NetGalley Review - my rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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Pretend You’re Mine by @scorelucy was an amazing story about Harper and Luke and their meet cute turned fake dating turned real dating.
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This book was my first Lucy Score and certainly won’t be my last. It’s already on KU but is being re-released May 9!
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If you like fake dating tropes with lots of twists, a military deployment, and some thriller aspects, this is for you. When I tell you, ugh. I cried 4x!
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Thanks to @read_bloom for this ARC!
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#netgalley #lucyscore #pretendyouremine #bloombooks

I love Lucy Score and this was everything I love about her books. The writing did feel. a little more immature compared to her other works but I really loved the characters and the small town.

I received a digital copy of this book in return for my review. I had read a book by Lucy Score last year and found it enjoyable, so I was keen to explore more of her work. While her books are generally light reads and entertaining distractions, this one delved deeper and tackled the topic of grief.

Harper leaves her home after discovering her boyfriend in bed with another woman. She exits the house in haste, leaving her wallet behind, and eventually runs out of gas in a parking lot near a bar in the small town of Benevolence, Maryland. Feeling like she's reached her lowest point, Harper witnesses an attack on a woman named Gloria in the parking lot. Her instincts lead her to protect Gloria, and she impulsively jumps on the attacker's back. The attacker eventually throws her off and gives her a black eye. Luke, a local resident, sees the altercation and steps in to help.

Luke's sister, Sophie, owns the bar next to the parking lot. Harper goes inside to grab some food and meets Sophie. Both Sophie and Luke recommend that Harper spend the night at Luke's place and see a doctor the following day. Harper agrees to stay the night and leave the next day. She plans to depart the town, as she got lost and wants to head to Freemont to visit her friend. Luke offers to drive her home so she can pack her belongings and retrieve her wallet and purse.

As Harper stays in town, she and Luke start "fake dating," but soon the boundaries blur. Both of them have faced significant losses in their lives. Harper decides to stay with Luke for a month and work at his construction company. At times, I felt frustrated and disappointed to see Harper settling for less than she deserved. She appeared to be a contradictory character, presenting herself as somewhat independent yet allowing herself to be exploited and verbally mistreated, which seemed inconsistent with her backstory.

This book was previously released in 2015 and 2018. Despite its age, it doesn't feel dated and makes for an engaging, steamy read over a few days. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance novels, though it's worth noting that the story contains potential triggers.

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

Publication date: May 9, 2023

Pretend You’re Mine is my first Lucy Score book and I didn’t realize that this one was published previously and is getting a refresh and being rereleased this year!

Like Garrison is a hometown hero. When he’s not defending his country as a National Guard, he’s running his own construction company and helping family and friends.

Luke has a deep dark past. Something horrible happened to him and he has vowed to never fall in love again. He doesn’t deserve happily ever after so there is no point in chasing it.

Harper Wilde is running again. Always on the move, always making poor choices in men and having to start all over again. She too has a stormy past but when she rolls into Benevolence and puts herself in dangers way to save someone, she ends up in Luke’s care for the night.

Luke is tired of his family pushing him to find happiness and Harper realizes she is in the opposite direction of her original destination with nowhere to stay and no money…..They make a mutual agreement. Harper will stay in Luke’s house and fill the Office Manager position he has available for one month. They will pretend to be dating and by the time Luke ships out a month later, they will stage a fake break up and carry on their way.

The problem is, Luke cannot deny his attraction to Harper and she is determined to find out what he is hiding before she fall too deep.

I enjoyed Harper and Luke’s story. I do think Luke’s past probably could have been dealt with earlier on in the story. I would have liked more of their relationship AFTER the big reveal so to speak. There was quite a bit of spice in this one but it was integrated well with the storyline. This is a 4 star read for me and I recommend for any romance lovers (fake dating trope).

#NetGalley #pretendyou’remine #lucyscore

This was a long read and while it was good I felt like it was too long and could have been shorter. I did love Harper but Luke needed more depth. He swore Harper needed him even when she didn’t. The story was engrossing in a good way however I hated the ending!

