Trish DollerReseñas

I accidentally read the second book about the Beck sisters before reading this first one. It didn’t make any difference. This was also very good. Ten months after the death of her fiancé, Anna sets out to complete the sailing trip they’d planned. After a treacherous first night she arrives at the first stop realizing she can’t do this alone. She hires Keane (a professional sailor) to help.

They’re both struggling with very different losses and living lives that are different than they had planned. Of course each turns out to be just what the other needed. It’s predictable but a good entertaining contemporary romance with a bit of adventure along the way as they sail the Caribbean.

There are discussions of suicide as noted at the beginning of the book. It’s a special kind of grief for the survivors of such a loss and this book is about healing from that grief.

Reading Off the Map is a bit like an erratic road trip, darting from one destination to another too quickly without enjoying the scenery. Carla and Eamon, lovers at first sight who end up on a spontaneous road trip on their way to a wedding, cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time—but there’s something that just falls flat for me in this romance road-trip read. I really, really wanted to like this one because the first one in this series, Float Plan, was a favorite of 2021 and one I still think about years later.

In this story, though, there are some definite things that work, like the Ireland setting, an emotional dad-daughter relationship, and a wanderlust motif. But because a big part of this story is a dad with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and since my dad passed away from the same disease, reading about fictional characters with dementia usually ends up making me angry (probably a big reason this book is about 3-stars for me). Often in books and movies, most forms of dementia are usually portrayed as this soft fading of memory, and I have a hard time not projecting my own experience. To me, dementia is not quiet; it’s not soft; it’s not fading into the shadows of your own mind. To me, it’s violent, sharp edges that cut deeply and unexpectedly—full of sun-downers and hallucinations and losing much more than just memory.

I do love the way Doller mixes sensitive and humorous issues in her books, and I think this could be a book that’s right for readers who enjoy instant connection romance (there’s no slow-burn here) where the characters are focused on forging their own path—off-road detours and all.

“But I’m starting to understand how sadness and happiness can live side by side within a heart. And how that heart can keep on beating” (248).

When you begin reading some books, you’re anxious to get through it, curious about what will happen. With other books, from the first few pages, you know you don’t want the book to ever end, savoring each stage of the story. This book is the latter kind. This book has so much of what I want in a summer read: heart and struggle, emotional rawness, but also fun, breezy things like sailing the Caribbean (definitely on my bucket list) and a hot, Irish love interest with emotional baggage of his own. It is the perfect mixture of depth and romance: A book that deals so tenderly with suicide and grief and healing from tragedy, but also includes so much life and beauty and joy alongside the sadness.

I love Anna’s journey through the Caribbean archipelago—all the lessons she learns about coming to terms with grief and accepting kindness from strangers and new friends and finding contentment and happiness in the beauty of people and places.

Although this is the third book of the Beck Sisters series, it can be read alone. The previous two books add background and history to the plot.

Carla Black goes to Ireland to be maid of honor at her friend Anna’s wedding to Keane Sullivan. She meets Eamon Sullivan, the best man, at a pub where he is tasked with picking her up at the airport. Instead of them going to help Keane and Anna with wedding plans they go rouge. The two hit it off immediately and literally “go off the map” on their own adventures.

They eventually meet up with Anna and Keane for a mini adventure before joining the anxious family ready for a wedding! Will single girl, fly by the seat of her pants, Carla be wooed into reconsidering her thoughts in marriage? Does Carla and Eamon’s relationship end in Ireland?

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read and review this complimentary digital copy. All comments are expressly my own honest and unbiased opinions.

This is another story about the Beck Sister series. These books can be read alone but you definitely miss out on the connections between the characters.

In book 1, Float Plan, Anna Beck turns the tragedy of losing her fiancé, Ben, into the adventure he had meticulously planned to Puerto Rico. Fortunately, she meets up with Keane Sullivan in a manner which seems clandestine. Ultimately, she hires him to help her maneuver the boat through the rough waters. Keane accepts the job as he was travelling to Puerto Rico for a job opportunity. During the trip, Anna and Keane learn more about each other including the challenges and pains from the past. The story explores love and loss, finding your place in life, and when to let go of the past. The boat trip provided healing as just like the sea, Anna encountered many unexpected situations in which she learned to be open and flexible allowing her to discover her authentic self.

In The Suite Spot, Rachel Beck, is a single mother still living with her mother since Anna has been living on a boat with Keane in the Caribbean. The father of her 4 year-old, Maisie, is not responsible or reliable parent. Rachel enjoys her night job in a concierge reception desk at a Miami Beach hotel, Aquamarine. After working there for 9 years, an inappropriate encounter with an influential patron, Mr. Blackwell, results in her termination. Wanting to start a new life, she packs up Maisie and moves to Kelley's Island in Ohio for an opportunity to work for a brewery. When she gets there she realizes that the owner, Mason Brown, is in need of her experience in hospitality than he originally disclosed. Her first impression was disappointment after moving so far for the job with her daughter. But, it soon turns to optimism when Mason confesses to having little experience with the hotel part of the Limestone Inn and Public House. Of course, life isn't all sunshine and roses. Maisie's father, Brian, decides he wants to be involved in his daughter's life and Mason deals with his own past issues. Ultimately, Rachel and Mason need to work together to make the hotel a success. Themes address family, starting over, resilience and compromise.

As in The Float Plan, change is what happens when it’s more painful to stay than leave. When single mom Rachel is unfairly fired for rebuffing the inappropriate advances of a powerful guest, she leaves behind not just her crappy job, but her mom and her ex, who barely parents, and signs on to manage a boutique hotel with an brewery–agrotourism, if you will. Unfortunately, when she arrives on an island in Lake Erie in Ohio, she doesn’t find a brewery hotel to manage, but rather an incomplete vision of one. Owner Mason is grouchy and guarded and intends to rely on the experience, expertise and taste of his new employee to bring the vision to life. She’s hooked! Details of the scenic setting and antiques shopping rounded out the romance nicely.

A few things didn’t ring quite true. Custody being what it is, you can’t just walk away with your kid, dads have rights. And technically, Mason is Rachel’s boss, irregardless of chemistry, it’s a big gamble, with a kid, to put financial security and physical safety and home at risk. Hence, things move at a slow pace. While Anna and Keane make an appearance, this is stand-alone romance. I’m an unabashed fan of heroines with curves and books with food or design details, so this was a 4 star rating for me.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheSuiteSpot from #NetGalley back in March, but it expired and I checked it out as an ebook from my local library system.

https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/2022/10/19/the-suite-spot-by/

Instead of showing up for Thanksgiving dinner, Anna makes a run through the grocery store for limes and a flashlight, dried beans and rice, playing cards and boxed milk: shipboard essentials for going away to sea for “awhile.” Ten months into her healing from the loss of her fiance by suicide, Anna is eloping from her life to take the trip of a lifetime through the Caribbean in the boat Ben restored, on the trip they had planned to take together. He may not have a fully fleshed out float plan, just a final destination of Trinidad, to a beach where they’d planned to marry, and a map of ports of call between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas. She quickly realizes her limitations and hires on the more seasoned sailor Keane to help her navigate the islands. They form a compelling partnership as Anna learns to navigate both the sailboat and her grief. Along they way, they pick up a stray dog, Keane’s brother joins them for a while, they spent Christmas and New Years in the Bahamas.

Anna’s journey and resiliency are raw and imperfect, the characterizations nuanced, and the author doesn’t shy award from tough topics–Ben’s goodbye letter to Anna prefaces the story; Keane, disabled from an accident, has his own doubts and demons to overcome but is a decent and good man, sensitive, kind, supportive, and honest. Details like Anna’s mother’s German-accented English, the dolphins (famed for assisting humans in times of need) that accompany Anna out of the harbor at the start of her journey, and the geography of the Florida coastline are vivid. Descriptions of the design, vibe, food, people and culture of the various islands Anna and Keane visit bring the novel to life. The writing is masterful; sentences like “his mouth is bracketed by disapproval” convey emotion without overstating. Keane often speaks in proverbs, telling Anna the things she needs to hear to keep going: sometimes you have to throw out the map; what we need at present is not to let fear rule the day. At some point, Anna realizes that Keane is the person Ben was trying to be: not just a man in motion, but a man with direction. I don’t know that I’d call this a slow burn book, but the pacing is perfect for the romantic element.

Doller touches on faith lightly, in several conversations about God. Keane is Irish Catholic and finds a church when their shore leave coincides with Sundays. and at one point, Anna wonders if having faith would have saved Ben; all we know is struggled with depression for a long time.

I read this over a year ago, and didn’t review it at the time; a year and half later, it’s sticking with me and I even have quoted it: “the stages of grief are not linear. They are random and unpredictable, folding back on themselves until you begin mourning all over again.” So true, so evocative. Keane tells Anna he understands loss and reassures her that eventually, “You’ll start building a new house beside the ruins of the old.”

Anna’s sister Rachel and niece Maisie are referenced several times; read the The Suite Spot for Rachel’s story, and to get a glimpse of Anna and Keane and Queenie and their happiness post-Float Plan.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #FloatPlan from #NetGalley.

https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/2022/12/18/float-plan-by-trish-doller/

Though not a Beck sister, Carla is Beck-adjacent, working with Anna at the pirate-themed bar in Florida that Anna skipped out of to sail the world in her dead fiance’s boat in Float Plan. Now Anna is getting married to Keane in Ireland, and Carla is going to be the maid of honor. Eamon, Keane’s brother, has been tasked with picking her up from the airport, but instead, invites her to meet him at the Confession Box, a tiny hole in the wall bar. She taps Eamon as her fake boyfriend the moment he walks in, kissing him to deflect unwanted advances from another barfly, and drinks turn into dinner, which leads into making love at his apartment.

A world traveler, Carla regales Eamon with stories of her single dad, a history teacher with summers off who took his little girl to nearly every state park in the country to stave off loneliness. Eamon has always longed to backpack but feels obligated to do what his family expects of him. With several days before the wedding, Carla talks Eamon into a little car camping and sightseeing. There’s a deadline to their fling, and the best man/maid of honor hookup is totally cliche, but this story works.

Like other novels in the series, this is highly character driven, and the journey motif is physical and geographical as well as internal. Carla’s dad is suffering from dementia, and she hasn’t been home to see him in six years–at his encouragement. She lives her life by a traveler’s code he ingrained in her from a young age, like “if it doesn’t fit in your backpack, you don’t need it,” and there is no such thing as being lost. After meeting Eamon, though, she begins to question her rolling stone gathers no moss philosophy and mourns that she met The One at a time in her life when she still doesn’t want to settle down. She also recognizes she might not want to be a seasonal bartender at retirement age. She breaks it off with Eamon… and goes home to see her dad, where his second wife and caretaker is all too happy to get a break for a few days. Details about caring for someone in mental decline are sensitive and authentic. Fans of the series may find this is little lighter and a little faster paced, but very satisfying nonetheless. Making a choice to forge a new path might be the plan, after all, and Carla may not be as off the map as she thinks.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #OffTheMap from #NetGalley.

https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/2023/01/15/off-the-map-by-trish-doller/

Part audio and part physical book

Long ago I read a book called Maiden Voyage about a young woman sailing around the world alone. Earlier this year I became obsessed with a sailing channel on You Tube and I wanted hours and hours of a guy repairing his boat and ten sailing around the Caribbean with a random crew of people. I learned a lot about boats and sailing life and I think that made me appreciate this book a little more than I might have otherwise.

This story is about how a young woman works through the grief of a fiancée who dies by suicide by sailing their boat on a trip they were supposed to take together. Along the way she meets a hot sailor who has his own things to recover from. He helps her learn about boats and they fall in love.

