so this was one of my favorite books it's the whole second chance that i was looking for. i love that it was sent in a small town. Luke has been through alot in life being in the national Guard isn't easy. losing the love of your life isn't easy. when Harper comes into town she is like the air that he needs to breath as long as she doesn't find out all of his secrets. his parents think he needs to get on with his life and what better way is to pretend that he has a girlfriend. that is until things get complicated. can being deployed get him not to fall in love with Harper? I was shocked in a certain way to learn why he didn't think he deserved love. but understand it completely this book for me was well written and had all the feelings. Loved it

I’m not gonna lie I started off not loving this one! But as I kept on reading I ended up loving it so much! It definitely surprised me with how it went and how Harper the FMC grew on me! In this one we have Harper and she hasn’t had a easy life and is use to being alone and having to start over after a life in foster care and when she walks in on her live in boyfriend cheating on her she does this just that she jumps in her car and leaves. When she runs of gas and ends up in a little bar in a small town, thats when she sees a women getting abused by a guy in the parking lot and jumps into action to help her which ends up with her getting hit her self. That’s when local hero Luke and his sister Sophie come to her rescue. When they learn about her situation Sophie offers up Luke’s house for a place to stay for the night as she has no money or phone. Luke is in the army, and plans on being deployed in a month but he can’t help but be drawn to Harper she is like sunshine to him, but luke is fighting is own battles and knows he can’t offer Harper what she needs but can offer her a temporary job and a place to stay if she plays his fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back. I liked how Harper made not only Luke but everyone around her better, she really was pure sunshine! I really liked how she helped luke with his own issues and never questioned or made him the bad guy for his actions. I also loved the parts with the dogs!!

"You can't put your worth in someone else's hands..."

The theme in the surprising deeply emotional Pretend You're Mine, book 1 in the Benevolence series, by crafty romance author Lucy Score is definitely know your self worth. When beaten down physically, financially and emotionally you keep on believing in yourself just like Harper.

Harper is sunshine regardless of the gloom in her life. Despite her own troubles, she comes to the rescue of a battered woman. It puts her in the path of grumpy National Guardsman Luke who has sworn off love feeling unworthy of it.

Deploying in a month he asks Harper to be his pretend girlfriend to get his family off his back before he leaves for six months. Harper agrees because it gives her a much needed roof over her head, time to save money, and maybe give Luke a chance to stop pretending and make their relationship the real thing.

The author takes us on quite a journey with secrets revealed, deep bedded trauma unearth, and a bit too much ignoring true feelings of the heart.

Luke was frustrating with his love/hate pendulum on wanting Harper. He was often cruel telling her he could never love her but still wanted her. Ever optimistic even she could only take so much of his indecisiveness. Though when in the middle of their story he texts one word, "Stay," I admit I actually swooned fanning myself.

The steaminess is HOT! HOT! HOT! This author knows how to write alpha males and the women who love them. I adored the eccentric characters in this small town. I loved the dogs, big cuddly protective Lola and three legged loving Max. I cherished the female friendships; especially Harper and Gloria, whose story is next in Finally Mine. Don't pretend, you know you want to read about the sexy troubled soldier and the sweet girl who saves him.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I know I can't go wrong reading a Lucy Score book. I'm surprised I've not read this one, but I did realize I read the third book in this Benevolence series. Luke and Harper are wonderful, and I love how Harper is not afraid to jump right in when it's time to stand up for someone mistreated. This is an easy read, with low angst (but just enough to keep your attention) and sweetly steamy. The side characters, some of which we see in the other books in the series, are funny and memorable. All in all it is a wonderful read from an author who is, in my opinion, one of the very best romance writers today.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this edition of the book.

This book had the potential to be a 5 star book for me, but it fell flat at times. I loved the small town, found family vibes and I always love myself a brooding man with a troubled past. However, I felt like some of that was brushed over at times so that there could be more spice included in the book. I would have loved to see more emotional conversations and meaningful time spent together outside of the bedroom.
There were topics of grief and loss which I always enjoy when books are not just fluffy rom-coms.
I thought Harper and Luke were cute together and I was rooting for them overall but there were parts of the book, especially near the end where I found myself not caring about them as a couple.
I was not a fan of the ending very much either. I thought the karaoke scene and beyond was cute but the build up to that was not my favorite and the third act conflict was not enjoyable either.
However, I enjoyed the book because of its hometown vibes and comfy romance feel so I would recommend it, especially to those who like other Lucy Score books or books like Archer’s Voice.

Thank you for a free copy of review. 4 stars.

Lucy Score is a joy! She’s definitely become a new author for me with mature characters.

“Pretend You’re Mine” by Lucy Score was an amazing story about finding love when you least expect it.
Harper ends up in a small town due to circumstances beyond her control. Loving the small town and the people in it, she decides to stay for a while. Luke is a solider that lives on this small town. He strikes a deal with Harper to help them both out. As Harper and Luke both work through issues they have, they start to notice feeling for each other. Will the good of their relationship out way the stuff from their past?
This is a contemporary fiction that should be at the top of list to read. Highly recommend.

