Rating: 3/5 stars

“Off the Map” by Trish Doller (“The Float Plan”) is the third book in her “Beck Sisters” series.

This book follows the story of Carla Black who is an honorary Beck sister. Carla lands in Ireland for her best friend Anna’s wedding and she is meeting Eamon, the best man, in Dublin.

Eamon and Carla immediately hit it off and decide they would rather take a few detours before meeting up with the rest of Eamon’s family and Anna. Their trip is full of excitement and hilarious stories, but as a reader, it seemed a bit insensitive of them to delay their arrival when they were the maid of honor and best man.

Carla is used to living life however she wants and traveling constantly. She is unable to say no to Eamon when he mentions the few things he has always wanted to do. They begin to have a fling, however it was very instant love and that made their relationship feel disingenuous. 

Both Carla and Eamon are coming out of a rough time in their life and they both know they do not need a relationship right now. However, they keep coming back to each other, ignoring all the reasons they should take a minute and actually get to know each other.

The first two books in this series were amazing and proved that Doller knows how to write a love story. “Off the Map,” however, is not her best work. Her writing is still great, and Carla’s character arc is very well done. The storyline just did not work well.

Carla’s dad suffers from dementia and she spends the entire book talking about how much she loves and misses him, however she has not seen him in three years. When she finally decides to go back home, she completely cuts off Eamon, despite the fact that they were just confessing their love to each other. 

It is clear from the beginning that Carla has a lot she needs to work through, and she spends the novel figuring herself out. This book is marketed as a romance novel and it just does not fit that description.

Typical romance novels show the characters falling in love with each other after a period of time, while also working on themselves. Doller had a solid idea for this book, she was just unable to execute it in the right way. It seemed as if she could not have the characters developing their love for each other, while also working through their past together.

“Off the Map” is a good book to read if you are not looking for a huge romance plotline and are looking for an adventure. The ending is a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but it adds to the book.

Image from Trish Doller via Google