I like the idea of this book but personally I found the pacing off. The relationship and set up felt fast paced and didn’t allow me to connect to the characters. It felt rushed and as a result I didn’t find the relationship believable. This may be a book that others will enjoy but personally for me I didn’t like the characters or the pacing of the plot.

Thanks netgalley for the arc! This was a cute book that was an enjoyable read. I love Lucy score books and this one didn’t disappoint! It had a bit of a slower start but picked up as it went on. I’m confused why this is an arc since it’s been out for a few years though. Also posted to goodreads.

I really enjoyed this one! Lucy’s romantic suspense books are def my fave of hers and I really enjoyed the national guard aspect of this one. Luke and Harper jump right into things under the guise of fake dating to get his parents off his back and to help her in a time of transition. One month together before he deploys for 6 months to get her savings back up and make a plan for the future. Well, as it tends to go in romances, soon the fake dating isn’t so fake anymore.

Things heat up pretty quickly spice wise, but overall it’s a moderately spicy read, after all there’s a 6 month time period where he’s overseas. They’re romance definitely tugs on the heartstrings. Harper is a grown up foster kid after losing her parents at 7 and my heart just goes out to foster kids so much. Yet, Harper survived the foster care system and is a sunshiny look on the bright side person despite it all. Luke has suffered great loss, not only in his time deployed but at home, and is such a closed off grump because of it. They are definitely the definition of opposites attracting.

While they’re main conflict is just getting through their own stuff, we do get some suspense which I’m always all about too. I am definitely starting finally mine next, aldo and Gloria’s story. I loved them so much in this one and I’m guessing it takes place concurrently with pretend your mine.

Thanks NetGalley and bloom books for my gifted copy!

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC! I really love Lucy Score and her romance novels just suck me right in. This was a great read!

● Book Review ●
• Name: Pretend You're Mine
• Author: Lucy Score
• Genre: Romance
• Rating: 3.25 ⭐️
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● Synopsis ●
I only wanted to protect you…

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.

So what if kissing her sends his mind to wicked places? He can control himself. Can’t he?

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. When she’s in his arms, she finally knows what it’s like to feel safe. Protected.

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…
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●Thoughts ●
I wanted to hop on the trend and try her books out but I think this book was mid. Very quick and a spicy read with some likeable characters, but the pacing didn't do much justice to the character development. There were many plot holes in my opinion and I was not a huge fan of the mmc... Book was a bit long but overall it's an okay read 🙃.
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● Tags ●
#bookreview #romamcebook #lucyscore #bookstagram #booktok #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations
#books #romamcebookrecommendations #pretendyouremine

During an escape from a cheating boyfriend, Harper runs out of gas in the parking lot of a small-town bar and immdiately gets herself into big trouble. Handsome and kind Luke comes to her rescue physically and by offering her a place to stay for the night. One night turns into a week and then a; month, and then....

I love Lucy Score and her writing style so much and this was not an exception. This was fantastic and one of the few I haven’t read yet but I loved it so much and kept turning the pages.

if you love the fake dating and grumpyx sunshine tropes, this is the book for you. With Harper finding herself being a hero of a small town after a fight in a parking lot , she finds herself surrounded by a close knit community that accepts her and supports her like she has been there all along. With the town insisting on taking care of her until her injuries heal and she has a set place to go, Harper finds herself living with successful business man, and National Guard member Luke.
With Luke having a month until he deploys for 6 months, Harper living in his empty house shouldn't be a problem since there is a set timeline on their companionship. That is until Lukes house starts feeling like a home and he is feeling emotions he has not felt in quite some time.
Following the Harper and Lukes story was so sweet and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Filled with an amazing group of side characters, some very HOT scenes, and a heroine who is strong, this is a great book for anyone looking for their next spicy small town romance.