Luke Garrison is some what of a hero in the small town of Benevolence. He serves his country, runs a construction business and keep his family safe. He is known as a loner who just likes his peace and quiet. In walks Harper as she saves a woman from getting strangled by her husband. Harper just inserts herself in the middle without regard to her safely. She manages to get the big brute off the woman but then gets clocked aware in the jaw and goes down hard. When she comes to a beautiful man is standing over her. It's Luke who wants to know more about her. They share a drink together and Luke's sister offers her a job and a place to live for a month while Harper figures her life out. Harper almost jumps at the opportunity since she has no where to go anyway and Luke is easy on the eyes. Living with him will be a blast.
The chemistry between the two characters is like hot smouldering flames right in your face. I couldn't put this one down. I think this is my next favorite book by Lucy Score. Her novels always suck me in. Bravo!!

I'm a hater. There were some redeeming qualities about this book, but overall, it was incredibly predictable and overly corny for my taste.

4.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the E-ARC. What can I say other than once again Lucy Score has melted my little black heart. Talk about stubbornness we all have some but sometimes I was like damn Luke you take the cake. I loved the personality of Harper she stood her ground. The story was perfect and everything came together so good

This book has a whollleee lot of movement and is a complete rollercoaster of emotions! I mean I got goosebumps while reading this, which is the first time that has EVER happened to me while reading a romance! I think that this was a really sweet, powerful book that may or may not have changed my taste in men...

Pretend You're Mine starts out with Harper Wilde, who is a spunky, charismatic, chaotic, strong, heroine FMC. She gets stranded, for lack of a better word, in Benevolence, Maryland and the only place to stay is Luke Garrison's house. Luke is a hometown hero/military man who is struggling with grief and doesn't want to get into any relationships. After he lost someone important to him, he stopped living. We follow Harper and Luke as they get closer, as they fake date to get Luke's family off of his back about dating, as Luke tries to stay away from Harper, when Luke gets deployed, plus much more! I loved that this romance book was NOT stagnant! It covered a pretty long time line (which was a little confusing to decipher how much time had passed between each chapter but to be completely honest...I may have just not been paying that much attention to that aspect because I was TOO focused on the story!).

The chemistry in this book was INSANE! I was only 3% into the book and had butterflies! And then 5% into the book...there was only one bed!!! AND fake dating! There are some aspects of small town romance (like When in Rome by Sarah Adams/Gilmore Girls), found family, dealing with grief, long distance, AND a protective MMC! I mean with this many top tier tropes, how could you go wrong! I also loved that we got an epilogue that wrapped up the story PERFECTLY, made me SO happy, and unable to wait until I start Finally Mine! But to be honest, I'm currently too emotionally attached to Harper and Luke, and as much as I love Gloria and Aldo, I'm really hoping for some Harper + Luke cameos in Finally Mine!💖

Luke and Harper. A fake relationship easy read. This was a reread for me. I think I enjoyed it more the first time around.

This author never disappoints! If you're looking for love stories that are written beautifully, check out this author. Luke is the brooding,sexy solider and Harper is the fiesty girl next door. Their chemistry was off the charts and you could feel every emotion. I loved pretty much every secondary character in this series too and cant wait to read the next one!

Love a Lucy Score story! Harper grew up in foster care after losing her parents at a young age. While she could be feeling sorry for herself, she chooses to live in the present and be thankful. Luke is living a closed off life. They meet outside a local bar when Harper jumps in to protect a woman who is being assaulted in the bar's parking lot. I really liked this story. I did find Harper's finding the key to unlock a storage area in Luke's house to be out of bounds. I can't believe her friend Hannah didn't talk her down from doing that. Luke was so hot and cold to Harper at times. I'm glad he got his act together.

This review contains spoilers! I saw a lot of reviews saying they didn’t like this book because Luke was still in love with his dead wife. I think that’s what made this book so amazing and relatable. Losing someone is hard and it isn’t easy to get over and start a new life with someone else. Harper is everything Luke didn’t know he needed and they balance each other out so perfectly. Harper caught her boyfriend cheating and is trying to find her place in the world. Luckily she ends up sharing a room with Luke and she finds her place. Ends with an HEA!

- [x] Painful past
- [x] Small town vibes
- [x] A one bed trope
- [x] Military Officer MC
- [x] Don’t touch her vibes

I have read some of Lucy Score newer books and loved them. This is a re-release of an older book. I genuinely enjoyed it.

Harper is tough.. don’t let the hard days win type of girl. She knows her worth and won’t accept anything less.

She come flying into town like a whirlwind. She is instantly accepted into the small community. Luke is a man with a painful past. He likes order and plans and does not want to stray.

He does not expect Harper and all she brings with her. He tries to stay away but can’t escape the magnetism.

It’s great story of secrets and past. New beginnings , found family, and love. I highly recommend checking it out!!

Tw: Abuse, child and domestic, grief and loss.

I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review of this book.

Although this book was entertaining, there were many lines that were just cringey to read. I felt like the characters acted immature and some scenes were unrealistic or even overexaggerated in comparison to real-life scenarios. I hope those gripes explain the star deductions. All in all, this was thoroughly entertaining and funny. It was an enjoyable read.

I really couldn't get behind this one. The story just wasn't for me and it just fell flat. The possession that the main character had other the other main character was too much. Overall, I just felt this book wasn't my thing. The writing was good other than that, I couldn't enjoy this.

Oh my gosh I loved this one! It’s the first book in the Benevolence series. Lucy is such a beautiful writer and she sure knows how to pull on your heart strings. I absolutely loved the the small town vibes and I enjoyed learning more about Harper and Luke. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books!

This book was so good, can't wait to read the next book. Love Lucy Score. Harper was so patient and loving, just a perfect match for Luke.