This book follows the story of Luke & Harper, that fake romance, plot twist and romance made this book so enjoyable!! immediately after I read this one I knew I was not going to sleep tonight because I'll be reading book two!!

Another amazing Lucy Score book! This was a long one but I definitely didn’t mind. There were so many places where I thought it would end but there were plot twists often which I enjoyed. The characters were perfect and I loved reading their development and stories. I cannot wait to read the rest of the Benevolence series!!

Pretend You're Mine is the first book in the Benevolence series and follows the story of Luke & Harper. For hometown hero, Luke, the last thing he was looking for was love before he deployed again. But, when Harper blew into his life, he realized she just might be what he needs to keep his family off his back. When it comes to love and fake relationships, what could possibly go wrong?

If you're looking for a sweet fake relationship romance with just the right amount of drama, angst, and twists, you won't want to miss Pretend You're Mine.

This was my first Lucy Score book and now I finally understand what the hype is about! This was a cute small town story with a fake dating storyline (which of course doesn’t stay fake for long). I would give this a very solid 4.5/5 stars. Other tropes in the story include: one bed, unrequited love, military romance.

The romance component was spicy. The main characters were dynamic; as she is the narrator, we get Harper’s backstory early on, but I did not expect Luke to have such a sad past too! I found that the side characters were people I would want to hang around—specifically Aldo, Sophie, and Gloria. I also like how Score tackled and incorporated the Army National Guard component of storyline.

Overall, yes I would recommend this and yes I will be reading more of her books!

PRETEND YOU'RE MIND is a quick, sweet and spicy read. Harper happens to stumble across a small town, lost, and ends up creating her life and home there. A month of a fake dating relationship turns out to be more than what Luke and Harper bargained for in the most delicious way. I enjoyed the emails back and forth during Luke's deployment and how they complement one another.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

To be honest, I am obsessed with Lucy Score's writing. So, it is no surprised that I absolutely loved the story of Luke and Harper. We've got the under one roof trope, forced proximity, and so much more. This is a beautiful story about grief, found family, and moving forward while honoring what is left behind. 12453412/10 stars. Recommend!

Thanks to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I have found a new favorite author. It’s been a while since I gave Al 5-star review but this definitely deserves it and more.

Whoa this book is INTENSE but in the best way! Harper is such a phenomenal character - I am blown away by her constant optimism and outlook on life despite her many tragedies. Luke - mmmm this man sucker punched my chest and tore my heart out with his incessant brooding and stubbornness that when you finally learn why, you feel like shit lol. He was still tender and sweet and sexy in all the right moments that make this trope one of my absolute favorites.

The plot was superbly written - I mean that opening scene?!? Come on! I couldn’t have done it any better. What a way to reel you in and keep you there with a stunning cast that you fall in love with EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. Including Angry Frank!! LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS!

Overall Thoughts:

As a military wife who has gone through my very fair share of deployments and separation, I knew what I was going into when I picked up this book. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I connected to these characters so much. Maybe it’s because Harper is equal parts reckless and amazingly strong, or that Luke is equal parts idiotic and incredibly sexy. Idk. All I know is that these two characters (and really the entire town of Benevolence, MD) are permanently branded into my brain. I love them so much.

Even though this book involved some of my least favorite tropes (insta-lust/love, unrequited love) I still thoroughly enjoyed it. There was even a bonus small plot twist and a few chapters that felt very thriller-esque.

About 25% through this one I thought I was going to loathe it. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and I really don’t jive well with insta-lust and it was allll over this one. By the end of the book? Torn apart in two pieces, ruined, put back together again, ruined again, and now I’m a puddle on the floor trying to recover from these emotions.

More Detail, But Beware of Spoilers:

Luke is a piece of work. He strings Harper along the entire book knowing that he is still healing from the loss of his wife. He tells her and himself that he will never love her, but their physical attraction to one another keeps them coming back for more. Which brings me to Harper. She’s either as much of a massive idiot as Luke or the saint I wish I could be one day. She’s patient with him. She doesn’t react in anger to all the punches thrown her way. I don’t know if it’s from her past trauma or what, but I’m glad she toughed it out and Luke is a damn fool for not seeing how incredible she is and not toughing it out for her, too. As I’m writing this, I’m realizing what a selfish idiot he is, and how selfless Harper is the entire book.

So tell me why I still love Luke with all my heart?! I’m honestly confused and tormented by these feelings.

Bonus Thoughts:

A soldier with the last name Garrison? Possibly a bit too on the nose for me.

Was there anything other than physical chemistry between Luke and Harper? No, not really. Did that matter to me? No, not one bit.

Every time Luke used the pet name “baby” I about gagged. Didn’t work for me here. It rarely does, though.

Tropes:
Grumpy Sunshine
One Bed
Fake Dating
Insta-Lust
Unrequited Love
Military
Small Town
Found Family
As you can see, this one comes with a LOT of tropes! And honestly, I’m here for every single one of them.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ This had so much chemistry, along with the fmc trying at least one new thing she never had before, and an alpha-male taking control minorly. It was hot and I enjoyed every single bit of it.

Plot Twist: Yes, minorly

POV:
Third person, mostly focused on Harper but we did get some of Luke’s perspective as well.

