Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, June 17, 2025

Format: ebook

Pages: 336

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary (From Goodreads):

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.

My Review:

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine
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Stellar, a burnt out doctor, gets a job working for an outdoor therapy startup. The catch is it is worth her hookup from a year ago, Lyle “McHuge.” The two must navigate a rocky business and relationship and see where things will go.
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Overall, this was cute, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Lyle and Stellar. I wanted to love them and I thought this had some potential, but I just couldn’t get into it unfortunately. I did like how calm Lyle was and how he really pushed Stellar to find her best self, which was a great aspect of the book!