title: The Ripple Effect

author: Maggie North

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: June 17, 2025

pages: 336

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: hospital visit, cut and stitches

summary: When Stellar was at her lowest point because of a horrible situation at work, she hooked up with Lyle McHugh, called McHuge. She's been trying to forget about him ever since. Unfortunately/ Fortunately, to help her best friend's husband, Stellar has to work as the on-site doctor AND pose as his fiancée for McHugh's new white-water-relationship-counseling company. Along their journey, they learn about the business and each other.

tropes: 

forced proximity
fake fiancés
outdoors as healing
secret baddies

what I liked: all of it

what I didn’t like: none of it

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

The imperfect characters in this novel had me on their side from the beginning. The first person narration draws the reader in as the emotions and growth of the main female character are explored. I really enjoyed this one.

I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion I am giving voluntarily. As much as I would like to say this is a beautiful look at burn out and second chance love, I just can’t recommend this. There was more back story and inner monologue then there was actual present day dialogue. Maybe that’s just the authors writing style but this book isn’t for me. There was to much flash backs of the FMC and we didn’t get to know the MMC well enough before romantic things started happening. The chapters are outrageously long because there’s just to much descriptives of everything, when I say everything I literally mean that. Also not enough dialogue and to much inner monologue flash backs, ruins the space needed for dialogue between characters so that we can learn about both of them at the same pace as what’s happening to them in real time. If you like long descriptive chapters with a grumpy fmc (this is NOT a dig, or me being sarcastic) I could see many people liking this, just wasn’t personally for me. Happy reading!

When I read Second Chances, I (like many I am sure) loved McHuge and Stellar as side characters. I figured and hoped they’d get a book but TOGETHER??? How could this be?! They are so different! A lesson in give and take.

Stellar has spent her whole life making sure everything is even. After a tumultuous childhood she won’t take from someone unless she has something to give. The score must be even, always.

Lyle (McHuge) would give you the shirt off this back. He never expects anything in return. No seriously, you keep it. After a sudden violent outburst in his teens his strives to be a gentle giant and see the good in everyone. If someone wrongs him he just lets it roll off his back.

After a ONS and a year of strategic avoiding eachother Lyle offers Stellar a job she can’t refuse. Team doctor for his new wilderness therapy experience “The Love Boat”. But when the public starts to question Lyle’s authenticity due to his bachelor status chaos ensues. One fake engagement later and surely nothing could go wrong right?

The second installment comes with many more lovable side characters, conflict that made my stomach squeeze, and vulnerable feelings you can’t run away from. Five stars!!!

I tried really hard to love this book; I SWEAR. I just really could not get invested.

I love a slow burn, but when I tell you that this was TOO slow. It felt incredibly drawn out. I liked the characters individually, but I really felt nothing for them together.

This is such a delightful and entertaining read! North really knows how to capture the essence of opposites attracting. The writing style is sharp and witty, effortlessly blending humor with heart as the tension between these two, and the chemistry is undeniable. Stellar’s emotional growth alongside Lyle’s unwavering kindness feels both heartwarming and real. It's the perfect mix of romance, humor, and heartfelt moments. I found myself rooting for them both as they navigate their own personal dilemmas and the larger stakes of their shared business. This book beautifully explores second chances, personal growth, healing, and realizing that sometimes the biggest risk is letting someone in. I loved it.

Slow read and I wasn't fully loving the characters. There were a lot of people with small parts and a lot of drama. 85% of the book was drawn out and then the last 15% was rushed thru and tied up with a nice bow

Thank you NetGalley for the arc

Life was busy which made me start the book in slow, quick pieces. By the time I hit 35% I was fully invested and carried my kindle with me everywhere I went hoping to sneak in a couple extra minutes of reading. I was invested in, and impressed by the depth of, the supporting characters and their stories. I'm honestly not sure if I like Stellar. I can appreciate where she came from, her personal growth, and her bravery in the end, but I found myself annoyed by her and her egocentric thoughts multiple times throughout the story. I was a fan of Lyle and his unexpected growth in the story. I would've loved to see a tangible way he showed that he was able to forgive himself for his past. Overall I enjoyed the book: the setting, the characters, the growth, the conversations, the spice, the storyline and arcs. I will definitely be watching for more from Maggie.

This was such a fun and quick read! If you've read Maggie North's first book, Rules of Second Chances you will recognize McHuge and Stellar Byrd. I absolutely loved getting to read their story. A grumpy/sunshine trope with fake-dating slow burn? Sign me up!!! Was funny and witty, just a great time all around.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of The Ripple Effect by Maggie North.

Brimming with crackling tension and immersive prose, THE RIPPLE EFFECT swept me away. The fake engagement, burly cinnamon roll hero, and forced proximity had me turning pages late into the night. Passionate and playful, this story is a testament to loving the softer sides of ourselves.

Maggie North is officially a favorite author for me. This was so so good and I loved every minute of it. I need more!!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of The Ripple Effect by Maggie North.

Stellar, burned out from her last job as an ER physician, has been working short term jobs before taking a physician role with The Love Boat, a relationship therapy startup. The owner of The Love Boat happens to be psychologist, Lyle "McHuge" McHugh, friend of her best friend and Stellar's former hookup. When Lyle’s credibility is questioned, Stellar agrees to a fake engagement during the first group of the startup.

