Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Genre: contemporary romance
Format: ebook
Length: 451 pages

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloom Books, and Lucy Score for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

✨Read this if you enjoy: ✨
🏘️Small town setting
🌶️Open door romance
💕Fake dating
🎖️Military romance

Pretend You’re Mine is one heck of a roller coaster to read but I enjoyed the ride from start to finish. In this book we follow Harper, who just left her cheating boyfriend and finds herself broken down in a small town. She isn’t sure what’s she’s going to do next so Harper decides to stick around before making her next move. During this time she find herself living with and working for the local town hero, Luke Garrison. Suddenly she’s also agreeing to be his fake girlfriend to help him fend off his meddling family. But as time goes on things aren’t feeling so fake anymore.

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score is the First book in the Benevolence Series. This is the story of Luke and Harper. This was a prefect read for me. I loved Harper with sunny ways and Luke who was the best book boyfriend. Enjoyed.

Lucy Score's books are just plain fun and this was no exception! I enjoyed the fact that Luke is a military man (being married to one myself) and could totally relate to the months apart that he and Harper had to go through. This was a great romance to read when you just need to step out of reality for a bit. Next up for me to read is Finally Mine which is book 2 in the Benevolence series.

Honestly, I've never met a Lucy Score book that I haven't liked!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Published 9 May 2023.

This is one of those books where you ignore the things that don’t make sense, just enjoy the vibes, and go along for the ride. Was there somethings that were incredibly farfetched - like someone letting a complete stranger stay in their house and agree to fake date them after meeting them for the first time? Yes. Did I eat this book up? Absolutely I did. The chemistry and tension between Luke and Harper was so palpable I could taste it and the banter between all the characters was so funny and natural. I really enjoyed the side characters and the town of Benevolence and I’m actually excited to read the next book in this series.
I love how Lucy Score creates the perfect balance between light and fluffy, dark and steamy, and sweet and tender. She is such a beautiful writer that really knows how to make people lose themselves in her small towns.

I just love me some Lucy Score! I was so excited to get approved for this rerelease thanks to Boom Blooks. Lucy is the queen of small town romance and this is no exception! Loved this story- I did struggle with some of the steamy scenes but that’s only because my daughters name is Harper and you know- weird! Didn’t stop me from completely demolishing this is one sitting. My heart broke and was put back together! I will forever be a Lucy fan! Thank you to Lucy and Bloom books for letting me read this one in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

LOVED this book!!!
I’ll start off by saying that of Lucy Score wrote it, I’m reading it. She is an automatic buy author for me! I absolutely love her writing style and feel like her books have originality to them. This one did not disappoint!!

Harper is driving through town, leaving her past behind, and pulls into a bar. She saves a life but then gets a concussion doing so. When she wakes up, she sees Luke, and is attracted to him. His sister, Sophie, suggests that Harper should stay with Luke for the night.

He is getting ready to deploy soon and not looking for love. They decide to be in a fake relationship to get his family off his back. It’s not like they’ll develop feelings for each other….
Harper is an open book. Luke is closed off. They were fantastic characters, and the secondary characters were just as great!
This book was fun and emotional and I loved everything about it! I couldn’t put it down! If you love small town romance and fake dating, you will fall in love with this book! Definitely add to your tbr list!

📘: Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score
🗓️: May 9, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Score, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads.

I love Lucy Score, but I think her Knockemout series has spoiled me. I approached the Benevolence series thinking I would devour these books in the same way, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. The main hero and heroine, Luke and Harper, are likeable characters, but their relationship felt “off” to me. For instance, Harper slept in the same bed with Luke only a few hours after meeting him and she knew nothing about him. Would most normal women do that? I don’t think so. (At least, I hope they wouldn’t). Harper also decides to jump right into a fake relationship with Luke the very next day to appease his family, whom she’s never even met. It just felt like Harper was TOO trusting. Also, throughout most of this story, Luke is emotionally tied to another woman, but he kept stringing Harper along on his emotional rollercoaster, and that bothered me. I’m not giving away any spoilers, but let’s just say there comes a time when you need to move on and try to love again. Anyway, on the plus side, as per Lucy Score, I laughed out loud many times while reading this book, and I teared up several times too. Knockemout will always be my favorite book series by this author, but I would still recommend this series too.

Pretend You’re Mine pulled me in from the beginning. 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.

This book has so much packed into one book. From one bed, loss of a family member, ptsd, grief and loss, military deployment, found family and all the feels.

I laughed out loud, I cried, and a hoped for all to heal and find their happy ending. It pulled every heartstring! I also loved Aldo and Gloria and can’t wait to read their story next!

I really enjoyed Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score. I really liked the main character, Harper, who was always upbeat and approached life with humor and grace. Luke, the other main character, left me feeling hot and cold at times. Once I finally got over his demeanor, I did enjoy their story. Once thing I wish was that Harper didn't forgive Luke so quickly. She could have made him work a little harder to win her over. Overall, this was a cute read and I would read more books by this author.

I really enjoyed the set up for this story. I like how Harper jumped in to protect Gloria without knowing anything about her or her situation and how Luke was there when she woke up. It did seem a bit odd that Harper was willing to stay the night at Luke's and even share a bed with him after just meeting him. She had no where else to go and clearly Luke is a trustworthy guy but it still seemed a bit too trusting especially when later on in the book we learn more about Harper's past. Despite that, I had a really fun time reading this book. I found myself rooting for both characters and hoping that Luke could get over his past trauma to have the life he deserves. I can't wait to read the next book and am dying to learn more about Aldo and Gloria's relationship that we see starting to take shape in this book.

I absolutely loved this book, as I love all Lucy Score books! Diving into the first chapter feels like pulling a warm blanket up over your lap. Her writing style, in my opinion, is distinct among romance authors, and the predicability never detracts from the plot or story. I give ratings based on how much I enjoyed the book and if I'd recommend it to others who enjoy the same genre, and this is absolutely a five star read for me!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book, all opinions are my own!

I will definitely say I liked Things We Never Got Over better than this one? But it wasn’t a terrible read. I probably won’t read the second book because I wasn’t that invested in it? But as a small town romance, I can see how people would enjoy it. Tragic backgrounds and coming together in the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was both fun and emotional. Harper was an amazing character, so easy to relate to and love, while Luke was a hot military man who had been through a lot of pain in his past. The fake relationship they entered into soon turned real, and their connection grew into something deep and passionate, making me cheer for them all the way. I loved how the author incorporated classic romance tropes like one-bed and fake dating, but gave them her own unique twist that kept me completely hooked. The best part of the book for me was the author's writing style and humor. It was easy to read, and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Overall, this is a great romance novel that strikes the perfect balance between humor, heart, and steamy moments.

Having recently read "Things We Never Got Over" by Lucy Score, I was beyond excited to dive into "Pretend You're Mine." I was expecting something that would draw me into the story and keep me captivated from beginning to end, and in a way it succeeded in doing so. However, while I absolutely adored the main and side characters from TWNGO, I didn't feel that connection with some characters in "Pretend You're Mine."

While I did like Harper, finding her to be very likeable and spirited, I did find her at times to not be assertive enough in what she needed and wanted in a relationship. While I may not have fully supported some of her decisions or actions, I do have to admit that I admired her sense of compassion and understanding. On the other hand, Luke was for a majority of the novel hung up on someone else and it almost felt like his past was never properly resolved before getting committed to Harper. I mean you can honestly feel Luke's pain in relation to his past, it was still a bit difficult to read.

With that being said, it truly was a nice book to read especially during the spring. If you enjoy small towns full of kind-hearted people then I would recommend checking this book out.

eARC was kindly provided by SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This was not at all what I was expecting with a small-town romance. It was wonderfully surprising! I couldn't put it down once I started it! Sleep was far less important than staying in this author's world. And it helped that it included some of my favorite tropes, such as fake dating, one bed, and, of course, small town. This was far spicier than I thought it would be and it thrilled me to see that! The 'darker' elements gave it a needed boost, keeping the book from ever feeling monotonous or drawn out. In fact, I wanted more at the end. I wanted just a few more pages! I loved this. It's outside what I normally would have as a five-star, and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it! I can't wait to read other works by this author!