As a general book/story it’s fine. It’s mostly about her grief process. As a romance it’s disappointing. The love interest is awesome, the main character is fine, but I can’t see anything at all between them to make them fall in love besides proximity and hotness. Which is fine but it’s not enough for me to buy in to the long term happily ever after.

I really wanted to like this book since I've heard a lot of good things about the series. Not sure if it was I needed to read the first two in the series or what plus I don't read a lot of romcom but wanted to try it.

This was my second attempt to read it and didn't get much farther either.

I loved reading about the last Beck Sister in this series and the ending really took me out...

This is a gentler, more removed look at grief than presented in Float Plan, but it's still very heavy. It's just not the narrator experience. Had we had a look in the hero's head (Mason), I feel this would've had the same weight of Float Plan. I level my same criticism here as I have for Float Plan: something is too simple with the characters. In this case, despite Rachel's small insecurities and mistakes with men in the past, she's difficult to fault. And eventually, so is Mason. Despite this, I enjoyed the book, but given the content, I tend to want more flaws. Maybe this was Doller's intention, since her afterward directly states that she needed something gentler because of 2020.

I am once again left appreciating Doller's settings and detail. They keep these a notch above many other novels. Unfortunately, they aren't enough to lead me to reread, which is why I give it a 3.25.½

Off the Map by Trish Doller is a 2023 St. Martin’s Griffin publication.

This is the third installment in the Beck Sisters Series and is centered around Carla Black who has traveled to Ireland for her friend’s wedding. Upon arrival she is met by the groom’s brother, Earmon Sullivan. The two have an instant chemistry, but Carla is literally living the life Earmon only dreams about. So, on a whim the two head off for a little adventurous fun ‘off the map’.

The trouble is that free spirited Carla doesn’t believe in relationships, and she’s also grappling with her father’s dementia, which has her considering moving back home and staying put for a while. Earmon on the other hand is ready to live a little after being the stable son his mother expects him to be. It looks as though the minute Carla finally makes an emotional connection with someone; they will turn out to be like two ships passing in the night….

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and was eagerly anticipating this one. Unfortunately, the book got off on the wrong foot with me. These days, especially, I'm not a fan of the insta-hooking up thing, and having the emotions develop later as the pair spend more time together. I prefer it to be the other way around- (and preferably behind closed doors- or not all), plus, I’m not sure if I’m just forgetting this from the previous installments- but it seemed like there were more sexy time moments than usual??

But the story did eventually start to grow on me. I found myself feeling for Carla and the sad situation she was coping with, but I also liked seeing her grow up and open her heart up to living a more meaningful life with some real depth to it. Though there are some bittersweet moments, I loved how everything came together in the end. Any story that leaves you with a warm feeling or a smile on your face can’t be all bad.

The author gets big bonus points for mentioning The Flying Burrito Brothers and my guy Gram Parsons!! Makes me want to pull out some Brass Buttons, green silk and silver shoes!

Overall, I didn't think this one measured up to the previous two- but some of that is probably on me, as I’m finding it more difficult to relate to contemporary romances with younger characters, these days. Maybe I’m aging out, finally, (which is probably long overdue), but I’ll definitely sign-up for the next installment- or anything Doller decides to write after this and hope for the best.

3 stars

Thanks to the Book Club CookBook & St. Martin’s Griffin for an advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I was eager to read this as I’ve read Trish Dollar’s other two Beck Sisters rom-coms, ("Float Plan” and "The Suite Spot”). While all are basically stand-alones, some of the characters reappear in each book, giving a sense of continuity and recognition.

In this latest one Carla Black has been traveling the world on her own for nearly a decade after having honored her dad’s request that she wouldn’t come home to see him deteriorating from dementia. When she arrives in Dublin to attend her best friend’s wedding (Anna from “Float Plan”) she meets (and falls for) Eamon Sullivan. This goes against Carla’s vow to avoid love and commitment. She says it’s just a fling, though Eamon senses their chemistry is more than a temporary hookup.

While Carla and Eamon enjoy each other’s company as they travel through Ireland (several steamy scenes), we can see that their relationship is developing into something with potential.

