ARC Review: Claimed (Willow Springs, #5) by Laura Pavlov

 

Claimed is live, and the Willow Springs series is complete!

Amazon

 



Blurb

Nashville’s hottest country star. Wedding planner extraordinaire. High school sweethearts one day and complete strangers the next.

“He’s the only boy I’ve ever loved and the man I’m determined to forget.”

 

Ty Greene promised me forever and like a fool—I believed him.

But he skipped town with a bag of broken promises and a piece of my heart.

It’s taken time, but I’ve put myself back together and moved on.

Now Ty’s a big country music star in Nashville and I curse his name every time his song plays on the radio.

I don’t have time to dwell on the past.

I’m too busy living my best life.

I have the job of my dreams, a dating app that never disappoints, and the best friends in the world.

Hashtag thriving.

Life is good.

But now Ty is back in Willow Springs after all these years…

Acting as if nothing has changed.

His superstar status might impress everyone in town, but I’ve put him in my rearview.

And that’s exactly where I intend to keep him.  

 

 

Add to Goodreads

 


Review

5 swoon-filled, second chance stars

I have loved this series, and as much as I am not ready for it to be over, this final book is the one I was waiting for – the long-awaited second-chance romance for Ivy and Ty, and it was everything I was hoping for. Full of emotion, swoon, and an absolutely beautiful romance that was a joy to read, I adored every moment of this story.

Ivy and Ty have been best friends since kindergarten, and started dating in high school. They fell in mad love and were planning a future together when Ty’s life imploded, and he and his family left town, and he stopped all contact with Ivy. It’s now five years later. Ivy has started her own event planning business in her small home town of Willow Springs, and is busily dating, trying to find the love that her friends all have. Ty has become the hottest new star in country music, all of his songs about lost love. They haven’t seen or spoken to each other in five years, but now he’s returning home to Willow Springs for his sister’s wedding – that Ivy just happens to be planning.

It’s the perfect set-up, and over the last few books we’ve seen glimpses of Ivy’s pure animosity towards the boy who broke her heart. She wants absolutely nothing to do with him, but is determined to be professional when they inevitably come face to face. That doesn’t exactly happen, and OMG, I loved their first encounter. It shows that there is still a lot of emotion between the two of them, and I was right on board for what was to come.

Ty left Willow Springs in devastating circumstances. His life has been hard, and he harbours a lot of resentment towards his home town, and the people in it. In fact, if he had his way, he’d never have come back. But he wants to be there for his sister on her special day. And, of course, he wants to see Ivy. He’s never moved on, and from the moment he steps back in town, he is on a mission to barge right on into her life.

Ivy Baron was it for me. Always had been. Always would be.

OMG, I loved this romance so much! Ivy is a feisty one, and her snark is so entertaining. Ty just wants to be near her, and he’ll do whatever he can to make it happen, and his efforts are both inventive and so much fun. Sparks fly when they’re together, and it’s clear that the love they had for each other never went away, and it’s way faster than I expected when they cave into the chemistry and their feelings all come out.

“You’re the only girl I’ve ever loved, Ive.”

It’s a romance-lover’s dream! They are both completely open with each other and don’t hold anything back in rehashing their past, dealing with it functionally and honestly, and they easily and effortlessly slip back into a relationship that is playful, fun, passionate and so romantic. It’s swoony and emotional, and so, so gorgeous, and I was completely swept up in all of the swoony perfection that is the two of them together.

“I’d been in survival mode for so long, Ive, I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t living. But being here with you, it feels like I’m living again.”

But their dreams of what they wanted for the future have changed, and Ty is only in town temporarily. They both know they have an end date on their newly-rediscovered bliss with each other, but they dive in anyway, knowing that heartbreak is coming.

“It’s not wise, but I’m going to give myself this. I’ll deal with the fallout after you leave just like I did before. But at least I’ll have had this time with you.”

It’s such a difficult situation. I could empathise with both of them, and my heart ached at what was inevitably coming, but I love how they followed their hearts so fearlessly regardless. They both go on a bit of a journey as they deal with past hurts and figure out what they want and how they can make it happen, and they do it together functionally, communicating beautifully the whole way through, and I loved watching it all unfold.

I love these characters. Ty is a guy that loves loud, and it’s what makes this book so swoony! He lays his feelings out there over and over again, with epic declarations and big gestures, and it had my heart pounding. And Ivy is bravely there for it, taking it all and giving it right back. These two are so made for each other, bringing out the best in each other, and that’s exactly what I love to read in a romance novel.

As with the other books in the series, Ivy’s best friends are a big part of the story. These five girls are each other’s whole worlds, and the support and love they have for each other is so gorgeous. I loved watching Ty come back into the group, and I loved seeing all of the couples from the previous books all together and happy. There’s also a new bunch of characters introduced as we get to meet Ty’s bandmates, and I absolutely loved them!

There is a bit of drama, but it works well to add intensity to the story, and I ended up reading this book in one sitting, finishing it at 2am in the morning, unable to put it down. There’s a wonderful epilogue which provides gorgeously satisfying closure for the entire series, as we get to see everybody in the future, and I finished this book with a happy heart and a huge smile on my face.

5 stars!

An Advanced Review Audio Copy was generously provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review.

 

Willow Springs

       

Frayed (#1) (Adelaide)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  |  Paperback

Tangled (#2) (Gigi)
Review
Buy:  Amazon  |  Paperback

Charmed (#3) (Maura)
Review
Buy:  Amazon

Sealed (#4) (Coco)
Review
Buy:  Amazon

Claimed (#5) (Ivy)
Review
Buy:  Amazon

 

Bonus Novella

Captivated (#5.5) (Clementine)
Free from Prolific Works

 

 

 


About Laura

Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost grown kids, and dog-whisperer to a couple of crazy Yorkies. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after.

 

Website  |  Amazon Facebook Instagram

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *