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!

4⭐️/2.5🌶️
This was a fun quick read. It took me a bit to warm up to Harper and her personality. It was a little much in the beginning but she seemed to mellow out as the book went along.
Loved the instant chemistry between Luke and Harper, it came off the page, you can feel the heat.
Luke is very possessive hero but has had some tragic loss in his life that stops him from fully letting his walls down.
This book made me laugh, cry and go what did they just say?
This book has close proximity, fake dating and opposites attract. Both characters has what the other has been missing in their life.
.

Only in small town books this will make complete sense. Luke has some emotional trauma he won’t allow himself to move on from. Harper a heroic sweet character. Fake dating, my favorite of all tropes because they Always have to end up loving each other. Both are dealing with their respective past trauma.

This book gave me so many emotions due to the tough subjects addressed in the book but there was also some really great fun and heartfelt times.
Harper was such a great character, I love how strong she was and how she was a strong support for the people around her who needed her. It seemed like she was dropped into Benevolence at the perfect time for the healing of many in the town who needed it. I kinda had a hard time with Luke because I don’t like when people don’t communicate and that causes issues but he grew on me as the story progressed.
One thing was the book was a little long for my preference otherwise I would recommend it as long as the trauma spoken about in the book isn’t a problem to read for the reader.

Previous Domestic abuse
Previous Child abuse
Previous family death
PTSD and dealing with active service
Violent opening scene

Four stars. Destroyed me. Highly recommend.

It’s like Nicholas Sparks and CoHo wrote a small town romance and they called Tessa Bailey to write the love scenes.

Harper grew up in the foster system so she’s always ready to pivot. Like, for example, finding your boyfriend with the pizza delivery girl. She packs a quick bag and heads to the next town - except she has no money, no phone and oops, she ran out of gas. Enter - the Town of Benevolence (think Hart of Dixie or Gilmore Girls). Harper is about to head into a bar to beg someone to use their phone when she sees Glenn hitting his girlfriend Gloria in the parking lot. Harper intervenes, gets knocked out in the process and wakes up to Luke Garrison standing over her. She’s sure she's dead.

Luke is about to be deployed again for another stint in the National Guard. He’s closed off and not at all ready to let someone into his life because he has so many things to keep locked up. But he feels protective over Harper and can’t get her out of his mind so he will just help her get back on her feet again and she’ll be on her way. Right?

Fake dating, small town, deployment, spicy, this book has everything. It also should come with a trigger warning about domestic and child abuse.

This book has everything I love when getting lost in a story.

Harper was such a fun heroine. She had some dark secrets but it didn’t stop her from being carefree and fun. I loved everything about her and I especially loved that she found a place to belong in Benevolence. Her story filled my heart with so much joy. Well, until things went south. And then my heart was wrecked.

While Harper has some past issues, Luke does as well. And we’re talking some heavy duty weight on his shoulders. Harper was just what he needed but his stubborn brain wouldn’t allow him to take hold of the beauty in his life. I wanted to force him to wake up and see what was in front of him.

This story is filled with some amazing characters. I loved how well the author developed this small town and all the wacky individuals who live there. Along with the fun, rambunctious friends and family, this also had some dark moments that were accented even more by the fact that, leading up to them, this had such a lighthearted feel to it. And holy heck, there was one part where my heart was literally shredded and I could not turn off the water works. Thank goodness this gave me the most perfect ending, even if I then shed tears of happiness.

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Harper flees a dangerous situation only to end up in another dangerous situation. When she comes to, she opens her eyes to Luke, a hunk in her mind. As Luke helps Harper, their pretending turns into a lot more than a friend helping a friend. Is Luke ready for this? With a deployment coming up can he ask Harper to wait for him?

This is one emotional story and I found myself very emotional through the book with Luke’s struggling to move past grief and guilt. I finished this in one day and can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Getting swept up in another wonderful Score book is my kind of day. Harper and Luke are great together and I love Benevolence. Great cast of characters, and the dogs! This really hits hard on the deployment and grieving chords so have some tissues ready. I love her writing--it's near impossible to start her books and do anything else! Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy