Luke and Harper meet when stops in his hometown. Harper see's a woman being mistreated and steps into the fight. Luke helps Harper and ends up taking her home with him that night. Luke is leaving soon with the National Guard and ask Harper to pretend to be his girlfriend. Luke is carrying lots of secrets and doesn't want to share. After Harper goes to work at his construction business, they become closer. Harper is to leave town when Luke deploys; he asks her to stay while he's gone.
This is a well written book and really held my interest.

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score is a fantastic novel that will take you on an emotional roller coaster. I found myself laughing out loud in one chapter and then crying the next. The book is an absolute page-turner that I couldn't put down until the very end. I highly recommend it, and it's a solid 5 stars from me.

The story follows Luke Garrison, a National Guard member who's about to be deployed again. He's a broody and sexy hometown hero who's not interested in finding a woman to mess up his solitude. However, when he meets Harper, he realizes that she's the perfect decoy to keep his family off his back until he leaves.

Harper is a beautiful woman who's starting a new life and finds herself drawn to Luke. She feels safe and protected in his arms, and one night of sharing a bed turns into something more. However, Luke can't reveal the dark secrets of his past, and Harper has her own secrets to keep.

The book takes you on a journey of love, trust, and self-discovery. It's a fantastic read that will keep you hooked from the very beginning. The chemistry between the characters is undeniable, and their story is heartwarming. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a romantic, emotional, and entertaining read.

I can be a bit critical of romance genre. We have Harper and Luke. Harper has never truly felt she had a family or belonged and is running from something she has kept a secret from others. Luke is a soldier devastated and shut down by grief. I know some saw him as cold and unlikable, but I do think this showed how grief can eat someone alive and impact all their relationships.

There were some things missing I felt that are hard to mention without spoilers. The beginning I found jumped into the relationship. There was little building up to the relationship, they went from 0 to 100. I also felt that the book relied on “spicy” scenes at times instead of establishing relationship growth.

Still enjoyable and emotional at times; I enjoyed the ending and the wrap up. I know there are follow up books for the series, so I do think this one will be worth checking out

3.5 stars
I liked the book and the story line, but could have done without the graphic sex scenes - imo, the sheer volume of them was too much. I love the Harper character and how she finds herself and what she needs through the book. Luke could be very intense at times, but a good character as well. Through this small town story and starting off fake dating this story gets you hooked and keeps you holding on until the very end and leaves you wanting the happily ever after.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Lucy Score and Source Books for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

First, I want to say that I don't love cop/military romances. I feel they get too patriotic for a country that doesn't deserve it. However, I feel like this was balanced enough that I didn't hate it.

The beginning of this book was so unrealistic! You're telling me that on the very day she meets this man, after literally getting beat in the parking lot, she goes home and sleeps in his bed? Not a chance.

Looking past that, the rest of this book was good. I think I would've liked if the ending conflict of the letters was better foreshadowed. I feel like we got maybe one mention of it, then it was just thrown in the end there. 🤔 I also would've liked more about the kids they ended up adopting. Like we never hear them talk about that, even though it's obvious they were going to adopt them. But it's just kinda thrown in there, too.

I'm excited to read Aldo and Gloria's book. I feel like they were just a little more interesting than our main couple. Harper and Luke just didn't seem to hit the spot for me.

I really enjoyed this grumpy meets sunshine, fake dating, small town romance. It had an unexpected depth and had me tearing up multiple times. I really enjoyed the side characters too, especially Aldo. Lucy Score writes small towns so well! I wanted to pack up and move to Benevolence myself after reading this one.

I’m a little disappointed that so much of Aldo & Gloria’s story was revealed since it’s the focus of the next book in the series, “Finally Mine.” I will still read the next one, but just wish I didn’t know as much about their story so I could enjoy it without feeling like I already read the book.