I enjoyed the second half of the novel more than the first, when Carla comes home to spend quality time with her dad after all. This was when the story became heartwarming and bumped up my rating from 3 to 4 stars as Carla allowed herself to acknowledge her emotions. She and her dad spend time together and connect even when he is experiencing memory loss issues.

So Trish Doller has written another memorable book. This is a light-hearted romance with seriously nuanced elements of real life.

"Float Plan" was an uncomplicated, sweet read. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's descriptions of sea life and life on a boat, and the various Caribbean islands made me want to travel and visit them myself. When I read the blurb that the novel was basically going to be an ocean voyage, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic - I HATE boats - but the author did a great job writing an entertaining novel.

Anna and Keane were very likeable characters. Each was suffering a loss in their own way but their banter and daily interactions were a highlight. I liked how Anna grew and gained confidence in herself the more time she spent at sea, and Keane was a hon.

Overall, "Float Plan" was a lovely novel dealing with grief and personal growth.½

Float Plan
4.5 Stars

After her fiancé Ben's suicide, Anna Beck is devastated and disconnected. On impulse, she decides to set sail on the voyage they had planned together. As Anna sails from island to island, she comes to realize the importance of love and loss, strength and courage, faith and forgiveness. In the process, Anna finds not only her true self but a love that will change the course of her life forever.

This is an amazingly lovely and heartwarming book.

Anna is an engaging heroine whose courage and resilience, both physical and emotional, is slowly revealed as the story progresses. It is so easy to empathize and sympathize with her.

That said, the real highlight of this book is Keene Sullivan, the professional sailor Anna hires when she realizes that she cannot complete her journey alone. Not only is Keene strong, kind and caring, but he has an ingrained sense of goodness and integrity that glows from the pages. He is one of the absolute best book boyfriends to ever grace the pages of a book.

Finally, the descriptions of the various locations that Anna and Keene visit are wonderful. Trish Doller provides just the right amount of history, geography and culture in her settings, and even the sections depicting the boat and sailing are compelling (which says a lot as I'm not a sailor).

Overall, this is highly recommended for anyone who wants to end a book with a smile on their face.

Carla Black is no stranger to travel, having spent most of her life on the road, first with her father and then on her own, so traveling to Ireland for her best friend, Anna's wedding is no big deal. Eamon Sullivan, the brother of Anna's fiance, meets Carla at the airport to drive her to the wedding site, but their trip ends up taking lots of twists and turns as Carla shows Eamon what it's like to spend time on the road, but their trip together offers much more than either of them planned.

Off the Map is more women's fiction than a romance, but Eamon does serve as a romantic lead character, even though very little is revealed about him and there is very little conflict between them. This story is more of a journey for Carla to discover what she wants out of her life and her relationship with her father, who is suffering from dementia. While the plot does tug at the heartstrings, it seems like a story that has been written many times before. What stands out is the description of the landscapes and landmarks of Ireland. It is also enjoyable to revisit the relationship between Anna and Keane from The Float Plan. Overall, Off the Map offers some humor as well as raising the issue of the emotional toll of dementia, but romance is a very small part of this story.½

Carla Black is a bartender who works part of the year and the travels the remainder of the year. She is full of wanderlust and that way she is fulfilled by being able to travel to her hearts content. She currently finds herself in Ireland for her best friend's wedding and she is meeting up with the best man in Dublin to make the trek to Tralee where the wedding will take place.

Eamon Sullivan loves travel as well, but makes his living my creating digital maps for travel, not because he gets to travel much himself. He's not entirely happy with where his life is at right now, having just gotten out of a relationship, he's not loving his work like he used to and he's finding that his road trip with Carla, the maid of honor, might be happening right on time.

The chemistry between Carla and Eamon is immediate. When they realize they both like the adventure of travel, Carla talks him into taking some detours on the way to the wedding. These detours could change the trajectory of their lives and they may not even realize it. Will they allow it to happen?

