No sé cómo sentirme acerca de este libro. Hay partes que me gustaron y otras no tanto. De repente, había buenos temas a tratar, pero no se desarrollaban por completo. Los personajes, sobre todo Stellar, caen bien; sin embargo, tiene tantas capas que no se profundiza lo suficiente en quién es realmente. Luego está Lyle, que no tiene ningún pov, lo que hace imposible conocerlo, me hubiera gustado poder leer qué pensaba sobre Stellar y por qué estuvo de acuerdo en fingir que no se conocían. La parte del viaje me gustó.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a refreshing read. I loved the complexity of Stellar. It did take me a bit to get into the book as I found it a bit slow at first, but worth sticking it out as the overall story was great.

I LOVED this! I got the opportunity too read it and it was so cute. I will admit it was a little slow to start, but I love the relationships portrayed, and how each character came into their own by the end. A must read!
Thank you to Net Galley and St Martins Press, along with Maggie North for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my review!

Maggie North’s The Ripple Effect is an engaging blend of romance and personal growth, making it an enjoyable read for fans of heartfelt storytelling. This standalone novel brings back characters from North’s previous work, Rules for Second Chances, while offering a fresh, self-contained narrative that explores themes of vulnerability, trust, and the complexities of human connection.

Dr. Stellar Byrd, a guarded ER physician, and Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, a gentle giant with his own insecurities, are thrust together in a fake engagement scheme to salvage McHuge’s wilderness therapy program. Their journey is filled with humor, tension, and genuine emotional depth as they slowly dismantle the walls they’ve each built around their hearts. North’s talent for creating layered characters shines, from Stellar’s guarded independence to McHuge’s quietly vulnerable nature.

The supporting cast adds vibrancy to the story, with Brent’s redemption arc and his interactions with the ensemble providing additional layers of development. North’s witty dialogue and thoughtful exploration of emotional growth elevate the fake-dating trope, giving it a realistic and poignant touch.

While the narrative starts a bit slowly, the pacing eventually finds its stride, allowing readers to savor the characters’ evolving dynamics. The setting—a luxury wilderness retreat—adds charm, with vivid descriptions immersing readers in its unique backdrop.

This book is more than just a romance; it’s a tender exploration of self-discovery and learning to accept both love and oneself. Fans of slow-burn romance and nuanced character arcs will find The Ripple Effect deeply satisfying. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this touching story.

This was everything that I was looking for from a romance novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the opposites attract from this type of book. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall concept being told. Maggie North has a strong writing style and enjoyed getting through this story.

Stellar finds herself working as a camp doctor for McHuge’s unconventional couples counseling course. White water rafting meets improv and couples come to the waters to work out their issues. McHuge’s creditably is on the line when a hit piece comes out about him and his phD. Stellar convinces him they need to fake an engagement in order to improve the credibility of his course. But things between them aren’t just platonic, after the night they shared Stellar can’t seem to shake McHuge.

I really really wanted to love this one. Maggie’s debut novel was one of my absolute favorite books. But this one was just too complicated. I felt like the relationship between the main characters was forced. It was just too philosophical for me. But I did enjoy seeing Tobin and Liz again.

Fake dating
Forced proximity
Canoes
Tents

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm rounding up for Goodreads, but it's probably 3.75 star read for me! It took me awhile to get in to this one. This is a stand alone story, but it has characters from North's first novel that if I had read that first, I would've probably gotten into this story quicker. That being said, I really enjoyed the two main characters and their romance! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

Loved the book - the characters were unique and realistically flawed! I immediately added the first book to my "to be read" list! So happy to have found this author and her fun style of writing.

Do you come across a book that unexpectedly lifts you up? I just had this wonderful experience with Maggie North's latest work The Ripple Effect. The romantic and professional journeys of the MCs, Stellar and McHuge, resonated with me on a level akin to waking from the best nap. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Great book. I enjoyed reading It as much as the first novel by this author. The plot and characters were believable. I was rooting for them from start to finish.

