I am exhausted. This book is totally worth reading however, be prepared for the character exhaustion. Stellar and to a lesser extent McHuge are awesome and yet, the constant struggle to make all right in their world is a real pain. I considered dropping this book and moving on, but stayed the course and was glad I did.

This book was about Stellar Byrd, a down-on-her-luck former ER doctor, and Lyle "McHuge," a hippie psychologist with big dreams. McHuge is starting a unique relationship camp called The Love Boat, which combines couples’ therapy with white-water canoeing adventures. Stellar, who has been bouncing between odd jobs after the challenges of working in the medical field during the pandemic, gets roped in when her best friend Liz—whose husband co-owns the camp—asks her to serve as the camp’s doctor.

Stellar and McHuge share a secret history and have spent the past year avoiding each other, but Stellar can’t leave her friend hanging. Determined to help, she dives in, despite the tension. When the camp’s biggest endorser pulls out and a scathing article discredits McHuge’s vision, the two must team up to save the business. Their solution? A fake engagement to promote the benefits of relationship therapy.

The characters in this book were so well written. McHuge’s unwavering support for Stellar, no matter how bad her ideas may seem, was heart-melting, and their emotional growth throughout the story was deeply satisfying. And the spice? Let’s just say McHuge knows how to give without expecting anything in return—swoon!

This book is expected to release in June 2025, so be sure to add it to your TBR. You won’t want to miss this heartfelt, spicy, and adventurous romance!

I found myself really enjoying this book. A lot of the talk about water sports went over my head but I still found it to be a an entertaining read! I really enjoy love stories between two imperfect people. I also am a big fan of an emotional intelligent love interest. Thank you to Netgallery and St Martin Griffin publishing for the advanced copy of this book!

I really enjoyed this book but it took a bit for me to get through. I think I saw so much of myself in the beginning of the book that I struggled to get through the second half. I saw the twist coming a little too early, probably because the sudden appearance of said characters seemed out of place, but it was a good twist and made a lot of sense. The romance between the main characters didn't feel forced and I loved seeing each of them grow and work on their issues. Overall, 4.5 stars for a well needed therapy read disguised as a romance lol.

A lovely, heartfelt sequel romance. This is not marketed as a set with North’s debut, Rules for Second Chances, but it should be. And it was really a sweet read.


Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.


Lyle and Stellar, the two leads, play so well off each other in every space and role, from session lead and doctor, to dog caretakers. They fit with each other even during the turbulent moments of the narrative that I really wanted to see if they would make it through the rapids. I was caught up in their story from the beginning.


I do recommend reading Rules for Second Chances first, as some parts just will not make as much sense, but you can read this one independently. There are a lot of characters and story threads that get developed throughout the novel that I enjoyed. I thought the ending was a little rushed, but I enjoyed how everything was wrapped up.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This book follows an unlikely pair on their journey from one night stand to marriage in the face of personal struggle and adversity. I enjoyed the Canadian wilderness setting and the pairing of an unlikely match. Wish there was a little more spice.

Lyle, a psychologist, is beginning a relationship therapy program combining camping, river rafting and reflection. He needs a doctor and hires Stellar with whom he had a one-night stand and then never saw again. Stellar has been fired from the hospital and takes on the job as doctor. To make Lyle more believable in the relationship department, Stellar becomes his fiancé. There is competition between Lyle’s mentor and professor and a real danger of the camp not getting funding. Lyle has a past and will do whatever he needs to do to stay calm. Stellar wants him to fight for his program. The set of guests offer a lot of humor and are an interesting group as they try to maintain relationships with their partners. Great story and characters that are complex. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Lyle and Stellar grow. The contrast between the little doctor with a lot of anger and Lyle who is gentle in spite of his huge size made this story.

Loved this so much! I got swept right in and didn’t want to put the book down once I started. The romance is tender and meaningful, with incredible rep that had me gobbling up. Would give it ten stars if I could.

Burned-out former ER doc Stellar J Byrd can solve any crisis except her own life. But with her financial prospects dwindling, she’d do anything to stay in her beloved, pricey wilderness town—even take a job as a camp physician at The Love Boat, an unspeakably touchy-feely relationship therapy startup. If there are sing-alongs, she’s calling in sick.

What’s worse? Her boss is Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, the sunshiny psychologist she’s masterfully avoided since their disastrous hookup last year. Hardheaded relationship scorekeeper Stellar plans to dodge his pathological generosity from now until September, but after a scathing article puts McHuge's romantic credibility into question, a fake engagement is the only way to salvage the camp’s crumbling public image.

It’s strictly business . . . but the more closely they work together, the more Stellar realizes her feelings for McHuge are anything but professional. With competitors hard on their heels and trade secrets at stake, they must find a way to marry his softness with her steel to build a business–and a love–that will last past summer’s end . . .

I loved this new one by Maggie North. She has a way with words that pull you into the story and don't let you go. 😀 Both of our main characters are relatable, and the storyline was engaging and carried the story forward. This was a fun read for me! 4⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this second chance & fake engagement romance to save Lyle's (MMC) white water canoeing/relationship therapy startup after a terrible review leaves the company with a crumbling public image.

