This was more emotional than I expected based on the cover. That’s not a complaint-just an observation.
Anna’s journey was gripping and emotional. She’s still grieving the loss of her fiance to suicide. This sailing journey is an attempt to push herself, but also doesn’t magically fix her. There are moments she’s fine and others when she breaks down. That felt very real based on my limited experience with death. This does have a romance, but I think this is more about Anna’s struggle.
Keane was a great romantic interest and friend. He is such a good guy who is so understanding. He has some of his own issues mainly dealing with a return to sailing after losing part of his leg. But, again, most of it is about Anna’s issues.
I did like the romance. I worried it would be a little rushed, but it wasn’t. Anna isn’t just rebounding. And the conflicts to the romance were pretty different.
This had a road trip vibe, but at sea. In retrospect that makes sense. I think road trip book lovers would really like this. I don’t understand all the boating and sailing terminology, but it felt natural in the story.
One last thing that’s pretty minor. Anna never says her fiance committed suicide or killed himself. Instead she says he died by suicide. I’ve seen a lot of conversation online in the last few years about how to talk about suicide. Ms. Doller seems to be aware of these conversations and I’m sure these small word choices will be appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
Holly