If there was ever a perfect premise for a Hallmark movie, this would be it. Pretend You're Mine is a small town romance with a sweet but spunky FMC, a military hunk with a heartbreaking past, and loveable side characters. There's tropes like grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, unrequited love, and one bed/forced proximity. You'll go through several emotions and just when you thought things were going good, BAM. Luke needs punched in the face. I understand why Luke said what he did, but I'm not sure if I totally forgive him after those words 👀. Harper definitely needed to make him grovel more in order to win back her affections. Overall though, I enjoyed this book and hope you do too!

Harper is the definition of a strong heroine. She has always had to look out for herself. She is also brave and takes care of those she doesn't even know.
Luke is recovering from grief. He has no idea how to handle/deal with Harper.
I enjoyed the progression of their friendship-relationship-the unknown. Although Luke is in denial he is the best guy out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book! This book put me through all the feels. I loved Luke’s development and the relationship with Harper! The whole town stole my heart!

Luke Garrison is a hometown hero, a member of the National Guard ready to deploy again. He’s strong, sexy, broody. The last thing he’s looking for is a woman to ruin his solitude. When the wildly beautiful Harper stumbles into his life, though, he realizes that she’s the perfect decoy. A fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back until he’s deployed. Harper was on her way to starting a new life… again. But something about Luke makes her want to settle down in this small town and make his house a home. One night of sharing a bed turns into something much, much more… and soon Luke can’t keep his mind off Harper’s wide gray eyes or his hands off her luscious curves. He never thought he’d feel this way about a woman again. But he knows that he can’t tell her the truth about his dark past. And she can’t reveal what she’s running from. At least this isn’t a real relationship. It’s only for a month. It’s only pretend. Until it isn’t…

This book jumps right into it! I was a little thrown off at first on how the aggressive things happened so quickly, but very quickly got over it and instantly fell in love with both Luke and Harper. All the characters were absolutely perfect and blended wonderfully. Luke is your basic swoon worthy Alfa male that you can't get enough of. Harper is sweet, sassy and doesn't take shit from anyone. Every aspect of this book had me hooked. I did not want it to end. This book had me laughing, crying, frustrated and excited...and every other emotion possible.

I gave this a 4.5 star-rating! I really want to have a relationship like this. It's so amazing to read how much he loves her without him truly understanding it. Lucy Score really knows how to write a book. Had my heart all over the place.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC. So, I didn’t know this until after I read the book, but it was originally published in 2015 by another publishing house and is now being published again, just with Bloom Books. That feels dishonest to me!!

I wasn’t sure about this book, but somewhere I got hooked! The start goes from slightly cringey to full on smut without a real plot which had me confused because the only other book I’ve read by Lucy Score started more plot heavy then added smut. Once the story started progressing I fell in love with the characters. I cried quite a bit in the last half, which I was not expecting after reading the beginning! In the two books of hers I’ve read, I enjoy Lucy Score writing small towns. They come off vibrant and charming.

Harper was a firey main character and I thought she was so fun. My biggest caveat is Luke, I don’t like him! He’s a walking red flag and I think Harper shouldn’t have considered going back unless he promised therapy. A couple of apologies just wouldn’t do it for me.

A solid romance read. The main characters were likable, all of their family and friends were great and well developed. It was a dramatic touch to add in Harper’s ghost from her past.

Things were going so great and I was so sure we were in the clear of a third act break up…and then boom, it nearly broke me at the end. I like being duped like this, it keeps me guessing! I devoured the second half - stayed up late on a work night just to find out how it ended, and I love my sleep.

I will say one negative thing..for a book being republished in 2023 I was pretty shocked at one or two of the “handicapped” comments made between Arlo/Harper in regards to how he’d find a woman post-injury. Not a funny joke, and it would have been so so so easy to cut out or replace this banter. It was uncomfortable to say the least. This didn’t write off the entire book for me, but I feel like feedback and raising awareness to it is important!

Harper and Luke are both wonderful characters! I love their dynamic and how they overcome the ghosts of their past.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for giving me the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I set myself up for failure on this one. I’m not a huge fan of overly large books that seem to drag on forever. Honestly, it seemed the FMC just needed to get in tough with her own needs and emotions better. She reminded me of my toddler. She pouts when she doesn’t get everything she wants too.