This was an enjoyable adventure with two very likable characters. I enjoyed the trip we got to take across Ireland as well. If you haven't read the first two books in the series, this can be read as a standalone without issue, but it's a great series, so I do recommend reading the whole thing.


I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher and voluntarily left this review. #NetGalley

Carla Black is a traveler, working all winter to pay for her summer camping and off-roading around the world. In Ireland for her best friend's wedding, she meets Eamon, the best man, and there's an instant connection. But Carla doesn't want to be tied down. Her father, who gave her the travel bug, has dementia and wants her to see the world.
It's a lovely story about connections and finding one's family, blood or otherwise. Carla helps Eamon follow his dreams, and he provides the safety and love she constantly searched for but thought she didn't need. They are a lovely couple, totally in sync with each other, and though it's an insta-love trope, I didn't mind it at all since it felt so genuine.
Any book set in Ireland is going to be lovely, but Carla and Eamon's adventures as they get side-tracked on the way to the wedding are just hysterically funny. The writing is solid, descriptive and touching, especially about Carla's relationship with her dad, Biggie. It's a great book and I heartily recommend it.

I voluntarily agreed to read and honestly review this book.
This was a great read about trying to come to terms with Life after a suicide. Our heroine, Anna, tries to get back on even ground by taking a solo boat trip. She meets the hero, Keane, and eventually falls in love with him. Her journey isn’t easy nor smooth. But eventually she gets to where she needs to be, and finally gets her HEA.

Arcadia (Cadie) has always wanted adventure. Her life at home taking care of her little bro and working in her dad's grocery store, is anything but exciting. One night while out at a campground party, she meets 2 cousins that are passing through Florida on a road trip. They offer her an escape from her life, which she desperately needs right now... even if it is just for a few days. They're new and exciting, with a little edge. With Noah there's an immediate attraction, but Cadie can't deny that there's something about Matt that is enticing too. Throwing her better judgement to the wind, Cadie goes with the boys on an adventure to remember.... but all the memories from this trip won't be good. Some of them will be deadly.


My Thoughts:
This is my 2nd Trish Doller book, the first one being [b:Where the Stars Still Shine|15826648|Where the Stars Still Shine|Trish Doller|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361985398s/15826648.jpg|21558785]. I had mixed feelings about that one, and I'm kind of in the same boat here. I almost feel like WTSSS was better thought out, but the romance in TDYK was much more tolerable. This story is definitely more of a thriller type of book. Not completely because we really don't get the intensity until right at the end. Although, I knew with her going off with 2 strangers something bad was bound to happen.

I liked the set up of the book. It really made Cadie's questionable choices a lot more understandable. After her mother dies of cancer, Cadie's been helping to hold her household together. She's basically been raising her baby brother, while also doing most of the house chores, AND working in her father's struggling grocery store. All the while, her dad doesn't talk to her about things, like her mother's death for example, and just expects she will be responsible. I can totally see how someone with a life like that would just want to break free and do something a little crazy. And if I'm being honest, when I was Cadie's age I totally would have gone with Matt and Noah without a 2nd thought. I always felt I could handle myself and that nothing bad would ever happen to me. Basically- I was stupid and lucky to make it out alive.

There is a romance in it, and it was an okay part of the book. It was insta-lovey at times.... for instance:

"The state park has regulations about dogs being on leashes, but Molly rarely ventures away from Noah. I mean, who can blame her? I've only known him a little more than a day, and I want to follow him everywhere."

Yeah. Umm you've only known him for a day, calm down. But asides from a few small moments like that, I enjoyed the way Cadie and Noah were. I also liked the way the sexy-times were thought about in Cadie's mind. It felt really positive to me. Another high point was the way Cadie, Noah, and Matt got along during their road trip. All 3 of them had good chemistry and it kept it interesting.

The Florida setting made things a lot more creepy, especially with the alligators swimming in all the rivers they were paddling in. They did a lot of water activities in this book, so the fact that there always seemed to be a presence of something deadly in the water added to the atmosphere.