I'm so glad I got introduced to Maggie North's writing. I'll read anything she writes now.

I loved this story. I loved the characters. I loved Stellar's journey of trusting her gut and living with so much anger. She had every right to be angry, but it's nice to sift through that with someone by your side.

That someone... McHuge. I loved the glimpses of McHuge that we got from the first book and I love him even more now. Stellar and McHuge are perfect opposites with walls built up for different reasons. Their slow burn chemistry and discovery of how to break those walls down was beautiful.
.

<i>"I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on,' I whisper... "But I want us to try. If all we have is you and me, then I want us to promise we won't walk away from this. Or from each other."

"I wouldn't walk away. Not ever," he says, a little breathless.</i>

I loved Maggie North's new book, <i>The Ripple Effect</i>. It hits on so many amazing characters and so many feelings. I highly recommend that you read, <i>Rules for Second Changes</i>, Maggie's debut novel, before reading this book, as there are some events that are mentioned in the first book that makes things a bit clearer in the second book. And you get to get more of Liz's story arc in this second book, and I adore Liz.

First off, there is our FMC, Dr. Stellar J. Byrd, an ER doc who has been mistreated by the health care industry. She's smart, plucky, and determined to make her way in the world. There's a deep layer of kindness underneath her tough as nails skin and it was so wonderful to see her grow and develop.

Then, there's our MMC, Lyle "McHuge" McHugh. The gentle giant of a man who just wants to take care of everyone. He's funny and it was just wonderful to get to know him. His kindness and gentleness rubs off on Stellar, but he also goes through is own character arc. And it's really interesting to see how he develops. He also has the most adorable dog, Babe. I love a man who has a dog!

But I also became fascinated with the growth of the side characters, especially Brent, the reporter who basically slanders Lyle's business due to misinformation. Brent and his wife, Willow, join the Love Boat's maiden launch as a PR effort, but it was just so fascinating to see Brent learn from the other characters and grow as a person.

I loved the budding romance between Stellar and Lyle. They connect on such a deep level, and their journey getting there is an interesting one. They really change each other, and I think really needed each other in order to find themselves.

The joke were fantastic in this book as well. There were plenty of times where I literally laughed out loud. Although my favorite is this one: <i>"Lyle," I say sternly. "I've seen you naked before. And do not make me explain the powers of the human vagina, given a considerate partner and a decent amount of foreplay. I am a doctor, you know."</i>

All in all, this was a great book and it was thrilling read.

I really did not know what to expect going into this book. At the start I wasn’t connecting with Stellar or Lyle - neither one if them felt fully fleshed out and I was struggling to see where this was gonna go.

Boy am I glad I stuck around! Just like the curriculum of the Love Boat, chapter by chapter we got to see their insecurities and walls get knocked down layer by layer. Maggie did such a good job of taking two characters that seem like COMPLETE opposites and giving them a change to find where they complement each other.

I do still think there were opportunities to give a little bit more. Stellar seemed reticent to get on board with the whole “oh I’m in love with him” idea but once she did I felt like a switch was flipped more so than a lightbulb went off. I wished I’d seen more yearning from Lyle - the final chapters really do give us a peek at his feelings for Stellar over time, but to be down bad for a year I expected a little bit more throughout the story. That’s a personal preference thing, though.

Overall, this really did surprise me for how much I liked it!!

Thank you for the opportunity to reD this book in advance.

I will say it starred out slow... I almost didn't continue since I hadn't read the first book and felt like I was missing something but that was not the case... it can totally be a standalone but maybe read the first book for background and context.. I did enjoy the book however once I kept reading I started to feel more connected. 4 star read for me.

I was pulled in by the beautiful cover! Sadly, I did not like this one. It was boring and had far too many descriptions of the scenery. Thinking it's a me problem though because I am seeing a ton of positive reviews.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed Maggie North's first book so I was thrilled to read this one, with a couple glimpses of Liz and Tobin's life it's the same universe but can absolutely be read as a stand alone without missing a beat.

