3.5⭐️, 3🌶️

•insta love
•fake dating
•small town
•found family

don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Lucy’s writing but this book just wasn’t for me! While I did enjoy the characters, I found myself frustrated with the MMC many times throughout. He didn’t want a relationship but kind of strung her along in a sense. And again I really enjoyed their personalities but as a couple a lot of miscommunication + the insta love vibe just through me off and I don’t enjoy reading books like that. & I found the storyline to drag on a little bit.

I loved the found family vibes, the spice was great and so many laugh out loud moments! Love Lucy’s writing and I’m sad that I didn’t love this book but it won’t stop me from reading her books in the future!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Besides my overall dislike for Luke, I like Harper and wish she had someone better. I wasn’t a fan of Luke’s comments or his comments of Harper not being her. Overall a good story, a little unnecessarily long but overall I liked it

“Stay.”

Pretend You’re Mine is the first book in the Benevolence Series by Lucy Score, and it will make you fall in love with Benevolence and its residents! Harper needs a new start, and when she lands in this small town with no phone, no wallet and out of gas – only to see a woman getting smacked around – she does what any sane woman would do and jumps on the man’s back to stop him . . . to then be helped by sexy Luke Garrison after taking a hit to the face. Luke’s sister comes up with a temporary plan to help Luke and Harper before Luke leaves for another National Guard deployment, which they both agree to for their own personal reasons. But how long can they play at pretend? And when both have a past that will come out sooner than later – will they be able to “stay” together?

This was my first Lucy Score book, and there was a lot that I liked about this novel, but also some that I didn’t. I loved the characters and the small-town feel – there is something to be said about community and family shining through the pages. I loved the military-heroism undertones, the girls-sticking-together vibe, and of course the steam was on point. However, I felt Luke was a bit overbearing and irrational, Harper a tad desperate, and that there was too much fluff that was unnecessary and made this book much longer than it needed to be.

I did NOT buy at all that Aldo would be overall mentally and physically better in this short time span and able to run again – sure, it makes it a better story line for Harper to connect to all of Luke’s friends and family, but I believe prosthetics take longer to customize to the person and multiple visits to fit.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and Luke and Harper’s story; I was invested in the outcome and appreciated how Score tied the ending nicely in a bow! It is obvious why Score is a powerhouse author and well loved among her readers. I will definitely read more of her books and will recommend this one to others! 3.8 stars!

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to review this novel! All opinions are my own.

Fake relationship fans rejoice you will LOVE this one.

Luke is a brody National Guard, who just wants to be left alone. Harper is trying for a new start at life. These two enter into a fake relationship, but as their close proximity continues they sizzle and catch fire!

This one is so good!! Sexy and heartfelt, with a hero who has a little bit of jealous that comes out!

I absolutely adored this story, and Harper and Luke’s happy ever after.

Thank you Netgalley and Lucy Score for this ebook. I am officially a Lucy Score fan. This book did it. I read Finally Mine first which tbh I think was the way to go. Harper was my favourite character in that book and I loved her just as much in this one. Pretend You’re Mine is definitely more steamy though 🔥 and I’m not complaining. Harper and Luke had electric chemistry and even though I knew how it ended (since I read book 2 first) I couldn’t put this down.
“What am I supposed to do, be all ‘woe is me’ for the rest of my life? I still get access to the same sunrises everyone else does, the same twenty-four hours in a day. And if I don’t take advantage of those things, it’s my own fault.”
The themes of trauma and grief are handled gently and beautifully. Harper, though fictional, is a great role model for how to live with loss rather than leave it all behind. I highly recommend this spicy but emotional small town fake dating romance.

This is my first time trying the very popular Lucy Score, and I can definitely see why her books appeal to fans of Colleen Hoover - very similar in regards to the trauma-bonding romance style, with main characters that you just want to shake while you tell them they can do better. But that being said, I did still enjoy parts of this story, and I can definitely see why it has many 5-star reviews from fans of Score/Hoover/etc. So, 3 stars from me, and I probably won't try another from Score, but I would still recommend to readers who I know love this genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score is an emotional, feel good, romance. This story had more depth and real life emotions in the plot and characters than most books I read. She managed to capture all of our real emotions and put them on paper. This is a must read!

If you have loved other Lucy Score books, definitely pick this up. It was a really fun read with interesting characters and a cool spin on the classic romance. I did find that the beginning was a little fast-paced since a girl just agrees to stay at a stranger’s place as soon as they meet but, once I got into it, I enjoyed it. It had a fun small town energy and a fake dating trope as well as having the main male character be in the military. I was especially interested in the romantic plot of the side characters but that’s a good sign for the sequel that I plan to read next

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pretend You’re Mine captivated me from the start. Harper’s lovable personality drew me in and made me want all the best things in life for her. Luke was the perfect, angsty hero who doesn’t feel he is worthy of Harper’s love. This book had the best plot, amazing characters development, yummy steam and was all around entertaining.

this book hurts so good. I was screaming at Harper to leave luke and learn a lesson. But sometimes when you love someone so fiercely you can’t see their flaws.

This was my first Lucy Score book, and I do think it was well written. But as it is not my favorite troupe it was really hard for me to get into it. I do look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

This one was 3.5 for me so I'm gonna go ahead and round up since i devoured it and it made me cry lol.

