I am so happy this book + series is getting a much improved face lift! I think fans of Lucy Score's more recent Knockemout series (if they weren't already fans, they would definitely be now) tl;dr if you liked those books and want to read a military romance, grumpy hero x strong/cinnamon roll heroine, fake dating, and found family - this book is for you. This one isn't told in dual POV but in third person (limited omniscient), which was new to me for her books specifically, but I didn't mind it for this story. She was still able to convey each characters emotions and wit, which is all I really care for.

Although this book was originally published years before Knockemout, I can definitely see subtle changes and differences in Score's writing style. I found myself subconsciously comparing the couple in this story (Luke + Harper) and Knox + Daisy. The couples' dynamic and the grumpiness of the male hero felt familiar. Not to mention the fictional small towns you can't help but wish was real. But that's pretty much where the comparison ends...

I want to say it was a bit insta-love initially, but the fact that 30-45% of this book was about Luke's deployment (because he's a Captain of the National Guard) they were separated, but falling more in love with each other despite having the opposite of forced proximity... forced distance (is that a trope?) 😂

I would give this book 2 ratings, if I could. If I was rating this with heart, it would be an easy 4 stars because of the visceral emotional reactions this book elicited. But if I was rating this with my head, it would be a 3.5, because Luke (Chapter 45) deserves JAIL TIME. 🥹 That third act break up was so painful. I will never think book boyfriends groveling with be sufficient enough... lol

Anyways, I definitely recommend this book if Lucy Score is your cup of tea. If there's one thing she can consistently serve it's grumpy small town men. 🫡

Thank you to Bloom books, netgalley, and Lucy Score for the ARC!

Pretend You’re Mine is written by the bestselling author Lucy Score and was written in 2018. Having read (and loved) her more recent novels, this one does seem like she's since grown into being a writer more. It also has more of the heat of books like By A Thread, instead of her most recent ones, which I enjoyed.

Harper was a pretty easy character to like. She’s had a tough life, her parents having died when she was young so she grew up in the foster care system. She wants to belong somewhere, but things never seem to work out for her. She agrees to pretend to be Luke’s girlfriend because he makes her feel safe and she is attracted to him.
Luke is just about to go back to the National Guard for a six-month tour of duty. He lets his sister talk him into this but he doesn’t really want someone in his life. Of course, that all changes as their relationship progresses.

Lucy Score always writes great secondary characters in her novels and this one was no different. I can easily see how Benevolence became a series of books because there are some great characters that need their stories told.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Loved Loved Loved this book. It wasn't a total 5 star read but I would rate it a solid 4.5 stars !

Harper is this drifter who left her boyfriend abruptly due to having found out he was cheating on her. As she's passing the outside of what looks like a bar in the small town of Benevolence where she sees a girl being choked by a huge man, she doesn't think twice before slamming into him and getting herself knocked out in the process. But upon waking up she's met with most beautiful pair of hazel eyes, it's Luke Garrison, local hometown hero, needless to say.

Luke is a commander in the National Guard and is extremely recluse which is something that has come to be of concern to his family. So when Harper drifts through and almost literally just falls into his life, it seems like at least the perfect opportunity to give his family the perception that's he's happy and has finally left his dark past in the past.

Ugh. I just couldn't get over just how much I loved this book and this sweet sweet story. It was also my first Lucy Score book and has made her an automatic read whenever I come across her other titles.

Pretend You’re Mine is written by the bestselling author Lucy Score and was written in 2018. Having read her more recent novels, this one does seem a little less structured and has a LOT more heat between the sheets. Harper was a pretty easy character to like. She’s had a tough life, her parents having died when she was young so she grew up in the foster care system. She wants to belong somewhere, but things never seem to work out for her. She agrees to this crazy scheme of pretending to be Luke’s girlfriend because he makes her feel safe and she is super attracted to him. Luke is just about to go back to the National Guard for a six month tour of duty. He let’s his sister talk him into this but he doesn’t really want someone in his life. He has a secret in his past that holds him back from allowing him to feel something for Harper. Of course, he does despite his best interests but he has an internal battle on his hands before they get their hea.

