This was such a real story. I really liked how deep and dark both of the main character’s backstories were and how the whole book touched on different types of struggles, from domestic abuse to loss, the foster system, PTSD and deployments to name a few.

I loved Harper’s character. She was fierce, tenacious, tough as heck and so dang loving for someone who had been through hell and back.
She lived her life to the fullest no matter what.

I felt for Luke, even before finding out everything about his past. He was a tough, guarded and extremely sexy soldier who was too scared to let good in to his life and it made watching their relationship blossom that much more enjoyable.

The spicy scenes were HOT! This was my first Lucy Score book and I can totally see what all the hype is about because I’ve now added half a dozen of her books to my TBR list! I can’t wait to read the next installment in this series!

Spoilers below!

The “stay” text had me bawling my eyes out. The fact that he couldn’t say I love you back the countless times she said it to him broke me over and over.

Dearest Ms. Lucy Score,

I would like to inform you that I can never forgive you for the rollercoaster of emotions I just experienced courtesy of Pretend You're Mine. It's not often a book makes me literally cry, but I found myself sobbing halfway through the ARC provided by @netgalley and @read_bloom.

I am not okay. I loved this book way more than I intended to love any contemporary romance. Thank you for such an engaging and memorable experience. I appreciate the raw beauty in this book, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the Benevolence series.

Sincerely,
An appreciative reader

Pretend You're Mine earned solid and VERY willing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lucy Score does not disappoint! This book was absolute perfection.

I adored the small town feel and the second chance romance. I think the characters just grabbed my attention in a completely unique way.

My heart broke for the MMC and the loss he experienced and how he was so closed off because of it.

The FMC is just pure sunshine and I loved every second of her character.

The couple was just sweet and you could tell that they have perfect chemistry. Loved this book so much!

I was excited to receive this from NetGalley as an ARC for a new cover release. I have read many Lucy Score books and this one stays true to her writing style.
Multiple character and couples to quickly get to know and fall in love with. I will say, again in Score fashion, this is a long read. Looking forward to reading the rest of the benevolence series!!!!

Pretend You're Mine By Lucy Score is an amazing read! The first in a series that totally makes you want to learn more about the rest of the family and friends!
Harper and Luke meet totally by accident. Harper is a good, kind, sweet, hardworking lady that you will want to have as a friend. Luke is the emotionally wounded hot guy that you just want to make things better in his world. They meet in the weirdest way but in Harper's world it seems to totally fit. Soon though you wonder if Luke will be able to overcome his personal challenges and heartbreak enough to let Harper in.
Read Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score and find out for yourself! Happy Reading Everyone!

This is my first Lucy Score book and wow! Naughty, naughty, naughty!
If you like steamy, you’ll love this one.
Along with the steam, was a very good story line that pulled me in. I love Harper and her tough as nails personality. Looking forward to book two.
Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an entertaining, emotional roller coaster read. It is a grumpy/sunshine read, but truthfully, it is more than that.

Harper has a lot to be unhappy about. No job, no home, running from her past. Still, she chooses to pursue happiness, and hope for better. I found it easy to connect with her.

Luke has a backstory filled with great loss and pain, and, because of it, he chooses to harden his heart. Again, easy to understand the way he keeps people at arms length. Just so sad.

I sincerely appreciate how this author wrote the military aspects of this story, and the struggles in deployment and military service. The family and friends components are wonderful and very endearing.

While this book was first released years ago, I didn't read it then. I had no idea what I was missing!
When I saw the opportunity to grab this ARC, I did, and I could not stop reading! I love the banter and steamy chemistry between these two characters.
It's just so good... it gives all the emotions:
the high highs, the dangers and drama, the attraction, sizzle, and the lowest lows!
I really enjoyed it.

I recommend this read and this author. She consistently delivers engaging and addictive reads that entertain and take me on emotional journey to the character's HEA. It is my recommendation to read this series in order to have the best reading experience. I thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my free ARC and I voluntarily leave my review.

