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thekindredreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The setting of this book is escapist and lush, and I loved how the Caribbean islands felt like their own character. Anna was an interesting FMC, and I also loved Keane as her counterpoint and friend. I appreciated the way Trish Doller wrote Anna's character arc so that when she was ready for a new relationship with Keane, it didn't feel like a band-aid to her grief--it felt like she was wholly ready for it.
Overall, I thought Float Plan was a heartbreaking, but beautiful book. I can't wait to read more adult fiction by Trish Doller!
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Ableism, Mental illness, and Drug use
coligmueller's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Ableism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, and Car accident
cassmills's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness and Ableism
nlghtshade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Alcohol, Sexual content, Death, Mental illness, and Self harm
mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was highly recommend to me by a friend, and from the synopsis I was prepared for a beautiful story about self discovery and overcoming grief, with a little bit of romance splashed in.
Instead, this was very much a romance novel. I did actually really enjoy it, despite it not being quite what I hoped. I liked both of the main characters and had fun following them along on their trip, learning a bit about sailing and some of the Carribbean islands along the way.
I think this could have been a really great book if it had been a bit longer, allowing for deeper character development of Anna. I would have loved to have seen more of her self-discovery happen on page, rather than off, and have her love interest introduced a little later in the book.
That being said, I definitely think this is one for the romance lovers, particularly those who like romance based on forced proximity. There is also a loveable four legged friend that made my soul extra happy when reading this book
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
lauramarkey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident and Slavery
kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
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."
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Grief and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Cursing, Sexual content, and Vomit
depression, death of a partnerhawk13's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, and Death
ellariawrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide
grizzlysnack's review against another edition
- 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 :(
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content