Wild River

Magnolia Falls #2

by Laura Pavlov

A Small Town, Enemies to Lovers, Boy Obsessed, Found Family, Standalone Romance from USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author, Laura Pavlov.

Ruby Rose declared me the enemy before I had a chance to defend myself.
I may be an attorney, but this girl had appointed herself judge and jury.

And I’d never minded a good verbal sparring.
There was a comfort in going to battle against the evil queen.
Maybe it was just the recognition of one damaged soul to another.
But the more we fought—the more I craved her.
Until our arguing turned into a bit of a wager.
One I was determined to win.
One time. Sixty seconds. A secret only we would share.
I’d work my magic and she’d declare me the winner.
I’d gloat, she’d sulk—that was my plan.
She was determined to prove me wrong.
But from the minute we crossed the line, there was no turning back.
She was so far under my skin I couldn’t think straight.
Feeling things that I’d never felt before was one thing.
But knowing the clock was ticking was another.
Ruby Rose may have given me more than sixty seconds, but she wasn’t offering forever.
And now my world doesn’t work without her in it.
But how do I convince her to stay, when she already has one foot out the door?

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Small Town Romance, Found Family, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, He Falls First

340 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2024

About the author

Laura Pavlov is a USA Today and Amazon top 10 Bestselling author. She writes sweet and sexy small town romance that will make you both laugh and cry. Laura is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome kids who are currently adulting, one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. She's living her own happily ever after in Las Vegas. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves hearing from readers!

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Website➡️https://www.laurapavlov.com/

Reviews

[Yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ OKAYYYYY CUUUUTE

[Laura Pavlov]

Available now!

Download today or read for FREE with #kindleunlimited
https://geni.us/wildriver

Audio Narrated by: Desiree Ketchum & Aiden Snow

Paperbacks available in both covers!

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/41OUXah

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

After reading the first book in Laura Pavlov’s ‘Magnolia Fall’ series, I knew I needed to know more about this group of friends. Wild River follows River and Ruby’s enemies to lovers/small town romance.

River is best friends with Romeo and their friend group is elite. I cannot wait to read about all of these guys! He’s also an attorney in Magnolia Falls who ends up representing Ruby’s dad. Ruby is not impressed by River, unlike most of the town. But River… he’s impressed by Ruby. She’s feisty, fun, and independent and has him so intrigued.

The banter and chemistry between these two was top notch. I had so much fun reading it. Ruby with her brothers, who ended up being great, and as mentioned before, River’s friend group. It’s found family at its finest. And the way we were teased for the next book… Gahhh! I can’t wait.

I listened to the audiobook of Wild River and Aiden Snow and Desiree Ketchum did a fantastic job voicing River and Ruby. Overall this was a great read and I’m looking forward to more in this series.

Audio book source: Book Funnel (arc)
Story Rating: 4.25 stars
Narrators: Aiden Snow & Desiree Ketchum
Narration Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 8h 53m

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love being in Magnolia Falls 🥹🥹

This was such a fun read! I love Ruby sooo freaking much! She is such a feisty, independent, & strong FMC and those are my absolute favorite type of FMC's to read about.

I really enjoyed the hate to love & back and forth banter between Ruby & River and also LOVED the Cottonwood Cove features with Cage and Finn! I love how Laura can tie all of her series together because I have such a strong love for every character so it's the best thing ever when they pop into newer books!

"I like aggravating you, Queenie. I want to spend the rest of my life aggravating you,"
EXCUSE ME WHY IS THIS SOMETHING MY HUSBAND WOULD SAY.

-small town
-hate to love
-one bed
🌶️🌶️

Also.. I am praying for Kingston and Saylor to get a book together 🤭🤭

Thank you Valentine PR and Laura Pavlov for the early ARC copy! 💗

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have fallen so hard for these characters in this series after reading Loving Romeo, so I was so excited for Wild River! We see the gang of friends and Beefcake and I love their banter and dynamic so much! The group chats are everything.

This romance is a hate to love romance between the heroine coming back home to take care of her father and a lawyer. They immediately butt heads, but they have an obvious attraction and chemistry. They start an enemies with benefits situation before really falling for each other. The tropes in this one aren't necessarily my favorite, but Laura delivers on the protective hero and insane chemistry between the characters. The heroine always takes care of her family, even when they don't appreciate it, and I loved how the hero stuck up for her when her brothers were being rude. It was fun how he stepped up to help her, even when she didn't want to accept his help, and all of his friends got involved in helping her brothers as well.

This has all of the small town antics and close friends vibes we get from Laura's books and I just love the feeling of reading a new book by her. I did love Loving Romeo more than this one, but I just love these characters and being back with them! I already can't wait for the next book!!

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread in May 2025 for Patreon
.
.
.
This was my first EVER Laura Pavlov and when I had the opportunity to listen to this audio book, I knew I had to jump on it. My friends have raved about her books and I didn't want to miss out anymore.

When Ruby comes back to her small town after college to look after her dad's bar while he recovers from an... incident, shall we say? She doesn't know what she wants to do after this, but what she doesn't need is for River to complicate things. But when he makes her a wager of the... steamy kind, she can't help but want to see what he's got.

After that, it's to late for the both of them, so ya'll better hold onto your hats.

This had great banter, swoon, steam, and some touching moments as well. It was a great read and listen and I fell in love with the whole gang. It's another small town series for me to be obsessed with, so I'll definitely be catching up real soon. The board is all set for a lovely series.

It is narrated by Aiden Snow and Desiree Ketchum, which means your ears are in for a pleasurable time as well.


4 stars
3 on the spice scale

*Thank you to VPR and the author for an ALC of this title.*

[Literary Child (Tania) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ну солодусики❤️
Кожна книга Лаури це розрада для моєї душі🌸

[jada · Rating 3 out of 5]

i haven’t read anything from this author in a while bc all her series were the same. wash, rinse & repeat. i didn’t read the first in this series but i think the pattern is continuing here… 😅

💗 small town
💗 dislike x lovers
💗 he’s a lawyer and she has her phd
💗 playboy
💗 he falls first

Ruby moves home to help her dad out by running his bar while he’s recovering from a stroke. River is friends with her dad and there’s an instant dislike there. they bicker and argue a lot but can’t get past their attraction towards each other and finally decide to hook up while she’s in town.

SPOILERS

honestly this could have been a 4 star read if it wasn’t for the third act & how it was resolved. the 3 stars are basically just for River (before he pissed me off) bc he was truly a good man. all that he did for her, it can’t make me fully hate him 🥺 Ruby was fine i guess, idk i didn’t really connect with her character at all.

he’s a whore, never with a woman more than once, everyone knows the score… now i knew this going in and i was okay with it because he just knows Ruby is different and has no issues with admitting it. and it’s mentioned how she picks men that she won’t get attached to so i got excited (wrong move on my part) that they would be equally matched. WRONG. of course no man has ever made her come, she takes care of herself. you’ve got to be kidding me 🙄 but knowing this author i’m not surprised. her fmcs can be experienced but she’ll be damned that they have had a pleasurable sex life. but don’t you worry, River can get her off in under 60 seconds when no other man could with no time limit 🙄🙄🙄

now the third act. River is such an idiot. these two just love jumping to conclusions but COME ON. if he loves her like he says there’s no way he would’ve acted like he did without hearing her out. then to leave with a woman that everyone knows wants in his bed (again!!) GTFO
then he doesn’t even reach out to apologize, their friends have to parent trap them and HE STILL DOESN’T APOLOGIZE. there’s one positive here and it’s that she doesn’t take his crap. she tells him to figure his shit out and come apologize for real when he’s ready.

do you wanna know the “grovel”??? after the failed “i love you” sticky note that caused this whole mess…. he fills her new office with… you guessed it, sticky notes.
he does follow up with meeting her at a romantic spot he set up & apologizes face to face (finally) and gets her name tattooed on him… so i’ll give him that i guess.

idk for me it was just the same thing, different book. i probably won’t be continuing this series bc the next one is Kingston who is a total manwhore and so non apologetic about it and it’s friends to lovers so 🥴🥴🤮🤮🤮

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild River is the second book in Laura Pavlov’s Magnolia Falls series. This is a small town romance with found family and hate to love vibes. I have loved this author’s previous books, the last few have all been 5-stars for me, and I fully expected to love this one too, but this book just didn’t hit the same for me sadly.