✨book review✨
Pretend You’re Mine made me feel all the feels — seriously, I think I cried 3 different times.
Harper is one of the strongest FMCs (she’s a true badass), Josh is so swoon-worthy, and I love, love, love Josh’s family and the whole town of Benevolence. This story was a wild ride and I’m here for it 👏🏻👏🏻

I’ve already added the other two books in this series to my TBR 😝

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Publishing for this ARC of this soon-to-be-re-released title ♥️

Highly recommend if you like: one-bed, fake dating, workplace romance, small town romance, military romance, found family.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I received a re-release from NetGalley of this book. I love Lucy Score books.

How did I not read this book before? This book was read in one and a half days. It’s sooo good. It’s fun, it’s sweet, it’s a bit dark at times, it’s happy, it’s sad, it’s just a great book to read when you want to curl up and just enjoy a good romance book. Yes there are so many tropes in here. Yes some may be unbelievable but it’s a small town with a big romance book that I loved. I will say that the end was a bit abrupt. Like it almost ended too quick - all was forgiven and never mentioned again. Would have loved a sequel just about these two.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I believe this book series is getting rereleased with new covers since it’s been out for a while. I really enjoyed the whole story! It felt like it was moving a little fast paced at first but then kinda dragged a bit in the middle. This is my first Lucy Score book and I have the second in the series to review next so I’m going to hop on that right away! She really does build a very detailed world that’s hard not to envision yourself there with the characters!

Fun read. Love small town romance stories.
Harper and Luke have chemistry and are good together. Both irritating at times but that’s the fun of life.

Format - E- ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- Benevolence #1

Troupes- Grumpy/Sunshine, fake dating, only one bed, found family, small town

CW- foster care, home fire, death of parents, Fatal car accident, child abuse, spouse death domestic abuse, spouse death, combat injury, home invasion, alcohol addiction.

So my understanding of this book is it’s a rerelease with a new cover. Which is beautiful. But the story is the same.

And what I story it was! It was a whole ass journey. In true Lucy Score style this is a hefty book both in pages and pure emotion. If you like to be ripped to pieces and them put back together then this book is for you.

These characters are dynamic and so damaged! Lucy’s writing style is easy to read despite tearing out your heart and her spice is always on point.

I liked this book. I liked the characters even it I wanted to knock their heads together and I loved the found family.

I will be reading the next in the series when I am again ready to have my heart strings yanked merciless on! So soon!

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for a review.
I requested this book because of the cover but I stayed for the plot! I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author!

As always, Lucy Score knocked it out of the park with this book. I love a grumpy sunshine, one bed, small town trope book. I will say that this book did feel repetitive at some points, but that did not stop me from loving this small town romance. If you're looking for some spice, with a captivating plot, and character development then this book is definitely for you!

Pretend You're Mine (Benevolence #1)
by Lucy Score

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶🌶🌶🌶

(NOTE: I was kindly provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review)

Harper finds herself stranded in Benevolence without her phone, wallet, or gas in her car. Enter Luke, appropriately smoldering hometown hero with a troubled past. Oh no, whatever shall she do? 😎

I finished this book in one day; I just couldn't put it down. It hit all the sweet spots:

✨ Grumpy/Sunshine
✨ One Bed
✨ Fake Dating
✨ Spicy
✨ Who Did This To You?
✨ Touch Her and Die
✨ Found Family
✨ Small Town

If you like the Knockemout books by this author, I have a hard time imagining why you wouldn't love this one. I can't think of another author who nails the small town + found family + spice formula as well as she does.

This book was originally released in 2015 and is being rereleased in spring of 2023. Lucy Score books often take the reader on deep emotional journeys with some suspense and a fun, health dose of wackiness. This book certainly delivered on all that and more. Lucy Score excels at creating small towns we all want to pack up and move to and Benevolence, MD is no different.

The story was a bit meandering and repetitive at times. It could have been about 25% shorter and still packed a punch. The suspenseful element was a bit weird and seemed to come out of nowhere. I loved the epilogue and the last chapter.

If you like character and setting driven stories with opportunities to suspend disbelief, you’ll love this story!

Thank you Lucy Score and Bloom Books for an ARC of this book via NetGalley!

