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!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great romance novel and I throughly enjoyed my reading experience. I look forward to reading more from Lucy Score after this.

Pretend Your Mine is the first book of the Benevolence series of interconnected standalones. Why did I wait so long to read this book? Lucy Score has quickly become one of my favorite authors! Her writing style is beautiful and she knows how to pull you into her stories. And the emotions! I lost count of how many time I cried while reading this! It really pulled at my heartstrings.

Harper is jobless, homeless, and out of gas. Lucky for her, she ends up in the small town of Benevolence where everyone feels like family. She is sassy, has a smart mouth and is optimistic. The complete opposite of Luke! Luke is grumpy, protective, and is fixing to be deployed with his military unit. He offers his home up to Harper and gives her a job in exchange for her to be his fake girlfriend to get his family off his back. The heat between these two is so dang hot! But even with the connection they clearly have, what will happen when Luke is deployed and she moves on in a month? You really should read their story and find out!

This book has so many tropes…found family, forced proximity, small town, military, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance, one bed. And there is even some suspense thrown in there. I loved Luke and Harper’s story and can’t wait to read more of this series!

Love the new cover for the book. I'm a few books in by this author and so far so good. The book has a real strong start for me that made me really like the main character, Harper. The overall story was good, as well as setting and pacing. Luke drove me crazy the last third of the book, a little too much angst for me, but was an emotional read and loved the story. Looking forward to reading more from this small town universe. .
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this arc honestly.

Lucy score never disappoints! As a long time fan, this exceeded all my expectations and I LOVE this new cover. If you want a book filled with love, laughter, and angst this is it!!

I have to preface this by saying I love Lucy Score and I was so excited to get the opportunity to read an advanced copy of one of her books. I literally jumped into reading it. Like all of her books for me it takes me sometime to get into them but by a few chapters in I can't put them down. This one did not disappoint. It is heavy on the romance and enough spice to keep you interested in the romance without being over the top. It was a typical fake boyfriend/girlfriend blah blah but entertaining enough that you forget the cringe factor.

This story is so beautiful. It’s everything you want in a romance. Spicy, secrets, family vibes. It’s all there. The way the story is realistically written about deployment pulled at my heart strings.

Luke and harpers story is memorable! Aldo and Gloria’s keeps you wondering where and how theirs goes as well!

This is a book you will not want to put down!

I loved this book! I'm a sucker for romance tropes and this one had them! One bed, grumpy/Sunshine, small town, fake dating, who hurt you, alpha male. Lucy Score is the queen of romance! This is a big book, but the story picks up really fast. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to read this and will be talking about it for awhile. 5 stars!

I need to start by saying this is the first book I’ve read by Lucy Score, and I went into reading this knowing of the author but not being super familiar with her writing style. “Pretend You’re Mine” is a romantic fiction novel that is much heavier on the romance than it is on substance. While the overall story was entertaining, this book was not for me.

Harper Wilde is a woman who gets into a lot of trouble. While running from a cheating boyfriend, she stops in Benevolence long enough to stop an abuser and get beaten up herself. She’s helped by Luke Garrison, a military man who has a history of his own that he’d rather not talk about. Both of them decide to help each other; for Harper, she gets a job and a place to stay for a month before Luke deploys for his next assignment, and Luke uses Harper as a fake girlfriend to get his family off his back. What they don’t expect, however, is how cozy things get during their arrangement.

To be fair, I think my issue with this book has more to do with not vibing with the style than the actual story. I enjoyed the interactions that each character had with family and friends, especially the relationship that Harper and Aldo form. I didn’t expect the twist at the end regarding Harper’s history but it definitely had me reading to find out what happens. I thought the ending was adorable.

I didn’t like the possessive tones that Luke used about Harper in many parts of the book. I didn’t like how sex was used to show connection instead of ANYTHING else…there’s very little substance between Luke and Harper besides their physical attraction. There were parts of these scenes that got a little rough that I also didn’t think was necessary.

Since I am not the target reader for this author, I wanted to remain as neutral as possible with the score to be fair, hence the 3 star read. Those who normally like Lucy Score will probably enjoy this book, but it’s not for every romantic fiction reader.

