In The Ripple Effect by Elisabeth Rose Shay and Joelle were both adopted, Shay as a toddler and Joelle as a newborn. Amid the bushfires of Australia 27 years ago, Shay is found by the side of the road with a very pregnant teenager, Emily, about to give birth. Stan is the man who finds them, rushing them to the health center where unfortunately Emily dies in childbirth. Stan and his wife take Shay in and adopt him…unfortunately they can’t take a baby also and the baby girl is adopted by another couple.
Shay’s parents have always been very open that he was adopted and that somewhere he has a sister. For his whole life, Shay has wondered about her and wanted to find her. He wonders if she thinks of him at all. Now grown up and a Doctor, Shay’s decides it’s time to take action and try to find his sister. Miraculously, he manages to find out where her family is and hopefully her, quite quickly! Shay arranges to meet with her parents, and to his dismay and disappointment he discovers that they have never told Joelle that she is adopted. He pleads his case for them to be honest with her and let her know her brother, but they are adament that he is not to tell her. Reluctantly, Shay agrees to this. However, coincidentally he has already met Joelle…at the flower shop she manages when he went in to get her parents flowers before the meeting. Initially they are both immediately struck by the other…it’s a very strong emotional and physical pull. When he realizes who she is, he knows the feelings he has for her are wrong and can go no further.
Shay is so happy to have finally found his sister though, he takes Joelle out for coffee before returning home. Joelle is smitten with him and can’t understand why after the initial – and what she thought was mutual – attraction, Shay is more distanced and just friendly. When Shay leaves, even though it breaks his heart, he tells her he won’t see her again.
Through a series of events though, Joelle’s parents are finally forced to tell her the truth. This brings Shay and Joelle back together and determined to find out about their father and her mother’s family, searching desperately for anyone who can tell them anything. Even though they are brother and sister, they are both still fighting much stronger feelings for each other – that neither knows about. For Shay it becomes impossible for him to feel right about himself, and he seeks to distance himself as much as he can from a heartbroken Joelle, who thinks that he mustn’t be that interested in his sister after all.
As some times goes on, you will learn of the mysteries of the past…The Ripple Effect one moment in time has on so many people’s lives – that can either rip families apart or make them stronger. Are Joelle and Shay strong enough to see this through…and can either of them find another love?
At first I was a bit unsure about The Ripple Effect, only because of the potentially explosive subject…but thankfully it never went there! Elisabeth gives us a really intriguing, fast moving book with some great characters that we come to know. The Ripple Effect is the perfect title!
I really liked both Shay and Joelle. Shay was a real stand up kind of guy, who had spent his whole life wondering about his sister and finally he found her! Joelle handled the news as well as she could, given that she had no idea she was adopted. She was a real sweet young lady with a tender heart and lots of ambition in life. Both of them are horrified by the unexpected feelings they have for each other.
I really liked the interactions with her parents, finding out about them and eventually finding out why they didn’t tell her. Her sister Mel really grew on me too.
The Ripple Effect is a great romance with lots of unexpected twists in the plot to keep you glued to it! I’d recommend this to any romance reader who wants a bit of the unexpected!
Book Info
Publisher: Escape Publishing – Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Ltd (April 1, 2013)
For lovers of Debbie Macomber, a powerfully emotional romance about one tragic event, and the family, community, and love that must face the consequences.
Twenty-seven years ago, in the heat and chaos of raging bushfires, local police find a toddler and a newborn baby beside the body of a runaway teenage girl, and the course of two people’s lives is altered forever…
When Shay Brookes and Joelle Paice meet again, they experience an instant, but immediately suppressed attraction. Together, seeking their birth parents, they traverse the emotional minefield of ruptured families — both old and new — discovering lies, mistakes, truths, guilt, and ultimately love, all rippling out from one tragic moment in the past.