With that, I can see why some really enjoy this book. It just wasn’t for me.

Pretend you're mine is full of swoon, a lovable heroine, angst, and ton of depth!

You'll like this book if you like:
- witty banter
- funny and smart characters
- hometown heroes
- only one bed
- tragic pasts and kindred spirits

Definitely check the triggers on this one, but overall an incredible read!!

I really enjoyed this! This was my first Lucy Score book, and I'm so excited to read her other works. I'm always a sucker for a good small town romance, so this was right up my alley. It's easy for tropes like these to become repetitive, but Score writes them in a way that still seems fresh and new. All in all, this was a great read for me and I'm so excited for whatever work of hers I pick up next!

As a big fan of Lucy Score, her novels never fail to amaze me! Her characters are always lovable-- even when flawed. Pretend You're Mine is sweet and sassy with many layers. I loved it!

This wasn't it for me! Wanted to love it but didn't, unfortunately. Maybe next time will be better! Fingers crossed :)

Small Town
Fake Dating
Alpha/Protective/Possessive male
Heartfelt
Romantic
Spicy
Second chance at love

Pretend You're Mine pulled me in from the beginning, laugh out loud feel good rom-com. Harper is starting over and landed in Benevolence. Where Harper is spirited, sassy, and wants a home Luke is against all of it. He does agree to a fake relationship to hold off his family matchmaking.

She's escaped a traumatic life and a terribly dull relationship with nothing but the clothes on her back, she has found herself in the wrong direction from where she's supposed to be. A little lost she pulls into the parking lot of a bar just in time to rescue a young woman from being attacked by her boyfriend. She gets knocked down in the process only to come around staring into the beautiful, hypnotic eyes of town hunk and hero Luke Garrison. There's an immediate spark and tension between them but neither Luke nor Harper are ready for more than friendship.

There's so much hurt, pain and damage in both their lives that particularly for Luke, just the thought of allowing himself to love again is too much. Harper is just one of the most kindness person you have meet. She's sweet, caring, loyal.

Trouble seems to follow her, and Luke constantly feels like he needs to protect her but as more of Harper's past emerges, it appears that she needs protecting more than anyone realised. Sadly, Luke is still struggling to allow himself to love.
He's been there before and lost everything.

This is an enjoyable and heartwarming book that entertained me tremendously.

This was an enjoyable small-town romance. I really rooted for the characters, especially Harper, because of how down-to-earth and lovable she was. Sometimes I wanted to punch Luke in the face because of how dumb he could be but it became endearing. Overall, this one frustrated me at times but I loved it anyways.

Thanks to NetGalley and the published for this ARC!

TW: Parental death, war deployment, war injuries, stalker, childhood trauma, spousal death, domestic abuse

This was my first Lucy Score read and I thought it was going to be a quick and cute small town romance but things don't always turn out the way you think they will.

Pretend You're Mine is the story of Luke and Harper. Harper blew into town with nothing but her car keys after witnessing her now ex-boyfriend cheat on her. She literally makes it out of her car and then flies into action rescuing a woman being beaten by her boyfriend in the parking lot of a bar. After getting punched in the face she is in turn rescued by Luke, handsome hometown hero. Though neither one of them want a relationship and Harper is just "passing through" things happen!

I found Harper to be really upbeat and sunshine-y especially after the cards life dealt her. She was really great at finding the good in people but that also made her trust people too easily and fall prey to being the sucker. She's wild and reckless and lives for the moment, while Luke is pretty much the opposite of her. He's in the National Guard and plans to deploy in a month, he doesn't have time for relationships or even connections and his family is driving him nuts trying to get him to settle down. He's been wrecked before and doesn't think he's supposed to love again so he enlists Harper to be his fake girlfriend to get his family off his back. He should've known better, no way he could resist Harper.

