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.

This quick read had a lot to do, and I feel like it succeeded. The heist bits actually felt heisty, which can be tough in some romance books, and there was enough background for Jillian and Sloane that I understood their behavior. I wish we got a little more time with them together, but overall a fun read.

I wanted to read this before I start the ARC for The Undercutting of Rosie & Adam, and I'm so glad I did! I had a blast listening to this book. Nicol Zanzarella's narration is spot on (Ope!); I fully swooned for Frank "Dragon Daddy" Ellis; there's a mail-carrying hedgehog in rain boots, and this is a rare fantasy romance that screams "these are ADULTS."

What a fun follow-up to Curvy Girl Summer! I was so excited to be a Goodreads giveaway winner for this ARC! Plus Size Player takes place over the course of the same summer as the first book, and sets up Jazmyn's story to do the same (Reading out of order would work fine for this series). Nina Ford lives by the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket, but that is upended when she realizes one of the men on her roster of dates checks all the boxes of what she's looking for in a partner and a perfect job opportunity arises at the same time. She has to be vulnerable enough to decide if she's willing to go after what she wants without a safety net, and deal with the consequences of those decisions. I will say, I enjoyed Nina's story even more than Aliyah's. Aliyah and Ahmad were so cute in Curvy Girl Summer, but I found myself missing Ahmad's perspective. That wasn't the case here, even though it's still single POV. Because of the nature of their relationship, Russ and Nina have a lot more open, adult conversations about their feelings and the circumstances surrounding them, and I always felt like I knew where Russ stood. Overall, there wasn't a lot of conflict in this book, and the resolution came together quickly, but the journey to get there was a fun one. Bonus points for an awesome friend group, women supporting other women and THAT COVER.