I feel like this book had a slow start for me, but once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down. Military romances are not my favorite romance books, but I have read other books by Lucy Score and loved them so I thought this would be one I would enjoy and I was right! Lucy Score’s main characters steal the show just like normal and her wonderful townspeople are always a hoot for adding extra drama or comedy to the story. I loved reading about Luke and Harper’s relationship growing, as they pretended everything happening to them was just fake. This is a very cute small town romance!

I love Lucy Score books and was very excited to be able to read and review Pretend You're Mine. I really enjoyed the story and the town of Benevolence. Harper was heading through town - might have been because she drove the wrong direction without realizing it. She pulls into a bar, saves a life, and gets a concussion while doing so. When she comes to, gorgeous Luke is staring down at her. Harper has nowhere to stay so bartender Sophie (also known as Luke's scheming sister) suggests she stay with Luke.

When Harper gets to Luke's house it looks like he just moved in. One night turns into more when Luke realizes that Harper can pretend she is the girlfriend his family keeps trying to find him. While there is chemistry, Luke avoids getting involved with Harper. Luke and Harper only need to fake it for a month until he deploys with the National Guard.

What will happen when Luke deploys and will Harper ever figure out why Luke doesn't date and why it looks like he just moved into a house that he has been in for a while? You'll be shocked at the reason!

The only thing I did not care for in the book was how angry Luke was, but still recommend it!

Thank you to Net Galley and Bloom Books for an advanced copy to read and review.

I had the pleasure of reading this book during it's original release. I enjoyed reading the story, who doesn't love a fake relationship that turns into a happy ever after? This is a cute story that had me hooked, I read it in one sitting. Perfect for a romance book lover.

I first read this book in March, but didn’t review it. I decided to listen to it on audio to see if I adored it as much as I did when I read it. The answer is a resounding YES. I loved this book from cover to cover. It has everything I look for in a romance. It had a tortured hero, a loveable yet quirky heroine, a small town that you couldn’t help but love, and secondary characters that only added to the story. This book was everything.

Harper was a force of nature. Once you got in her path, she didn’t let you go. Harper first meets Luke after a barfight that leaves her unconscious. When she wakes up, she sees Luke Garrison & thinks to herself that nothing could look as amazing as he does. They instantly click, but Luke is closed off in some ways. When his sister, Sophie, suggests that she stay with Luke for the night, she can’t turn down the offer. She has no money, no cell phone, and her car is running on its last leg. Harper has no idea what she’s in for when she decides to stay in Benevolence.

Life hasn’t always been easy for Luke Garrison. Losing his high school sweetheart on the day that he comes home from Iraq is something that he hasn’t moved on from. He is immediately drawn to Harper & her openness. You don’t ever have to wonder what Harper is thinking, because she tells you. He is worried that she will kill herself one day. It would be an accident of course, as Harper tends to be accident prone. It doesn’t take long for Harper to be fully immersed in Luke’s life & he doesn’t know how he’s going to let her go when he leaves for his next deployment. Then he doesn’t because he asks her to wait for him.

This was a very interesting book insofar as some of it takes place when Luke is overseas. Harper knows she loves Luke, just as she knows that he’s closed himself off from loving anyone. She doesn’t know what his story is, but she hopes that he will tell her some day. Then she finds out his secret on her own. I loved that she didn’t freak out. Harper was just such an amazing character. I loved both Harper & Luke, but it was Harper that really stood out for me. Like I said, I loved everything about this book and think that it’s the best book in the Benevolence series.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I really liked this book but realistically a NG soldier is NOT ever going to become a captain with 12 years of once a month and a couple deployments in the guard (military spouse of 11 years here). Otherwise it was good. I didn’t like skipping ahead months and then dragging out silly stuff when the book could have easily stayed on a timeline that didn’t crunch stuff together and drag other things out. Overall, it was pretty good.