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!

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score is a romance novel that follows Harper and Luke. This is similar to Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score because it is about a girl who ends up stranded in a small town and the hero who protects and helps her. After Harper attacks a man who is abusing his girlfriend, Luke feels responsible to make sure she is okay. Luke's sister comes up with the plan for Luke and Harper to fake date. Harper will get a job and a place to stay and Luke's family will stop trying to set him up. Since Luke is deploying in 4 weeks, there's no harm in fake dating Harper and going their seperate ways at the end of the month.
If your familair with Lucy Score then you know she writes small towns really well. The best part of this book for me is how the small town took in Harper when she needed help the most. Even when Harper and Luke were going through a rough patch. She developed such great friendships. I loved her friendship with Aldo and how she was there for him during a bad time. You can also expect a lot of good tropes in this book like fake dating, forced proximilty, and the one bed trope. However, the execution of some of these could have been better. The one bed trope happened 20 pages in and it could have been much better if there was some tension already built up between them. The fake dating could have been better too because it was only "fake" for a few pages before both of them gave it up. Their relationship is very compliacted because it is supposed to come to an end in 4 weeks. Luke has some issues from his past that prevent him from going all in in a relationship. I wish there was better communication from Luke because it would have solved a lot of their problems. The 3rd act breakup was very frustrating because of the lack of communication and Luke pushing her away. Overall, I really enjoyed this book but it was frustrating at times. I am excited to get to the next book about Aldo and Gloria because they seemed so sweet!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Small town romance, fake dating, found family, and just all together so much love - this book had it all.

The gut wrenching moments in this book gave me so many feels. The ability for Lucy Score to depict grief and pain so beautifully is *chef's kiss*.

After absolutely loving Things We Never Got Over and Things We Hide From the Light, I was so excited to see this backlist title being re-released. Boy did Benevolence deliver small town charm just like Knockemout.

I can't wait to read Finally Mine and get more of Gloria & Aldo.

Thanks Netgalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The strangers-to-sex was way too fast. Hey, we just met and I don't know your last name, but let's move in together and dry hump in the kitchen before we even reach 1/4 of the way through the book. If you skip the weird insta-horny parts, the story is decent and the characters are written in a very engaging manner. I love a good sibling/family relationship for comic relief. The sex-to-story ratio is too high and the guy is well past the alpha hero line and into dick territory. I've read other books by her and really liked them, so maybe this is just an early work? It definitely feels like it didn't have an editor.

I really enjoyed this story and pretty much flew through it.

I really enjoyed Harper, she was really fun and carefree regardless of her past. I loved everything about her but especially the way she found Luke and a place to belong in Benevolence. She's not afraid to jump into any situation even if it means her own physical or emotional abuse. Luke also has some heavy problems from his past to deal with and goes about it in the opposite way that Harper does so she's exactly what he needs in his life to finally wake up and move on.

There are so many other amazing characters and circumstances in this little town and I loved all of it, even the tough and emotional parts. I read the extra epilogue about their wedding online and loved that little bit extra as well. I'm moving on to the next book in the series, Finally Mine, right away.

Lucy Score is a comfort author of mine. Anything she writes. I. Will. Read.

Read this book if you are a fan of:
-small town romance
-found family
- dog adoptions
- fake dating

If there is anything Lucy Score excels at it's creating a comforting Gilmore girls-esque small town with interesting characters and strong bonds between friends. I loved how the people in Benevolence welcomed Harper in with open arms. I'm excited to pick up the next book and live in this world a little longer.

The only thing I wasn't a major fan of was the pacing of Luke and Harpers relationship. It felt like the first ‘I love you’ was said so early into the relationship and then the events following the second one were so fast I hadn't even had time to forgive him.

Overall I love Lucy Score and I will read anything she writes including her grocery lists.

The new cover is stunning! I honestly couldn't put this book down. This book is how memes of "just one more chapter" get started. Harper and Luke's chemistry fly off the page. Harper is a strong main character who is resilient and resourceful. She draws you in like she does everyone in the town of Benevolence. She and Luke make an agreement to have a fake relationship for the month before Luke deploys that's mutually beneficial and then the plot thickens. I like that these characters are older. They've lived lives and have their own history. They bring secrets and baggage that slowly unfolds in the story. I loved how Harper and Luke interact while Luke is deployed. Being the wife of a retired Chief in the Navy, was personal too me. It was easy to love these characters and get wrapped up in their story.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for sending this electronic book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Wow! Pretend You're Mine was my first Lucy Score book although I currently have others on my shelf at home of hers to read. It sucked me in right away and I loved Harper and Luke's "pretend" dating story. Not my normal read!

