Wild River

Magnolia Falls Series, Book 2

By: Laura Pavlov

Narrated by: Desiree Ketchum, Aiden Snow

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2024 Laura Pavlov (P)2024 Laura Pavlov

Found Family

Beefcake and Post-It Notes (IYKYK)! The FMC, Ruby, is smsrt and strong with a lot going on on her personal life. She is doing the best she can to take care of her family.

The MMC, River, falls first and shows her that she can depend on him. There is a good grovel and an ending that has me excited for the next couple.

5 NCF Clause Stars!!

This is the second book in the Magnolia Farms series and I FREAKING LOVED this book!! River and Ruby are perfectly matched for each other! Both are from this small town but only River has made this town his permanent home whereas Ruby has moved and pursued her PhD making something of herself that only certain members of her family are proud of her for.

If you read the first book in this series, which isn’t a requirement to appreciate this book, but it would definitely enhance this story for you, then you know River and his band of brothers are each other’s families no matter what. While River is a now a lawyer in Magnolia Farms, he and his blood brother Kingston had a rough time of it growing up, just like the rest of the guys and Ruby Rose has been a thorn in his side for as long as he can remember. But she’s back to help her father and all bets are off… so to speak!

The animosity these two have towards each other is excellently portrayed with the amazing narration by Aiden Snow and Desiree Ketchum. They embodied not only our H/h, but the entire town and its residents perfectly making this an amazing audiobook listening experience.

Because River and Ruby have this enemies vibe, it’s a short step away from all the sexy heat they could generate if they’d allow themselves to appreciate it and let me tell you, when they FINALLY admit it, things change dramatically for both of them which is both surprising and scary because neither of them have any dreams of finding the one person that totally gets them and, insert corny line, completes them. Along the way to the final culmination of this story, we’re treated to some of the best witty banter, the right amount of angst, unbelievably sizzling chemistry that had me fanning myself and some melt my heart emotional revelations.

This is the perfect addition to this series and a definite must read, listen or both!

Enemies to lovers banter is FIRE!

I loved being back in the world of Magnolia Falls! This found family is everything I love about small-town romance and more.

What I loved about this book:

1. River's broody yet protective and loyal persona;
2. The BANTER and tension between River & Ruby;
3. Ruby's character development;
4. The hilarious text exchanges and appearances of our favorite men of Magnolia Falls;
5. The feeling of yet another comfort read from L Pavlov.

This author writes small-town romance so seamlessly and makes it easy to fall right into the story. The narrators for this book did an amazing job, and I can't wait for what's next in this series!

Well done once again L Pavlov!

60 seconds 🥵🤭

"And I knew in that moment that forever would never be long enough with Ruby. But I’d take what I could get."

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"Ruby Rose had taken all my broken pieces and put me back together without even trying. Just by breathing. Existing."

💭 Thank you to Laura Pavlov & Valentine PR for my ALC.

After growing up in Magnolia Falls and very promptly moving away, Ruby finds herself back to help take care of her dad after he suffered a medical emergency. (Which by the way was kind of hilarious 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️) She is a no nonsense kind of girl and has zero plans to settle down.

River isn't the settling down kind of guy. He knows exactly what it's like to love someone and lose them, he has no interest in falling in love again. But when he makes a "60 second bet" with Ruby, his whole life gets a lot more complicated.

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was funny and witty with a bunch of delicious stolen moments and funny banter. I loved all the self healing Ruby got to do while she was in Magnolia Falls. How she was taking control of her life! River was no different. He has a very traumatic past, and this book truly did him justice.

This series has some of the absolute best found family. I love that they all just took Ruby in under their wings and had no problem telling River to get his crap together.

