Overall, I liked this book. 3/5 stars. I wasn’t a fan of the insta-love at the beginning but after MMC was deployed, I enjoyed it more because the romance slowed down a bit. I enjoyed the emails during their long distance and the side characters a lot. I’m looking forward to the other books in this series

“She chased away the dark and brought him to the light.”

Pretend You’re Mine was an emotional, heartfelt story of finding love when you least expected it or even wanted it. Luke and Harper gave me all the feels and their journey was lighthearted and fun as well as heartbreaking. I couldn’t get enough of these characters.

“I want you to take all the dark, all the pain, and turn it into something beautiful.”

Harper had a difficult childhood, but she has preserved and in spite of it, she has a beautiful spirit that is full of positivity and light. I loved how she didn’t let anything get her down and was determined to make the best out of any situation.

“Baby, it would take more than all the time in the world for me to forget you.”

Luke was grumpy and possessive and full of pain. Loss had made him shy away from life and he was determined to protect his heart at all costs. Harper made him see what he was missing, but he had to open his mind and heart to let it in.

“No matter what words did or didn’t pass between them, this connection was undeniable.”

The chemistry and banter between these two was absolute fire. I loved watching them connect and how supportive they were of one another. Harper was pure sunshine to Luke’s darkness and they were just what each other needed.

“Something in me said ‘she’s finally her.’ 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.”

Full of spicy banter, heartwrenching emotion, a dash of suspense and so much love, Pretend You’re Mine was a beautiful story with strong, relatable characters that will have you rooting for their HEA. I loved Luke and Harper’s story and was absolutely captivated by their story.

3.5 stars out of 5

I really love Lucy Score as an author but this book was just ok for me. It had a lot of spicy romance scenes and a great plot but it was such a long book. I felt it was dragging on and on at some points.

This is a small town romance book centered around Luke and Harper. Harper leaves her cheating ex boyfriend and drives to stay with her friend. Her car runs out of gas in a small town called Benevolence where she mets Luke. This book explores their mutual attraction for each other but Luke can’t seem to let go of the past.

I am looking forward to reading Aldo and Gloria’s story next. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

OH my gosh.... How does Lucy do it. Theses men in her books are phenomenal...

I loved this story. Some trigger warnings about abuse. But it was just so good and intense. Started the next one as soon as this one was done.

Thanks NetGalley for this Arc !

Pretend your mine explores the “fake dating” trope, which is not my favorite, but I did enjoy it in this instance. There is a LOT of back and forth, on and off between our main characters Luke and Harper. I really enjoyed the small town aspect and the “found family”. The emails were one of my favorite parts as well!

The story is enjoyable but was frustrating at certain times. Luke takes 1 step forward in a relationship and 5 steps backwards the next chapter.

With the steps back I think Harper should have made him earn her back. Instead of being a discarded toy waiting for him to be interested again. It would have been better if the story was a smidge longer to show Harper is a catch and worthy of being pursued and groveled to get her back.

The smut was hot and heavy. It added to the story line and overall is enjoyable.

The small town is so cute with everyone in each other’s business. But they can also see the catch Harper is and supply a wonderful sense of community.

The characters in this story are well written. The main characters have many traumas and add layers to the story. The side characters are amazing and add so much comedic relief.

This is the first story in the series, and I am excited to get more of this quirky, nosy town.

I actually read book 2 of this series first which runs on a parallel timeline with the MCs' best friends, so I pretty much knew the entire sequence of events as well as the third act breakup and final hea.. so I didn't expect things to pain this much, but it did. I spent the entire second half crying. Overall I did like the book, and I really liked the intermittent wholesome scenes (esp the dogs!!), but I guess ultimately this book was too painful/angsty for me. I mean, I love a good amount of angst, but this book was pretty much 90% unexplained angst and a lot of cruel words and pushing away and past trauma, and idk, it was too much. I understand the nature of the MMC's past which leads to this, but I would've appreciated more lighter moments in the book (atleast at the end, after everything was sorted??)

TWs - death of a pregnant spouse in a road accident (past), MC blaming himself for the aforementioned accident, mentions of injuries in war (secondary character), domestic assault of young children (past), stalking and harassment by aforementioned person years into the future, general violence and assault

-- ty to the author, published and Netgalley for an advanced copies!

Pretend you’re mine
Thanks to author Lucy Score &
Sourcebooks Bloom Books
Re-release May 9
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Pretend you’re mine

“What am I supposed to do to be all ‘woe is me’ for the rest of my life? I still get access to the same sunrises everyone else does, the same 24 hours in a day, and if I don’t take advantage of those things, it’s my own fault.”

Harper is a bright light and has sunny approach to life despite her past struggles. Luke is a private person and loyal member of the National Guard. Together they make an adorable Grumpy Sunshine combo.

Pretend you’re Mine is a re-release of Lucy Score’s Benevolence series with a beautiful new cover. It is filled with all kinds of romance goodies: one bed, grumpy sunshine, small town, family trauma and new beginnings. If you have read and loved Lucy Score’s TWNGO and TWHFTL, you will definitely want to dive into this series.

other woman drama... yawn

not my cup of tea. i cant deal with the main characters being hung up on other people while the romance is "building"

Get transported to the small town of Benevolence where everyone in town knows your business and nothing goes by unnoticed. Harper pulls into town and is the talk of the town by stepping into a domestic dispute between Gloria and Glenn. This was hilarious as she is a small woman but doesn't stop her from hitting Glenn and trying to help a complete stranger.

Harper was my favorite character as she is is flawed and has been through so many awful things but she is feisty, trouble follows her, she wears her heart on her sleeve and she is just longing to be loved and accepted. The way the town welcomes her in as one of its own and she finds a family, love and a home for the herself is beautiful. I like that she was a positive influence on so many people.

Luke and Harper started fake dating but it soon became something real. The heat between these two was off the charts and it was great to watch them navigate how to be in a relationship and put their lives together.

This is one of those feel good, small town romance books that make you long to live in a small town.

Can Lucy Score do any wrong?

This book was absolutely amazing from start to finish. I am so thankful that I was able to get my hands on this early. This is a one click purchase. I mean Lucy always is a never disappoints.


I don’t want to give too much away but you will not regret this purchase.

not my favorite… i love lucy score but i just didn’t like this at all, i think it’s just because i don’t feel any sort of connection to the story line but i truly think that if you love small towns this would be for you.

- Meet cute
- Strangers to lovers
- Loss of loved one
- Childhood trauma
- Healing/self growth

Plot: After everything goes wrong for Harper, she ends in a little town with no gas. She automatically gets into a fight with a monster of a man and wakes up with a gorgeous soldier in her face. By an even stranger turn of events she ends up moving in with this handsome/emotionally unavailable GI Joe. Really feelings start to grow as Harper heals. But Luke (GI Joe) keeps holding back. Can they find love together or will both their past traumas tear them apart!

This book was great. I loved Harper! She was a mess in the best way. Each character brought so much to the table. The growth alone and together was beautiful. Love Lucy Score books

I loved Harper as a heroine. She was fun, took risks, and kept things real. I like how she called Luke out on things. Luke was harder to love. His resistance to moving on from previous tragedy had him not treating Harper the way she deserved. Especially after everything she has been through. I loved all the side characters, the small town setting, the dogs she fostered and pretty much everything else in the story. I'm looking forward to reading Also and Gloria's book next.

Could not get enough of this book and the story between Luke and Harper. The whine thing was beautiful written about the baggage we bring into relationships from our past. Loved the side characters from this little town and how they added extra flavor to the story. Thank goodness there are two more books!

Harper is not having a great day. After finding her boss/boyfriend cheating on her, she hightails it with nothing but her car and phone. When she runs out of gas in a small town she hopes she can find someone who will help her reach her friend, instead she finds the town bully hitting his girlfriend. When she jumps in to break it up and ends up knocked out, she definitely thinks she's having a bad day. Opening her eyes to the handsome form of Luke, however, makes up for it.
Luke has a month before he's shipping out for six months. His mother is determined to find him a woman before then. So when his sister suggests he and Harper help each other out-pretend to date for a month and give Harper some breathing room to get back on her feet- it seems like a great idea.
Living and working together, though, quickly starts to feel a little too real, but their month passes quickly, and then it'll be time to say goodbye.

This was my first Lucy Score book and I enjoyed it so much. It has a little bit of everything and had loveable characters, even when sometimes they were screwing everything up. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Publication date is May 9th

Good god the drama. There was some top tier Lucy score banter and funny moments, and definitely good for those who love a grumpy sunshine. But ultimately there was too much going on imo. I think I’ve read a few too many books where the guy basically just needs to go to therapy. I understand the conflict but did not like how much was projected onto Harper and she just took it.

How could you not love this book ! Harper , spunky and strong. She puts herself in between her and a domestic, to save someone she never met . When she wakes she sees handsome Luke .
Harper agrees to help Luke out by pretending to be his girlfriend before he deploys with his troops. What they don’t expect is to need each other !

This book is amazing it’s everything you expect out of Lucy score! Can’t wait for book 2 !

I feel like I have to review this book in two parts… Chapters 1-25 (aka before deployment) and 26-55/epilogue (aka during/after deployment). SPOILERS AHEAD!
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The first half of the book, up until the last word of chapter 25 “stay” (when I felt ALL the feels) I was 100% invested. The forced proximity, fake dating, “I promise I won’t fall in love with you, oops I fell in love with you” were 🔥. I loved the energy, the storyline, the SPICE, the all of it. We got to the hood stuff early so I genuinely thought to myself, we still have half a book, where do we go from here, how can it get better. I absolutely loved Luke and Harper and was excited to see how they resolved the “I can’t love you back” situation even though their attraction was undeniable! I give the first half a solid 4 out of 5!
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Then comes the second half. Where we spend countless chapters with them separated by a deployment (too much time apart!!), weird vibes with Luke’s deceased wife’s mom striking up a friendship with Harper, both Luke and Harper straight up violating each others privacy and NEVER addressing it, Luke acting like a d!ck and “resolving” that by telling Harper “I’ll always love my wife but I guess I can love you too”, to which she basically swoons. Not to mention a murderous former foster dad subplot. The characters were almost unrecognizable from the first half of the book to the second and all the feelings I started with, I did not end with. Second half gets a 2 out of 5 for me, cause let’s be honest, the SPICE is on point no matter what else is going on lolll
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So I’d average out the first and second half and go with a 3 out of 5 for the whole thing.

I enjoyed this very spicy romance. It really had everything: drama, trauma, dogs, found family! Lots of swoon worthy moments, a likable cast of characters and some suspenseful themes made this a quick read!