The part I wasn't wild about was the ending. I figured out who the bad person was right off the bat. I mean, it was pretty obvious. And I wanted there to be more of a twist than what there was. I kept waiting for that 2nd surprise to blow me away (like [b:Dangerous Girls|16074758|Dangerous Girls|Abigail Haas|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356513050s/16074758.jpg|21869436]), and that never came. There was also a really sappy ending chapter that I really didn't care for or find realistic. I think I would have liked it better if the romance wasn't pushed as hard.

OVERALL: A fun mystery/thriller book that I was halfway into. It definitely took me back to my Fear Street days in a way, but I wanted more surprises than what I got. I don't think it's something I will remember 5 books from now.

My Blog:

Callie has lived most of her life on the run. Her mother ran away from Florida with her when she was kindergarten age so that her father wouldn't win custody. Now she's 17 and life hasn't been easy. She's never really been to school, she's left alone a lot while her mother works at bars and restaurants, she's never in one place long enough to make friends, and she's endured a trauma that no one knows about. She's dealt as best she could through it all. But during this latest move, her mother gets busted.... and Callie is sent back to Florida. And back to a father and a family that she doesn't really remember.

Trusting Greg (her dad), and making a life in this new place feels like betraying her mom... but this life offers her a stability, a love, friendship, and family in ways she never had all those years in hiding.

My Thoughts:
I wanted to read this book ever since I laid eyes on such a beautiful cover and title. Then I read that it was about a girl who had grown up kidnapped by her mother and going home to a completely different life, and I knew it was a book I had to read. Luckily my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa agreed and got me this!!

First off, I don't want to give off the impression that I didn't like this book. I totally did. I flew through it and wanted to keep reading it and reading it even after I knew I should be doing something else (like sleeping maybe???). So yeah, it was super well written, addicting, and had a lot of interesting things in it (like Greek culture, scuba diving, family dynamics, etc.).

The thing about this book is that I just couldn't 100% give myself to it... if that makes any sense. Like I kept thinking about stuff that was going on in the book and not really agreeing with it or understanding why the characters were the way they were. They just didn't act the way I personally wanted them to... which shouldn't really be held against the book. It's just a personal feeling.

Also this wasn't the most original book I'd ever read. I felt like I've read books like this before and there were also some aspects that seem to be in a lot of YA books: Of course the m/c, who went through some pretty heavy stuff, was amazingly, stunningly, beautiful. And of course the love interest was the hottest guy on the planet AND described as a man-whore. (On a side note- What is it with the new obsession in YA that all the desirable men be man-whores?? I didn't realize having sex with a bunch of people made someone sexier. I personally don't think it is necessary to the story at all.) And of course said man-whore guy (who weirdly is her step-uncle) morphs into the savior the instant he lays eyes on Callie. It's just.... I'm sick of that same old stuff. I want MORE. Not everyone has to be so beautiful that all heads turn when they walk down the street. Can they just be attractive to each other maybe?

Now we get to how I felt about Callie. I felt like she was a pretty unlikable character, but that things were thrown in about her past that I could tell were supposed to make me like her despite all her unlikablility. But I just didn't ever fully like her. She has issues because of the past trauma that I mentioned, and it makes her do impulsive things with guys. I feel bad that shit happened to her, but that does not make it okay for her to have sex with any guy that notices her existence. And her lack of emotion about that sort of scared me. I was also really frustrated that the love interest turned out to be one of these "hello-let's fuck" guys. That is just not ever going to happen. The other flaw about Callie was that she just kept making the same mistakes over and over and over again. She kept running away, lying about everything, she kept having sex with any guy who talked to her, she kept pushing everyone away. And in the end it didn't really feel like she stopped doing any of those things because she learned something, it was more like it's just the way it turned out.

What I did love was the guy. Alex was really sweet and even though I didn't believe in how their relationship developed... I still really liked him. I just kind of wanted Kat (the clingy BFF) to get the guy. I liked her too. I also loved Greg and his overall saintly patience with Callie and the ending. The ending was perfect for me. I would have been so mad if everything tied up in a neat little bow at the end... and that SO didn't happen!!! YAY!!