Luke and Harper had instant chemistry and I loved how easily and quickly Harper made a place for herself in Luke's life. Before Harper came along, Luke simply existed and when she arrived, she began to build a life for the both of them. But of course, they hit bumps in the road and in typical grump fashion, Luke was hesitant to embrace it all. There were scars he'd held onto and to see him let himself heal was such a sigh of relief. But it was so hard to see them be apart, putting on a brave face, bc the truth was they were HURT-ING. Yeah, I needed them to figure out their shit fast so I could see their HEA. And damn, did I love where they ended up. 🙂

CN: open-door romance, past death of a spouse (car accident), past child abuse, military injury (secondary character), domestic abuse (secondary character)

Oh man. This one hurts.

I love Lucy Score, and I can see how her newest books got so popular. However, this re-publication was entirely unnecessary because this book is simply not good. We've got a moody MMC who is emotionally and borderline physically abusive to the FMC, admits to hurting her on purpose, and then apologizes with just a song on karaoke night and she immediately takes him back. He treats her like garbage for 90% of the book, and it takes less than a page for her to take him back.

Nope.

I am astounded at how much Lucy Score's writing has improved since this was originally published. Her heroes now are worthy of the love and attention the heroines give them.

This was originally published in 2018 and I feel like the romance genre accepted different standards from their heroes back then. Luke meets Harper when she jumps in to defend a woman being attacked by her boyfriend in a bar parking lot. The vibe off the entire town who was seemingly in attendance was joyful that someone finally dealt with him. So they all knew this woman was being beaten and did nothing?

Luke went through an awful personal tragedy and takes it out on everyone still, years later. As we move through the book, we learn that Harper too has significant trauma but is somehow still sunshine and ready to love. He was so hot and cold that I wanted to shake him. He dumped her before his deployment, he immediately asked her to stay when he deployed, and within a day of coming back from deployment when she held his entire business/house/family together, dumps her again. Cruelly.

Again, Lucy's work has improved so much in the years since this book and I regularly recommend Things We Never Got Over and the Riley Thorn series. This particular book just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Pretend You're Mine is the first Lucy Score book I've read so far but hearing her name frequently come up on booktok had me interested in picking up one of her books. This book follows Harper as she picks up her things and sets off after finding her boyfriend cheating on her. Without a map, money, or a cellphone Harper tries to find her way to her friend in Fremont but ends up making a wrong turn and ending up in Benevolence. When Harper finds herself getting in the way of an altercation about to take place in a bar parking lot she ends up becoming the talk of the town and the name on everyone's mouths. With nowhere to stay, she finds herself face to face with a handsome man with hazel eyes and ends up crashing with him. Luke, is a man with a plan and finds himself a month away from deployment. With his family constantly worrying about him and playing matchmaker, his sister, Sophie comes up with a plan. Fake date until deployment so Harper has a place to stay and Luke won't have to deal with his family's antics.

This story has fake dating, small town romance, and close proximity. It has all the tropes but also throws in some interesting back story of Harper and Luke. They each have a past that is currently affecting them and the reader gets hints of it until the final reveal happens. This book was an easy to read romance with lots of spice. I would say 4/5 for spice and 4/5 stars for the book overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS bloom books for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for an ARC of this book.

I will start off by saying the I am a huge fan of Lucy Score and I have yet to read a book of hers that I don't fall in love with. This book was no exception. Even thinking back now I am feeling all the feels.

I loved the small town vibe and everyone coming together and welcoming this stranger (Harper) into their town. They made her feel like she was home when she didn't have anywhere else to go. I thought it was a little hilarious and unbelievable that Harper left without taking anything but her car keys... Don't most people keep their keys in their purse with their cellphone? No? Just me? k... cool (lol). But beyond that, I really liked Harper because she's just so... I dunno... Like sunshine!

Let's talk about Luke... Our quintessential wounded man. Oh damn... I really felt for him. Without going into details and ruining basically the whole concept of the story, I wanted to tear my heart out and give it to him... Cue huge messy tears.

I love the spice, I live the romance, I love the banter, I love the angst.... I love it all!