**Thank you so much to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book for my honest review**

Harper rolls into a bar parking lot in Benevolence on literal fumes, phone-less, wallet-less, running away from a cheating boyfriend and immediately throwing herself into a fight with a dangerous man to protect a stranger. Knocked out, Harper opens her eyes to Luke Garrison, town military hero, grump, and her savior. With limited resources for the time being, Harper takes up Luke’s sister’s suggestion of staying with him temporarily until she can get back on her feet. In exchange, she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend in order to get his family off his back about his serious lack of a love life. A few nights turns into more, and as Luke’s next deployment approaches, things begin to heat up between Harper and him.

Things aren’t quite as it seems with Luke, with his feelings running between hot and cold constantly, and obvious secrets being kept about his past. Even as Harper opens up about her own sad history, Luke won’t reciprocate, making Harper seriously consider whether sticking around Benevolence for the next six months until he gets back is even worth it. When Luke does return, will it be more of the same cold distance between him and Harper, or will he finally let her in?

—--------------------------

The first in a series, Pretend You’re Mine introduces us to the Garrison family and their friends, as well as the town of Benevolence and all its quirky characters. Lucy Score always does such a great job of creating fictional small towns full of fun and interesting places and people. She weaves family dynamics and humor seamlessly and drops all the little nuggets you need to clue in to the next couple in the series.

There is a lot of back and forth between Luke and Harper with his reluctance to commit to a real relationship, but not tell her why. I had some initial frustration at the timing of the reveal. We only find out a little over half way through the story why Luke has closed off his heart, and the reveal comes at Harper’s own discovery, not even through his honesty. It’s a little disappointing but Score makes you feel so much empathy for Luke that eventually I understood his motivations. Harper tugs on Luke’s sense of protectiveness, and her sparkling personality draws him in. He can see a home being created around him and he wants it while pushing it away at the same time. I think Luke is a character you will either love or just be continually annoyed with by his indecision.

I have never used the word ‘plucky’ before to describe a heroine, but Harper is that. She has had a rough life and yet she persists with a sense of humor and an attitude that things will work out somehow. I liked that she had a big heart, was impulsive, a hard worker, made friends easily, and was so clearly charmed by the Garrison family as a whole. She is someone you want to wrap in bubble wrap to protect, but at the same time watch to see what she does next because it is bound to be amusing and interesting.

I never have to worry about language and dialogue being stilted or odd in a Score book. She writes interactions and fights and silly moments in a way that makes me feel I’m talking to friends. Pretend You’re Mine came across as a classic contemporary romance- lots of swoon, angst and spice paired with a happily ever after.

Tropes- fake dating, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine

4 stars and 2.5 spicy peppers

I recieved this ARC from NetGalley. I enjoyed the story. I hated the miscommunication between these characters. I did love the tension and attraction between the MCs. I thought the banter between FMC and side characters was fun. The spice was great!
Im giving this a 3.75☆ and 4🌶

Pretend You're Mine is book one in the Benevolence series by Lucy Score and I don’t think I stopped reading it once I started.
She has easily became one of my go to authors.
Score is an outstanding author, and her stories never ceases to amaze me!

Luke and Harper were amazing characters. I loved everything about their chemistry, relationship and personality.
It's got some angst, it's got some humor, it's got the feels, everything you want in a book…. this book has it.
Lucy Score once again proves why she is damn good at what she does.
Her writing is beautiful and she is exceptional at storytelling.
A phenomenal story that I wished lasted just a bit longer.

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

Thank You NetGalley and Bloom Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

3.5 stars for me! There’s a lot i loved about the book. Love the military deployment plot and thought that was well done but honestly Luke and Harper both kept pissing me off. Harper was so patient but also super impatient with him and he was just a dummy sometimes lol. The Steam is A+ and I think that I loved most was their sexual tension at the beginning. One bed, grumpy/ sunshine so some great tropes.

CW: death of spouse, military in Afghanistan, loss of limb, child abuse, violence, domestic violence (briefly on page).

Pretending becomes Real
“Pretend You’re Mine” is Book 1 of Lucy Score’s Benevolence series. My first Lucy Score read, and while I don’t usually read books in 3rd person, I was pleasantly surprised. “Pretend You’re Mine” is a small-town romance with all the sweetness and the build-up of heat from two characters who temporarily believe they are with each other. Luke (MMC) needs a girlfriend, and Harper (FMC) needs a place to stay. So both agree to fake date each other.

There were moments I disliked Luke, but once secrets of his past were revealed and explained why he was the way he was, it was more forgiving. Harper, on the other hand, was very Pollyanna-like. Everyone was drawn to her. Very likable. She was sweet and funny.

Overall, “Pretend You’re Mine,” though quite lengthy and angsty was a sweet read.