Lucy Score's "Pretend You're Mine," the first book in the Benevolence series, enchants readers with its small-town charm and heartwarming romance. Harper, a resilient survivor, and Luke, a man haunted by personal tragedy, feel an undeniable connection despite their initial resistance. Score skillfully weaves a tale of found families, second chances, and the power of love, unfolding against the backdrop of a fake dating scenario and the complexities of Luke's past. The book's engaging characters, intimate small-town atmosphere, and authentic portrayal of emotions contribute to its undeniable charm.

The town of Benevolence, with its delightful and quirky side characters, adds depth and endearment to the story. Harper's unyielding resilience and refusal to tolerate nonsense make her a captivating protagonist, while Luke's gradual transformation and journey toward redemption bring a sense of fulfillment. The chemistry between Luke and Harper is palpable, and their journey from pretending to be in a relationship to discovering their true feelings is a delightful experience. Score's ability to evoke both pain and angst enhances the emotional depth of the story, ultimately emphasizing the themes of unconditional love, forgiveness, and seizing happiness.

With its blend of heartwarming romance, engaging plot twists, and vividly crafted scenes, "Pretend You're Mine" keeps readers engaged from beginning to end. The book strikes a perfect balance between sensual allure and narrative substance, avoiding being solely reliant on explicit content. It offers a lighthearted and pleasurable reading experience, leaving readers eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series. Fans of small town romances and fake dating tropes will find themselves immersed in the captivating world of Benevolence.

Not my favorite Lucy Score but still enjoyed it for the most part. Hot spicy scenes, and good resolution. Didn’t wnjoy the way deployment dragged out for such a long period, and the twists felt a little predictable but the main character was fun..

I am fully convinced that I'll love anything that Lucy Score writes. Going in, I'm not too big on reading about soldiers MMC. Usually, it's very emotional, and I'm never emotionally ready enough to handle that. HOWEVER, this was magnificent. I loved Luke with all my heart.

Harper rolled into town with basically nothing except her car and cheery disposition. And a mean right hook. Who knew that she was exactly what Luke needed? In return of fake dating him, he gave her a place to stay for a month. The tropes were excellent: Grumpy vs Sunshine, Small Romance, Fake Dating, One Bed, etc.

This book was everything to me. I read it in 4 hours, practically inhaling it. I was so still that the motion lights turned off TWICE because I was so entranced. Lucy can write a romance and she can write it damn well. The spice, the chemistry, the swooning, the emotions, they were amazing. I loved all the characters, and I can't wait to buy more Lucy Score books.

A small town romance with tons of charm.

Harper is a survivor that sees the bright side to everything. Luke is trying to get through life without romantic love after suffering a tragedy. What neither want is each other--which is exactly what actually need.

I loved this book. It's long, but didn't feel that way. Small towns and found families are something that I love if it is done right, and this was. The entire town of Benevolence is just adorable. All of the side characters are great and quirky in their own way. I liked Luke and how he thawed slowly throughout the book. BUT, Harper stole my heart. I wouldn't describe her as a ball of sunshine but she is so positive and is almost like the town therapist. She has an outlook on life that more people should have.

This is a great--and Spicy--read.

-small town
-fake dating
-found family

Tropes: Military, One Bed, Fake Dating, Office/Workplace, Small Town Romance

TW: Verbal Abuse (Not from MCs), Physical Abuse (not from MCs), Mention of Cheating (Not from MCs), Mention of Death, Mention of House Fire, Mention of Foster Homes, Mention of Child Abuse/Neglect, Alcoholism (Not from MCs).

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

In this book, we follow Harper and Luke. Harper is running away from her life after she finds out her boyfriend cheated on her. After storming out of the house with just the clothes on her back, she is heading to Fremont so she can stay with her best friend, Hannah. Harper ends up stopping at a gas station, and she sees this man screaming at this girl and being violent towards her. Harper ends up running after the man and getting into a fight with him, until a police officer sees them and steps in. Luke is in the military, and he is a police officer for the small town, Benevolence. Also, he owns his own construction/remodeling company. All Luke likes to do is work and go home to his empty house. After losing his wife, Luke believes that he shouldn't be happy and move on with his life. Until Harper came along...

THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK IS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE! If you're looking for a cute fluffy & emotional romance, this book is for you! I love these characters so much. Harper is an absolute firecracker, and she is so loving and caring. She puts everyone in front herself and make sure everyone else is happy. I have never loved an FMC so much until I read this book. Luke is a possessive man who doesn't know how to share his feelings but knows how to take care of Harper. The chemistry between these characters were so strong. Watching these characters grow and getting to know them was everything. There was no boring point in this book. Each page was better than the next, and I was so invested in this story, I couldn't stop reading. Even the side characters were amazing, I loved all of them. This book has made it to one of the favorite books of all-time list, and I'm 99.9% sure, I love this book MORE than Things We Never Got Over. I just finished this book, and I already want to reread it. This book is home to me. It makes me feel so happy (even through some of the sad moments). I'm so excited to read the next book, Finally Mine, and getting to know Aldo and Gloria more.

Luke, one of Benevolence’s hometown heroes is getting ready for his next overseas deployment with the National Guard. All he needs is to keep his mother from setting him up with the single women in town. He’s not ready to move on from his past.
Enter Harper, a modern day Pollyanna who’s starting over yet again. When her car breaks down in front of a bar she witnesses a domestic assault. Not one to standby and do nothing, Harper wades into the middle of it and is injured.
Is Harper the answer to Luke’s problem? His sister believes she is and convinces them to pretend they’re a couple. Just until Luke’s deployment in a month when they’ll stage a break up. What could go wrong, right? They’re both adults and know the plan.
I throughly enjoyed this book. The characters, both primary and secondary, pulled at my heartstrings.
Did I get frustrated at situations, absolutely. But, what these two characters have faced in their lives their actions were understandable. I will say that the strong relationships between Harper and the other women was nice to see. To often women are pitted against each other, but not here.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy Score is one of the best Romance writers, in my opinion. She creates characters that are relatable, yet intriguing. Her stories never lag and are perfectly balanced with the romance and the drama of relationships, family, jobs, and more.

While Pretend Your Mine follows the same path as most of her other romance novels, Score created characters I, as a reader, envied. And with that, it makes it a book I will undoubtably read again.

Oh my, I thought this was going to be a fun, funny, light read. Holy crap it was so much more! Its starts off hot oit of the gate and just keeps going. So good. So much feeling, so beautifully done. Your heart just breaks, and you fall in love with these characters and this town. Did I say it was beautiful? So many jaw droppers in here too. Very well written, I just didn't want it to end.

Maybe it's just me, but I hate when the conflict of the book is centered around the MMC not being over another person. For like...most of the book. Also small town romances also might not be my thing. Sometimes its trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

I was able to read the re-releases of these books and unfortunately they were not my favourite. The chemistry between Luke and Harper felt too rushed and forced. Neither of them are very likeable and her attacking someone right at the beginning of the book? A little far fetched for me.

All in all this was an OK book but not fantastic.

Thank you to NetGallery and Bloom Books for this eARC!

This is classic Lucy score and one of her earlier works from 2015 but with a different cover . This is book one in the benelovence series . The writing is good . The story is sweet . There is a lot of drama and Luke doesn’t communicate with her about his past. There is a plot and some steam as well . I like the relationships the main character develops in the town . It’s a happily ever after type book.. Luke story was sad and sweet.

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book! It wasn’t all hearts and flowers but it was real world problems and working through them to overcome and still have a Happily Ever After!

I know I’ve read reviews and people seem split down the middle in their opinion of this but I thought it was sweet!

Harper sets off after finding her boyfriend cheating on her and doesn’t even take her phone! She ends up at a bar in a small town trying to find a pay phone! There she runs into Luke who turns her world upside down! Like isn’t ready to fall head over heels quite yet though he’s got some baggage that needs dealt with.

I really liked this one and would recommend it!

This book was so good! I can’t wait to recommend it to all of my reader friends!! Such a good read! Thank you!!

This book was so good. The only Lucy Score books I had read before this one was the Knockemout Series so I was used to the slow burn. This was no slow burn, and I loved it. I laughed, I cried, I was frustrated I felt all the emotions. The spice was perfect. These characters are so perfect and flawed at the same time. I love how there are actually a few different story lines intertwined, but in a way that you don’t ever feel lost or disconnected from the main one. I want happy endings for all of these characters, they’ve just been through SO much. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Lucy Score will never not be a favorite romance author of mine. I'd read her grocery list, her packing lists, the scribbles on all of her crumpled up post-it notes, and I'd give them all five stars. I loved having the opportunity to read an old favorite with a new cover again and to give it 5 stars here on this platform to push it forwards ... LOVE LOVE LOVE. Read it. Read the whole series. This is your sign to dive in. You won't regret it.

Moving past the pain to really love

Harper sees a man beating on a woman outside a bar after the worst day of her life and jumps in to help. When she is punched by the abuser, she passes out for a moment, and when she opens her eyes, finds the most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen looking back at her. Luke Garrison. This starts a chain reaction that is the whirlwind of Harper. Luke is just trying to get by in his life, to forget the pain of his past by keeping it buried as far down as he can. Harper has a bucket load of past hurt that she solidly places in the past and is determined to move forward, always forward with a cheery disposition. When Harper and Luke become close and pretend to date to keep his family off his back, things get real. Luke is also in the national guard and a natural protector. Their plan is to date for a month and when he leaves for his deployment, she’ll move along as well. But the best-laid plans…

I love the way Lucy Score portrays the nature of pain and angst that Harper and Luke feel. Luke says Harper is a mess. But she’s just messing up his quiet, lonely, and barren life. Giving it color and beauty. Luke was a hard character to like, though I felt his pain, I wanted him to be able to look at Harper and admit he loved her. He couldn’t do it… until it was almost too late. It took him so long to figure out that she was always meant for him. He gets the dumbass of the Year award. And yet even though I didn’t agree with his methods of dealing with pain, I am glad to see him come around and redeem himself by the end. I hope to see their story continue in the subsequent books in this series. This story is about unconditional love, forgiveness, and waking up before it’s too late. It helps to have a big family and small town all up in each other’s business with some wonderful side characters. I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my candid review

I love a good small town and fake dating romance. and this one did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading from start to end. lucy score did not disappoint. I love ever second of this. if you love any of those tropes then you will love this book. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for allowing me to read this book.

This is the first book I’ve read by Lucy Score, and it definitely will not be my last!
If you’re looking for a book that leaves you in an ooey gooey puddle - this one is for you. All of the characters were so so good. Luke and Harper had the best chemistry. Harper was sweet, sassy, and didn’t take crap from anyone. I was hooked from the very beginning and I just couldn’t put this book down. I was sad to see it end, but I am hopeful for this series!

Another great story by Lucy Score. Pretend You're Mine is the first book in the Benevolence series. The story of Luke and Harper. It pulled me in right from the start and I hated to put the book down. Everything I wanted in a possible romance and so much more.

I loved/hated this book. When secrets are kept for too long in a book it gets annoying. The writing style was super simpl, which kind of made it feel like there wasn’t much substance to it. Harper was was such a smartass which I loved. Honestly all the characters were great, I just didn’t really care for the writing style that much.


3.5 Stars