JUNE 2021 - AudioFile
In this story about love, loss, and second chances, narrator Sarah Naughton delivers clever dialogue, heartwarming wisdom, heart- breaking pain, and life-affirming humor. Lovely Anna takes her late fiancé’s sailboat on the trip he had planned to the Caribbean. Recognizing that she can’t sail the boat alone, she hires hunky Irish sailing professional Keene, a man who is dealing with a loss of his own. Naughton narrates with just the right tone, enthusiasm, and grace. Added to the rich storyline is the accurate and beautiful travelogue detailing visits to various islands. This poignant yet funny audiobook filled with valuable life lessons is served up with a pitch-perfect delivery. A.C.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 11/30/2020
A woman navigates her grief during a tumultuous sea voyage in YA author Doller’s moving adult debut (after Start Here). Ten months after 25-year-old Anna Beck’s fiancé, Ben Braithwaite, killed himself, Anna decides to embark on her own on the boat trip they had planned together, sailing around the world solo. But after a near collision at sea, she realizes she needs assistance and hires sailor Keane Sullivan to aid her on the voyage, at least as far as Puerto Rico. The close working and sleeping quarters create perfect conditions for romance as Keane and Anna’s professional relationship turns to friendship and a chance at something more. Doller expertly captures the tides of grief as Anna struggles with her sadness, guilt, and anger over Ben’s death and confusion about her mounting feelings for the charming Keane (“Is it too soon to want someone else? What happens to my love for Ben? Where does it go?”). But it’s not all gloom: the relationship between Anna and Keane is uplifting and convincing, and beautiful descriptions of their time at sea weave throughout. Doller’s expert balance of the sweet and the serious make this touching romance a sure success. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, KT Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
A MUST-READ FOR:
GOOD MORNING AMERICA * OPRAHMAG.COM * COUNTRY LIVING * BUZZFEED * THE NERD DAILY * POPSUGAR * PUREWOW * THE TEMPEST * SHE READS * GOODREADS
"I devoured Float Plan in a day. It’s truly a joy to get lost in such great writing—the island-hopping setting transports you from the hum-drum everyday, the dialogue is sharp and spot-on, the characters feel flawed and authentic and hopeful. It’s the kind of story that takes you away and brings you back grateful for the journey.” - KATHERINE CENTER, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire
"This story made me appreciate all the good things in my life and gave me a renewed, sunnier perspective heading into a new decade of life." - FIRST FOR WOMEN
"With humor, love, and skill, Doller shows her heroine surviving a loved one's suicide, something rare in romantic fiction." - KIRKUS
"Doller's tale of grief slowly combines with a sparkling travelogue which gradually becomes a romance and, ultimately, a wholly satisfying story that may just make readers yearn for their own voyage." - BOOKLIST
"Simply adored this romantic sea escape filled with breathtaking sunsets, dolphins and hidden treasure." - FLORIDA KEYS WEEKLY
"Doller’s expert balance of the sweet and the serious make this touching romance a sure success." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW
"Full of appealing characters, interesting tidbits about sailing and striking island sunsets, Float Plan is at once lighthearted escapism and a sensitively rendered account of a woman's life-altering grief. Doller's breezy writing style, deep compassion for her characters and knack for snappy, entertaining dialogue make this trip around the Caribbean a delight." - SHELF AWARENESS
"Float Plan had my heart from the first page. With lush, vibrant settings and characters I ached and swooned with, this book is both a romantic escape and a balm for the soul. I'm deeply in love with Anna and Keane." - RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON, New York Times bestselling author of The Ex-Talk
"In Trish Doller’s Float Plan, strangers Anna and Keane, who are trying to escape their respective tragedies, must learn to rely on themselves, and each other, or lose more than they already have. Gorgeous scenery, evocative storylines and plenty of tension - I devoured this book—a must read for fans of armchair travel and magnetic love stories!" – KARMA BROWN, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife
"The perfect escape. Fresh, funny, and romantic. Trish Doller creates smart and sensitive characters who seem all too heartbreakingly real. I wish I could sail away with this book." - MEG CABOT, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries and Little Bridge series
JUNE 2021 - AudioFile
In this story about love, loss, and second chances, narrator Sarah Naughton delivers clever dialogue, heartwarming wisdom, heart- breaking pain, and life-affirming humor. Lovely Anna takes her late fiancé’s sailboat on the trip he had planned to the Caribbean. Recognizing that she can’t sail the boat alone, she hires hunky Irish sailing professional Keene, a man who is dealing with a loss of his own. Naughton narrates with just the right tone, enthusiasm, and grace. Added to the rich storyline is the accurate and beautiful travelogue detailing visits to various islands. This poignant yet funny audiobook filled with valuable life lessons is served up with a pitch-perfect delivery. A.C.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-01-27
After the suicide of her fiance, Anna Beck sets sail to find herself in this Caribbean island–hopping romance.
"Ten months and six days ago, Ben swallowed a bottle of prescription Paxil and chased it with the cheap tequila that lived under the sink, and I don’t know why." After almost a year of depression and isolation, Anna takes the sailboat she and Ben were supposed to cruise around the Caribbean in and does a nautical version of Cheryl Strayed's Wild. But Anna is not on a lonely pilgrimage. In order to cross the open sea from the islands of Turks and Caicos to Puerto Rico, she needs a first mate, so she hires Keane Sullivan, a handsome, one-legged seaman from County Kerry looking for a free ride, a 30-year-old Long John Silver who's kind, sexy, ridiculously thoughtful, and goes to church on Sundays. Propinquity on a small vessel works its usual romantic magic, and aside from describing Keane's super looks, Doller tenderly and informatively shows how a young man deals with the everyday challenges of a prosthetic device. She shows how what may seem to be a disability is no big deal between lovers. Still, Anna spends much of her healing journey navigating the stages of grief for Ben, crying herself "hollow" and screaming her rage at the universe, while Keane teaches her how to properly drop an anchor and waits for her to bravely face her future with him. Doller clearly knows her Caribbean islands: After months of pandemic sheltering, her detailed travel log is fun and very, very tantalizing.
With humor, love, and skill, Doller shows her heroine surviving a loved one's suicide, something rare in romantic fiction.
