I'm a big fan of Lucy Score since reading Maggie Moves On. She does a great job with small town romance trope. Whole I enjoyed this novel there were some elements that I had to suspend my disbelief for and it felt a bit "instalove"

The small town romance follows Harper and Luke, who find their live-in boyfriend sleeping with another woman. Harper, a new town hero, becomes involved in a bar and accepts a proposal to act as a fake girlfriend and work as an office manager for Luke. They develop strong feelings, friendships, and secrets, leading to two separations. The story alternates between third-person narratives and is relatively long, with some editing needed. The pace of the story is okay, but it is not considered an instalove. The h rating is 3 stars, with Luke having some past demons that need to be worked on to allow himself to feel for Harper the way he should. Despite his grand gestures to get Harper to forgive him, it wasn't enough for me. Overall, the story is an easy read with some potential improvements.

I just reviewed Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score. #NetGalley

I enjoyed Pretend You're Mine. it was a cute small-town romance. I do with there had been a little more to their fake dating than there was.

Even though I have several of Lucy Score’s books on my shelf, this is the first that I have read by her. Pretend You’re Mine is the first book of the Benevolence Series.

Our main characters in this book are Luke & Harper. Harper finds her boyfriend cheating on her and storms out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back. Not thinking straight, she forgets her wallet and finds herself running out of gas in a small town with no gas money. When she pulls into a parking lot of the local bar, she finds a man beating a woman. she jumps into action(on him) and starts attacking him thinking he will stop. Unfortunately, he turns his anger onto her…in comes Luke to the rescue. Luke is in the National Guard awaiting deployment. With nowhere else to go, Harper ends up staying at his house, sharing a bed until he leaves. He made it clear that he was not interested in a relationship but quickly ended up being “friends with benefits”. Ugh!

Both of these characters have experienced a big loss. Harper lost her parents at a young age, forcing her into the foster system with some awful families. Luke tragically lost his wife/child in a car crash. Each handles their emotions differently making them perfect for each other. Don’t get me wrong, I had some serious issues with Luke. I haven’t disliked a MMC this much in a long time! I feel that Harper should have made him grovel more. He was a complete jerk and his yo-yoing with her emotions was so frustrating. Especially when Harper was so loving, funny and made some really great friendships in the short time she was there. Even though I enjoyed the epilogue, I couldn’t get over how Luke treated her.

My biggest complaint is that this book is way longer than it needed to be.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬…
Fake Dating
Forced Proximity
Small Town Romance
Friends With Benefits
Workplace Romance
Dual POV (3rd person)
Military Romance
One Bed

CW: Death of family members, Domestic violence, physical violence

Even though I am behind in my reviews, I would like to thank @netgalley, @read_bloom & @scorelucy for the ARC of this book for my honest review!

I've been obsessed with Lucy Score books since picking up the Knockemout series - which admittedly I liked better than this, BUT I did still enjoy this. It was a quick read with likeable characters. I already have book #2 so I plan to finish out the trilogy, and will continue to read Lucy Score's books!

This was a good small town romance. I really liked our h. She is probably one of the strongest and likeable h I've read in a while. I did struggle with her accepting less than the best at times because she was so accustomed to getting the short end of the stick, but I still really liked her. I think the main reason for my lower rating was that I felt like I needed a little more from the H at the end to make up for some of the stupid things he did towards the end. I wasn't so easily forgiving as our saintly h was, and I never felt like he fully redeemed himself. Maybe I needed more time with the couple together and happy after all the drama before it just cut off into the time jump epilogue. It was on the longer side, so I think that sort of thing could've been added and some other irrelevant parts could've been removed IMO

Thank you Bloom Books and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so good! It had me on an emotional rollercoaster!! I was sobbing and laughing and giggling the whole time. I was captivated from the very start and could not put the book down.

I can't wait to check out the rest of the series!

Pretend You're Mine: ★★★★☆ (4)

"Pretend You're Mine" by Lucy Score is a delightful and heartwarming romance novel that skillfully combines fake dating with genuine emotions, creating a story that's both sweet and steamy. This book is a perfect escape into a world of small-town charm, relatable characters, and the power of love to heal and transform.

The story revolves around Luke Garrison, a strong, brooding National Guard member about to be deployed, and Harper, a woman who's been on the move, searching for a place to call home. When their paths unexpectedly cross, Luke hatches a plan to use Harper as a decoy, a fake girlfriend to fend off his family's well-intentioned meddling during his deployment. What begins as a pretend relationship quickly evolves into something much deeper as the two characters discover an undeniable chemistry and a shared desire for love and connection.

Lucy Score's writing is engaging and filled with witty banter that adds humor and charm to the story. Luke and Harper are both endearing characters with their own vulnerabilities and past traumas, making them relatable and easy to root for. Luke's protective nature and Harper's resilience create a perfect balance in their relationship, and their journey from strangers to lovers is beautifully portrayed.

