{"id":74217,"date":"2024-03-28T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=74217"},"modified":"2024-03-27T20:31:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T00:31:25","slug":"release-arc-review-wild-river-magnolia-falls-2-by-laura-pavlov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=74217","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Wild River (Magnolia Falls, #2) by Laura Pavlov"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

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Wild River by Laura Pavlov is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The second book in the Magnolia Falls<\/i> series, this is a fun and feisty enemies-to-lovers romance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Paperbacks available in both covers!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Audio Narrated by: Desiree Ketchum & Aiden Snow<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ruby Rose declared me the enemy before I had a chance to defend myself.<\/p>\n

I may be an attorney, but this girl had appointed herself judge and jury.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d never minded a good verbal sparring.<\/p>\n

There was a comfort in going to battle against the evil queen.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was just the recognition of one damaged soul to another.<\/em><\/p>\n

But the more we fought\u2014the more I craved her.<\/p>\n

Until our arguing turned into a bit of a wager.<\/p>\n

One I was determined to win.<\/p>\n

One time. Sixty seconds. A secret only we would share.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d work my magic and she\u2019d declare me the winner.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d gloat, she\u2019d sulk\u2014that was my plan.<\/p>\n

She was determined to prove me wrong.<\/p>\n

But from the minute we crossed the line, there was no turning back.<\/p>\n

She was so far under my skin I couldn\u2019t think straight.<\/p>\n

Feeling things that I\u2019d never felt before was one thing.<\/p>\n

But knowing the clock was ticking was another.<\/p>\n

Ruby Rose may have given me more than sixty seconds, but she wasn\u2019t offering forever.<\/p>\n

And now my world doesn\u2019t work without her in it.<\/p>\n

But how do I convince her to stay, when she already has one foot out the door?<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/h4>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

The second book in the Magnolia Falls<\/i> series, this is a fun and feisty enemies-to-lovers romance.<\/p>\n

River is one of five best friends living in Magnolia Falls, who will have books in this series. He\u2019s risen above a troubled past and has become a lawyer in his small home town. He is a good guy with a big heart, and it\u2019s while helping his friend and local bar owner, Lionel, that he becomes entangled with Lionel\u2019s daughter, Ruby.<\/p>\n

Ruby left Magnolia Falls as soon as she was able, desperate to get away from her toxic family situation with her mother. She loves her father dearly though, so when he suffers a stroke, she rushes home to be by his side. She didn\u2019t expect River to be such a fixture in her father\u2019s life, and immediately goes on the attack, unjustly blaming him for his father\u2019s recent legal woes. Bickering ensues and sparks fly.<\/p>\n

Why was I so drawn to a woman who insulted me every time I saw her?<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A sexy bet shows the epic chemistry between River and Ruby and, desperate for more, they agree to a no-strings arrangement while Ruby is in town. From here, it\u2019s pretty clear to see where the story is going to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo catching feelings,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s where things get messy.\u201d
\nHe chuckled. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry about that with me. I give you my word. I will not catch feelings. You aggravate me, and you turn me on. You annoy me, and you make me laugh. That\u2019s all this is.\u201d
\n\u201cRight. I feel the same about you. I hate you as much as I like you. So, obviously, that can\u2019t go anywhere, or we\u2019d end up killing one another.\u201d
\n\u201cAgreed. So, we have nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The connection between these two is electric. They banter and tease, and while acting on their mad passion for each other, they effortlessly fall into a relationship that neither of them thought they wanted\u2026 until it becomes impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

This sure as shit isn\u2019t nothing.
\nI placed a hand on her cheek, waiting for her gaze to meet mine. \u201cI\u2019ve seen you every day over the last couple of weeks. We text when we aren\u2019t together. I\u2019ve woken up with you every day this week. I know you aren\u2019t staying. I know this isn\u2019t going anywhere. But stop fucking saying that it\u2019s nothing. It\u2019s more than I\u2019ve ever had with anyone else, and it\u2019s starting to piss me the fuck off that you keep saying that.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I enjoyed these two together, and loved watching them spark off each other in all the ways. They quickly find themselves falling in ways they never expected, leading to soul-searching for both of them as they come to terms with their growing emotions, while knowing that they can\u2019t have a future.<\/p>\n

This man owned me.
\nHe owned my body, and he owned my heart.
\nTwo things I\u2019d never planned to give away. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is some drama for these two, but God, it\u2019s handled well! It\u2019s a bit of a kickass ending, and I loved seeing them figure everything out as they fight for their gorgeously swoony happy ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, Ruby. I love you in a way I never knew I was capable of. And I will fight for you, for us, every fucking day. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love River. He’s real and sweet, and though he initially considers himself not-relationship material, he has the biggest heart, and I loved how much he cared for the people in his life. And the man falls hard and unapologetically, and I loved seeing it! And Ruby is just awesome. While she’s figuring out what’s happening between her and River, she\u2019s also dealing with her demanding, selfish mother and her two, mostly dependent, brothers, and there is some great story progression here. I loved watching her deal with all of that while being there for her loved ones, finding her place, and actively taking steps to take charge of her life. She\u2019s fierce and brave, and I loved her so much!<\/p>\n

Laura Pavlov writes the best found family, and I loved catching up with River and his friends. The bond between these boys \u2013 and little Beefcake \u2013 is so gorgeous to see, constantly teasing yet unquestionably having each other\u2019s backs. The true definition of \u2018ride or die\u2019. And Ruby is effortlessly accepted by the boys, and enfolded into the girl group, and I loved all of the fabulous dynamics. In addition to the Magnolia Falls<\/i> characters, there\u2019s a close tie-in to the Cottonwood Cove<\/i><\/a> series, and we also get to catch up with characters from those books, which is lots of fun.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a fantastic tease for the next book, which will feature River\u2019s hilarious younger brother Kingston, and I cannot wait for that one!<\/p>\n

This is a great read, really enjoyable.<\/p>\n

4 stars!<\/p>\n

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Magnolia Falls<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

Loving Romeo (#1) <\/strong>(Romeo & Demi)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Wild River (#2) <\/strong>(River & Ruby)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Forbidden King (#3)<\/strong> (Kingston & Saylor)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Beating Heart (#4)<\/strong> (Nash & Emerson)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Finding Hayes (#5)<\/strong> (Hayes & Savannah)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About Laura<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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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 one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!<\/p>\n

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Website<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Goodreads\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Twitter\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Bookbub<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0   Wild River by Laura Pavlov is live! The second book in the Magnolia Falls series, this is a fun and feisty enemies-to-lovers romance   Amazon Paperbacks available in both covers! Audio Narrated by: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,9,29],"tags":[59,1024,1519,48],"class_list":["post-74217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-laura-pavlov","tag-magnolia-falls","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Wild-River.jpeg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jj3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}