CW: Suicide
After her fiancé’s death, Anna feels lost until she makes the impulsive decision to take off on their sailboat on a trip they had planned to take together. As she island-hops through the Bahamas and further south through the Caribbean, she begins to piece herself back together realizing that she is stronger than she knew.
On GoodReads, Trish Doller says, when writing Float Plan, she took the advice to write the book she wanted to read. And I couldn’t agree with that sentiment more! Her passion for the context and the characters shines throughout the entire book. Anna is well-developed, complex, and felt like someone I would want to be friends with. Anna meets Keane when she most needs him, but their encounter felt serendipitous rather than forced. He’s a perfect gentleman but not contrived and exactly who she needs in her life when she is feeling most alone. They form a fast bond after spending days together in close quarters and Keane urges Anna to live for herself without forgetting her positive memories of her fiancé. I found myself rooting for them to develop a romantic bond, but even more so for Anna to heal and find joy in her life again.
Trish’s writing style was exquisite. She pulled me into the book from the first chapter and I couldn’t put it down. It was comfortable, but not lazy. This is one of those books that feels like a comforting hug that you miss dearly when it’s finished. Float Plan had great pacing: short chapters that flow together smoothly and led to long binges before I realized how long I had been absorbed in the story.
Though I don’t know for certain, I expect Trish is a sailor herself or did very thorough research. I learned a lot of sailing terms, boat etiquette, and Caribbean geography while reading. I found myself reaching for my phone to look up sailing terms that felt perfectly natural in the context of the book but were unfamiliar to me. The descriptions of the locations Anna visited were exquisite! I felt I was island-hopping along with her and witnessing the beautiful locales though I have never seen them myself. It was fun tracking Anna’s progress on a map while seeing the world through her eyes. I also found myself hoping to be able to take a sailing trip such as this someday! Thank you, Trish, for giving us a book that made me feel as though I were exploring at a time when we were stuck at home while also providing ideas for future travel.
Float plan was at times heartbreaking, hopeful, joyous, introspective, and adventurous. What a gem! I would love to see more like this from Trish Doller; she is an amazing talent. Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Griffin, and Trish Doller for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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