Ugh I don't know... I want to totally recommend this. I want everyone to read it just so they can see the complexity of feelings it will leave you with. I feel totally conflicted about everything in the book... and I kind of love that.

OVERALL: A book about a flawed girl who makes A LOT of mistakes while dealing with family turmoil and a past that is extremely traumatic. I'm very conflicted about this book in that I loved reading it, but had complex feelings about how the characters acted. Not the most original story, but it is well thought out. I would definitely recommend it even though I had issues with Callie.


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Off the Map by Trish Doller
Contemporary romance. Beck Sisters, book 3. Can be read as a stand-alone but part of the travel is to get to a wedding of one of the sisters. I had not read the previous books and had no trouble following the story.
Carla Black is on a perpetual adventure. If it sounds interesting, she’s all in. No deep commitments, but a life of exploring and living to the max. She meets Eamon Sullivan in Ireland and they have instant chemistry and go exploring, both in bed and around the country. Eamon is the responsible family member. Taking a side trip on the way to a wedding shouldn’t be thrilling but he’s learning from Carla that fun is allowed.
Carla is also running from emotions and she needs to unlearn her habits for a richer future.

It’s a fun romance with a second story of learning to love. Dementia is a big piece so if that’s a trigger for you, be warned.
“What happens in the pasture, stays in the pasture.”

🎧 I alternated between an ebook copy and an audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Naughton. The performance is well done and includes a slight Irish accent for Eamon and his friends that you don’t necessarily hear in reading the book. Both the ebook and audiobook had me crying as she does video calls with her father and his dementia is a factor.
I think the ebook had a slightly lighter, carefree feel for me as an adventure of her falling in love. The audiobook felt a bit more serious from Eamon’s tone and perspective of life.
I listened to this audiobook at 1.5 which is my standard and is what I feel makes the best conversational speed.

However you read this book, it’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time and of course, as a romance you get a hea.

I received both copies from NetGalley. The audiobook courtesy of Macmillan audio.

This was a great romance! Carla goes to Dublin to serve as Maid of Honor at her best friend’s wedding and the groom’s brother, Eamon, who is the Best Man is tasked with picking her up. These two have instant chemistry and their trip across Ireland becomes an adventure that neither of them will forget.

Carla and Eamon were perfect together. Carla is an adventurer and Eamon is more of a planner but he really wants to experience life more like Carla does. Carla is dealing with some things in her personal life and I was happy that she finally took some much-needed steps before the book drew to a close. I really just felt like Carla and Eamon complimented each other perfectly and couldn’t wait to see them figure things out.

Sarah Naughton did an amazing job with the narration. I thought that she was able to add a lot of emotion into her reading which really helped to bring the story to life. I thought that both her male and female voices felt natural and I absolutely loved the accents she used for some of the characters. I think that her excellent narration helped to bring this story to the next level.

I will definitely be recommending this book to others. I thought that this book was very well done and I loved the adventurous spirit of the characters. I hope to read much more of this talented author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio.

I really enjoyed this story! Rachel is a single mother living with her mother in Florida. After losing her job, she decides to take a chance on a new position at a new hotel in Ohio so she packs up her daughter and makes the trip. It turns out the hotel isn’t even built yet so she gets to be a part of the process of designing and planning for future guests. Her new boss, Mason, is more of a mystery.

I loved Mason and Rachel together. Mason has been through a lot and I liked the fact that he is trying to move forward with his life. I thought that Mason and Rachel had fantastic chemistry together and I really liked the way that Mason was with Rachel’s daughter. The residents of the small town where the hotel is located were all wonderful and I loved the way they embraced Rachel and Maisey.

Sarah Naughton did a fabulous job with this story. I really felt the emotion of the characters and I thought that the voices that she used really helped to bring the story to life. Once I started listening to this story, I did not want to stop. I know that her performance added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. I thought that this romance felt very realistic and I quickly fell in love with both Rachel and Mason and wanted to see them have a future together.