Harper Wilde rolls into Benevolence on fumes after catching her boyfriend cheating and immediately ends up involved in trouble. (Story of her life honestly) and she is introduced to Luke Garrison, the sexy yet emotionally unavailable marine. The two end up deciding to pretend to date to give Harper a place to stay and to keep Luke's family off his back. What neither of them are expecting is the undeniable sparks that fly everytime they're together.

Overall, I enjoyed the read but there were definitely several occasions I wanted to slap Luke in the head and beg Harper to demand better for herself. At the end they pulled it together though and I ended up loving their story.

This was so, so good! I adored Luke and Harper. Their chemistry was off the charts, and the spice was amazing. I straight up melted every single time Luke called Harper “baby”. I fell so hard for all the character in this book, it was the perfect amount of angsty and romantic. The HEA made me ugly cry in the best way, and I loved how everything came full circle. Amazing read! *I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow just Wow Pretend You're Mine is a laugh out loud feel good rom-com that makes want to reach out and grab what you want from life. Harper and Luke are as different as any two people can be both have tragic past and deal with life in totally different ways but they work as a couple and their journey to this realization is filled with laughter and a few really sad moments that adds a depth to the storytelling that gives you all the feels with the addition of great family and a few really good friends as a support system and a off the charts chemistry between Luke and Harper and this author has given us a really great first book in this series with high expectations for Gloria and Aldo's book.
I received a ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Pretend You’re Mine was a very mixed bag for me.

On the one hand, the banter would make me smile so big, and the small town charm was perfectly on point, and there were some emotional twists that had my heart twisting and aching and fluttering like crazy. I really liked Harper and her indomitable spirit. I loved her approach to potentially difficult/uncomfortable encounters. I was afraid, at first, that she was going to be too quirky/flighty for me – but that wasn’t the case at all. She had a big, pure heart and an innate goodness that made her impossible not to love.

And so, it felt wrong to see her settle for the crumbs Luke had to give her for so much of the book. This guy. While I loved the whole growly alpha protective thing (because I always love the growly alpha protective thing) I did not love how he had one foot out the door for most of their romance. I did not love how he went 2/3 of the way in while Harper went all-in. It wasn’t good enough for Harper and I wasn’t sure how I felt about her willingness to be okay with the crumbs.

I also felt like the explanation for their connection relied, heavily, on their physical connection. There are a lot of spicy scenes. And my personal opinion is that I could have done without about 1/3 of them in favor of some…swoon. Some real, solid, emotional connection. So while I loved parts of this story, overall – it didn’t offer what I wanted it to offer me.

This was a big story. Like, there was a LOT packed into it and it maybe could have been pared down a little to give more focus on the connection between Harper and Luke. In the end, it was entertaining, and showed hints of greatness, it just was an okay read for me.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this arc! This is my 4th Lucy score book and even though it wasn't my favorite it was enjoyable. I found Luke's indecisiveness to be annoying but I understand where he's coming from. Harpers chaotic mess was a fun treat! I thought the foster dad twist could have been left out and their relationship be the main focus of the book. As a military spouse I really felt and understood their dynamic in that regard. Def would recommend!

Another incredible book by Lucy Score!!!

After hastily leaving her cheating boyfriend, Harper finds herself in small town Benevolence. Being the fierce woman she is, she springs into action to defend Gloria who is in a physical altercation with her boyfriend in the parking lot of a bar. After taking a rough punch from Glenn she is taken into the bar to be nursed back to health by the Garrison crew. With no gas, money or place to stay for the night Harper needs to figure out how to get back on her feet.

Luke Garrison hasn't been on a date in many years and now has his mother meddling in his love life. His sister Sophie comes up with the idea for Luke and Harper to start fake dating to get his mom off of his back. This quickly go from fake to real but with Luke's upcoming deployment (and secret from his past) both he and Harper know this cant get to serious. Both Luke and Harper have to figure out who they are and what they want from life and each other.

I loved this book, it made me laugh, it made me cry. If you loved things we never got over then this book will be a winner for you.

Trope: Small town romance, Fake Dating, Forced Proximity

ARC provided by NetGalley and Bloom Books in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading things we never got over, things we hide from the light, by a thread, and forever never by Lucy Score. I was screaming in excitement when I got an ARC for Pretend You're Mine and and Finally Mine from NetGalley. Harper and Luke love story is one to be known, I was reading this while waiting at the airport and it had me giggling, crying, and screaming because it was that good. I loved that we didn't get to know what Luke story was till the end, I loved that he got a second shot at love despite what happened to him. I loved that Harper didn't give up and was head strong on what she wanted. This was such a beautiful book and a fast pace reading at the airport.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this rerelease! I love Lucy Scores writing and how she has you not only rooting for Luke and Harper, but for the whole town. Super excited to read her other books!

This small town romance book gave me mixed feelings as Luke was not my favorite main character Lucy had written. Harper was a saint and I loved her growth throughout the book. Some parts I felt could have been cut/not so dragged out while others felt rushed.

All in all this was a good read but not one of my favorites by the author

okay, as always, gotta start my review with a little disclaimer – i'm here for a good time, not a long time, and i can only become so impassioned about so many things in life. i definitely see and understand why some people would absolutely hate this book, but i feel like in most small town settings, you're getting some insular, scratch-your-head-wtf-ery, no? that's just to be expected with a small town setting, imo, so i'm fine with it.

i haven't read this previously (the original publishing date is 2015), but enjoyed my first time through! did the fmc depend on the mmc in like five seconds? were there a bunch of side characters with interwoven stories? lots of small town tropes? yes to all of those but i truly don't care, i liked it as a whole! solid 3.5 stars for me.