Review: Float Plan by Trish Doller

Title: Float Plan
Author: Trish Doller
Source: ARC from the publisher
Release Date: March 2, 2021
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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.

Let me get this off my chest – years later, I’m still bitter that Trish Doller did not become a household name with Something Like Normal. I’ve been very invested in Trish’s career ever since because one, her writing is magical; and two, she’s not afraid to explore uncomfortable topics. More people need to read her books! Fast forward to the present – Trish’s adult romance debut title is announced last year, and it was almost like kismet that I’m also primarily reading adult romance. Needless to say, my expectations for one of my favorite YA authors’ adult debut is high. And you know what? I shouldn’t be surprised – once again, Trish Doller DELIVERS.

Writing a review for a book I adored so much is always difficult. I just want to gush nonstop and shove as many copies as possible to everyone I know, but let me try.

If I were to summarize Float Plan in one phrase, I would say that it’s a love letter about learning to move on after the unthinkable. The book opens with our heroine, Anna, starting her sailing journey through the Carribean. Her fiancee Ben organized and planned the trip for the both of them, but he died of suicide before they were able to go. Anna is lost, grief-stricken, and months down the line, she hasn’t dealt with everything that’s happened. After a difficult first night of sailing, Anna decides to hire professional sailor Keane to help her with part of her journey.

As the story progressed, it started to become obvious that Anna and Keane were at similar points in their lives. They’re both dealing with the loss of their dreams, and they were scrambling to hold on to what’s familiar for as long as they can because they don’t know what else is next. For Anna, it’s her boat, and for Keane, it’s sailing. Seeing them decide if these two things have room in their futures made for an engrossing read. As Anna and Keane sailed to each new island, I loved seeing them shed layers of their past selves, and see who they want to be after their personal tragedies.

At the start of the trip, Anna was focused on fulfilling Ben’s itinerary, and she didn’t entertain Keane’s suggestions of places to visit. As time passed by, however, Anna started realizing that she wasn’t really interested in some of the places that Ben planned to go to, and she made changes of her own to the itinerary. This seems minor, but I felt like this was an important turning point in not just the story, but in Anna facing her grief – she starts remembering that Ben isn’t perfect, and she slowly realizes that getting mad at Ben for making the decision he did is part of the process. Anna’s journey was tough to read about – it’s something so private, yet at the same time something that a lot of people go through and need to learn more about.

Anna and Keane’s relationship goes through different chapters throughout the story. They start off as colleagues who need to run a boat together; they then become friends, slowly getting to know each other; and then confidantes, trusting the stories of their pains and troubles to each other; and finally, a hint of something romantic. Their travels were the perfect backdrop to their relationship slowly but surely growing – we see hints of how they treat each other change through their many adventures. Anna and Keane have the most beautiful love – full of warmth, comfort, and trust.

All in all, if it’s still not obvious after reading the last few paragraphs, I loved and couldn’t get enough of Float Plan. It has everything I’ve come to expect from Trish Doller’s books, and I can’t wait to read her next release!