Lucy Score always writes great secondary characters into her novels and this one was no different. I can easily see how Benevolence will have a series of books because there are some great characters that need their stories told! I’m looking forward to reading the other books in this series. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

4/5⭐️

“You’re the light that got me through the dark, and I’m not willing to go back to a life without you.”


tropes:
fake dating
grumpy x sunshine
forced proximity/roommates
only one bed
unrequited love
small town

summary:
after catching her ex boss/boyfriend with another woman, harper wilde planned on staying with a girlfriend, but finds herself driving 4 hours in the wrong direction. her car breaks down in the small town of benevolence and finds herself stranded with nothing but her car and keys.

she meets some of the townspeople, including luke garrison, who works construction and is in the national guard. he’s back home, bidding his time until he’s deployed again.

with no place to stay for the night, she stays at luke’s. he helps harper get her personal things back from her ex’s and is back in benevolence still with no job, no money, or a place to live. sophia, luke’s sister, suggests she pretends to be luke’s girlfriend to get his parents off his back in exchange for a temporary job and home.

it was only supposed to be temporary, but with them in such close quarters, neither of them could resist the temptation.
a month later, luke is to be deployed for six months and harper planned on going to fremont, which was her original plan. she decides to stay in town, but discovers details about why luke has been so closed off about his personal life.


review:
harper comes rolling into the town of benevolence and leaves a wild first impression on its people. that’s what i like about small town romances is that you not only love the mc’s but also the people that surround them.

despite her tragic past and a hard life growing up, harper still sees the beauty of the world and all it has to offer. i admire her for the positive outlook she has on life, even with the bad cards she’d been dealt with. i love her character so much and her optimism

“I can still be sad. But I don’t have to wallow or completely ignore the good that is still waiting for me. That’s careless and wasteful.”

understanding why luke was so back and forth with harper was truly heartbreaking. but as much as sad as his backstory was, he said a lot of hurtful and what should be unforgivable things to harper, but she did anyway because that’s the kind of person she is: in the end though, he finally confesses his true feelings and and despite him not opening up right away, i really loved how caring he was the moment harper came into town and showed how much he loved her.


thank you so much to netgalley & the publisher for providing me with an e-arc <3

This book was moving, beautiful and a fantastic read. I really loved these characters - how they met, how they grew together - regardless of distance and their determination to make it work.

Although heart wrenching, some of my favorite scenes were while there was a distance between Luke and Harper….their growth, trust and perseverance.

I really enjoyed this book and I have the next one in the series ready to go!

This book has it all. Small town. Military romance. Fake relationship. From the very first pages I was absolutely hooked on this story. Loved how Harper entered the town of Benevolence. Loved all the towns people. Loved how they welcomed Harper. Loved how Sophie suggested Harper staying with Luke. Loved the quick chemistry between the two. This book also has some very deep emotions and trials. I’m thankful Harper had the friends she made to support her. I loved the dogs and the role they played. Loved cranky Frank. Can’t wait to dive into the next story.

This book took me by complete surprise, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less from a Lucy Score book. What she writes, I will read it.

What she writes, will leave you breathless not just from the romantic suspense but you will be blown away by the emotional storyline hidden underneath the romance, the spice and dirty talk, and all the lovable side characters.

Both our main characters had tragic back stories and it bled into the pages. Secrets that are kept hidden at all cost come rushing to the surface. You’ll feel at a loss for words, heartbroken, frustrated, happy, and that butterfly feeling in your stomach. But, that’s why Lucy is good at what she does. She makes you feel until it’s your heart bleeding into the pages.

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 ‘𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’ 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

While Luke wasn’t my favorite of Lucy’s male characters, I loved Harper. She was feisty and blunt, kindhearted and loyal, a spitfire and forgiving.

What to Expect:

🇺🇸 military man/deployment
🛏️ one bed trope
👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻 fake dating trope
🗣️ tight knit community
🔥 dirty talk/spicy scenes
💫 grand gestures
🐶 foster puppies

I really enjoyed this one! Grumpy/sunshine, small town, fake dating - love! I liked the banter & really liked Harper’s character.

I have complicated feelings about this book, I would give it a 3.5 star rating over all. I do think that there were some really sweet moments and I liked the female main character but I do think she ended up being a bit of a doormat for the male main character, who was A MESS. He does a lot of crappy things to her then it all just felt resolved way too quickly in the end with her absolving him of all of his wrong doings. To the synopsis!

Synopsis: Harper comes home to find her boyfriend (who is also her boss) cheating on her, and she storms out and gets in her car to drive to her friend's house 2 hours away without her wallet or phone. She runs out of gas in a bar parking lot in tiny town called Benevolence, where she finds a dude wailing on his girlfriend. Harper physically jumps in to protect the woman and ends up getting knocked out. When she comes to, local golden boy Luke is taking care of her. When Luke, a contractor and member of the National Guard, tells Harper she was driving the wrong way and is nowhere close to where her friend lives, he lets her come stay at his house for the night.

Harper finds out that her friend is out of town so she can't even go stay with her, so Luke's sister proposes a solution - Harper goes to work as Luke's office manager and stays with him at his house, and Harper pretends to be his girlfriend as his mother is desperately trying to set him up with someone before his next deployment in a month. Harper and Luke agree but of course feelings quickly develop over the month, though Luke insists it can only be physical and that they are going to have to cut things off when he deploys.

However, Harper starts getting comfortable in Benevolence and in Luke's house, making friends throughout the town and bringing home dogs for her and Luke, helping him get furniture for the house, etc. When he deploys, Luke asks her to stay. For the 6 months he is gone, Harper throws herself into being the best girlfriend she can be - managing his business and even helping some of the contractor's onsite, helping out his friends, and making his house a home. But then she finds out a big secret that Luke has been hiding from her, and when he comes back the secret and him feeling stifled by Harper causes him to push her away, breaking her heart. But even though he insists that they being apart is the best thing for them, neither can deny the way they feel.

Review: This book was pretty long and it felt like A LOT happened. I think that the part that was the 6 months of deployment ended up going on for a long time - it was very focused on Harper as Luke wasn't around. I guess some of it was necessary though to show how much effort Harper was putting in, just to have her heart broken by Luke when he returns.

I didn't really like how Luke is constantly thinking that Harper is a mess and that it's his job to take care of her/protect her. Of course leaving her house without her cell phone and wallet wasn't the brightest move, but Harper is a super sweet and caring person who is always trying to help him and everyone else. Even when she finds out Luke's big secret, she is totally understanding but then HE freaks out. Luke is constantly pushing and pulling Harper in and out of his life, going back and forth between wanting her and not thinking she should be in his life. He's so hot and cold and I felt so bad for Harper because they man could not communicate his way out of a wet paper bag with a gun to his head. When he's back from deployment and pushing her away, he's soooo nasty to her but then makes one big gesture at the end and is instantly forgiven.

I will say that there are some very nice steamy moments between Luke and Harper, and I think the part of the book pre-deployment and the big secret coming out is actually pretty cute, but then the big drama makes it way too messy. I do also love the big cast of secondary characters and the relationships that they all form with Harper, who is such a selfless person.

I really enjoy how Lucy Score writes her FMC’s. I was hooked immediately and wanted to learn more.

This book features so many of my fave tropes too:

• Grumpy/Sunshine
• Small Town Romance
• Fake Dating

I think if you’re in need of a fun, guilty pleasure read you can never go wrong with Lucy Score

3.5/5⭐️

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up! Thanks to @netgalley and Sourebooks Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
At first, I didn't realize it was originally published in 2018 and is just a rerelease with a brand new GORGEOUS cover. Today is official PUB DAY for the new version. Pretend You're Mine is the first in the Benevolence series. It's full of fabulous tropes like fake dating, small town romance, and only one bed- just to name a few. Harper and Luke are complex characters but also very likable. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. This is a cute yet steamy read that's perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey and Elle Kennedy. It was my first Lucy Score book, although I have two of her other books on my physical TBR shelf. I am looking forward to reading them after enjoying this one. Oh and I will also read the other books in the series, which will also be getting a new cover face lift! I’m excited to read about Gloria and Aldo’s love story in Finally Mine, the next book in the Benevolence series.

I’ve read a few Lucy Score books before, including the second book in this Benevolence series, a little over two years ago. I purchased this book, Pretend You’re Mine, at the same time, but unfortunately it sat in my Kindle library and others piled up on top and it was forgotten… I do enjoy Score’s writing, but her books are generally very emotional reads and I definitely have to be in the right frame of mind.

Harper and Luke’s story runs concurrently with Gloria and Aldo’s story (the second book, Finally Mine), the one I’ve already read, so it felt like I came back to something familiar but slightly different - seeing it from a different angle. Just as with the other, it was heartbreaking. I’m not an emotional reader, but this, as with the other, had tears streaming down my face, and not just once! This never (and I’m not exaggerating) happens! She writes in a way that made me feel everything the characters are experiencing, and like I’m part of the story. Many authors make me read like I can visualize it as a movie, but Score has me feel like I’m one of the characters.

