Finding Hayes

Magnolia Falls Series, Book 5

By: Laura Pavlov

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Lee Samuels

Sometimes relationships come along that define you.

Someone who brings out sides of you that no one else sees.

The reason that you try to be the best version of yourself.

Savannah Abbott was my North Star growing up.

She was my best friend, my neighbor, and the person who knew me best.

But without warning, she was gone in the blink of an eye.

My life began unraveling the day she left Magnolia Falls.

Because apparently, when you lose the best thing in your life, it’s all downhill from there.

But I’m a survivor—and I forced myself to move on.

My guard went up, and my ability to trust people disappeared.

Until the day Savannah came back to town—more than a decade later.

And now she’s acting like I’m the enemy.

She wants nothing to do with me, even all these years later.

Until she needs a favor.

A temporary husband.

I may not be the marrying type, but for Savannah, I’m willing to bend the rules.

None of this is real, and she reminds me of that every day while we’re playing house.

I may fight fires for a living, but my new wife is a flame that I don’t want to extinguish.

She’s the fire that’s been missing all along.

**This is book 5 in the Magnolia Falls Series. Each one can be listened to as a complete standalone. A HEA is guaranteed!**

Magnolia Falls Series:

Loving Romeo

Wild River

Forbidden King

Beating Heart

Finding Hayes

©2024 Laura Pavlov (P)2024 Laura Pavlov

Great addition to the series but…

This was a great book. I love this series and enjoyed hearing Hayes and Savannah’s story. Now o retro wait patiently for Easton’s story. FYI to Audible The ending credits actually repeat an early scene in the book 😉.

Amazing story with beautiful narration

I absolutely love this series, this book and everything Laura writes. I know when I start reading one of her books I’m going to fall in love with the characters, the setting and the amazing families she creates.

So many amazing tropes - small town, fire fighter, forced proximity, slow burn and surprise pregnancy. The banter, sass, overall dialogue is fantastic…you will laugh, swoon and fall in love with these two.

Hayes and Savannah have a past and some misunderstandings, missed communication kept them apart for many years. I love how Laura writes their journey back to each other. So much love, compassion and understanding between these two. Love them!!

The friends and family add so much to this story. They are fiercely protective and full of love for Hayes and Savannah.

Andi Arndt and Lee Samuels deliver a phenomenal performance! I love how narrators take an authors words and create a whole new experience! They give the characters perfect voice, personality and emotion. A fantastic listen!

I received a complimentary copy and I am leaving my honest review.

Hope, Change, & Steadfast love

love all these books in all her series. they all connect and you know all the characters over the whole universe. it's magical and genious

Wonderful end to the series

Since they were little, Savannah was everything to Hayes: best friend, neighbor, partner in crime, Shortcake. She was the one person he could depend on, trust completely - his North Star... until one day she leaves without a goodbye or explanation, cutting ties with him completely and leaving him at the worst moment of his life. But he survived. He put guards around his heart and moved on. Now she is back in Magnolia Falls. 
Savannah is back because she's the sole heir to the man who treated her like a cherished granddaughter. She knows she'll have to see Hayes around and she's sure she can deal. In true Hayes fashion, he's always there when she needs him: a car that won't start... being a temporary husband... You read correctly. The will stipulates that she needs to be married in 30 days or lose the inheritance. She'd toss it all if she didn't need the money badly to help with her dad's medical bills. Now, she'll have to play house with the man who broke her heart. 
She wants nothing to do with him. He's still hurt that she left him. He might be a firefighter, but the fire between them is one no one manages to extinguish.
Oh how I love a friends to lovers story! They're the hardest to write but Laura did it perfectly. She even managed to use the miscommunication trope in a way that works! I love seeing Hayes and Savannah finding their way to each other. I also loved how every conflict was external and, even estranged, they tackled them together. My heart was warmed also by how the Ride or Die friends band together and are there for Hayes. A lovely ending to a wonderful series!
Narrated beautifully by Andi Arndt and Lee Samuels (dual style). Andi can do no wrong in my book and this is no exception. Lee Samuels is also amazing as Hayes, a man whose guards are up but who lets them down for the one person he has loved all his life. Great performances!

Wonderful story with great narration

I was so excited for Finding Hayes but i was also sad that the Magnolia Falls Series was coming to an end. All i’m going to say is Ms Pavlov gave us exactly what we wanted with Hayes Woodson and Savannah Abbott’s journey and this is a wonderful addition to one of my favourite series of the year.
Lee Samuels and Andi Arndt did a wonderful job bringing the characters and their journey to life. They were spot on with the love, the banter, the passion and all the emotions that flows through this book.
Hayes and Savannah had been friends since childhood but she left town and that left a void in his heart. So what happens when she is back in town and the only way to get her inheritance is find someone to marry ……
What starts out as a marriage of convenience soon turns into so much more. The chemistry they share is hot but it was the friendship and the love that took this book to the next level. I fell hard and fast for Hayes and Savannah is the girl I want as my bestie. I was captivated from the first page and there was no putting down until the final word was read. Catching up with the gang of die or ride brothers always adds depth to Ms Pavlov’s wonderful stories and that’s why for me she is the queen of small town romances. I’m excited to listen to this on audio and can’t wait to see what’s coming next from this very talented author.

