This was such a different type of romance story than I’m used to be in a good way. It’s not just their love story that takes a different path, but the overall story itself and it’s so good. I really loved how there was a story that wasn’t just about their romance. It was actually almost like there were dual storylines and I liked it. I do wish there was a tad more scenes focused on their relationship but that’s because I loved their dynamic.

about 60% of the book in i found myself closing the reader to search couples wilderness retreats. for someone who does not " do outside" that really tells you something about the writing in this book. Lyle "Mchuge" is the gentle giant everyone needs, and everyone needs a stellar fighting in their corner,

This is a fun quick read set in the mountains of western Canada. Stellar had a rough childhood with a con man for a dad and a mom who did not protect her. She went into medicine as a way to a secure life but got screwed over by the hospital that she worked at and is now barely getting by in the expensive resort town that she calls home because her best friend Liz lives there. A year after a one-night stand with McHugh, she does not want to take a job at the new whitewater canoeing/relationship therapy camp that they are starting with Liz’s husband, but circumstances change and what follows is a little crunchy with a side of intrigue.

The Ripple Effect is the second novel by Maggie North and is the sequel to the bestselling Rules for Second Chances. The Ripple Effect is part grumpy/sunshine romance and part character development Women’s Fiction. The story takes place in British Columbia, Canada and features a bisexual heroine.

33 year-old Dr. Stellar J Byrd is a hot mess. A year ago, she left her position as an ER doctor before she was fired and has been waitressing and DoorDashing in order to pay her bills. She discovered that her girlfriend was cheating on her and had a one-night stand with a nice man who’s in her circle of acquaintances, then ghosted him. Her car is on its last legs and she’s trying to figure out a way to remain in the expensive area because her best friend, Liz, is about to have a baby. Liz’s husband is a business partner in a startup outdoor relationship therapy camp called The Love Boat. Liz and Tobin claim that The Love Boat saved their floundering marriage a year ago and they want to support it. Stellar agrees to serve as the camp physician for the summer season because it will pay better than her current job, and she can keep up with her student loan repayments.

Unfortunately, the camp’s founder and director is Dr. Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, the gentle giant who Stellar had the one-night stand with. McHuge was interested in pursuing a relationship with the prickly Stellar, but she just wanted a hook-up. When a prominent author/psychologist publicly criticizes McHuge’s plans and downplays his academic credentials, a potential backer/partner threatens to pull support for The Love Boat. So McHuge fakes an engagement to Stellar to save the camp’s reputation and keep the business partner. As they work together to save relationships, McHuge softens the boulder on Stellar’s shoulder.

While Stellar is skilled at solving medical problems and remaining calm during a crisis, she flounders with interpersonal relationships and solving her own problems. She realizes that she has real romantic feelings for McHuge and becomes determined to help him save his beloved camp. There’s business drama and relationship drama to overcome before they can find their happy ending.

The Ripple Effect is a very well-written story about a woman who finds love while dealing with discrimination, career burnout, and workplace bullying. I really had trouble engaging with Stellar because she is bisexual, and I prefer my romances to be between heterosexual men and women. McHuge appears to be the perfect man, and I honestly struggled to understand why he was attracted to Stellar. There were aspects of Stellar’s character that I understood and admired, but overall I couldn’t see her as a good match for McHuge. There will definitely be readers who identify more with Stellar and adore this book. For me, the best part of this story was the continued glimpses of Liz and Tobin from Rules for Second Chances.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.25!
Stellar and Lyle are the perfect pair. They balance each other in the best ways and I was so impressed with their character development. Each one of them is learning about themselves and each other throughout the story and it is well balanced with the rest of the book. I also liked the little hint of mystery throughout. It dragged a little for me at the beginning but that could’ve been my headspace and overall it is a very fun book!

Thank you SMP for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ripple Effect is a cute second chance romance between Stellar & Lyle. Their chemistry and banter is cute but was off. We went from not really liking each other very much to being in love, FAST and almost rushed. I felt like the Fisher plot line wasn’t really needed? It almost seems like the story didn’t need it along with the romance. NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP 👏
2.5/5
Thank you to Net Galley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is very much a story of opposites attract, two people who view and experience life in vastly different ways who find that they complement each other in a way no one else does. Lyle “McHuge” is a massive man who has cultivated a personality of kindness, generosity and calm all as a way to counteract his size and people’s natural reactions to it. Stellar is a petite woman who has built a prickly wall around herself after a lifetime of being let down by the people around her. She is scrappy, hardworking, angry and always ready to fight for what she thinks is right.

After a one night stand and a year spent avoiding each other, McHuge and Stellar find themselves working together at a relationship whitewater rafting camp that McHuge created. To try to rectify a series of early mishaps, McHuge and Stellar fake an engagement to try and keep the new business afloat. It turns out that when trying to help others couples work on their relationships, they end up working on their own. This is a story of two people damaged in different ways who challenge one another, make each other better and demonstrate the power of unconditional acceptance and love. #couplegoals indeed!

The Ripple Effect is great second chance romance with complex and deep characters. Stellar is former ER doctor but she's burnout and running out of cash. She desperately wants to stay in her town she loves so much so she takes a job at a relationship therapy camp. She's not thrilled but she doesn't have any other options. Then she finds out her ex-hookup Lyle is the psychologist at the camp. Stellar is dreading this camp but knows she has no other options. When forced to work together grump Stellar and Sunshine Lyle are forced to get to know each other better. They end up having to fake an engagement to help save Lyle's job and then feelings start to change. The writing in The Ripple Effect was complex. The characters were deep, and interesting and you felt like you knew them by the end the story.

I absolutely adored this book and the whole marriage retreat situation which drew me in. But I got so much more than I was expecting and loved this read! Such a fun summer read!

The Ripple Effect is a wonderful grumpy/sunshine romance. Stellar J. Byrd is a grumpy burnt out Dr whose financial prospects are dwindling. Lyle McHugh (McHuge) is a sunshine psychologist who is the founder of a relationship therapy camp. Stellar takes the job as the physician for the camp. Partly as a favor to her best friend, but also because she really needs a job. She plans to avoid McHuge and. the unresolved issues from their one night stand a year ago, but after a scathing article puts his credibility on the line, they fake their engagement to save the camp from crumbling. I enjoyed the setting, side characters, and plot twists. The motivations behind some of the characters choices did not always make sense, but overall a wonderful ride with great characters in a beautiful setting.

Stellar J Byrd is a former ER physician who is used to solving crises and wants to stay in her wilderness town. To do so, she takes on the job as a camp physician at The Love Boat, a relationship therapy startup. Her boss is Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, the psychologist she’s avoided since their disastrous hookup last year. When McHuge's romantic credibility is called into question, a fake engagement is the means to salvage the camp’s crumbling public image. The problem comes when Stellar realizes that feelings might be more than just business.

Stellar grew up prickly and having to do things on her own or for an exchange, even within her own family. A large part of that was because her father was a grifter, so she sees everything as a balance of debts to repay. It doesn't help that she has actual debts from her student loans, and no longer works in an ER. Her best friend (and one-time former girlfriend) just had a baby, so she fears being left behind emotionally. This pushes her toward the camp and its unproven status, and she needs it to work. Lyle is calmer than she is and more emotionally aware, but still can be wounded by others' words and the fear of others being afraid of him. Of course, these fears come to a head after the two grow closer, and they confront those fears head-on.

The book discusses the problem of intellectual theft in academia and the terrible ways that women can be exploited in medicine. It doesn't offer solutions, because it's not the focus of the novel, but it's interesting to point out as part of their backgrounds. They complement each other well, and it's easy to sympathize with the troubles they have and overcome.

Stellar is a burnt out ER doctor struggling to figure out what's next for her a year after losing her job and career. Lyle "McHuge" is a 6 foot something hot psychologist getting his relationship retreat off the ground. A year ago, they hooked up and they've avoided each other since. But when Lyle and his best friend and business partner Tobin need a doctor for the summer, Stellar isn't really in a position to turn the money down, even if it means spending her summer working alongside McHuge.

This was a super easy, quick read that follows up Rules for Second Chances. The relationship is a bit of a slow burn, which I enjoyed and the detail and visuals conjured from Maggie North's writing made me feel like I was there with the characters. While I enjoyed the book, I went back and forth at times with being able to sympathize with Stellar and her background. There were a few times where I felt that it was almost a little too overdone, but I understand that it was important to underline her background to really be able to understand her as a reader.

Generally, I liked this one and if you're looking for an easy read centered around struggle, psychology, relationships, and trauma but coming out on the other end, this one might be for you!

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*currently reading so these are rough reading notes so far*
- i’d love a timestamp with the prologue & first chapter to see how long time had passed, sure i went back to description and knew the answer but would be easier if i’d be there
- I do love that she is not the small and dainty female main character but badass and fit, so earning brownie points for that already

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Maggie North for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I liked it. I liked it a lot. The FMC had amazing character discovery and growth. I think her story of rising above politics and status quo that of many women in our world right now. It's so valuable to see a strong character go through it and come out the other side better for it.

The MMC is the cinnamon roll to end all cinnamon rolls. His personal struggles as a gentle giant are so endearing.

If you loved Hannah Bonam Young's Out of the Woods- and would love to live it from the POV of the retreat runners- this book is for you.

If you appreciate stories overcoming academia and workplace toxicity, stealing and gross politics- this book is for you.

If you can get down with long lost celebrity half-siblings- enjoy this book!

If you love second chance post one night stand/fake fiancés-- oh bestie, this book is for you.

I had so much fun reading this book—it’s a bonafide cozy romance! The premise gave Love, Theoretically vibes, but I actually found myself falling harder for the FMC in this story. I think it’s the grumpy, spitfire energy—definitely more my speed than Elsie’s people-pleasing sunshine (even if we are basically the same person).

I also really appreciated how the author showed that men are allowed to be vulnerable. That emotional openness made the romance feel more grounded.