I just adore Lucy Score. Im so excited for this series to be getting new covers and I have loved jumping into this world. Harper and Luke were so fun to read. I will say Lucys books are long but they are worth it!

Loved the cover and the title! The story was really cute and I enjoyed the characters and their development.

"Stay"

UGH Lucy Score - killing me with one word!

Harper is one of my favorite heroines. What a strong character!! Harper has been dealt quite the hand and yet approaches every situation with positivity and optimism. Harper looks for ways to help everyone around her and is so selfless and thoughtful. I loved the found family in this story and that we were able to see Harper's relationships develop with some many characters in this book. I can't wait to return to Benevolence to see some of these characters again because the side characters were so good.

Luke, I struggled with. He obviously was grieving a huge loss and there is no right or wrong way to grieve. I had a lot of grace for him throughout the story (and so did Harper!!) but I feel that he needed to grovel more at the end. While he did make a grand gesture to apologize, considering everything he had said/done to Harper, she deserved even more from him.

Overall, I love Lucy and I love this small town romance. I can't wait to read Aldo and Gloria's story next!

LOVE LOVE LOVE !!!

Lucy Score is the QUEEN of spice and romance. I devoured this book. I couldn't put it down. i fell in love with Harper and Luke's characters, i love how their relationship came to be and how she brought him out of a deep dark hole. Incase you have triggers there is talk about loss, both spouse and child,. This book was beautifully written in every possible way. thank you so much net galley for allowing me to read this one !

I have yet to be disappointed by a Lucy Score book! This was a fast entertaining read that I found myself unable to put down. I loved both of the main characters and found all the side characters just as enjoyable. I loved the small town in Maryland where the store took place and I am looking forward to reading the other stories that take place there. I want to thank NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ugh, I love Lucy Score and thought I had read all of her books. I don't know how I missed this one when it was originally released. She writes the best small town romances that always have a bit of angst and a lot of heat. Harper and Luke were the perfect match for each other, even if Harper was an accident waiting to happen and it took Luke awhile to admit- it but his major touch her and you die vibes said otherwise. Both suffered terrible losses in their young(er) lives and how they chose to navigate their present varied so greatly. I think Luke could definitely benefit from some therapy (understandably) and this story was a bit long, but I'm so glad I read the re-release. I was not disappointed

Not my heart absolutely shattering into a million pieces at only 45% through!!!!! What a cute book.😭 This series is getting a makeover, but I hadn’t ever heard of it before so I figured I’d give it a try when I saw it on NetGalley. I didn’t know what to expect going into this one and wow, was I surprised by what I found. The characters are not without flaws, but it’s a dang good read if you can look past that.

Where to even begin? Told in third person POV alternating between our main characters, this book follows the spunky character of Harper and her journey to the cozy small town of Benevolence. We start right in the middle of the action with Harper jumping to the rescue of a battered women. She hops right onto the back of an abusive jerk, and ended up getting knocked out in her efforts to save the women. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up and locks eyes with the hottest man she’s ever scene.

Luke is stunned by the wild girl he’s just met. She’s obviously a handful and jumps into danger headfirst. After seeing her get hit by the brute Glenn, he jumps in to rescue both girls from further damage. After a bit of questioning he finds out her car is out of gas, she’s stranded, homeless, has no wallet or phone, and is quite possibly the hottest mess he’s ever met. But something about her draws him in.

One things leads to another and after some meddling from Luke’s sister, Harper ends up staying at Luke’s house where he’s severely lacking in extra furniture. For instance, a guest bedroom set so they wouldn’t have a share a bed. But don’t worry, they’re adults and this cozy sleepover is only going to last for a day (<— Are you getting the famous last words vibe??? Because you should be).