Stellar is guarded and distrusting, McHuge is sunshine but earnestly so, and for good reason.

The romance was slow burn, and a not of the plot involved both personal development but also themes outside of the central relationship, so I could see this book appealing to women's fiction readers.

The supporting characters were all very well constructed, I was rooting for Mitch and Lori the whole book.

Overall, I'm glad I read this and look forward to seeing what else Maggie North comes up with.

Okay so it took me a little bit to get into this one. Stellar and McHuge as names were a lot to handle. But I’m glad I stuck it out because this was very sweet! I’m so happy Stellar was able to get past her tit for tatting and Lyle found a partner who could accept him and see past the exterior he presented. I love the way they finally worked together. I love Stellar and her sister reconnecting. And what a delightful cast of side characters! They felt so real. I’m glad Brent finally turned it around because he was so irritating, but he felt so like a million men I’ve encountered. And I’m so happy the dog was okay!

Maggie North really has a way with words! This was such a refreshing read.

The Ripple Effect picks up from the Maggie's previous novel The Rules for Second Chances with McHuge and Stellar. I would say this is technically a stand alone book but it was nice to have their background and some of the back story on Mchuge's hit book about relationships that inspires the idea for the "Love Boat". I also personally love all of the characters and getting to check in with them so do yourself a favor and read Rules for Second Chances first if you can.

McHuge and Stellar find themselves in an interesting predicament both need each other to move forward. This leads to a fake engagement in order to better sell McHuge's therapy concept called the "Love Boat" which is a wilderness based therapy. As fake engagements in books go, this one was done so well and I was rooting for them the entire book. I don't want to give too much away because the story is beautiful. The descriptions were spot on and I really feel like I was at a luxury outdoor camp in Canada. I definitely learned a lot about rapids and outdoor adventures.

I will say the beginning of the book is a tad slow, however, its necessary to really set up the story and depth of the characters. Stellar in particular is very down has a lot of unresolved issues. She is constantly struggling to keep score so that she never "owes" anyone. It was refreshing to see these characteristics in a female lead. She is angry about the shit sandwich she has been dealt when she tried to do the right thing and we get to go on this incredible journey with her to deal with these feelings.

Having done a lot of therapy myself, I enjoyed the writing so much. One of the standout lines for me is: "I'd rather be kind than right" This is a real struggle sometimes for anyone. Reading this book lets you take a step back and see both being kind and right and what that means in different situations.

Big thank you to Maggie North and St. Martins Press for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

After reading another one of Maggie North’s books recently, I jumped on the chance to read this one. I enjoyed it and the message of needing to give yourself some love too. The main characters approach this in different ways. Stellar is a closed off, transactional person and not very trusting of others. But she’s not unkind either. She just doesn’t know how to accept others’ kindness. Meanwhile Lyle is perhaps too trusting, and cares too much about what others think. This is also namely due to his size— he’s scared of scaring others by showing all of his emotions, especially anger. He’s this big teddy bear that gives all this love, but needs to remember to take some love for himself too.
It was a fake engagement, which anything fake is one of my favorite tropes. Especially when they had a very real start. But that was a one night stand a year ago that ended badly and now things are awkward. But the camp is at stake (think Camp Rock 2 and it’s a battle of the camps but they don’t sing), and a united couple spearheading it (and a celebrity endorsement) go a long way.

Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the arc for review!

I was lucky enough to get access to an ARC of this book via NetGalley. This is the 2nd book I've read by Maggie North and it follows 2 side characters from her first book, though I don't think you have to read the other one to enjoy this one. The story is set in Canada again but mainly at the campsite for a wilderness/canoe expedition startup that wants to use the skills you learn for whitewater rafting in your relationships. The characters are well written, nuanced & have their own issues they're trying to solve while trying to keep their fledgling company afloat during its first weeks. The book contains some open-door sex scenes, in case that's not your thing. Overall, I loved the reverse grumpy/sunshine MCs and enjoyed reading their journey. If you enjoyed Maggie's first book this will not disappoint!