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A review by lastingliterature
Float Plan by Trish Doller
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Anna and Ben dreamt of taking a sailing from Florida to the Caribbean. When Ben ends his life before the trip is supposed to take place, Anna is left spiraling. On the scheduled take-off day, she decides to drop everything, quit her job, and go alone. Very quickly she realizes she is in over her head and hires an Irish sailor named Keane to help her along. As they travel from island to island, Anna learns how to begin her life again and maybe find love once more while Keane struggles with redefining his dream after losing his leg in an accident.
This book will definitely hit you hard with wanderlust. Anna and Keane travel to beautiful places and the descriptions of the scenery, food, culture, and people will have you desperate to go (COVID needs to go away ASAP…). I listened to the audiobook of this one, and I truly felt like I was a part of their journey and yearned for more. I have never really felt the urge to go sailing, but now I’m wondering where I can go to take a spin…
There is definitely some of that insta-love trope going on here (which is interesting considering it’s a pretty slow-paced book). Anna and Keane have an instant attraction from the start, and when stuck on a small boat for weeks, of course that deepens their relationship almost immediately. Some readers may not like that, but it didn’t bother me too much. Out of the two, I really liked Keane—great sense of humor, charming accent, extremely generous and compassionate, good soul. I wished we saw a little bit more of who Anna is as a person outside of Ben and what she wants in life. I’m not sure if I learned enough about her to really define her as a person.
Despite the disclaimer at the start of the book about trigger warnings for death and suicide, this isn’t much of a sad read. While the book does often reference Ben’s suicide, it is focused on Anna’s journey of coping with her grief and rediscovering who she is. Overall, it is a good romantic read, but nothing spectacular.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
TW: suicide, death, grief, depression
This book will definitely hit you hard with wanderlust. Anna and Keane travel to beautiful places and the descriptions of the scenery, food, culture, and people will have you desperate to go (COVID needs to go away ASAP…). I listened to the audiobook of this one, and I truly felt like I was a part of their journey and yearned for more. I have never really felt the urge to go sailing, but now I’m wondering where I can go to take a spin…
There is definitely some of that insta-love trope going on here (which is interesting considering it’s a pretty slow-paced book). Anna and Keane have an instant attraction from the start, and when stuck on a small boat for weeks, of course that deepens their relationship almost immediately. Some readers may not like that, but it didn’t bother me too much. Out of the two, I really liked Keane—great sense of humor, charming accent, extremely generous and compassionate, good soul. I wished we saw a little bit more of who Anna is as a person outside of Ben and what she wants in life. I’m not sure if I learned enough about her to really define her as a person.
Despite the disclaimer at the start of the book about trigger warnings for death and suicide, this isn’t much of a sad read. While the book does often reference Ben’s suicide, it is focused on Anna’s journey of coping with her grief and rediscovering who she is. Overall, it is a good romantic read, but nothing spectacular.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
TW: suicide, death, grief, depression
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide