Pred zotmením

Cottonwood Cove #4

by Laura Pavlov, Claudia Kántorová (Translator)

On je herec, ktorý potrebuje vylepšiť svoju povesť. Ona je odhodlaná ukázať bývalému snúbencovi, že sa pohla ďalej. Falošný vzťah medzi dvoma najlepšími priateľmi sa javí ako dokonalé riešenie. Alebo nie?

Reese Murphyová je mojou najlepšou kamarátkou už od čias, čo sme sa učili chodiť. Je jin k môjmu jangu. Samozrejme, všetko medzi nami je čisto platonické. Lenže potom prijala prácu v zahraničí a na rok odišla. Povedať, že som bol bez nej stratený, je slabé slovo. Konečne sa vracia domov a ja by som nemohol byť šťastnejší. Prichádza však s návrhom...

Chce, aby som predstieral, že som jej priateľ. Som predsa herec, takže by to mala byť hračka. Mám byť súčasťou jej plánu, ako ukázať bývalému, že sa pohla ďalej. Aj moja agentka chce, aby som si napravil reputáciu, takže je to výhodné pre nás oboch. Keď sa však ku mne presťahuje a začne sa prechádzať po dome v tých svojich ultrakrátkych šortkách... Och, a tiež je tu aj tá noc, keď ma pristihne v kúpeľni v dosť chúlostivej situácii. Vôbec sa však neponáhľa preč. Odrazu sme obaja úplne stratení a ja nedokážem myslieť na nič iné. Prekročili sme všetky hranice. Sme v zóne „peklo-je-horúce-a- -mám-podozrenie-že-som-zamilovaný-do-svojej-najlepšej-kamarátky“. Problém je, že ona si stále myslí, že všetko len predstierame. Pritom ja som prestal predstierať už dávno.

Genres: Friends To Lovers, Romance, Fake Dating, Small Town Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2023

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

[Kejs Reads ❥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate writing a bad review, especially when it's an auto-buy author for me, but I like to keep it 💯.

Let me start by saying that Finn, the MMC, is literally perfect. He's funny, confident, supportive, charming, and protective. I just love that he was always there for Reese, even though she didn't deserve it tbh. He's the full package and a perfect book husband. I love him so much, and the Reynolds family is always a vibe. So Finn and his family make this a 3⭐️.

Now let's talk about what ruined this book for me...

Reese, the FMC, has to be the most annoying and stupid FMC in history. Sometimes I wonder if the people who loved Reese and I were reading the same book!! Okay, so her fiancé cheats on her, doesn't support her when she moves to London for work, and can't even give her an orgasm. And what does she do? Fake dates Finn to make him jealous, which, fine I guess because I’m thinking we will get to explore her relationship with Finn, but nope. This obsession of hers to get back with her ex went on for 65% of the book.

And you know what else? All of a sudden, she and Finn start having sex, and even after that, Reese is thinking of going back to Carl. Now she's more experienced, so it will be better for their relationship😂😂😂. Like, EXCUSE ME, WHAT? SHE WAS PINNING SO HARD FOR CARL, IT WAS HONESTLY SO BAD. You know damn well if the roles were reversed and Finn was like, 'Oh, let me take notes on how good you suck my dick so I can then tell my ex when I get back with her,' everyone would've had a problem with it. So yeah, I'm confused as to why people liked Reese.

I just couldn't connect with her or believe in her love for Finn. Honestly, this book was triggering because Reese reminds me of people in my real life who settled for a Carl, and I just wanna send them this book and be like, 'This is how dumb you sound defending your shitty bfs.'

There was a moment I thought she was getting slightly better, but nope, she downplays Finn's feelings, gets pregnant, and decides not to tell him because she knows what's best for him. God, she was so selfish, annoying, and desperate.

[Laura Pavlov]

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲?
Grab your copy! ➡️ https://geni.us/beforethesunset
⁣
💗 Small Town⁣
💗 Fake Dating⁣
💗 Best Friends to Lovers ⁣
💗 Forced Proximity⁣
💗 Reynolds family group texts⁣
💗 ALL THE FEELS

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐
Well, Laura did it again. THIS WAS AMAZING.

I can't even begin to describe how obsessed I am with Laura's writing style. She gets me every👏dang👏time. There is just something about friends to lovers that gets me in my feels when it's done right. And THIS my friends... was done so right.

Finn is hilarious and I was laughing out loud multiple times. Also - Laura will forever be the queen of sibling texts and I'll never get over it. EVER.

This book completely exceeded my expectations. I laughed, I cried, I blushed, my jaw dropped. Like YESSSS. I'm obsessed.

✨friends to lovers
✨faked dating
✨small town
✨one bed
✨cowgirl
🌶️🌶️

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

She thought this was temporary. I knew that it wasn’t.

I love a good friends to lovers romance and Laura Pavlov has become a new favorite of mine with this series! Before the Sunset is Finn and Reese’s story. These two have been the best of friends for forever and both need a fake relationship for two entirely different reasons.

Finn needs his image remade in Hollywood after a coworker puts some crazy accusations out there. Reese’s fiancé broke things off when she followed her dreams and moved to London for a year and now she’s back and he’s dating someone else.

I loved how quickly Finn figured out how real things were between them and I really wish Reese would have came around quicker. Honestly there were some frustrating moments in the middle-ish of the book for me with her ex fiancé, but that ending was EPIC. Seriously the last 15-20% of the book was absolutely perfect.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. It’s probably my second favorite in the series (after Georgie and Maddox’s of course). Once again, my favorite thing in this series is the dynamic/text chain of the Reynolds siblings. It’s wonderful and makes me look forward to the final book in the series even more!

[brazenandbookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Valentine PR and Laura Pavlov for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have really enjoyed the Cottonwood Cove series so far! After the glimpse we got of Reese and Finn in the last book, I was so excited to dive into their story. However, this book just didn’t fully hit for me. Most of my issues were that I just couldn’t connect with Reese. I just personally do not jive well with female characters who would rather settle with a man who doesn’t treat them well than be alone, and that was Reese’s entire personality for 55% of the book. I just could not grasp why she would want to be with Carl when he did not treat her well. Then, we she finally got over that humo and admitted to having feelings for Finn, I just felt like she diminished her friendship with Finn constantly. She kept saying she loved him so much, that she knew him better than anyone, and that she knew who he was as a person. BUT, she kept downplaying his feelings when he would tell them to her, continued to keep secrets from him, and acted like she knew better than him what he needed in his life (which ironically was the same thing Carl did to her). The final straw was her decision to not tell Finn about the baby, under the guise that it was what was “best for him”. It just really rubbed me the wrong way. I just found Reese really selfish to be honest. For me, if I don’t connect to a character it makes it hard for me to connect to the book, and I just could not connect to Reese. I know others may love her, so this is totally a personal thing!

I absolutely adored Finn. I thought his character development was done so well and I loved watching him grow throughout the book. The Reynolds’ family shenanigans were back in full force and they never fail to make me smile! The sibling group text is one of my favorite things! I loved that we got more of Cage in this book. I feel like his story is going to be full of so much tension, it is going to kill us! Gracie was adorable as always! The epilogue was absolutely adorable and contained some of my favorite scenes in the book!

[logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m alwaysss skeptical of the best friends to lovers trope UNLESS IT’S WRITTEN BY LAURA PAVLOV OKAY!!! idk how she does it. the foundation of their relationship is so strong and they slip so seamlessly into more and UGH i just love it so much

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hated this book. Reese was a doormat and I wanted to slap her upside the head.

[Anikó Juhászová · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did Laura Pavlov had a stroke while writing this book? Because there is no other explanation how this otherwise wonderful author could write the most annoying and dumb FMC in the history. Reese made my eyes twitch with how naive and blind she was. She deserves a Carl, certainly not Finn.