What sets "Pretend You're Mine" apart is the emotional depth and authenticity of the characters' experiences. Both Luke and Harper carry scars from their pasts, and their individual growth and healing add layers of complexity to the story. The author handles their personal challenges with sensitivity and grace, highlighting the power of love and acceptance in overcoming obstacles.

The small-town setting adds a cozy and welcoming backdrop to the romance, and the secondary characters, including Luke's family and friends, contribute to the warmth and community spirit of the narrative. The book captures the essence of a tight-knit town where everyone knows each other's business, but also looks out for one another.

As the fake relationship starts to feel all too real, the sexual tension between Luke and Harper sizzles, leading to steamy and passionate moments that will leave readers breathless. The chemistry between them is palpable, and their love story is both heartwarming and intensely satisfying.

In conclusion, "Pretend You're Mine" is a feel-good romance that will tug at your heartstrings and leave you with a smile on your face. Lucy Score has crafted a story that combines the charm of small-town life with the power of love to heal and transform. It's a tale of second chances, trust, and the beauty of finding home in the arms of someone you never expected. If you're a fan of contemporary romance with genuine emotions and a dash of humor, this book is a must-read.

All the small-town feel-good vibes!!! The story follows Harper who runs away after she catches her boss/boyfriend with another woman, she runs off without even grabbing her things and has no idea where she is going. She ends up in a crazy situation that leads her to meeting Luke.

Harper was feisty, confident, goofy and all around so much fun to read about. Luke and Harper decide that it would benefit both of them to start "fake" dating. They both have their reasons for wanting to fake date each other, but what happens when the lines are blurred and fake starts feeling a lot more like real. You could feel the chemistry between these two coming off the pages!! I thought my kindle was on fire!

The banter between the two, the small town found family and the set up for the next book were really well done. I am excited to see what comes next.

I adore Lucy Score, but this series was just not it for me. So much cringe, and it was really hard to believe in the insta-love. Not to mention, the series of events in this series just seemed super unrealistic.

I really enjoyed this small-town romance! Some of the dialogue was a bit cringey, but overall, I enjoyed the story and the side characters. The romance was way too insta-love for me, but the side characters made up for the speedy romance (the side characters really made the book for me, to be honest). Overall, I'd recommend this if you don't mind insta-love.

I dnf'd!! you can tell this is an older book of hers...... i sure hope this ins't the lucy writing that everyone loves at least.

I made it to 30%_… you can tell this is an older title of hers, she’s a much better writer now. I had to stop after they mentioned his “heavy sack” twice in the span of 5 pages.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Summary: Harper is trying to reinvent herself, yet again. She stumbles into a town and meets Luke. He convinces her to be his fake girlfriend and offers her a job while she figures out her next steps. Everything is going fine until their feelings start to blossom but both of their pasts hold them back from exploring a future.

Thoughts: What a ride this book was! It starts off very charming but a little simple. There was A LOT of the whole “pick me” girl vibe going that I was notttt into.

By the halfway mark though, it really starts to redeem itself and from there I didn’t want to put it down.

This book had a touch of suspense, an adorable town, a fun cast of characters and a heart wrenching story. I loved the story being about a soldier without following the typical storyline there.

This book had all my emotions flowing, I was sobbing at one point. I absolutely loved the heroine and how the small town takes her in as one of their own. Cannot wait to read on in the series.

I absolutely loved this story. Generally, military is a big no for me because it hits too close to home but I really enjoyed this one. I also usually prefer romance novels to be a little shorter but I was sad this one wasn't longer!

A small town romance with all the feels! This book was an emotional read for me! I happy cried sad cried! I overall love this book the the female lead is AWESOME!
I also want to thank NetGalley for an ARC of Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score.

Small towns are great. I think that’s the best piece of this book - the whole cast of townsfolk that band together in such quirky ways. Sure, Luke and Harper are sometimes sweet, but they are all the time tumultuous. I struggled with a few themes in the book being just glossed over and I really feel like we barely got any Harper back story. Overall, an ok romance with a great small town.

Thank you NetGalley, Bloom Books, and author Lucy Score for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun, small town romance!

Harper finds her boyfriend cheating on her, and jumps into the car (without her phone, purse, money) in the direction of what she thinks is her friend's house. Two hours later, she realizes she was going the wrong way, is out of gas, in basically a small, middle of nowhere town. The opening scene was absolutely hilarious to me, and caused Harper to become a hero of sorts to the locals.

She ends up staying in the town, finds kindness from strangers, and accepts the opportunity to be Luke’s fake girlfriend. I don’t typically enjoy fake dating tropes, but this one was cute and had me smiling throughout.

Read this if you like
❤️Fake dating
🌶Spice
🇺🇸Military romance
⚡️Insta-love

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not for me, I'm sorry. Too long. The hero was too much of an asshole and the heroine too much of a pushover. Almost felt abusive. I didn't get the romance.

I didn't post this publicly because I prefer to only share positive reviews. Thank you for the chance!