ARC Review Blog Tour Book Review

Blog Tour Review | Float Plan by Trish Doller

Title: Float Plan
Author: Trish Doller 
Genre: Romance
Published On: March 2, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 272

Synopsis:

CW: suicide, depression, grief

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 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

My thoughts

(Spoiler free)

I’ve always been enamored with the idea of sailing. I say ‘idea’ because I’ve never actually been sailing. And anytime I come across a book that features sailing, I’m almost always interested. Float Plan was no different. 

The synopsis struct me at once. A grieving woman cuts her ties—and without much forethought—sets sail on the course through the Caribbean Islands she’d planned with her fiancé. It’s brave, heart-wrenching, and most assuredly doomed to complications. Who doesn’t want to read that inspirational story??

The stages of grief are not linear. They are random and unpredictible, folding back on themselves until you begin mourning all over again. I have bargained with a universe that is not listening. I have cried myself hollow. I have leaned into the belief that I can’t live without Ben Braithwaite, but kneeling here in the sand on a beach four hundred miles from home says maybe I can—and that terrifies me.

Trish Doller, Float Plan

Immediately I was sucked into Anna’s character. She’s well-written and convincing, leaping off the page as a fully-formed person. How would this experience change her? How would she handle the curve balls the trip tossed her way? I wanted to know more about her and where her journey would take her.

Speaking of the journey, I found myself googling every one of the boat’s destinations. If you’re a follower, you know I love road trip books, and this was basically a road trip book on the sea. Doller’s descriptions of the islands and ports made this traveler-stuck-at-home so happy. I lived vicariously through the characters, yearning for the warm sun, the smell of the ocean, and the local cuisines.

Keane, the Irish sailor Anna finally hires to help her, is a refreshing addition to the story—especially refreshing is how his disability is handled. He’s patient and kind, even though he’s dealing with his own demons. 

“The glue has only just dried on my broken heart and I’m offering him a hammer. But when he kisses my skin, just there above my heart, I feel safe.”

Trish Doller, Float Plan

My only complaints about this one: sometimes the transitions were too abrupt—I needed more time to sit with the emotions—and some of the dialogue wasn’t organic. But these were minor issues that didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the romance.

Float Plan is one I would read again, and I would enjoy reading more from the author, as well.

And can someone please make this one into a film??

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.

(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)

Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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About the Author

Trish Doller
Trish Doller

TRISH DOLLER is the author of novels for teens and adults about love, life, and finding your place in the world. A former journalist and radio personality, Trish has written several YA novels, including the critically acclaimed Something Like Normal, as well as Float Plan, her adult women’s fiction debut. When she’s not writing, Trish loves sailing, traveling, and avoiding housework. She lives in southwest Florida with an opinionated herding dog and an ex-pirate.

A Song For A Book

I was happy to discover Trish Doller had created a playlist on Spotify for Float Plan. And I’m enjoying it so much! I’ll be sharing it below. I’ve decided to highlight “Sailingsong” by A Fine Frenzy, one of my favorite artists.

And the weight of the world is lost
And the blues in the blue we cross
Everything gone is gone


Good man with the capable hands
Sails for new lands
And he understands

That you can’t go back
No, no you can’t go back
No you can’t look back
No, you can’t look back
When you

Sail set sail
Sail set sail

Have you read Float Plan? Will you be adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!

10 thoughts on “Blog Tour Review | Float Plan by Trish Doller”

  1. Nice review Dedra, I have seen this one around a lot. I have mixed feelings about the grief aspect having lost my husband a while ago, but i think I will add this one to my list. I love that song, I don’t think I had heard it before.

    1. Thank you Carla! I’m so sorry to hear about your husband. It makes perfect sense that you’d want to stay away from books that deal with grief. I was a little hesitant about that aspect, too, but while it was a catalyst for the story, I thought the author did a good job of not making it too overwhelming. To me, it was much more about Anna moving forward. I’m happy you liked the song! I love everything from A Fine Frenzy. <3

        1. If you can find an excerpt or the first chapter on Amazon, maybe try that and see what you think?? But just to warn you, it does open with the suicide note from her fiancé. <3

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