“Ruby Rose is not an evil queen at all.
She was guarded and cautious and fierce.
She was the epitome of a queen.
Nothing evil about it.”

River is a lawyer and part of the same friend group as the hero of the first book. Ruby ends up coming home to Magnolia Falls when her father is in the hospital and she doesn’t have the best impression of River at first She decides to stay in town while her father is in the hospital and keeps his business, Whiskey Falls bar open.

Ruby has always been the responsible one from a young age and has had to be the caretaker of her mom’s messy life and her half brothers as well. River is super pulled towards her and while she’s never been one to depend on others, he’s determined to help her. After a “60 second challenge” leads to “just one night only”, they eventually end up in a no-strings attached type of relationship of hooking up while she’s in town.

While I loved the found family, I just wasn’t pulled to the couple and didn’t feel the romance between them. Some moments just felt kind of silly in here starting with the reason her dad was in the hospital. I could honestly tell right away I wasn’t going to love the story, but I thought it would be 4 stars. But then the hero makes some dumb assumptions at the last minute and acts/says ridiculous things so that brought down my rating. I did really like the hero’s text convo thread with his friends, their guys trip to Cottonwood Cove, how he calls her “Queenie”, and seeing more of the future heroes for the series. So while this one didn’t work for me perfectly, I love this author and her books overall!

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

[Karina (shedreamsinwords) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

”Hearing Ruby laugh felt like I was witnessing something special. Something you earned. Something you cherished.”

After eating up Loving Romeo, I was SO excited to be back with this small town gang and seeing River as our main man this time around!

Wild River follows River, the town lawyer, and Ruby, the daughter of one of River’s clients who comes back to town to help run her father’s bar after a health scare. There’s an immediate dislike among the two with River’s unattached nature, and Ruby’s feisty black cat energy, but the way they couldn’t avoid each other in Magnolia Falls really amped up the tension and eventual angst between the two. The constant tension finally gives way that leads to a no strings attached arrangement, but that only lasts so long until somebody catches feelings and things start to feel real.

Ruby is such an independent, caring heroine that would do anything and everything for her family. There’s a scene involving River manhandling Ruby’s brother after he speaks so rudely to her, and I was SCREAMING!! I love a protective man 🙏🏼

I will say, this didn’t have nearly as much groveling as I hoped from River, but I can’t deny my soft spot for him.

I loved seeing the band of brothers interact but again, I just wish we got more of their interactions like we did in book 1. The friendship banter is truly top tier!

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Kingston because the way this ended has me eager to see it all play out 😍😍

✨𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭—
black cat energy
enemies to lovers
he falls first
found family
touch her & 💀

[Alina Kravets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це друга книга з серії, і вона теж була доволі не погана.

Пара: Рівер & Рубі

Тропи:
✨ Від ворогів до закоханих
✨ Маленьке містечко
✨ Він закохався першим


Рубі – сильна, незалежна, цілеспрямована дівчина, яка повертається до рідного міста, щоб допомогти батькові, коли він опиняється у лікарні.

"Раніше я завжди намагалася дізнатися щось про людей у місті. Наприклад, кого слід уникати.
Рівер та його друзі були у цьому списку.
Чорт, я вплуталась у вуличну бійку з його другом Ромео, коли ми були малими. Він навіть не чинив опір. Мені довелося битися з ним, тому що кілька дітей накинулися на мене дорогою додому після школи, і він прийшов мені на допомогу."

Рівер – харизматичний юрист, який тримає людей на відстані, але як тільки бачить Рубі, одразу розуміє, що вона – його особливий виклик. Їхня хімія просто вибухова, а їхні перепалки перетворюють читання на справжнє задоволення.


Тема з собакой, це щось.
Насмішило до сліз😅😂

Як Рівер просив допомоги у хлопців,для брата Рубі😂😂

"- Ти просиш нас допомогти йому чи Рубі?
- Це має значення?
- Так.
-100%
- Абсолютно.
-Це для Рубі.
- В мене є робота в спортзалі.
- Мені треба допомога на задньому дворі.
-Мій забор хитається, і його слід пофарбувати.
-Брате,я зараз заплачу, але не хвилюйся я знайду якусь роботу, для твого коханця."

Книга однозначно заслуговує вашої уваги!

Рекомендую!❤️‍🔥

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was my first time reading this author. Funny enough, I actually DNFed the first book, but for some reason, I picked up book two anyway. And you know what? I’m glad I did!

River was definitely the highlight for me. He’s been through so much but still managed to build a good life for himself. He’s a lawyer, takes care of his grandma, and is super loyal to his friends. Ruby had a tough past too, and it made it hard for her to trust people or accept help, which was understandable but a little frustrating at times.

The story was a little slow for me, but it was still enjoyable. And honestly, it could’ve been a solid 4-star read if it weren’t for the third act. That’s when River made some truly dumb assumptions and said things that made me want to chuck my kindle across the room. Ugh, River, why?! And don’t even get me started on the lack of groveling. I was waiting for my dramatic, over-the-top apology scene, and it just… never happened.

Still, I’m not mad I gave this one a shot. River, you’re lucky I have a soft spot for you.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
❤️‍🔥 Small Town Romance
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to Lovers
❤️‍🔥 Found Family
❤️‍🔥 Return to Hometown

[Linna • linnareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild River by Laura Pavlov 🗒️

It's no secret that Laura is one of my favorite authors. She is so good at writing a small town romance filled with characters you immediately fall in love with. River and Ruby's story was so sweet and is my current favorite for this series, but we're only on book 2 out of 5 so we will see if they stay the fave!

Ruby is back in her hometown of Magnolia Falls after her dad ends up in the hospital. Her plan is to help run the bar her dad owns until he is able to return work and then get out of town. That is until she has a few run-ins with River, the guy she can't seem to avoid. They have a bit of dislike to lovers thing going with her being the black cat type and him being the guy who is slow to trust and doesn't get attached to people. Every time they see each other they have amazing banter yet there's this attraction lingering in the background for both of them. They do a great job ignoring it until they make a bet for something to happen and it only needing to take 60 seconds. 😏 But once they crossed that line once, they can't stop. What starts out as a no strings attached arrangemnt turns into something more quickly.

I really liked Ruby. She's strong, independnent and while she will always take care of her family, learned how to put herself first in the book. I really liked how she had her PhD and wanted to use it for something she was passionate about. I was so happy to get to know more about River after the glimpse we got in the gitst book of the series. He's the charming guy that most people like, but doesn't tend to let people in. Both of them are hesitant to trust due to things that have happened in their past, and who better to finally allow someone in than each other.

I loved all the smaller items Laura weaved into the book. Getting to see the side characters, the group text messages, cameos from previous books! Then she adds in some of my favorite microtropes that had me squealing. A perfect small town romance with a balance of sweetness and spice.

😠 dislike to lovers
❤️‍🔥 no strings attached
🏡 small town
✨ he falls first
🤭 banter
👀 some of my fave microtropes

dual POV
5/5 stars ⭐️
2/5 spice level 🌶️

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I knew in this moment that I’d never be the same after one night with River.”
Wild River by Laura Pavlov

—small town romance
—second in series
—hate to love
—60 SECONDS 🔥

The way i love Laura Pavlov’s books is unmatched. I always have the best time reading them, the story flows so well, and the characters are so damn likable. And Wild River was no exception.

Ruby and River were fire burning together, even when it was raining and i loved every minute of the burn.

