Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Float Plan by Trish Doller

16 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Title: Float Plan
Author: Trish Doller
Series: Beck Sisters, #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: March 2, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Quick • Fearless • Adventurous

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Ten months following the unexpected suicide of her fiancé, Anna finds herself at a complete loss. When she gets a reminder for the sailing trip Ben and her were supposed to embark on, she decides to pack up and go it alone. After just one night, she realizes there is no way she's going to be able to do this alone. Enter Keane, himself reeling from a life upended, who offers to help her set sail on the path Ben planned out. Together they set sail, finding ways to rebuild their lives, and find themselves.

💭 T H O U G H T S

My own partner died in 2020, so even before I began reading, I knew I shared a connection with the main character. But for me Float Plan lacked the emotional depth, I was hoping for, and which so many readers have alluded to. It felt as though the trauma surrounding Ben's suicide and Anna's grief took a back seat, while they should have played a bigger role. As a whole, the aspect of grief felt entirely rushed and inauthentic. Don't get me wrong, I know firsthand how every grief journey is different, but to me there was so much potential to develop emotional depth and grief awareness here. And maybe for the average reader, the author has accomplished that.

If I could put myself outside my own grief journey, I'd likely be more forgiving of that side of the story because there's certainly a solid story, welcoming cast of characters, and the writing has a good flow. I just constantly found myself yearning for more of Anna's relationship with Ben, and his life. The locals in each of the places they visited were a definite bright spot in this story.

Even though this one was underwhelming for me on a personal level, I will be keeping an eye out for the follow up book coming out this year.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• slow-burn romance readers
• anyone needing an escape

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Someone at his funeral told me that Ben will always be alive in my memories, but it's not the fucking same at all."

"'Eventually - and I say this from experience - you'll start building a new house beside the ruins of the old. When you're ready, you'll know.'"

"The stages of grief are not linear. They are random and unpredictable, 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." 

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astreetcharlie's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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grizzlysnack's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

I reimagined almost all of the big plot points of the story in my head as I was reading so it would make more sense in the aspect of Anna making an 'Anna-type' of decision based off the information that the author gave in the book, same goes for Keane, etc. etc.


The only redeeming factor I found present in this story was the characters. They had so much to give and could've been written in such a way that made them feel like a human being but they were written VERY flat and vaguely. The only reason a character would be introduced was to further Anna & Keane's relationship onto the end goal (dating) and not give the reader any more depth into the main characters themselves. I also found that Anna's decisions would have made a lot more sense if Ben had died a couple months before they were supposed to take the trip, not ten months after the fact. Anna would have been much more impulsive immediately following Ben's death based on her actions we see a few chapters in, not after she'd have almost a year to gather her thoughts and trying to be okay without her fiancé. I know everyone's road of grief is different, but the way the story is written is not realistic in my eyes.

The foundation which every character was standing on was made of popsicle sticks. Each character's actions and thoughts rarely match up to cooperate intermingled; almost as if Anna & Keane were accidentally written like they both have Disassociative Identity Disorder but neither of them knows it.

I was thoroughly disappointed in this story. The concept is amazing, but the execution was worse than poor :(

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r_neighbors's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've been seeing this book everywhere on Instagram and hearing such good things. But I must admit that I think it was even better than I'd heard.

Anna has been thrown something that no one should ever have to but her courage to sail without her fiance (or anyone for that matter) is pretty amazing. I really admired her grit and determination as she set out. She truly is brave.

Keane is amazing. I loved him. From his first interaction with Anna he was a true gentleman and was kind and caring. Even when they weren't in agreement on something he gave guidance but let her make decisions. He taught her so much. Yet I think he learned from her too. I really loved how he was raised to treat women and his devotion to his family even from afar.

Sailing isn't an interest of mine and I'm certain I would hate it - but I really loved it as the setting for this story. The difficulty of sailing seemed to pair almost perfectly with the difficulty of grief. I love how Keane and Anna were able to connect over loss. I love how they became friends. I love how well they partnered together.

While sailing isn't an interest of mine - travel is and I loved all of the different places they stopped along the way. It would be a dream to see all those sights and animals and to hear all those different languages and accents. 

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lexa's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I flew through this book. It took a bit to get used to the sailing terminology, and I found myself googling many of the locations, but once I got into it, I was hooked. So much more than a romance novel, Float Plan is about grief, friendship, discovery, and the power of community. 

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