If you read Rules for Second Chances then you likely squealed like I did to see book two would be Lyle "McHuge" McHugh and Stellar Byrd!! Both were standout characters in the first book so it's wonderful to get to see these two again. Stellar and McHuge are so good together; I love the ways that Stellar is able to read him. With the first book and this one, Maggie North does an incredible job building such deep and real stories. There’s so much to enjoy about this story from the going through the first group of the startup, the risk to McHuge’s business secrets, and Stellar’s personal journey throughout the story. The love story these two experience will simply melt your heart. Before and after these two get together, it is all SO GOOD!

It’s lovely to also get to check in again with Liz and Tobin after the end of the first book. If you love a fake dating/fake engagement trope, and a wilderness story, this is one to check out!

Beautiful story. Characters were written well and plot was entertaining! This was my first book by this author and I’m definitely excited to read more! 4 stars recommendation!

This was a nice read, albeit a little bit heavier than I expected - which isn't necessarily a bad thing! It's set in a really fun, unique world, where couples attend a whitewater rafting retreat in order to work on their relationships, under the direction of a perennially happy psychologist. Through some typical machinations, our FMC - a doctor taking a break after some really dark stuff at her last hospital - ends up faking a relationship with the psychologist, who also happens to be her one night stand from a year prior.

The book isn't afraid to step into heavier themes. There's a lot of ground covered, and I think the fact that it's just a surface trope-y romcom allowed the author to give some shades to her MCs. The downside is it takes a little while to get going; I needed to get my bearings during the somewhat slow opening chapters, but once it gets moving it paces along nicely.

There were some unrealistic twists towards the end that annoyed me a bit, but overall I really enjoyed the book! 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was my first Maggie North book and I enjoyed it! This is a fake engagement between Stellar, a burnout ER doctor and Lyle, a golden retriever psychologist. The tension between Stellar and Lyle was sooo good. The vivid descriptions made me wish I was outdoors camping. The pacing was a bit slow but the details of their backgrounds made up for it.

Stellar is a former ER physician and McHuge is a psychologist who recently developed a whitewater rafting relationship retreat. Stellar is hired as the doctor for the retreat and due to unforeseen circumstances ends up faking an engagement to McHuge.

This is an interconnected stand alone to Rules for Second Chances. Initially it was hard for me to relate to both Stellar and McHuge. However, as you learn more about both characters, I started to really enjoy them and appreciated their growth. A bonus was getting to see Liz and Tobins HEA continued.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Doctors and psychiatrists banter and romance, yes, please! The Ripple Effect writer did a great job and made it entertaining. I found that the pace and plot were well organized. I always like when I can get lost in a book and forget about the everyday stuff. This did that for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a slow read for me. The first half was a slow go and I honestly didn't like Stellar that much at that point. About midway, the story ramps up and the characters flesh out more and become more likeable. Overall, it's a good story and enjoyable read

10* stars. I loved this book even more than the first one in this series. These two characters deserved a beautiful HEA and I am so happy they got it and how they got it. That ending was perfect. I do hope we get more books from this world.

If Maggie North writes it, I am 100% going to read it. I absolutely loved Maggie's debut book Rules for Second Chances and was thrilled to receive an early copy of her second book the Ripple Effect

I love the journey that we go on with Stellar and McHuge, two people who have built up defensive walls for a variety of reasons, but then they each pursue life very differently. Stellar is closed off, trusting very few people, and sees relationships as transactional. McHuge trusts very easily, literally giving the shirt off his back to someone if they ask for it, but does very little to put himself first. The two are at different ends of a spectrum, which creates tension in their relationship, which they have to navigate if they are going to work together, let alone have a romantic relationship with each other.

The premise of why Stellar and McHuge have been thrown together is a delight, and is largely an extension of Maggie's first book, in which the MCs follow guidance from a relationship book written by McHuge. Ripple is about McHuge taking his skills and knowledge and passion for his relationship psychology work and transferring it to the great outdoors, setting up a business that challenges couples to embark on a camping and white water canoeing adventure that will test them all and help them to grow. Stellar is hired to be the on-site medical doctor and also for her outdoors expertise, and through a series of unfortunate circumstances, Stellar ends up fake proposing to McHuge so they can be fake engaged in order to support the new business venture.

As with the first book, I found myself relating a lot to the characters, Stellar, McHuge and even some of the side characters. The lessons McHuge took his campers on were concepts I found myself reflecting on in my personal life, and, dare I say, wondering if I should embark on some camping adventures of my own (probably not).

Maggie's ability to describe the scenery of the locations really pays off, given the characters spend so much time outside. I felt like I was sitting right beside the characters during evening campfire, or paddling a boat down the river with them, heading towards the next set of rapids. Reading Ripple was like an immersive experience of the imagination and emotions.

I'm so excited for more people to read this book and to read more of what Maggie writes.

Thanks to Maggie north and SMP for the eARC of the book. All opinions are my own, though I acknowledge an inherent bias as I am friends with the author.