While I was locked-in from the start, I didn’t feel fully immersed in the world the way I have with other reads. If the timeline had stretched over the whole summer instead of just the first week, the romantic resolution would’ve felt more believable and satisfying.

Thank you so much for this opportunity! and I will be reading Tobin's story before the end of the summer.

I had really liked Maggie North’s first book but this one just did not do it for me. I found it hard to connect it the characters and didn’t find the main characters engaging enough. I did like how diverse her characters were though.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

This was cute. At first I thought Stellar was annoying but then I had grown to like her as the book progressed. It seemed like she didn’t want to do anything but , bills don’t pay themselves. As a last resort she becomes a doctor for a new camp for adults in near the end relationships. The problem is her new boss Lyle Mchugh (aka Mchuge) is a guy she had an amazing one night stand with. Despite Mchuge having no dating experience of his own, he’s
a well renowned expert and author of struggling relationships. That’s until an article challenges that and Mchuge is stuck. No worries though because stellar agrees to be engaged to him.

This book was fun but little to slow for me!


Thank you NetGalley and st martins press for this ebook in exchange for my honest review

The Ripple Effect is a second chance romance by Maggie North as well as her second novel. Her first book, Rules for Second Chances, shares locations and some characters with her second book, but both are stand alone stories.

Dr. Stellar J Byrd is at a very low point in life. Having spent years trying to prove herself and having a super sense of fairness as a result of things from her childhood, Stellar is dismissed from the hospital on a minor infraction after having made waves seeking fairness for the women doctors. She is now doing menial jobs trying to keep her head above water.

Her best friend Liz Lewis, in her immense pregnant form, gets on Stellar about needing to do something that will bring her back to life. One thing Stellar can do is fill in for Liz’s husband Tobin while he is on paternity leave and serve as the camp doctor for the new outdoor adventure counseling camp Tobin is building with his best friend Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, PhD. The design of the camp is to get to the root of personal issues couples have as they build trust through nature activities. The only problem with the plan to help at the camp is a brief intimate history with Lyle that they both seem to be trying to forget it.

When a news story breaks putting down the camp, especially Lyle’s lack of own personal relationship, a fake engagement between Lyle and Stellar is undertaken to dissuade it. Also, when the talk show host that was set to endorse the company backs out, Stellar contacts her estranged half sister actress Sloane Summer to help. But the thing they cannot mitigate is when corporate espionage and usurping of Lyle’s ideas are occurs.

This is a good story of second chances on many levels. Well drawn characters and well described outdoors settings are the backbone of this well plotted tale. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

4.5 stars for this sophomore novel by Maggie North. I really loved it. It is filled to the brim with humor and heart. There were a few plot holes I couldn't get over (but that's my Type A personality talking) so that is the only reason I didn't rate it a 5. I enjoyed this a lot more than her first book, and I really hope that she writes more in this universe. (Sloane needs a HEA!)

I am a medical social worker so there is a lot for me to relate to when it comes to the FMC, Stellar (a former ER physician), as far as her personality traits, compassion fatigue, post-COVID trauma response, and the compulsion to look at every situation and every person in her life as a problem that needs to be solved.

I love that our gentle giant and golden retriever hero, Lyle "McHuge" McHugh, is her perfect balance in all of the ways that really count. One of the things I loved most about this novel is how he understands Stellar more than she understands herself at the beginning, and that her interactions with him give her the opportunity to extend herself the grace she so deserves when it comes to forgiving herself and letting go of responsibilities that aren't hers to bear.

I loved all of the other characters in the book also, especially Lori and Mitch, and Sloane. Even Jasvinder has such a strong personality even when he's not actually on page. We even got cameos from Liz and the baby from the first book.

The author knows her psychology, and I thought all of the metaphors she developed between relationships and outdoor activities are so creative and totally spot on. Her use of setting was also beautiful and masterful, to the point that the Love Boat campsite in the Canadian wilderness was like its own character in the narrative.

The pacing of this book is perfect, and although some of the subplots got confusing and/or a bit unrealistic at times, the narrative and character development moved forward so organically and smoothly. I will be recommending this one for a summer binge read to all of my followers!

Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication. I was not compensated in any way for this review, and all opinions are my own.

This is a beautiful story of healing, learning to trust, and opening up to someone. Stellar is closed off from others after a toxic childhood and rough go at her work as an ER physician during the pandemic and years following. McHuge is a self-help personality with a PhD in psychology. After incredible one-night-stand that lead Steller to completely avoid him for the next year, they work together to establish a white-water kayaking program combined with relationship counseling while engaging in a "fake" engagement to help the business. The story is told in first person from Stellar's perspective. I enjoyed her rich descriptions of the nature surrounding her, the food and camp environment, and the people she interacts with. There is also strong LGBTQ representation in the book as well as an autistic character (the author's bio notes that she is autistic) among other diverse perspectives. Overall a wonderful, funny, and emotional read. This is my first read by Maggie North, but I will be looking into her other books as well!