Stellar is a burned out ER doctor and she is looking for any job, so she is desperate for Lyle'a offer to by the camp doctor at The Love Boat, his relationship therapy+ white water canoeing (why not white water rafting?). The start was a little quick for me as far as the start of the fake relationship but as a reader I enjoy getting to know the characters more before the fake relationship begins.

If you enjoy outdoor adventures, honest conversations and a quick & easy romance read this novel is for you!

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Honestly one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time. The fact that I had to endure an MC named “Mchuge” for an extended period of time is insanity. This felt like the characters were all characters and not remotely real people. The names, the free love, the clinyness mixed with abandonment issues mixed with rudeness of the FMC. It’s all a no for me.

Overall after 4 attempts to read this one I’m DNFing at 43%

Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

Just finished the book “The Ripple Effect” by Maggie North.

I found this book to be very slow. I was interested in the “fake dating” aspect but found it was too slow. The fmc was grumpy and hard to like while the mmc was too passive.

It’s not a book that I would recommend. But this is just my opinion.

This author writes with a style I recognize from her debut. I would know a Maggie book anywhere now. Between her prose and the way she speaks on the human condition, there's something very smart about her writing that makes me want to recommend it to everyone far and wide. The relationship develops slowly but authentically and nothing speaks to this moment in time more than the topic of burnout.

Things I loved:

-McHuge as the sunshine
-Topics relating to the workplace but don't take place IN a workplace, per se
-Stellar who I looked forward to from the last book and didn't dissapoint!
-The setting, so immersive

Maggie North captures a delightful, queer-positive love story that has the reader clenching their fists from the first page. Lots of fun tension, a bit of mystery, and HEA make this a romance winner!

So, apparently, there’s a book prior to this one and I had no idea! Either way, this completely works as a stand alone (and maybe it is?) and it was engaging and cute. It was a slow burn and I wish I knew that prior as slow burns are not my favorite. But, I did enjoy the characters and the plot of this story and the author did a great job keeping me engaged even with the slo romance.

This books starts a bit slow and the story is a slower build. Loved the vivid descriptions and imagery. The setting was fun and unique and kept me interested. This is my first Maggie North book, but won't be my last!

3.25 stars

This sounded like a cute premise but I just couldn’t get into. Stellar really got on my nerves. She was rude and whiny and super dismissive of everyone else. I get that she had a bunch of trauma to deal with but I didn’t really see any actual character growth from her. Lyle was…. Kinda just there. I didn’t really get a lot from his character and I definitely didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Stellar. Their entire relationship felt so flat and boring and I just didn’t believe it.
In addition to that, the book felt really disjointed. There were a lot of parts weren’t kept flipping back and forth with thinking I missed something but no, the dialogue and plot just didn’t flow well and felt like it jumped around. it just felt like there was both too much and not enough going on.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

If you're a fan of character-driven fiction, family dramas, or stories of personal growth, then "The Ripple Effect" is an absolute must-read. North's writing is engaging, emotional, and utterly captivating. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and reflect on the complexities of human relationships.

Stellar needs a financial lifeline, and fast. Lyle, better known as McHuge, needs the optics having a doctors on board his boat—well, boats—will bring. Never mind that Stellar more or less ghosted Lyle last year, or that their chemistry is unresolved, or that "trip doctor" quickly becomes "trip fake fiancée". They'll make it work. And nobody will be the wiser...right?

I usually rail against TikTok tropes in romance novels, but I guess they're wearing me down. "The Ripple Effect" features #grumpyandsunshine, #onebed, #secondchance, #fakedating, #bigmansmallwoman (I don't know what hashtag that one should be, actually, but I understand that it's a thing) and probably a bunch of other tropes that I don't remember, and yet I didn't...mind? Not sure what has happened to me, but let's run with it.

Into the woods—as a genre (or subgenre? subsubgenre?), not the musical—is right up my reading alley, so when I saw that this was an into-the-woods type of book, I was sold. Points for some intersectionality; maybe minus some points for this not being a very outdoorsy kind of trip, all things considered (think tents big enough to stand up in with real furniture and chef-cooked meals, not sleeping bags and oatmeal cooked in the bag it came in); plus points for some red herrings that did their job; minus points for the whole 'he is so big and she is so little' thing (rubs me the wrong way for reasons that do not originate with this book); and I don't feel like doing math but we're still in the black by the end of the book. I'm not entirely sold on the conflict—it occasionally felt as though there was one too many thing going on—and I'm struggling to imagine that Stellar couldn't find another job that better used her skills, even under the circumstances—even if local practices and so on had their doors closed to her, the COVID era has opened up a world of remote work, including for doctors. That said, I enjoyed the dynamics between the members of the inaugural group, and of course between Lyle and Stellar. I wouldn't be sorry if Sloane featured in a future book, either.

This was a super quick read, ideal for a day when I wanted something that was heavy only on the tropes. A mood read, but I'd return to the author for other mood reads. "Into the woods it's time to go..."

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.