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

ця серія зводить мене з розуму😍

я люблю сім'ю Рейнольдс усім серцем❤️

Фінн — просто ахуєнний чоловік. по моєму тілу літали дрижаки кожен довбаний раз. його пристрасть, його відданість Різ, його чесність та безстромність не можуть не закохати😍 це ТОП серед книжкових чоловіків, у мене через нього тахікардія 🔥

Різ — булка з маком, така віддана Фінну, як і він їй. як вона прагнула отримати шматочок щастя з колишнім, не розуміючи, що кохає ідею сім'ї, а не того чоловіка. Фінн перевернув її життя верх ногами, допоміг розкритися у багатьох сферах😍 її історія з раком, і як цей чоловік її підтримував... це занадто чуттєво, не можу отямитися досі

можу сказати тільки одне — ЧИТАЙТЕ, ДІТИ МОЇ! кидайте все і читайте, ця історія гідна вашого часу💔🔥

[glavreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

laura nails it every time but she makes me fall in love with friends to lovers so much 😭

these two had the strongest connection and friendship and then seeing them fall in love so effortlessly was everything.

all the “you came. you called.” vibes. I LOVE THEM SM.

[demi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book - I LOVE all the other ones on this series. Reese, however, completely ruined the book for me.

[❤️ Nanda ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

This series just gets better and better, and I'm happy to say that Laura Pavlov, is fast becoming a fave on my list of comfort reads.

I feel like my reviews for this series' books are all similar, cause I don't think I can dislike a single member of the Reynolds clan! 😂😂

This book though, have a special place in my heart... I love friends to lovers and Finn and Reese were friends since the crib... Literally! They did everything together, from every school dance, to him being a bedside partner when she was beating cancer.

They weren't just friends, but best friends... Each other's person to be more fitting.
So when they crossed that line and the chemistry between them exploded, it was scary cause they didn't wanted to ruin what they already have, but also enthralling to be with the person that most understands you in the world.

I feel like their love story had begun way sooner than their first kiss and it shows on every action they have towards each other.

It's a must read for sure!

🎧 About the Audiobook Narration 🎧

Narrated by Maxine Mitchell and Jacob Morgan.
He's already a favorite narrator, no doubts here, but I have to say that Maxine Mitchell redeemed herself in my eyes with this audiobook. Don't get me wrong, she have a great voice, but I've listened to another audiobook with her, that wasn't for her at all, and I'm happy to see how much she improved.
She was great as Reese.

[Kyrié · Rating 1 out of 5]

this couldn’t have been over faster

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

Before the Sunset is book 4 in the Cottonwood Cove series by Laura Pavlov which I have been absolutely loving. This one is small town and it’s a fake relationship between best friends, which turns into friends-with-benefits too.

“More than a friend.
More than a lover.
Reese Murphy was… everything.
And she was going to be mine in every way.”

Finn is a successful actor who just got signed on for a second season of a popular tv show he’s on, but one of his costars is continuing to cause drama for his life. His agent suggests he get an image overhaul to combat the drama by showing he’s in a committed relationship. Around the same time, Reese, Finn’s best friend since childhood, returns back home to their small town. Reese is an interior designer and determined to show her ex-fiancé that she’s moved on, to eventually win him back. Thus begins the wild idea of a fake relationship between Finn and Reese, to help one another out.

I love a friends to lovers romance and we hear about tons of moments from Finn and Reese’s past together. I liked seeing them easily fall into this friends-with-benefits situation while fake dating and realizing they suddenly have more than friendly-feelings for one another at the same time. Reese isn’t sure Finn wants what she wants in life: settling down, marrying, and having kids. And Finn isn’t sure if Reese actually has feelings for him or is just biding her time as part of her plan to get her ex back. I love all their family making appearances! His siblings have had books: Hugh (Into the Tide), Georgia (Under the Stars), Brinkley (On the Shore), and Cage will have the last book in the series (After the Storm). This has just been a delightful series and I’m glad they figured out their feelings and relationship before everything was revealed in the story. I cannot wait for Cage’s story next in book 5!

Thanks so much to Valentine PR for an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own. Before the Sunset has a pub date of September 21, 2023!

[Karsyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but the others are better in my opinion. Not bad though, I did enjoy reading it.

But there’s some bright red flags lol 😅

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends to lovers isn’t usually my favorite trope but I guess when Laura Pavlov writes it I love it! Finn and Reese’s bond was so sincere and adorable and their foundation was so strong that when they decide to fake date, being in a real relationship just came so naturally for them. The Reynolds family is my favorite fictional family so of course I absolutely loved catching up with Finn’s siblings and the group chat made me laugh so hard once again. This was the perfect blend of humor, spice and heart, if you’re a small town romance fan this series is a total must and you can catch up and read all four books out before the last in the series 😭 is out in November. I cannot wait for Cage’s book!!

[Hayley 〰 Hayley's Next Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You own me... It doesn’t matter if I’m thousands of miles away or in bed beside you. You are all that I want.”

Rating: 3.5/5

- Small town
- Childhood best friends to lovers
- Fake dating
- Friends with benefits
- Roommates
- He falls first
- Actor MMC
- Nicknames
- Dual POV
- "You call. I come."

Reese and Finn have been best friends since birth. But with Finn needing to improve his image and Reese wanting to make her ex jealous, she suggests they fake date. Finn is all in... until he realises he's been a serial dater because the only woman he'd want to settle down with is his best friend!

First things first. Let it be known that you’re going to instantly fall in love with Finn. He’s oozes charm, charisma and confidence. I adored the way he unabashedly supported, respected and loved Reese. He was protective, possessive and loved some dirty talk! He showed Reese how life-changing love can be and how she deserved to be loved. "Only you can make me whole." 🥺

Meanwhile, Reese goes through a lot of character development to get to this point. This is truly childhood friends to lovers at its best; a relationship built on love, trust and familiarity. "Because even when I felt lost, he always felt like home." 🥺 There are cute nicknames and shared memories galore!

But there were also a lot of complicated feelings as they went from fake dating to friends with benefits, not realising how the other felt.

I would have liked a little bit more depth to the plot, but otherwise, this is another great addition to this series. Don't worry, it also includes hilarious group chats and cute Gracie cameos. Am I more excited for her or Cage next?

Thank you to Laura and Valentine PR for the early copy!

[M. ☼]

DNF @ 30%

Thank goodness I didn’t pay for this audiobook.

I could have looked past the cringey nicknames and the amount of times the word lover is used in this book but I just cannot get over the FMC.

She’s awful.

GIRL YOU’RE REALLY THIS TORN UP OVER A GUY NAMED CARL WHO DOESNT LIKE TO EAT YOU OUT????

Sometimes I wonder if authors are actually reading these books as they write them or if they just go into a dissociative state for awhile because that’s the only explanation for why Laura would think I would want to read about this girl trying to get back with her deadbeat ex fiancé 🙃

[Vashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason this book is a 4 star read is because for approximately 60% of this book,the heroine had her ex fiancee front and center in her mind as she had hopes to be back together with him.That really took me out of the relationship between the mc's,if not for that this would have been a 5 star read for me.As usual,little Gracie Reynolds stole every page she was written on!
Nice seeing other characters from prior novels is always a plus.
Tropes...
Best friend to lovers, fake dating,small town romance.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Laura proves that she just 💜gets it💜 these books are short, to the point, beyond entertaining and just so damn good! I love the strong bond between the family in this series and in this one especially because it’s friends to lovers! I’m also a sucker for fake dating sooooo this was an easy win!



***thank you Laura for the audio ARC

[Ira Bartoschyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

З читанням цієї книги, у мене появилось дуже багато питань до головної героїні - Різ. Не даремно говорять, що двічі в одну річку не увійдеш, а що ми бачимо в цій історії. Засліплену дівчину, яка не бачить, що відбувається у неї прямо перед носом. Я просто кричала від не розуміння її вчинків і дій. Як можна бажати, повернути цього Карла? Як? Це для мене стало загадкою.
Фін, бідолашний хлопець, скажу вам чесно. Він прекрасний в усіх сенсах цього слова. Кінцівка мені сподобалось.

[Kristie (read_between.the_wines) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m sad I didn’t love this as much as all of her other books.

