Float Plan is young adult author Trish Doller’s introduction into the adult fiction market. Ms. Doller spent many years and much research developing this heartfelt tale. Anna Beck had been just scraping by, financially and emotionally, since her fiancé Ben took his own life a bit less than a year earlier. When an unexpected reminder that Ben had set up three years earlier awakens her two days before Thanksgiving, Anna is triggered to make it happen. She quickly throws things in her suitcase, stocks up some food, and heads to the marina where the 39 foot sailboat that Ben had restored is kept. Anna has decided to take the Caribbean journey they had planned on her own. Perhaps this is the closure she needs. Heaven knows she has been a rudderless boat since Ben’s death.
However, just two days out, Anna makes a better decision and seeks help in making this journey happen. After a number of bad choices in Bimini, Anna becomes acquainted with seasoned sailor Keane Sullivan, who is seeking a position and is happy to sign on the journey to San Juan saying he needs to get there for a job and seeks only transport, no pay, which works perfectly for Anna. Anna is struggling with her loss, but Keane is struggling with a loss of his own and dealing with a prosthesis and the changes it has brought to his promising boat racing future.
This is a deeply moving story with moments of sadness, even despair, but ultimately it is a healing journey to getting one’s life back on track. Ms. Doller has done a wonderful job of making her story real, her characters endearing, and her descriptions of an open water journey very realistic. I believe I read this book in record time, just couldn’t put it down! I wholeheartedly enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!
Wow! I couldn’t love this book more. I want to thank Netgalley for the ARC because it’s always great to read a book before it’s published but it’s awesome when you read one as great as this! Float Plan is the best love story and with the backdrop of sailing, it makes it perfect. I loved seeing Anna learn more about herself, coming to terms with Bens death and falling for Keane. I read this one fast but didn’t want it to end.
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.
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.
This book is definitely an adventure. Trish does a great job of building the characters – Keane is an absolute sweetheart – and the depth of emotions we get from Anna is heart breaking.
I am an experienced offshore sailor, so the middle EVENT was very hard to read – and also an enormous deal and I find it hard to believe Anna would have survived, never mind kept up the positive attitude that she had. On the other hand, I’ve been to many places in the book and the depiction of the islands and the sailing community were spot on.
Great characters and adventure. Not very steamy but honest and open.
I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Float Plan is a book about starting over, moving on, and discovering your strengths.
The beginning of the book is very sad as Anna is dealing with the grief of her fiancé’s suicide. I did appreciate the warning at the beginning of the book because I think that’s important for readers to know. It isn’t something that’s skippable, as his suicide is really something that Anna thinks about throughout the entire story. Although I don’t feel the romance is the center of this story, it really does have a sweet romance intertwined with Anna’s learning to believe in herself and discover who she wants to be. Keane is a sweetheart and I adored the way he treated Anna with respect and pushed her to be confident yet was patient with her, knowing that she was still hurting from a broken heart. Keane is one of the good guys. This is a good story, but readers should know that this isn’t a romcom. I was initially hesitant to read a story about moving on after a loved one’s suicide, but after seeing the pain and the slow process of healing through Anna’s perspective, I’m glad I read this book.
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a digital advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars
I’m finding more and more often that not reading a summary and going into a book blind is somewhat to my disadvantage. By judging this book by this cover, I never would have imagined anything less than a light and breezy bucket list vacation on the wide open seas.
From page one, this deals with difficult topics. Anna slides into barely an existence when her fiance commits suicide. They had big plans for sailing the Caribbean and when the time comes, she takes the leap to go on her own. Anna is jolted back into reality when her downward spiral meets an unexpected wakeup call on her way to her first stop and the entrance of one Keane Sullivan.
The first (almost) half is harder to read. Anna’s lack of hope for her future makes her a difficult character to immediately root for. Her small moments of joy kept me reading and the last half was definitely more in line with what I expected. I most liked that she found value in herself rather than placing it solely on someone else like she had with her fiance.
It’s interesting that Trish mentions the “taboo” in this book like periods. It’s completely real life and yet literature typically suggests otherwise. It really stuck out to me even though it should feel like a comment in passing more than anything. What does that say about how “far we’ve come” as a society?
TW: Suicide, Depression, Grief, Steam
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warning: Suicide
The book begins with a content warning for self-harm and suicide, and I want to emphasize how good a thing to see in publishing this is. I recently read How to Fail at Flirting, and while there’s a note at the end regarding an abuse hotline, there is no indication at the beginning that the story may be triggering for some people. So I want to praise St. Martin’s for including this.
The book opens with a suicide note by Anna’s fiancé, Ben. The book starts a year after Ben’s death, when Anna is still picking up the pieces of her broken heart, and she decides to leave for the sailing trip Ben planned on Thanksgiving day. Leaving without a word to her boss, friends, or family, she sets off to sail the Caribbean. Soon enough, she realizes she may be a little out of her league, so she hires Keane, a former professional sailor struggling to find work after losing part of his leg. This story is a romance, but the romance is definitely not at the forefront, and I could also see this book categorized as women’s fiction. The story is very much about Anna’s and Keane’s personal journeys as much as it is about their connection.
The story kind of floats by at a languid pace, and at times I questioned whether it was too slow. But the unusual pacing seemed almost necessary for this type of story. Ultimately, I was still thinking about this book the next day, and the amount it stuck with me is a testament to how resonant the story is. I highly recommend this one, just know you’re in for a serious read and not necessarily a beach romance you might be expecting.
Thank you @nocknockbooks who sent me her ARC copy of Float Plan and to the publisher who provided it to her!
5 stars – 9/10
Anna has been dealing with grief in her own way after the loss of her fiancee Ben. Her mom and sister are worried about her – worried that Anna is going through the motions, but not really living her life.
Anna and Ben were planning a trip on his sailboat to the Caribbean islands, but Anna had forgot about the trip. When a reminder alerted her of the trip, Anna decides on going on the sailboat solo. Sailing alone is hard, harder than Anna anticipated and after a few rough days Anna hires Keane – a sweet professional sailor.
I absolutely adored Float Plan. The writing by Trish Doller is brilliant and immediately once I started reading I was highlighting passages. Both Anna and Keane are characters who have faced so much in the past they are processing their own grief separately and together throughout their journey.
I loved how Doller was able to describe the various islands and mechanisms of sailing without it feeling overwhelming. I honestly felt as if I was on the boat with Keane and Anna, sailing through the Caribbean sea. The other characters we meet and the relationships that Anna and Keane have with them were so very special and I never felt as if a character was there as a filler.
Anna’s journey of self discovery was captured so perfectly in Float Plan. I was holding back tears towards the end of the book. And although this book is categorized as a romance, it was so much more than that. The romance between Keane and Anna was there, but was so was companionship, understanding and so much love. I’m looking forward to reading more by Trish Doller.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
I loved this book so much. It is about sailing, grief, acceptance, and moving forward. Anna’s pain and grief felt so real that it felt more like an autobiography than fiction to me.
Anna came home one night to find her fiance dead on the floor. Suicide. They had bought an older boat, and he had revamped it and gotten it ready for the two of them to sail to all these different places in the Caribbean, where they were also going to get married. He leaves her a letter asking her to go without him. His itinerary is the float plan of the title. Anna feels as if she can’t move forward until she completes this journey, which they were supposed to do together.
She decides to go on the trip but ends up hiring a crew member after she almost wrecked the boat. The man she hired, Keane Sullivan, has also had a major life change. He lost his leg, which also cost him a coveted sailing job. Like Anna, he is having a difficult time adjusting to his changed circumstances. After a while, the journey that was supposed to be the one planned by her fiance becomes hers, and then theirs.
I loved the descriptions of all the islands they visited. It gave me a glimpse into life on relatively small islands in the Caribbean and made me want to visit myself. I loved the descriptions of the island dogs, the churches, the people, the food, and the island culture.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Netgalley. These are my own opinions of the book.
My first 5 Star read of 2021!
After it’s heart-rending opening, Float Plan is a story that deals with loss, the grieving process, and the effort to start moving forward.
The author rendered grief in all it’s honesty, but also lightened the story with moments of wit and charm. I loved every minute with the relatable heroine, as well as it’s swoony Irish hero. While not entirely focused on romance, the relationship between Anna and Keane was beautifully and realistically developed. The sailing details were vivid, but not overwhelming and Keane and Anna’s time on the water created a convenient forced proximity scenario. It also provided introductions to a number of fun secondary characters.
The author mentions that she began the process of writing this book eight years prior. I sure hope it doesn’t take that long for her next adult novel to get here. Regardless, I want to be first in line.
tw: depression, suicide, death of a loved one, grief
I really like the premise of the story. About a year after the death of Anna’s fiance, she decides to go through with their original plans to go sailing, following the float plan her husband had made for them before he died. She isn’t really the best candidate to go sailing the long distance alone. Somewhere along, she puts up an ad looking for sailors/basically anyone who knows their shit and that’s how she meets Keane.
Characters:
Though the story deals with heavy topics, I love that underneath it all is Anna trying to move forward with her life. I have to applaud her for her independence and courage. I love her growth throughout the entire book. It’s something that kind of grew quietly and she became stronger and braver towards the end.