The book gives off a sweet, small town vibe with great family and friendships however, both main characters have past secrets as well. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie but spicier!

Looking forward to reading the remaining books in Lucy Score's Benevolence series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.

So I read the second book in this series first. Which seemed to be happening at the same time as this one. So i knew what would eventually happen.
I wanted to love the story of Harper and Luke but Luke...was on my last nerve.
LIKE OMG DUDE!
But the chemistry between our two characters was great and it was a quick read.

Thank you to net Galley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was originally published in 2015 but is being re-relased on May 9th.  It was a really sweet, quick read, and I highly recommend for romance lovers.  The story was a bit different for me since it told the story before, during, and after Luke's deployment, but the story still flowed, and there were still other events taking place.  It kept my interest the entire time, and I wanted to keep reading.  It had a few similarities to her more recent story, Things We Never Got Over.  In terms of an overprotective MMC, the FMC rolling into town down on her luck, the town's people becoming her friends and rallying behind her. With that being said, Lucy Score has a knack for creating quaint small towns that you wish you could visit along with a cast of quirky characters you wish were your friends. They have their own sub-plots and contribute to the overall charm of the story.

Harper is a little unconventional but strong and tough. I was rooting for her to get through to the hard-headed Luke. The characters were interesting. The plot moved along at a good pace, and it was something I didn't want to put down. I highly recommend picking this up, and I look forward to checking out other books in this series.

Luke Garrison is a baby back turd. Yes, he redeems himself, but I still wanted to punch him at the end of the book. I’d give it 4.25 stars, the loss from Luke. The rest of the story is really good. Easy to read. Easy language. Good twists and turns. Good love story. Excellent smut. Excellent back story. Lived the FMC and her "we only have today" mindset, even after so much tragedy in her life. I enjoyed it.

**I was provided this book as an ARC with the expectation of an unbiased review, which I'm giving now voluntarily.

I have recently started to read Lucy Score books and was excited to read Pretend You're Mine. The story of Harper and Luke gave me all the heart eye emoji feels and played my emotions. Two wounded souls crossing paths, two people with good hearts. She wants a new start while keeping her past a secret. He needs an office manager and someone to help keep his family off his back until he deploys in a month. And he also has a secret he's keeping from Harper. How could this plan possibly be flawed? I could not have adored this book more!

Cannot wait to read Aldo's and Gloria's story in Finally Mine.

Pretend Your Mine sucked me in from the very beginning and didn’t let go until the end. This is the story of Harper who comes home from work to find her boyfriend of two years sleeping with the delivery girl. She leaves so fast that she doesn't take anything except her keys. She is headed to her friend Hannah's place, who lives two hours away. Without her phone she is hoping she is headed in the right direction.
About when she should be close to her place, she is running out of gas and takes the next exit. She pulls into the nearest place as she runs out of gas. When she gets out she sees a huge man yelling at a woman. Then he grabs the woman by her throat and lifts her off the ground. Harper doesn't think, she jumps on the guys back and fights him off her. Then the guy punches her right in the face. She blacks out.
When she comes to she is staring into beautiful eyes that draw her in. They belong to Luke who she begins to talk to and he informs her she drove two hours in the wrong direction. He allows her to stay in his house that night since she has no way to pay to stay anywhere else and doesn't know anyone. His home is big and beautiful but has no real furniture other than his grandmother's old lumpy couch and one bed. They share the bed and what follows is a story of grief, triumph, growth, friendship, family, and love. The story is very well told has the perfect amount of heart and heat. I cannot recommend this one enough!

Pretend Your Mine by Lucy Score is yet another charming, small town romance, and it’s every bit as good as her others. In general, I’m a Lucy Score fan, so this one was a no-brainer. Originally published a few years ago, it’s the first of three books set in the town of Benevolence MD. It follows Harper and Luke as they navigate a fake relationship (seriously, there is nothing better than a fake dating trope), which leads to… more. Adorable and cute, with a few surprises I didn’t anticipate. Definitely worth it!

Special thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks/ Bloom Book for providing an advanced reviewer copy to me in exchange for my honest review and opinion!