Trigger Warnings:
Abuse (Domestic & Child)
War
Child Death

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved it from page one the author grabs your attention from the first paragraph. She makes it feel like you are right there beside the characters going through the same emotions and struggles as they are. I will definitely recommend this book to all my friends once it hits paperback. I didn't want to stop reading until I knew what the ending was.

Tropes: Fake dating, one bed, grumpy sunshine, small town romance, 3rd person POV

I really liked this book! It was cute and spicy, and had the slow burn from the relationship even though it was more of an instalove from the sexual chemistry perspective. The characters could be frustrating at times, especially when it felt like Luke was emotionally manipulating Harper. That being said, I thought that there was a good amount of time between the conflict and resolution so that I fully felt the angst of the characters.

This is a rerelease of a great book with a great new cover. Pretend You’re Mine was my first Lucy Score book and will always hold a special place in my heart. So it was a pleasure to get this ARC and reread this book. (It’s been several years.) I love how strong Harper is despite the hardships she’s gone through. Who doesn’t love a sweet and grumpy military/construction man! All of Luke’s family is great and so is everyone in Benevolence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

DNF at 20%. This went from 0-100 in like 10 pages and, unfortunately, it just was not working for me.

Beautiful small town romance with some of my favorite tropes. One bed, fake dating, and grumpy sunshine all rolled into a wonderful love story.

OMG, I don't know how to express how much I loved this book! I usually am drawn to the heroes in my books, but Harper is absolutely the best heroine I have read in a LONG time. She is strong, but so very loving! Just the absolute best. Thank you Lucy Score for writing someone that resonated so strongly with me. There were times that my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest reading this book. Strong 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy! Love, love, love!

this book is a well written roller coaster of emotions. Very sexy. very emotional loss and recovery. The story of Haper girl who finds a family and home she always wanted. She has he own secret problems and she is helping Luke it get over his . It sucked me in, i couldn't put it down.

Welp. Lucy Score does it again with this amazing small town romance. As if she could ever disappoint me.

Tropes include fake dating, military, small town, one bed, and alpha.

Harper is a rainbow created in a storm. She’s optimistic, sassy, and now homeless and jobless. Ending up in a small town in Maryland after finding her boyfriend (now ex) with another girl, she meets Luke. Luke is protective, grumpy, and is perfectly okay with being alone. But is he?

Pretend You’re Mine had me hooked from the start. There was many ups and downs. I definitely cried more then once while reading. The humor, pace, spice, and chemistry was amazing.

I loved this read and can’t wait to read the next in this series.

*Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for gifting me this arc in return for a review*

Harper is a ray of sunshine created in darkness and I loved her. She is willing to go down swinging for those in need and has an open, caring heart you can't help but love. Her relationship with Luke happens quickly but it isn't forced. They get to know each other before letting their feelings grow and Harper never shies away from doing what she needs to do even when Luke's grumpy side tries to take over.

My one complaint, and the reason Pretend You're Mine gets 4 stars rather than 5 is that Luke went too far during the third act break up. He deserved to suffer more for the things he said, and Harper forgave him too easily. More than Linc should have smacked him a few times to knock sense into him.

Pretend You're Mine is the first Lucy Score book for me, and I'm glad I started with Luke and Harper's story! It was steamy, intense, and played on the Hot Boss angle without recycling the usual plot. The town of Benevolence is a character of its own. There are so many wonderful characters floating around in its streets, and the idyllic setting felt like drinking hot chocolate on a cold, winter day. I look forward to diving into the sequel, Finally Mine, next!

Favorite quote:

"Life is too short not to grab on to the good times while they last."

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

****May contain spoilers****

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I love Lucy Score and am a huge fan of her other works but unfortunately this one did not hit the secretion levels that her other books usually do.

It started off really promising as a small town romance book but we need to talk about Luke. What a toxic piece of work. Harper...girl you should have ran and you must have challenged your forgiveness/acceptance from a saint that I have not yet discovered.

I'm disappointed with this one but I will definitely keep reading what Lucy Score has to offer.

Luke and Harper's story was so entertaining that I stayed up way too late reading it in on sitting.

I especially loved Harper, she was such a lovely, kind and generous young woman. She lost her parents as a child and grew up in foster care but did not allow her childhood to steal her light. Luke was a quiet man who obviously loved Harper, but he had his own tragic past. A tragic past which sometimes led him to make incredibly stupid mistakes. Luke frustrated me endlessly as a reader, but I was still rooting for him to get his HEA with Harper.

I needed a bit more groveling from Luke because he broke Harper's heart and that was unacceptable, but overall, I really enjoyed Pretend You're Mine and the super sweet epilogue.

I am a huge Lucy Score fan and I also love interconnected series, which is something she does so well! This is a grumpy-sunshine trope which is a personal favourite of mine. You can feel the characters chemistry immediately and are rooting for them throughout the whole book. I also really love how the author described the small town, it feels so cozy and welcoming, and the "found family" that Harper was able to find is so heartwarming. The realistic way Lucy Score wrote the character's many conflicting emotions will pull at your heartstrings, this book has spice, romance, adorable characters and a wonderful plot all rolled into one!!