About Book-

‘Anna Beck’ our main character, spend her last year in grief. She lost her fiancé. She doesn’t know how to move on from this grief that she is carrying for one year.

Finally, she takes a bold decision and decides to go on a solo trip which her fiance had planned with her. She sets off in their sailboat and intended to complete the trip that her fiancé had planned.

But during her solo journey to the island of Caribbean she faced mountains of hurdles which she doesn’t know how to handle it. So, then she decides to hire a professional sailor to help her to get to Puerto Rico.

Like Anna, ‘Keane’ is also struggling with his life and together they both sail to find out meaning of their life and all the possibility they have to rebuild their life once again.

My Review-

Before reading this book I read the short description about this book and at that time I decided that I have to read this book ASAP.

I know there are loads of books related to travel or finding meaning in life but what separate this book from other is the writing style and the characters.

Anna Beck who decided to go on a trip just because she wants to fulfill her fiancé dream but during the journey she learned so much about herself, her happiness which totally changed her life and transformed her into a better version of Anna Beck.

Keane despite from his tragedy he never gives up on his dream and wanted to fulfill his dream anyhow. He never wanted to be judge differently, he just wanted to be seen as a normal guy which make Anna to develop an attraction or feeling for him.

This book will make you happy and it will definitely help you to find light in dark. Also will motivate you to live your life at maximum height.

What really makes this book Interesting?

People always don’t know what to do in their life? This book will help to find meaning in your life.

Love stories are common but love stories which takes you on a journey with sea and beautiful island are rare.

The uplifting story and the slow building chemistry between Anna and Keane is so charming and loving that will make you read this book again and again.

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.

During this tumultuous time where I’m afraid to leave my house, Float Plan took me on a journey across the ocean. This book hit all the empty spots that I didn’t know needed filling. I felt as though I traveled the Caribbean, grieved, found inner strength and fell in love. I may now have to set out to save for an Alberg but Anna’s journey makes it seem worth it. This was a great summer book —as well as fall, winter, and spring. I had a serious book hangover after and am looking forward to reading more of Trish Doller’s books. Thank you #netgalley for giving me access to this ARC!

The Float Plan is a book that will take you on a journey and make you want to leave the world behind to live on a sailboat. Not kidding.

After Anna's fiance dies by suicide, she is left without a path or a plan. 10 months after his death, they were supposed to take their sailboat on a trip through the Caribbean. When that day comes, Anna quits her jobs and heads out on the sailboat. After a rough few days, she hires Keane to help her through the trip. She doesn't expect to find happiness or growth during her trip, but Anna finds all that and more.

I SO appreciated that every time Anna's fiance's suicide is brought up, it was in proper terminology. Reading Anna's grieving process was so poignant and heartbreaking, but seeing how Keane was EXACTLY who she needed at every step of the way on her journey was even better. The chemistry between the two was muted in the beginning and grew with each passing page, as Anna opened herself up more and more to the possibility of life after his death. I seriously enjoyed learning more about sailing and the amazing experience she had while on each island. Seriously, I want to go on a sailboat now.

Reading the healing process after a traumatic loss is always difficult, and I urge you to read with caution if suicide is a trigger for you. Anna's healing wasn't always in a straight line, she stumbled and fell but got up again. More importantly, this is a story about finding yourself. Accepting who you are. And accepting that love for another doesn't discount love for someone else.

I barely have the words to explain how beautiful this book was to me. As much as every book will have some flaws, the mastery and beauty of this book sucks you in so deeply that you barely notice. Trish Doller wrote one of the most important stories that I've read this year, and it was phenomenal.

**Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

TW: Suicide

This was a cute read that I enjoyed but it didn't really blow me away. Anna takes off on a solo sailing trip after the death of her fiance. She soon realizes she can't do it alone and hires Keane, a sailing expert still grappling with the loss of his leg. They fall in love and Anna slowly moves on from grieving her fiance. I would have liked Keane's perspective a bit more. Also, I felt like Anna still had a lot of family issues that weren't really addressed. Overall it was fine but not great.

I loved every single minute of this book. I was a little hesitant at first wondering how a person's suicide could form part of a romance, but oh, how wrong I was. This is a beautifully crafted book that made me forget my bedtime, my worries and even my fiancé. Truly. Read this book.

Talk about a perfect warm weather read! If you’ve read Trish Doller’s YA books you know she is excellent at creating characters that pull you into their story - and her Adult debut is no different. I’m in rural Ohio and the most boating experience I have is kayaking on rivers that wind through farmland, so Anna and Keane’s story set in Florida and the Caribbean took me on a new adventure.

I loved how the Trish Doller handles Anna’s grief. It felt so incredibly real and there were many parts where I wish I could have reached through the pages and hugged her. I loved that her development took front stage...this was truly her story. I couldn’t have asked for a better leading man than Keane to support Anna. He sets a new bar for male leads. This book made me want to take sailing lessons and head to the Caribbean. I can’t do that right now, but maybe a trip to Lake Erie will do?

What a debut! Doller delivers the 'money' on this gem. If you love boating or the beach, this is an destination envy trip. You don't need to be a sailing aficionado to enjoy it though! It does start out sad (there's a suicide), however, the story follows with an inspiring message about second chances as the two main characters work through the grieving process. They both have suffered loss, feel broken and make some poor decisions. Doller captures dialogue and tension well and you root for them to achieve peace and happiness. I envision a Pinterest devoted to the locations, restaurants, and menus mentioned in this book! I wish I were at Foxy's Bar in Jost Van Dyke right now - having some conch fritters and an ice cold beverage! Thanks to #NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Oh my, this fantastic book surprised me in the best possible way! Float Plan is a sweet romance that is packed with depth and emotion! From the very first page Float Plan played out like a movie in my mind (and I have mentally already cast all of the characters lol). And speaking about characters, I loved how extremely realistic and relatable they were! I literally found this 5 star read unputdownable and think everyone would enjoy it as much as I did! I am really excited to see what Trish Doller comes out with next!

I'm going to try really hard not to use the word "adore" too much in this review, but I really adore this book. Float Plan by Trish Holler is about Anna, whose fiancé's death by suicide has left her reeling for ten months. She decides to move forward with their planned sailing trip through the Caribbean but quickly realizes that she could use some help. Luckily, Keane Sullivan is available to crew her journey and to help her learn more about sailing. Turns out, he also has a lot to teach her about herself. It doesn't feel right to me to call this a romance novel. Sure, there is a romantic plot. But it's more about Anna's healing, about her learning about herself, and about finding the strength to keep going.

There is so much about this book that I... well, adored. It was obvious to me that a ton of research went into this book, about sailing, Caribbean islands, and suicide survivorship. I appreciated the use of "died by suicide" throughout the book, as not many know that is the appropriate verbiage. The feeling of time in the book was interesting to me. It ebbed and it flowed, with Anna sometimes staying in one place for three chapters and sometimes traveling hundreds of miles on one page. It was an excellent nod to what healing truly feels like. Lastly, the tone of Anna's narration was beautiful. It was quietly strong, fierce and frightened, and even-keeled, sometimes almost numbly observational, which really helped to pull me into the story and understand Anna's point of view.

The only thing I might add would be a glossary/diagram of a sailboat like the one Anna has. I, like many people I assume, have zero sailing experience. I wasn't at all put off by the details of the boat and sails since it's the setting for so much of the story, but there were times I wished I knew more about what was actually happening.

Looking for a second chance love story set at sea with captivating characters, thrilling adventure and heartwarming interactions? Well, look no further because Float Plan has it all!
Surrounded by grief in her daily life, Anna decides it's time to set out on her own voyage of sailing around the Caribbean. She soon discovers that she may need a little help to make it through this trip. Enter Keane, a professional sailor adjusting to his new future. The two of them set sail for Puerto Rico on a journey full of heartbreak, growth, and love.
This book was really so endearing and I was captivated not only by the plot but by the writing itself. The dialogue felt so real and I loved the vivid descriptions. The characters were so easy to connect to! They came across as authentic and the slow-burn romance between the too was very well done.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!