“Ride or die. Brothers till the end. Loyalty always. Forever my friend,”

Loved River and Queenie

Wild River is the 2nd book in the Magnolia Falls Series but can be read as a stand alone.
This is Ruby and Rivers story, and it didn’t disappoint. Each story just gets better and better, I couldn’t put this one down. And, the audiobook. Yes, it was a chefs kiss. From the beginning we get hit with the sass, push, pull, the banter between these two. Ruby aka Queenie was a fire cracker. A fierce independent woman who didn’t need anyone. She pushed Rivers buttons and he loved it. River was a lawyer who didn’t hold back either. He was a fierce protector. The perfect alpha, with a twist of a cinnamon roll. The sexual tension was on point. They got under each others skin, and are the perfect enemies to lovers. But, of course we get the slight angst as they are in denial, and are possibly setting themselves up for failure. We watch them go on this roller coaster of emotions. She had trust issues, as did he and they didn’t want to settle down. All it took was a contract and 60 seconds. If you know you know. Loved seeing the whole crew back together again, and beefcake. I love him. The brotherly banter was excellent, and the text thread as always is on point. The narration by Aiden Snow and Desiree Ketchum was a hit. They did the characterizations so well and I couldn’t stop listening. Great read and listen. Laura continues to knock this series out the park

Wild River and Sassy Ruby

When Ruby meets River in her dad's hospital room, she's quick to assume all sorts of things. Before he has the chance to say anything, she's declared him an "enemy"and she goes Evil Queen on him. She's used to battling for herself and winning and she's kind of surprised and interested when he fights back. River has no idea what hit him when he meets this hellion (as this is his friend's daughter less). They bicker, they banter until they come to an interesting wager. Sixty seconds was all it took and the raging fire between them can't be denied. But, he doesn't do relationships and she said from day one she'll be leaving Magnolia Falls as soon as her dad is well.

They both know it's temporary . They went in with their eyes open, no one was supposed to catch feelings. Well... good luck with that.

Oh, how I loved going back to Magnolia Falls! River and Ruby are absolute fire together! The banter is top notch. She's feisty, fiercely independent and strong. He's the total alpha mellow. Grumpy, a little arrogant, but soft and gooey on the inside (something he's having a hard time accepting is true).

The Ride or Die boys are all here, watching him fall and helping him get the girl. The girls become the friends Ruby never had and didn't know she needed,

I absolutely loved this one!

Narrated dual style by two favorites - Desiree Ketchum and Aiden Snow. Desireee has been a favorite for a long time and she never disappoints. I love when she gets to play a feisty heroine! Aiden and his unmistakable booming voice is perfect as River. He does grumpy and growly with the right amount of snark and swoon. Wonderful audiobook!

Love this series

I just loved these books can’t wait to listen to the next in the series. I give 2 thumbs up 👍

Not looking for love

⚖️ small town romance
⚖️ dad’s friend (not a massive age gap)
⚖️ enemies to lovers (ish)
⚖️ just hooking up
⚖️ black cat fmc

Neither Ruby nor River are looking for love. They bicker but also can’t stay away from each other. It’s not supposed to turn into anything serious. She’s only here for a couple of months to help her dad and River doesn’t date.

The banter was so much fun. And the spice between these two was great. I enjoyed the evolution of Ruby’s character and how she refused to accept “less.”

The text messages were epic! I love a good text chain 😍

Desiree Ketchum and Aiden Snow were top tier. They did an incredible job on these characters.

So good!

Small town romance, enemies to lovers, found family this book has all the tropes we love. The friendship you find within this series with the guys is really amazing. I loved how both main characters Ruby and River are very similar- both very strong and independent. River falls first and hard. I absolutely loved the banter, bickering and tension between these two! They come together and it’s fireworks. The 60 second challenge!

The audiobook is perfectly narrated dual style with Desiree Ketchum and Aiden Snow. These two really were the perfect voices and brought the characters to life. It was such a great listen and their banter was perfect!

The mouth on River 🥵

The mouth on River!! Ga dammm give me more!
I loved everything about this book! Strong, independent and sassy FMC Ruby & Strong small town attorney MMC River.

I might love River more than Romeo 🤭🫣 it’s his dirty mouth 😆

The banter .. the character development.. found family was so good!
I’m not sure what’s better yet beefcake or the group chats they both crack me up every. Single. Time.

I listened to this on audio and it was perfection! 🎧

I am definitely going to continue the series because Magnolia Falls is a perfect small town I’d love to be a part of.