I’m a sucker for romance set in a small town. Lucy Score has a knack for writing characters that readers can connect with. I loved Harper, she’s smart sassy and knows what she wants. I also loved the supporting characters especially Sophie, Aldo and Joni.
This story was emotional and I enjoyed the plot. Be prepared for some spicy scenes-these were out of my comfort zone for spice, but I’m sure others will appreciate it.

I love Lucy! I was soooo excited to get this book as an ARC, even though it’s a re-release with a new cover. The book did not disappoint and I can NOT wait to move on to book 2!!! Definitely a must read.

Luke mets Harper as she jumps in to save a stranger being abused by her boyfriend. He's everything you love about an alpha male. She is a lady down on her luck in need of a rescue and he refuses to be anything but her hero. They find themselves in a fake relationship and lines blur just before he is deployed. And that deployment threatens and changes everything...

I liked it. Granted, sometimes - specifically at the beginning of the book - it was a little over the top. (Some of their interactions made me cringe a little and was slightly annoying.) It still was entertaining and that lessened the farther I got in to the book.
The story hooked me, which is what we all look for. Luke is H O T and their chemistry was fire. (The text she gets as he leaves...story making!) Read it. You are gonna be glad you did.

NetGalley & this author/publisher provided the ARC I read for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Now I’ve cried in my bed 3 times bc I couldn’t go to sleep and break the momentum! I can’t wait to start book two!

This book was okay. There were equal parts I liked and didn’t like.

Things I liked:
- light: this book was a nice light read that wasn’t overly complicated. If you are looking for a quick easier read then look no further.
- smut: 👌🏾
- characters: for the most part the characters are very like-able. They may be a little over the top at times but the most of them where very relatable. I also like that the FMC stood up for herself and actually had some backbone.
Things I didn’t like:
-Pacing: pacing at the beginning was way off - it felt very rushed and not at all natural. This made it very hard to connect with the characters as individuals and as a couple.
-random subplots: there seemed to be some random subplots (mostly with the FMC) in this story that were used to create unnecessary drama and give the characters more dimension. I felt this took away from the main story and I found myself skimming through that whole part.
- MMC: yeaaahhhh he wasn’t for me. Im not the biggest fan of the ‘noble fool’ trope and really the whole conflict could have been avoided.

So all in all - not the best, not the worst.

"She could feel the shadow over his heart, and it broke hers."

Summary
Luke owns a local construction company and is a member of the National Guard - all-around small town hero. However, his family is constantly on his case about finding a life partner. So when Harper blows into town on her way to starting a new life, he thinks she'll make the perfect fake girlfriend to fend his family off until he deploys in a month. What he doesn't expect is to have his life turned upside down by this wild-hearted girl.

Why did I pick up this book?
I requested it on Net Galley, thinking it was the first book in a new series by Score. I got 80% of the way through and realize I think they just branded it as a "new release" because it got a new cover. This book was actually published in 2015. So I'm pretty salty because I could have avoided this whole thing, but now I owe a review to save my requests-to-reviews ratio *eye roll*

What did I enjoy about it?
I love a story with found family. I loved watching the blossom of Harper and Arli's friendship, as well as most of the others she fostered while Luke was deployed. The dogs were a nice addition, but sadly, this is it.

What did I not enjoy about it?
This book was full of contradictions, the characters laced with hypocrisy. For example: Luke says he has no attachment to Harper but is calling her babe every 5 seconds, starting the day after they first met. As in her other book I read, there is toxic masculinity throughout. Luke is too overbearing, past the point of romantic and crossing into possessive and overly violent. Someone else suffered a serious trauma and was told to "man up." Both Harper and Luke had an extremely unhealthy concept of boundaires. Also I hate premature proposals.

I LOVE Lucy’s writing and I loved the characters. And again I really enjoyed the insta love which I don’t typically like but it just worked here.

I especially liked the found family vibe, that is pretty standard in all of Lucy’s books. The spice was on point and it was laugh out loud funny!