Ruby is a spitfire, independent, head strong, and strong. While River is charismatic, charming, and just knows exactly what he is doing. Together they are like a firework show and separately they are just as incredible. Their chemistry was off the charts right off the bat, and when they did get together, it was even better. I loved their dynamic and i especially loved their spice. Laura writes spice that not only flows with the story but it so fun to read.

This small town romance was the perfect continuation of this series, between the banter, the side characters, the chemistry, the story itself, everything was a hit and it created a page turner of a book. I could not put Wild River down, and i did end up reading it in less than 2 days. Absolutely devoured this front to back.

If you’re looking for a hate to love, small town romance with like-able characters, a romance you’ll love, and a story you wont forget, Wild River is a must add to the TBR. Highly recommend reading the first in the series, Loving Romeo first, because Romeo and Demi were just as electric.

[Judy Portelles · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

I loved being back at Magnolia Falls. I just knew I was going to love River his sexy dirty talk was everything. The chemistry and connection between River and Ruby was so good. Ruby is strong, confident, feisty and I loved that about her. The banter was so much fun between the two. I really love this series and can’t wait for Forbidden King.

Desireé Ketchum and Aiden Snow did a fantastic job narrating this audio. I highly recommend listening.

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️
2/5🌶️

I loved absolutely everything that she writes, but if there’s something Laura is AMAZING at writing, it’s enemies to lovers. She kills it every. single. time. This book was no exception! This entire new series is going to end up being one of my all time favorites, I just know it.

Thank you Laura & VPR for the ARC!

Tropes:
- Small Town
- Enemies to Lovers
- He Falls First
- Found Family
- Lots of Banter

[Vashti · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have enjoyed this author's prior books and series, Wild River just didn't connect with me and the major reason was the heroine.I just didn't like her character much as she was just too caustic for my personal tastes when it came to heroines.I like the heroines to be softer and not so hard ass.
As per usual,Beefcake stole every scene he was in, and I can't wait to see him with a new girl in his Daddy's book.

[Nadieh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️ This book was mainly just vibes, but I did enjoy the vibes. 🙂‍↕️

[Laiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the grumpy lawyer 🖤🖤🖤🖤

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to choose one fictional place with fictional characters I want to move to, it would be Magnolia Falls. I can’t even begin to express how much all of the characters, main & side, mean to me. If you love strong friendships and strong side characters, please pick up this series, or better yet any series by Laura Pavlov. The banter between each character is amazing and it honestly keeps me so invested that I would read a whole series just about them with 0 romance in it.

River & Ruby are your typical enemies to lovers, this will never work, we both don’t do relationships kind of couple who just couldn’t fight it anymore. They finally found what they both were looking for in each other and learned so much about themselves throughout the story. I love them so much, and loved how we got to continue to see Romeo & Demi’s relationship advancing in the background.

🩶 found family
🩶 enemies to lovers
🩶 small town
🩶 alpha hero
🩶 he falls first

I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC two weeks ago, but I will be rereading again now that it is release day just to go back to this world. I love this series with my entire being and I cannot wait for Kingstons book in June. 🩶

[Tori Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually fell in love with River in Loving Romeo, but I also got to fall in love with Ruby in Wild River and my oh my did I love every second 🥹

I had to work over the couple days that I read this and I was so sad. I wanted to just keep reading. Every night I would sit there trying so hard to keep my eyes open while reading because I just didn’t want to fall asleep 😭 this has the potential to be a “read in one sitting” kinda book for you🥹🫶🏻

I adored watching both of them have their walls up and slowly let them down just for each other. They’re similar people, always protecting those around them and not always protecting their peace. It’s rare that I see a romance couple who quite literally is the same end up together, usually it’s one of them slowly getting them to realize it’s not healthy to be that way. But instead, they just protect each other and try to get each other to lessen the load. It was sweet and swoony and spicy. I was obsessed with the way they were behind closed doors, but yet couldn’t quite turn it off in public either, because people instantly knew.