I thought the plot started off okay, I liked the trope but this book packed a lot of stuff in it...maybe too much. There were so many obstacles and big dramas for this book. I really think it should've been narrowed down to one or two things and it would've made it so much better. First there's the fake dating, then the deployment, then the dead wife, then the stalker. Just so much! Also I did not care for the way the author wrote their spice. I'm not sure if it's normal for her style but if I had to read one more time about Luke's "heavy sack" or how he penetrated her violently because he's just doesn't have control I was going to be sick. He even asks Harper if he hurt her and she says YES YOU DID GIVE ME MORE. Umm that's a good way to get your vagina shredded girl, no thanks. Sorry I just don't find that romantic, it takes me out of the scene and I just think about how much it would really hurt.

I might give the author another chance on some of her more recent books just to see if these irks have changed because this was written in 2015. And I did see good bones for a great story so perhaps she changed for the better.

Thank you so much to Bloom Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

While this book falls into the fake dating trope, I wouldn't classify it as such, because it seems the couple were only fake for a nanosecond.

The heroine of this story, Harper, is having a really bad day.
She catches her boyfriend cheating.
She runs off with no wallet.
And her car has run out of gas in the small town of Benevolence, Maryland.
Oh, and she attacks a guy abusing his girlfriend, leaving her with some minor injuries.
The one good thing, she meets Luke Garrison.

Luke has a meddling family desperate to get him a girlfriend, for reasons unknown. You can pretty much figure out why, but the truth doesn't come out for a good part of the book. Recognizing Harper's own desperate situation, they come up with a plan to fake date and get his family off his back. Given their living situation, and their shared attraction, the fake isn't fake for so long, as previously mentioned.

As a couple, they really worked. When the secret of Luke's past comes to light, how Harper handled it is actually commendable, which a lot of people notice. But for reasons I can't comprehend, Luke doesn't handle things so well and there is some unnecessary drama very late in the story.

Although I had issues with the timing of this drama, I like this book couple and the bones of this story. There was also a good cast of side characters, and I'm looking forward to the next installment which features two of those side characters.

Pretend You’re Mine
Written by Lucy Score
Rating: 4/5

This book follows Harper who seems to find trouble anywhere she goes. After driving through the small town of Benevolence, Harper finds herself in the middle of a fight, and Luke Garrison ends up hauling her out of it. There is an instant attraction between the pair.

With no place to call home and no family, Luke agrees to let Harper stay at his place. The only hitch, Harper has to pretend to be Luke’s girlfriend in front of his family until his next deployment with the National Guard.

Lines start to blur between the pair and attraction grows as Harper meets Luke’s family, friends, and the town. However, the two both have deep rooted and traumatic pasts. With Luke being deployed, the relationship can’t go any further…can it?

Read if you like:
Small town romance
Fake dating
Military
Chosen family

There was a lot of steam right from the beginning of this story. It was flirty and fun; however, the love story quickly became so much more. It was complicated, messy, and emotional. I was pulled in by the trauma of both Luke and Harper’s pasts and I kept wanting to know more.

I knocked this book down a star just because I felt like it could have been slightly shorter. The half way point of the book was when I truly became invested.

All of this said, this was my first book by Lucy Score - I really enjoyed it and will be reading more of her work!

Thank you so much Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for sharing this re-released book and its gorgeous new cover with me. I cannot wait to continue the next two books in this series.

Lucy Score once again didn’t disappoint! This book was *chefs kiss*. It’s a long read but it moves along pretty quickly.

I was not anticipating this one to be as heavy as it was. For the first 50% we get Harper and Luke constantly having sex, I’m honestly not sure how they ended up being in love, lust for sure, but love seemed like a stretch. Then in the next half we learn more about each of their pasts and these two have been through it. Luke needs therapy, that man is obviously not processing his grief. Spoilerish warning: The storyline with Clive seemed unnecessary. Harper losing both parents at a young age and bouncing around through the foster system would have been trauma enough, the child abuse was excessive. I found myself doing a lot of skimming through this one. I would recommend for readers who love lengthy detailed sex scenes and emotional trauma.

This was absolutely delicious and I am so grateful to Netgalley and the Publisher for giving me the ability to read and review this wonderful book. Probably the hottest/most unputdownable book I have read this year! I loved the characters, (especially Luke - be still my beating heart), and the pages literally turned themselves. I was so absorbed in the story I could not be bothered with eating or anything else. I HIGHLY recommend this book!