#Blog Tour #Book Review of Float Plan by Trish Doller @St.Martin’s Griffin

Thank you to Meghan Harrington and St.Martin’s for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Float plan, a beautifuly-written, romantic story of dealing with grief and getting a second chance at love and life.

Synopsis:

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

Review:

I don’t know much about boats and sailing. I do know something about grieving for someone you loved and lost, and this hauntingly beautiful book made me feel all sorts of emotions in recognition of how hard it is to let go your past and take a chance on a new, unimagined and unplanned future.

Anna is a twenty five year old waitress from Fort Lauderdale whose fiance Ben committed suicide after a long bout of depression. Ben planned to sail to Trinidad and have lots of amazing experiences on the way. When Anna’s alarm alerts her that this is the day Ben chose for their departure, she packs her bag and leaves knowing full well that she isn’t ready to let go of her grief, whatever her family and friends may think. Anna’s sailing experience is woefully inadequate. After narrowly escaping a full on collision with another boat, she advertises for a guide. She also finds herself in a risky situation. Call it two narrow escapes in a day. This time she is saved and aided by a kind stranger, Keane Sullivan, who she hires to help her make her way to Puerto Rico. What follows is an amazing journey from an emotional turmoil and darkness to what the author indirectly decribes as a ‘state of grace’, with love, hope, sadness and happiness finding their rightful place in Anna’s heart.

Float Plan is one of the best books I have read this year. The characters are impossible not to fall in love with. Anna’s grief is all-encompassing, and yet, she is trying hard to listen to her heart, and learn how to go on living. At first, she keeps thinking about Ben’s wishes and what he would have thought of this place or that, but gradually allows herself chart a new course, wherever it may lead. She is so kind, honest and grateful, that her state of mind rubs off on the reader. I felt so immersed in her story, her journey (or rather I should say their journey) that I didn’t want it to end. Her relationship with Keane develops naturally and takes as much time as they both need to be ready for their future. I haven’t said much about Keane so far, because I’d love the reader to have no preconception, but just see him through Anna’s eyes.

This was my first book by Trish Doller and I was amazed by the ease and beauty of her writing style. Some of her lines rang so true to what I felt in my time of grief and mourning, others gave me time and space to breathe in the spindrift and feel the healing power of ‘salt water- sweat, tears or the sea’.
The descriptions of places Anna and Keane visit on their journey were absolutely spellbinding and provided a welcome emotional escape. Above all, the book filled me with calm with its carefully chosen, sparse words, its sincerity and quiet belief that the person you lost doesn’t have to disappear completely, but you can build something new alongside the old memories.

Thank you very much to NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press and the author for the review copy of this wonderful book.. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author bio:

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.

Buy link: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/float-plan/

Social Links: @TrishDoller on Instagram and Twitter

Thank you for reading the post! Hope you pick up this wonderful book and enjoy it as much as I did.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!