Also, Laura, my girl… the SPICE?? Ma’am, the spice was spicing. The mouth you put on our man, River 🥵 I was on a Group FaceTime read - basically we all sit in silence reading and occasionally say something about the book and I went “LAURA GIRL OH MY GOD” 🤭🤭🤭 needless to say, I shared that line with the call 😂

I cannot wait for more. Devouring these men has been one of the best parts of 2024. 🤭💗

You’ll like this book if you like
✨ Dislike to love
✨ Banter
✨ Small town
✨ Found family
✨ He falls first

5⭐️ | 2🌶️

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has everything I love: amazing characters (seriously, the whole friend group is hilarious!), a small-town setting, and a romance that will make you want to fan yourself🥵 Plus, the way Laura writes spice is just🤌 It flows perfectly with the story and is SO much fun to read.

This story follows Ruby and River, and let's just say these two are on fire. Ruby's back in town to take care of her dad, and River, a lawyer who's also part of the friend group from the first book (Loving Romeo, which you NEED to read first because Romeo and Demi are swoon-worthy!), is immediately intrigued by her.

They bicker. They banter. There's some serious enemies to lovers/ hate to love tension going on, and let me tell you, it's so good. But amidst all the arguing, there's this spark between them.

One thing leads to another (ahem, a 60-second challenge!), and things get steamy🔥 But Ruby's not looking for forever, and River is starting to realise he might just need to convince her to stay.

I'm already dying for the next one. If you're looking for a hate-to-love story with tons of laughs and swoon-worthy moments, Wild River is a must read!

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5⭐️
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
🩵Enemies to lovers
🩵Small town
🩵Boy obsessed
🩵Found family
🩵First love
🩵Alpha hero
🩵He falls first
🩵Returning to hometown

A big thank you to Laura for the ARC!💕

[Caroline Rohem · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💛 Found family
💛 Enemies to lovers
💛 Small town
💛 Boy obsessed


Ruby and River don't get along, but the attraction between them is undeniable. The banter between them was awesome, and I swear, I could practically see the sparks flying off my Kindle.

Ruby is a character who used to take care of everyone else and put herself last, so it was really beautiful to see her getting involved with River and him putting her first. I think the character had incredible growth, and I'm happy to see her discovering what home means to her.

I absolutely loved how their relationship unfolded. One of the things I liked the most about their relationship is how they're not afraid to challenge each other. And for me, River was already head over heels in love long before he admitted it to himself.

I was so pumped to get back to Magnolia Falls. Once again, Beefcake was one of the best parts of the book. Reuniting with my favorite crew of friends is the best, especially in the ride or die group chat.

Thank you so much, Valentine Pr, for sending me this ARC.

[Tea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m just wondering how the author decided on the horribly icky term of endearment ”Queenie”

[Zabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating:⭐️5/5
Spice:🌶️4/5
Read in May 2024:🌻4/20
Goodreads Challenge:📚107/240

♥ [𝚁𝚞𝚋𝚢 & 𝚁𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛] ♥

📌 small town
📌 grumpy hot lawyer
📌 grumpy hot psychology doctor
📌 age gap (he's older)
📌 smut
📌 friends with benefits
📌 found family
📌 toxic family relationships
📌 friends with benefits

🇺🇸Laura Pavlov is an author I've wanted to read for a very long time, and I'm really pleased that Valentine PR has given me the opportunity to do so by offering me this audiobook.

I was immediately won over by the writing style. It's fluid and easy to follow, and I was drawn straight into Magnolia Falls. What I love most about series is tight-knit groups of friends, and this one didn't disappoint. I loved every one of their interactions and their exchanges are hilarious and really made me want to learn more about each of the characters.



Now River and Ruby. Undeniable tension and overheated exchanges. Their first time together was explosive and didn't leave me indifferent. Watching their relationship slowly evolve from 'we can't stand each other' to 'let's do something about all this sexual tension' to 'oops, having feelings for each other wasn't in the cards' was really great and ticked all the boxes expected when reading this kind of romance.



For all fans of Chestnut's Springs and Elsie Silver, I recommend you give it a go.

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Laura Pavlov est une auteure que je voulais lire depuis très longtemps et je suis vraiment heureuse que Valentine PR m’en ait donné la possibilité en m’offrant ce lire audio.

