Tag: trish doller

ARC Book Review: Off the Map (Beck Sisters #3) by Trish Doller

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

On the road to love, you don’t need a GPS…

Carla Black’s life motto is “here for a good time, not for a long time.” She’s been travelling the world on her own in her vintage Jeep Wrangler for nearly a decade, stopping only long enough to replenish her adventure fund. She doesn’t do love and she doesn’t ever go home.

Eamon Sullivan is a modern-day cartographer who creates digital maps. His work helps people find their way, but he’s the one who’s lost his sense of direction. He’s unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled out—literally.

Fate throws them together when Carla arrives in Dublin for her best friend’s wedding and Eamon is tasked with picking her up from the airport. But what should be a simple drive across Ireland quickly becomes complicated with chemistry-filled detours, unexpected feelings, and a chance at love – if only they choose it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

A TALE OF TWO BOOKS.

I have really enjoyed Doller’s previous two books and definitely jumped at the chance to read this when it hit my e-mail. And I have some THOUGHTS Y’ALL.

First half of the book:

We’ve got an insta-love + a one night stand (on repeat) situation. I was not of fan of this at all. It’s not necessary in my mind. I want to more than that. Some of the traveling was fun and gave me some wanderlust to see Ireland. When they were hanging out I liked those quieter moments and that some connection was at least being made between Eamon and Carla. Good nuggets about live and doing what you love too.

Second half of the book:

Then, around halfway a total script was flipped, and I felt like I was reading straight fiction. Granted, I loved the dementia storyline with Carla’s father and feeling that heartbreak and love and support. It was tender and pulled at all of my emotions. So this second half was not bad in the least, just wholly different than the first half. I missed Eamon.

I think if both of these main plot lines would have been woven together a bit better I would have enjoyed this more. I love Doller’s writing style and the ease of which I can fly through her books. There’s a great balance of heavier topics + romance that I am endeared towards and characters that are wonderful too. I was missing that woven feeling between everything to feel fully invested in both sides of this tale.

**Note, there is totally still a romantic HEA. That was never in question.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open door; medium explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: taking care of a parent with dementia, parental abandonment

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ARC Book Review: The Suite Spot (Beck Sisters #2) by Trish Doller

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 8th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Trish Doller’s The Suite Spot is a charming romance novel about taking a chance on a new life and a new love.

Rachel Beck has hit a brick wall. She’s a single mom, still living at home and trying to keep a dying relationship alive. Aside from her daughter, the one bright light in Rachel’s life is her job as the night reservations manager at a luxury hotel in Miami Beach—until the night she is fired for something she didn’t do.

On impulse, Rachel inquires about a management position at a brewery hotel on an island in Lake Erie called Kelleys Island. When she’s offered the job, Rachel packs up her daughter and makes the cross country move.

What she finds on Kelleys Island is Mason, a handsome, moody man who knows everything about brewing beer and nothing about running a hotel. Especially one that’s barely more than foundation and studs. It’s not the job Rachel was looking for, but Mason offers her a chance to help build a hotel—and rebuild her own life—from the ground up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

GENTLE.

That was the vibe of this entire book. A gentle and loving slow-burn romance that was the kind of read I didn’t know I needed when I picked it up.

I looooooved Rachel. I thought she was a strong single Mom. She’s trying to figure things out and make the best decisions for her and Maisie. I liked that she was vulnerable and honest. And I love the way Rachel connected with Mason. Mason was one of the those dreamy quiet heroes. A solid presence who’s continually there and does the tiny things that make your heart skip a beat. There’s exploration of themes of loss, finding a second chance at love all underneath a beautiful backdrop on an island in Lake Eerie.

It’s fast paced but never in a way that felt rushed. Plenty of months fly by as Rachel and Mason swirled around each other in an ever closing vortex. I couldn’t get enough of their quiet moments and it had just the right touch of steam.

There’s lots of goodness here. I do wish there was a bit longer of an ending or even an epilogue. Lots of heartstrings were pulled and this book gave off a beautiful message of hope.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: two brief open that quickly fades to black
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce (recounted), single parent, loss of a child (recounted), sexual assault (occurs in the first chapter)

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ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: Float Plan by Trish Doller

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 272 pages
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Critically acclaimed young adult author Trish Doller’s unforgettable and romantic adult debut about setting sail, starting over, and finding yourself

Since the loss of her fiance, Anna has spent the last year foundering on land, shipwrecked by her grief and inability to move on. But when a reminder goes off about a trip they were supposed to take, she impulsively sets off in their sailboat, intending to complete the planned voyage around the Caribbean that Ben had mapped out for them.

But after a treacherous night’s sail and a brush with an ocean tanker, she decides she can’t do it alone, and hires a professional sailor to help her get to Puerto Rico. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned, and he can’t refuse her offer. Together they find a way to rebuild their lives and the possibility of new love.

Trish Doller’s unforgettable adult debut, Float Plan, reminds readers that starting over doesn’t mean forgetting: you can build a new home, right alongside the old.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

A TOUGH [& GOOD] READ.

Trigger warning, this review will be discussing suicide, grief, depression and possibly other sensitive topics. I mention it here because the basis of the book is losing a loved one who passed away from suicide.

I liked the way this book was approached. Every time Ben was brought up, the appropriate terms were used (such as passed away from suicide) which I sincerely appreciated. Anna’s grieving process was raw and out there in the open. It was heart-breaking and really had me pondering many important topics. Anna’s healing process wasn’t linear. She stumbled sometimes, took two steps forward to go one step back, but always had such a strength about her. I liked that this wasn’t linear because nobody can tell you how long is too long to grieve and process the unthinkable.

Keane was exactly what Anna needed though. He allowed her to grieve as she needed, made sure she was safe, and became a good friend first. The chemistry was kept on the low end and allowed for a progression of emotions and desire to come out as it needed to.

The trip itself made me want to get on a sailboat and sail the Caribbean myself. It was beautiful writing and really brought the islands to life. I loved all of the things Anna and Keane got to do together while sailing and visiting islands and meeting new people. It added charming side characters and more depth to the story.

I’m grateful I picked this one up (and got approval from Netgalley!) because this approached a hard subject, and also gave a sense of hopefulness in enduring.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary fiction + romance
  • Language: strong throughout
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; innuendo, a few open-ish (mild detailed) love scenes
  • Trigger warnings: suicide (of a loved one, including method and being the first one to find them); severe grief, depression; losing a limb from a car wreck and resulting trials

AUTHOR BIO:

Trish Doller is the author of novels for teens and adults about love, life, and finding your place in the world. A former journalist and radio personality, Trish has written several YA novels, including the critically acclaimed Something Like Normal, as well as Float Plan, her adult women’s fiction debut. When she’s not writing, Trish loves sailing, traveling, and avoiding housework. She lives in southwest Florida with an opinionated herding dog and an ex-pirate.

Find her on Instagram and Twitter: @TrishDoller

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