But Harper becomes a project that Luke can’t ignore. he helps her out in her time of need and they come to a deal that mutually benefits them both. As you can imagine, the book becomes an emotional roller coaster from here. Complete with more forced proximity, a bit of fake dating, tons of spicy moments, an underlying mystery past for both of our main characters, and a dash of sexy military men. Our main characters vow to only let whatever this is last until it’s time for Luke to deploy to Afghanistan. That is until Harper digs her way into everyone’s heart.

She’s quite possibly the most lovable character I’ve ever encountered. She’s funny, witty, and wacky in the best way. She’s got a habit of picking up strays, and really sees the best in everyone. Luke on the other hand is constantly brooding and needs someone bubbly like Harper to pull him to the light. The biggest struggle is that like oil and vinegar their differing life styles don’t always mix, but there’s something to be said about opposites going well together. These two need to find a way to commingle. Despite all the forces trying to keep them apart.

This book does however come with a lot of trigger warnings. There’s underlying themes of loss of a loved one & loss of a child, near death experiences, and multiple abusers. But I will say that amidst the uncomfortable subjects there are plenty of tender moments mixed in. There’s plenty of found family and amazing friendships to help balance it out. All in all, it’s super cute and I feel like it went by fairly quickly. This was a great introduction to the series and I’m very excited to see what happened in the next books.

Thank you again to NetGalley and BloomBooks for the copy. The new discreet covers are super cute!

Harper is passing through town when she becomes involved in a domestic abuse situation. She rushes to help, and in the process she meets Luke. Luke is a soldier with a traumatic past who is unwilling to fall in love again. He and Harper agree to fake date to keep his meddling family satisfied and to help Harper get on her feet with a job and place to stay. However, they soon realize their feelings aren’t fake anymore.

I am a big fan of Lucy Score, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as many of her other books. I think it came down to a few factors- one being that I am not a big fan of military romances. It’s hard when the two characters spend so much of the book apart. There were also many heavy topics within this book, and though they were handled well, I’d recommend readers look into content warnings before diving in. One trope in particular regarding Luke’s past was hard to read about. I did enjoy the first part of the book, and the spice was excellent. Not every book is for every reader, and I think this one just was too heavy and contained difficult topics that I don’t enjoy reading about. However, if these things don’t bother you, I think you’ll enjoy this book. Lucy Score is a great storyteller and this one is no exception.

Thank you to Lucy Score, Bloom Books, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I read a lot of great books this month. Here is Pretend You’re Mine @scorelucy @read_bloom release in May and it’s sooo good !
Harper arrived in a small town by mistake and found herself living with Luke who’s leaving to Afghanistan soon. If they start cohabitation by thinking they’ll both going on their separate way soon, it’s before Harper started to fall in love. But Luke can’t love her, and whhhhhhy ? Why Luke ? Harper is so funny and sweet and strong and everyone love her. What’s Luke hiding from her ?
I loved every characters, the friendship between them is so ♥️, the twists, everyone story and bagage. You can’t help fall in love with this book.

It took a bit for the book to pick up but once it did I was along for the ride. I love Lucy Score's writing so much. She has a way to bring out the laughter and the tears in people.

I love the small town setting and the close-knit community.

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score was amazing! A captivating, romantic story that left me wanting more. Thank goodness there are three books in this Benevolence series! Harper and Luke have been some of my favorite characters that I've read in a long time. I also love the beautiful new covers for this series that Bloom Books has put out. Highly recommend this author!

This was a cute story! It followed Harper and Luke. Both had some past trauma that made it difficult for them to fully open up to each other. He’s in the army, and she has come into town running away from a bad breakup. The pacing was a little slow for me at points, and I felt it was a little too long. But overall I enjoyed this story.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

I never got around to reading this one from Score, but have enjoyed many of her books in the last.

Harper gets stuck in a small town while traveling, mildly injured while breaking up a domestic dispute and hours later is sharing a bed with the hometown hero.

As Luke is going to be deployed shortly, a fake dating scheme commences, and they ultimately begin to have feelings for each other.

Sweet, quick read, if not slightly convoluted.