The Ripple Effect
Maggie North
A grumpy burnt out physician and a sunshine psychologist must fake an engagement to save his whitewater canoeing/ relationship therapy startup in Maggie North's sparkling second novel about starting over.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 whitewater canoeing/ relationship therapy startup. If there are sing-alongs, she’s calling in sick. What’s worse? The founder is Lyle “McHuge” McHugh, the sunshiny psychologist she’s masterfully avoided since their disastrous hookup last year. Hardheaded relationship bean-counter Stellar plans to dodge his pathological generosity from now until September, but after a scathing article puts McHuge's credibility into question, the two are forced into a fake engagement 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 Lyle are anything but professional.This summer is nothing like Stellar expected, but could it be exactly what she needed? With a colorful cast of camp-goers, including a journalist intent on bringing The Love Boat down and an estranged celebrity sibling, plus a dash of corporate espionage, Maggie North’s signature heart and heat shine in The Ripple Effect.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley & Maggie North for the ARC of The Ripple Effect. Stellar has built up every wall and runs on anger and making sure all her relationships are perfectly balanced. Lyle's size is the first thing anyone notices about him, and he has constructed his whole giving-to-a-fault personality around no one ever finding him to be angry, read: scary. This is my first Maggie North book, and her writing just didn't really jive with me. It felt *too* descriptive and like every little thing was a simile or a metaphor. I also had a hard time getting around the names in this book (a grown, hippy-ish man being called McHuge by almost everyone in his life, Stellar J Byrd being named for a type of jay, honestly Lyle isn't that much better.) If I wasn't reading this as an ARC, I may have DNF'd, but I will say that around 35% I became more invested. That's around when the action of the camp starts happening, so there is more going on with the characters and the plot. I liked the way we got to see what makes both Stellar and Lyle tick in their particular ways and also the exploration of how they can compliment each other and build each other up and what happens if they can't or don't. There is also good bi and pan rep, and mention of being poly without judgement. Overall, I liked the story and characters here (even bristly, stubborn Stellar), but the prose just wasn't for me.
0Boy did I try and try again with this book. I loved the blurb but the book was choppy and the characters were cardboard.
I don’t know why they wanted to be together because I have no idea who either is.
0 0
© 2024 Pagebound