J’ai été tout de suite séduite par le style d’écriture. C’est fluide et facile à suivre et j’ai été immédiatement embarquée direction Magnolia Falls. Ce que j’aime le plus dans les séries, c’est les groupes d’amis soudés, et celui-ci ne m’a pas déçue. J’ai adoré chacune de leurs interactions et leurs échanges sont hilarants et m’ont vraiment donné envie d’en apprendre plus sur chacun des personnages.

River et Ruby maintenant. Une tension indéniable et des échanges surchauffés. Leur première fois ensemble était explosive et ne m’a pas laissée de marbre. Leur Voir leur relation doucement évoluer de ‘on ne se supporte pas’ à ‘faisons quelque chose de toute cette tension sexuelle’ puis à ‘oups, avoir des sentiments pour l’autre n’était pas prévu au programme’ était vraiment génial et a coché toutes les cases attendues lors de ce genre de romance.

Pour tous les fans de Chestnut’s Springs et Elsie Silver, je vous conseille de vous lancer.

[kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute edition for small town books. I love the friend group, right down to little Cutler. River and Ruby took a little longer than I would've liked to get their stuff sorted out, but I kind of love how extra River was. And I respected that Ruby wasn't going to excuse his behaviour.

[Tsyhanchuk Anastasiia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Мені сподобалось усьо, окрім тупості героїв.
(Та, можливо то Всьо так і треба, але блін, ну блін😩)
Але все одно, прикольно
Біфштекс буся🥰
Хочу про інших читати.

[Ally Cee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one just wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel the connection between Ruby and River outside of physical attraction. I have the same thoughts about the unnecessary repetition that I had with book 1 in this series. The only thing I’ve liked so far is the friendships between the guys and the girls. The found family angle is sweet and Beefcake is a riot.

While before this series I was a fan of this author, I think the copy and paste method that some romance authors have where they use the exact same format/concept/tropes/characters but just throw it all together into a new small town is getting old to me as a reader.

[Anila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5⭐️

This was still a quick read but definitely not as good as the first book. I just didn’t vibe with either River or Ruby. They were both stubborn and hotheaded and I don’t think they brought out the best in each other. The whole third act breakup was also a mess and River didn’t grovel enough. Does this mean I’ll stop reading this series? no… because im addicted🫠

[Alicia🤍📖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you all know I like my guys grumpy and OH MY!!! Let me tell you River Pierce is SO GRUMPY I just want to add he’s even got tattoos 🤭 this felt like a different read for me all because of one person Ruby Rose let me tell you she’s a bad ass FMC with a hint of sweetness to her and she deals with it all I’m going to be honest with Ruby’s family aspect did feel very relatable so seeing her stand up to them was everything and maybe I need to do the same 🥺 however this book was so good and I’ve never read where it’s a lawyer and a doctor together it was a good mix yes Ruby Rose is a psychology doctor and they both go so well together I really enjoyed reading this book and I adore that we still get to see all the characters from the other books because as this is book 2 I’m still getting to know a little about the others Ruby may have a bad side to her but she did soften up River and he’s hands down a grumpy guy there’s no denying that I love how they spent so much time together you got to see them change however they are both in denial about each other so towards the end I was just waiting for the love confession and damn it’s a good one 💜

Quotes I loved:
“But this was the reason that I hated coming back. I could feel myself being pulled under. Even my breathing felt more constricted when I was home. I felt trapped here.”

“And goddamn, when Ruby Rose smiled, it was like catching the last glimpse of the sun before it set.”

“Normally, this would feel like a death sentence to me, but with Ruby, it was the opposite. I only wanted more.”

“I wanted to say it. For the first time in my life, I wanted to tell a man that I loved him. Because I loved River in a way I never knew was possible.”

“Ruby Rose had taken all my broken pieces and put me back together without even trying.”

Tropes:
⚖️ Rivals to lovers
💜 Friends with benefits
⚖️ Found family
💜 Small town romance
⚖️ All the banter
💜 He falls first
⚖️ Grumpy x grumpy