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!!

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!