Harper and Luke are some of the most damaged, real and hard to relate to characters I’ve come across in a book, but I was so incredibly invested in the story. The love they had and that he was so resistant to - this was a beautiful, if heartbreaking, experience. I definitely recommend it, but have those tissues and wine ready!! If I’m never a crier and you are, be prepared for a lot of waterworks.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, and this is my honest feedback.

Some of my favorite tropes

Boss employee
One bed
Fake dating

All the feels in this book. Looking forward to reading the next book

Ok, I’ve officially added a new author to my favorite authors list. This was my first book by Lucy Score and it did not disappoint. Harper’s free-spirit and Luke’s alpha male were the perfect combo. They both have emotional baggage- Harper from her childhood and Luke from his early adulthood. He’s protective of her right from the start and she slowly begins to bring him back to life and feeling things he had shutdown for many years. The tension between the two had me eagerly reading through to get more of them. The book had so many of my favorite tropes:

🔸 Grump Sunshine
🔸 Alpha Male
🔸 Fake Dating
🔸 Forced Proximity
🔸 Small town romance
🔸 Found family

This book really has it all and I absolutely loved every part of it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

This was my first time reading anything by Lucy Score and I can't believe I waited this long to try her books! There were so many things going on in this book, between Harper and Lukes' pasts, their friends and family - it's at times funny, heartwrenching, romantic and steamy. Definitely won't be the last I'll read from Ms. Score!

This is the second book I've read by Lucy Score and I can honestly say she is becoming a favorite of mine. I'm not the biggest fan of romance novels and reading lengthy sex scenes,. This book has plenty of those, but it doesn't take away from it's true purpose. This book involves many beautiful, heartwarming love stories - the developing love between two people; between friends, new and old; between an entire small-town community; and between man and K9 companion. I instantly fell in love with the characters. There are several of them, anyone reading this book is bound to relate to one of them. For the most part, this is a lighthearted read. It's cute, witty, and funny, but there are also tense moments that had me staying up way too late at night because I couldn't put it down. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Now, I'm on to the next in the mini series, Finally Mine.

OMG, this book has ALL.THE.FEELS! Harper and Luke both have very traumatic pasts but they deal with it in very different ways. Harper lives in the here and now and doesn’t take too many things very seriously and Luke cannot stop living in the past and won’t let himself appreciate what he has.

You cannot stop rooting for Harper to finally find a forever home and you desperately want it to be with Luke! If only he would get out of his own way. These two are not the best communicators, but when Luke lets his guard down, you cannot help but melt. I loved how Luke’s family immediately adopted Harper and saw how wonderful she was for Luke, even as he was pushing her away.

These two have crazy chemistry and you don’t have to wait too long for the spice. The town is fulll of quirky characters just as you would expect in a Score book. And there is always a bit of mystery lurking as well.

Great story. Can’t wait to devour the next in the series!

Lucy score does it again!

I loved this book so much! Harper is an absolute force to be reckoned with. I loved her life perspective, grit and absolutely adorable heart. Luke was a character that grew on you and under his pain, was every women’s dream guy.

This story of love and loss is one that kept me turning the page. Such a good read and very spicy!

I have never read Lucy Score before, but I hear a lot of people recommend her books, so I thought I would give this a shot. I have to say the beginning started out decent and grabbed my attention, even if the concept was over the top and unbelievable.

Harper jumps in her car to drive long distance to her friends after she catches her boyfriend cheating, except she leaves without her wallet and phone. I mean, that's unheard of. She gets lost and stops at a bar where she stops a guy from beating on his girlfriend by jumping in fighting...crazy. She gets knocked out and saved by the super sexy Luke. He let's her crash at his place, and then they decide to do a fake dating thing so she can stay and work for him till he gets deployed in a month. He doesn't want his parents trying to set him up anymore.

It was a cute setup, and I liked Harper even though she doesn't make good choices and is almost TSTL (too stupid to live). She falls for Luke super fast, and he continuously turns her down or pushes her away. They finally get together, but they are separated for 6 months for his deployment. This part of the book really dragged for me.

I enjoyed the side characters and the found family in this book, but I could not stand Luke. He was constantly going back and forth, hot and cold with her. He totally used her and then through it in her face that he could never love her. He was needlessly cruel to her, even after she took care of his home, office, family, and best friend while he was away.

He also should have had to grovel WAY longer, in my opinion.

Fake Dating
Found Family
Only One Bed
Small Town

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.