The main reasons:

▪️their nicknames and overuse of them. It felt forced to me and by the end it annoyed me rather than make me swoon
▪️it was 60% and the FMC was still talking about marrying her ex. Like about to sleep with MMC for the first time and she goes “teach me things for my future husband” who is her ex boyfriend she’s trying to make jealous. I just wished that would have been separate - like left the spice for just her and Finn and have the pining for the ex outside of the bedroom because it made me feel sorry for Finn and dislike Reese
▪️I didn’t feel their chemistry. I’ve been binging Laura and her other books are fire. You can literally feel the love. This one just felt like besties who love each other and then she settled for bestie


The storyline, banter, family text exchanges were all amazing! I just was wishing for more from the love between characters.

But it won’t deter me from reading Cage’s story because I’m dying to know about him.

[Kathy Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a way to kill a series :/

Book #3 was already bad; however, I had already invested so much time that I couldn't resist reading this one. However, I hated it the entire book!

The worst FMC I had encountered: she was needy, lacked self-esteem, didn't communicate with others like a grown-up, and kept jumping to conclusions just because it was easier that way. I couldn't bond with her at all.

The MMC was "nice," maybe even funny, but just another player with a lot of experience, a big ego, and a dirty mouth. It's like all the brothers are the same but with different names.

I think I'm definitely done with this series. Even though I was curious about why Cage was so grumpy, I'm not seeing a point in continuing.

[Lundsreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reese pissed me off so much!! omg

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Phenomenal. Outstanding. Mind blowing. Heart warming. Flat out stunning.

I loved this book!!! One of the best friends to lovers novels I’ve ever read! And to make things even better it had fake dating too?! AHHHHH!! The chemistry between Finn & Reese was fantastic & wow were they hot together?!

My heart is so full & I am so happy!! The narrators crushed it, and really brought the story to life. 10/10 recommend.

Spice: 2.5🌶️

Tropes:
Small town
Best friends to lovers
Fake dating
Forced proximity

Book type: audio

[courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ate and left no crumbs!!!!! Hands down my favorite from the cottonwood cove series!!! Fake dating will always be one of my favorite tropes and this one did not disappoint. Finn is an ultimate book boyfriend and the banter is superior! I did want to shake Reese a little bit but overall I loved her as well. Can’t believe this series is almost over.

[Jess Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk it was fine. I can handle cheesy, but this was pretty extra and the NICKNAMES. My god it was annoying and they said them damn near every sentence. I think it lost a star just for that reason alone. 2.5 rounded up to 3.

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️
2/5🌶️

I know I say this with every one of her releases but… LAURA HAS DONE IT AGAIN👏🏼 This book was absolutely phenomenal & that’s coming from someone who absolutely hated the friends to lovers trope up until recently.

Laura just kills it every single time between the plot, the banter between ALL of the characters, the romance… it’s all just perfection every single time.

This is book 4 in the Cottonwood Cove Series following Finn & Reese who are childhood best friends. Reese is returning home after working abroad for a year but is not prepared to face her ex-fiancé & his new girlfriend back at home. Who better to help her make him jealous than her guy best friend? So what happens when a little fake dating makes them realize their true feelings & finally see something that’s been there all along…

I wasn’t sure I was going to like Finn, he was probably my least favorite Reynolds sibling up until this point but I ended up absolutely loving him from the very beginning of this book. The way he cared for Reese, loving her so deeply without even realizing it.. this story was just beautiful!

Tropes:
- Small Town
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
- Fake Dating
- One Bed

[Olesia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Я в абсолютному захваті ❤️‍🔥🛐

Фінн - булочка, харизматичний, наполегливий🥹, сексуальний 🛐
Я насолоджувалась ним 😍 просто найкращий з найкращих 😩

Різ в деяких моментах дратувала ( особливо, коли щоразу торочила про Карла 🙄), а так, то вона дуже мила і я взагалі не можу собі уявити, що вона пережила, коли була хвора на рак 🥺 і я не можу, які ж віддані вони один одному 😭

Карл. Бляха до середини книжки я вже готова була вбити його всіма можливими способами, шоб не плутався під ногами😅

Ну і сім'я Рейнольдсів, як завжди неймовірні ❤️‍🔥

Загалом, я абсолютно спустошена, але в хорошому значенні 😌

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK