Listen - this book right here made me so excited for warmer weather! Your adorable grumpy sunshine, found family must read for the warm weather season! Glamping and white water rafting while also bringing up the harder topics like self healing and self help. Oh, and then throw in Babe, the dog. This book had me smiling from ear to ear but also doing some serious self reflection. “We need a place where we can be brave, and we need that place to be with each other.” Whoa. If you’ve struggled through being an adult or being married, this 100% is for you!

I’ll make this nice and short because I would love for you to not skip or skim through this one.

Y’all should read this book because Maggie’s writing is beautiful. It makes you think, it makes you feel, and it makes you reflect. Don’t you love it when after you read a book the thoughts and lessons linger with you? I love it so much.

“We need a place where we can be brave, and we need that place to be with each other.”

Thank you, Maggie and SMP for this ARC! I can’t wait til everyone gets to enjoy this, too.

Ugh I love this relationship!! A boss and employee relationship always has me giggling and kicking my feet

“You don’t have to be perfect to deserve love.”

filled with fake dating, whitewater couples therapy, espionage, and estranged family members, The Ripple Effect is quite an adventure. the plot is enjoyable, but I did find my mind wandering more than I would have liked, and I think a second point of view would’ve enhanced my reading experience.
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this and that:
♡ bisexual fmc
♡ canadian wilderness
♡ connecting with estranged family members
♡ doctor x psychologist
♡ dog companion
♡ entrepreneurs
♡ fake engagement
♡ found family
♡ glamping
♡ open door spice (light)
♡ opposites attract
♡ outdoors adventures
♡ pansexual mmc
♡ she’s very short, he’s very tall
♡ single pov
♡ whitewater couples therapy

triggers:
☞ gaslighting (happens in past, off page)
☞ parental neglect (happens in past, off page)
☞ toxic workplace environments (happens in past, off page)

I enjoyed The Ripple Effect and appreciated the main characters' journeys throughout the book. I didn't love the writing style and found myself skimming parts, but I thought the setting was fun and loved the physical/size differences between Lyle and Stellar.

First time reading this author but I was pleasantly surprised! This book was adorable. The cover was super cute and the love story had me swooning. Full of emotions and fun!

Before I get this review started I want to give a big Thank you to NetGalley and the St Martins Press for an advanced copy of this book. The thoughts and feelings are my own.

Right off the bat I’m going to tell it to you guys straight. I don’t think I’m a fan of Maggie North’s writing style. I tried reading book one in the series about a month ago. Absolutely hated it, DNF’d literally at the halfway point. I saw this on NetGalley and thought what the heck let’s give Maggie North one more go. I’m happy to report I did actually finish the book this time. However, it just overall isn’t for me. Which is a total bummer because I thought the premise of the novel was unique. And it uses one of my favorite tropes:Fake-dating!

Sadly neither of those things were enough to get me to truly care or connect with the storyline or the characters. The romance progressed better in this book than its predecessor. But it still wasn’t perfect. The I love yous felt a little bit too early if you know what I mean. Plus the end conflict and how it was handled was not my cup of tea and honestly made me roll my eyes so hard that even my friend noticed and wanted to know what the face was for.

Overall, this wasn’t for me, but maybe it will be for someone else. I know I kinda ripped this book a new one (hahaha get it) anyway I’d still recommend it especially if you’re a romcom connoisseur like myself. Because who knows maybe it will be someone else’s favorite.

Captivating story mixing feeling, struggle, emotions, and love when a start up relationship based white water canoeing business brings polar opposites together as they fight to save the fledgling enterprise.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoy how this author tackles neurodiversity with depth while also providing a satisfying romance!

This is definitely a story about growth! Stellar and Lyle had a one night-stand and a year later they find their way back together again. Stellar went through a journey (professionally and personally) which was great to read. I really enjoyed that this was not only a story of Stellar’s romantic love but also how she forged a connection with her estranged sister! We all go through life-changing dynamics with friends and family and I think the author highlighted that very well. I liked the diversity of characters and their characteristics throughout the story as well.

I enjoyed lye and Stellar's story. The pace of the story was a little slow at times. I hope that sloane will get her own book in the future.

Trying to save herself and her home , ousted Dr Stellar Byrd must accept a job as a physician at a wilderness relationship camp. The Love Boat, headed by Lyle McHugh, is a prototype for healing relationships while white water rafting. Except- Stellar and “McHuge” have a past one night stand. As they work together to ensure the success of the camp, they learn about themselves.

I enjoyed the interplay among the characters esp the 2 main characters. Lots of fun lol moments along with the mystery of a possible sabotage.

This book was such an interesting experience, at first I really worried I would be fighting the urge to DNF the whole way through but after the first 25%, I really perked up when the guests arrived and there were more characters to learn about/interact with. Probably because I started out not really connecting with Stellar’s character, it felt like it was almost Too on the nose with her “grumpiness” but as the story progressed, it became really efficient as a means of predicting her behavior and knowing the justifications for her choices. Interestingly enough, Lyle had an opposite arc for me in that he started out pretty interestingly and fizzled out a bit towards the end for me and the biggest crime of his characterization was the “McHuge” nickname in my opinion.

That being said, Adding an extra star for Sloane, who I immediately loved and the other guests of The Love Boat who made this book a lovely experience afterall!!

This was a light read. The forced proximity and fake engagement is fun trope to explore.
I liked that the author addressed the impact of being overworked in the medical field, especially during 2020, the burnout and the lingering trauma, and how it affects building a relationship.
The story also tackled the unethical competition in small business sphere.

Things I appreciate about Maggie North's writing: She explores diverse characters and themes and places them in a beautiful West coast setting. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with McHuge and Stellar and didn't quite understand their attraction and longing for one another, even with the forced proximity and their shared past (one night stand). Saying that, this story may work better with another reader!

After working as an emergency room doctor throughout COVID, Stellar is incredibly burned out - working to deliver food and supporting her best friend Lizzie through her first pregnancy. But when friend of a friend McHugh (who Stellar had a one night stand with) opens his outdoors relationship therapy, he needs an on site doctor. And it might give Stellar a chance to heal.

One of my favourite things about the great democratisation of romance novels is that we get to see so much less of the old style, rich people running through exotic locations and more of people writing about a variety of places they love and writing very specific stories. These characters are very much Canadian, and very rooted in the outdoorsy culture of British Columbia. I'm not someone who likes to hike, much less paddle or canoe, but I really enjoyed that this book gave me a chance to experience it without getting myself cold and wet.

This book also had a lot of thoughtful premises about COVID 19 and the real burnout that many frontline workers experienced. As a domestic violence advocate, it was different than being an emergency room doctors, but I could really relate to discussions about the trauma that comes from frontline work and the difficult relationship we often can have in exerting boundaries. And while this may make this book seem heavy, it's actually a book about people learning to find joy and lightness in each other and in the outdoors. I had a lot of fun with some of the clients of their business, the Love Boat, who run the gamut from someone you'd love to be on a trip with to someone you're still grumpy you were on a trip with.

I really was glad I read this book, and would recommend it to fans of Hannah Bonam-Young or Katherine Center.

I have read several Maggie North books. Her latest, The Ripple Effect was so much fun. What a good romcom.

I devoured this book! This is my first read for this author and I will definitely dig into her other books. The writing style just flowed for me, mix of self-reflection and dialogue that kept me reading. I love a good emotional journey, with banter and spice. Memories of their one night stand provided just enough teasers, this is definitely a slow burn in real time and so worth it! I so appreciate the nod to equity issues in the workplace and inclusion of neurodiversity. It's always nice to read a story that takes place in my backyard, the scenery and nod to nature was such a plus.

Who doesn’t love a fake engagement story! I enjoyed getting to see how this story played out. The author did a great job with building tension between Stellar and Lyle.

This was my first read my Maggie North and I really enjoyed out! A burnt out physician and a sunshine psychologist fake and engagement to save a therapy startup. Maggie and Lyle's story was amazing! I can't wait to read more!