Keane is such so sweet and respectful, just an overall good guy who always wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s been sailing for most of his life but ever since he got a prosthetic leg, people wouldn’t hire him anymore thinking he wouldn’t be capable. He agrees to sail with Anna in hopes of finding a job opportunity in Portugal.
Romance:
The pacing of the romance was good enough. It didn’t happen too soon. The story is all in Anna’s POV so initially, her uncertainty and second-guessing about her developing feelings were shown. They went from strangers to sailing partners to friends to lovers, and I loved that there was a right amount of development between Anna and Keane to make me actually root for them.
What else is there to say? The writing was good. Characters were wonderful and grew throughout the story. The romance tugged at my heartstrings. Please consider the content warnings before reading, but I do recommend this book
In a world in which travel is mostly restricted, reading Float Plan was the perfect take-me-away I needed to start the new year off right!
Trish Doller’s story of Anna and Keane is so detail oriented it will literally leave the reader feeling as though they were along for their trip across the islands. I loved that the characters also had depth to them, they were flawed individuals looking for happiness – not knowing if they would find it on their crazy trip. TD’s writing also has you feeling all the feels – you will laugh, cry, and fall in love with Anna and Keane along the way.
This is the first of Trish’s novels I have read – I am going to have to go back and add the rest to my TBR list!
I can’t wait till more of my reading friends take the journey with Anna and Keane!!
This very well could be one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Soft, gentle, tender, this book takes a broken heart and cradles the pieces while they heal. The story explores pain and grief and all of its nuances, but does so in a way that makes you feel like you are sitting in the sunshine while you heal.
Anna’s fiancé, Ben, committed suicide almost a year ago, and Anna (on a whim) decides to take the sailing trip they had once planned to take together in an effort to heal and find herself. Along the way, she meets Keane Sullivan, one of the best, realistic, good guy love interests I’ve read in awhile.
One of the most valuable aspects of this book is Anna’s ability to learn to love, forgive, mourn, and trust herself completely and entirely. She is the hero of this story. The book also portrays the intricacies of loving someone while being able to live without them. While the subject matter can be tough, the story is the epitome of beauty and grace, touches of humor and reality and loveliness making it an absolute pleasure to read. I can’t recommend it enough
Float Plan by Trish Doller was a roller-coaster of emotions; a beautiful story about grief, healing and finding love again. I loved every minute of this story.
Many years ago, I read a book titled Something like Normal, a New Adult novel, by Trish Doller and was very impressed by her writing and wonderful storytelling. I was interested to see her take on a contemporary romance. Float Plan more than exceeded all of my expectations and made me cry like a baby.
In this story we meet Anna, who has been floundering through life for the last ten months after the death of her fiancé, Ben. When a calendar reminder of her scheduled trip with Ben jolts her into action, she impulsively decides to take off sailing on her own. After a disastrous start, she realizes she’s going to need help if she has any hope surviving the trip.
Anna decides to hire Keane, a professional sailor, who is also at a crossroads after losing his leg in an accident. Keane is Irish and skilled and incredibly kind and saves Anna’s life more than once and in more than one way.
I loved that this was a slow burn, Anna had a lot of grief and issues to deal with and Keane was more than willing be her friend and lifeline while she dealt with them. Keane himself had his own demons to slay and doubts to conquer.
Together these two take off on an unforgettable adventure that will lead them both to where they belong. Along the way they meet a lot of colorful characters and discover that it’s okay to let go and live on after loss.
Everything about this story was perfection and I cannot wait to read more from this author.
P.S. Is it too early to ask for a sequel? Just kidding, mostly.
Road Trip Island Hopping Mashup. At its heart, this is effectively a road trip tale of healing and finding oneself again after a tragedy. Even though it uses sailing a small sailboat through the eastern edges of the Caribbean as its primary vehicle, rather than some wheeled vehicle. And as with all good road tripping tales, you get a lot of heart and a fair degree of humor, and since this is a *romance* variant of the road trip, you get a bit of that (yes, including sex scenes) as well. Overall the suicide that spurs the trip threatens to drag the tale down at times, but Doller does just enough to keep that from really happening. Solid story, and a good escape that could provide a degree of catharsis for some. Very much recommended.
What a great read, especially for someone like me who has never been to an island,
so maybe I could say this would be a perfect beach read.
This is one girl’s plan, Anna’s, how to get past grief and learn to live again, even if her plan is terrifying. Maybe she wasn’t planning on learning to love again but open the book, dive in and see how awesome Anna’s sail into sunsets and new love is, see it shimmering in a million shiny pieces.