Marriage of convenience, small town romance, end of a great series!

3.5 stars. I love the Magnolia Falls series so much, it was sad to see it end but also I’m excited for what’s to come from Laura Pavlov with her next series. While this book wasn’t a favorite in the series for me, it was a solid addition.

✨small town romance
✨grumpy x sunshine
✨marriage of convenience
✨fake relationship
✨firefighter
✨returning home
✨found family
✨on KU

Hayes and Savannah were childhood friends who had a falling out (which we learn about later into the book), and now she’s back in their hometown! She’s back because someone in her life recently passed away and is leaving her millions of dollars, which the caveat that she has to be married. So her and Hayes decide to have a marriage of convenience and fake a happy marriage.

I liked parts of the story, then struggled with other aspects, and then liked seeing all the side characters and their updates too. So definitely highs and lows in this one for me. I love a marriage of convenience set up but do struggle with the execution of it in contemporary romances, I wanted to dig a little deeper with this couple and their story but didn’t feel like we got to that level. I also wasn’t a fan of their falling out in the past, it was obvious that was going to be what caused it all and I just don’t like it when ‘that’ is the reason of what went down in the past. Wished it went a different way or had something more there. The ending was good (although maybe tied up a littttttle too easily), but I liked seeing so many moments with the other characters of the series in this one and all their babies and updates on their lives.

Another great Magnolia Falls

Really enjoyed the series got all five of the books. They’re all great. Worth the time and money

The Perfect Ending To The Magnolia Falls Series!!

5 ⭐️
2 🔥
Small Town Romance
Marriage of Convenience
Friends to Lovers
Grumpy/Sunshine
Firefighter MMC
Returning to Hometown
Found Family
Matching Tattoos
Letters
Miscommunication
Fantastic on Audio! 🎧
Laura writes some of the best small town family/found family. The Magnolia Falls series was no different! Finding Hayes was the perfect ending to the series && I loved every minute of it! Savannah & Hayes were like “carrots & peas” growing up; the best of friends. Friends to lovers is seriously the most under-hyped trope! Their friendship was so strong, but a ton of bad things happened to each of the characters, in which Savannah left town & neither have talked in years. But after the passing of a close friend, Savannah is back in town & Hayes can’t seem to stay away. In her friend’s will, she is left the ranch & millions of dollars. The only stipulation, she needs to be married for at least three months. Even though Hayes believes he is not the marrying type, he volunteers to help the one woman he ever really cared about. There is a miscommunication that occurred before Savannah left town, in which they both harbor a lot of hurt feelings over. But they have always been “carrots & peas,” they even have the tattoos to prove it. They fit together so well! What started out as friendship decades ago, turns out to be the best relationship/marriage. I loved their story! I’m sad to see the series end, but as always, I’m excited for Laura’s next series!!

Thank you Laura Pavlov & Valentine PR for the ARC!

Andi Arndt+ Lee Samuels are Savannah and Hayes perfection.

Can we please just take a moment to appreciate how incredible this whole series is in audio? Every single narrator has been able to capture each characters feelings and personality FLAWLESSLY. & Finding Hayes was no different.

Andi Ardnt and Lee Samuels were the perfect Savannah & Hayes.
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Ohhhh my heart. It has been so hard reading this book, knowing it was the last in this series. But DANG did Laura end this series in the absolute best way possible. 🥹

After entering into a marriage of conscience, Savannah and Hayes quickly learned that nothing was fake about the feelings they shared for one and other. It was feelings that have been growing since before Savannah left all those years ago.

Watching them get to the end was nothing short of perfection. They had so much to overcome, but they did it together... With a little help from the incredible people they surround themselves with.

I will miss this found family group so desperately. But I know that I will return to this small town OFTEN when I need a comfort read. 🤍

What a way to finish off the Magnolia Falls series!

Savannah left town as a teen when a scandal ripped her family apart and her friendship with Hayes became collateral damage. Now she's back to claim an inheritance she desperately needs. Only there's one major stipulation: she has to get married. In spite of the pain from their lost friendship and Savannah's inexplicable anger at him, Hayes is happy to have his childhood best friend back and he's willing to help her any way he can, even at the risk of opening his shuttered heart.

Andi Arndt expertly played Savannah's passion for her career, protecting the legacy she’d been entrusted with, and the new feelings Hayes evokes in her. Lee Samuels delivered on Hayes' surliness but showed him evolving to someone more open and capable of letting love in.

I'm sorry to see this series end but looking forward to Rosewood River!