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!

Unfortunately had to dnf this arc. The characters were obnoxious and the storyline wasn't very interesting.

Wow I don’t even know where to begin for my review. I couldn’t put this book down. The chemistry of Harper and Luke was off the charts! And the spice was holy moly, so hot! I loved the characters of the town and the small town setting. The plot was great and overall I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I knew I loved Lucy Score and her writing, especially her alpha male characters but this book took me by surprise in such a good way!

I’ve loved every book I’ve read by Lucy Score and PRETEND YOU’RE MINE was no different! This was a fun and quick read with great characters, a well-developed storyline, and just a breeze to get through.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the opportunity to read and review PRETEND YOU’RE MINE.

Short synopsis: Luke Garrison meets Harper after she breaks up an abusive relationship in a bar parking lot. Swearing to just fake date to get his parents off his back until he’s deployed he falls hard, and quick.

My thoughts: Wow this one had a lot to unpack. Heartbreak from the loss of a previous relationship, deployed National Guard Hero, abuse, fake dating, just once to get it out of our system, small town romance, tragic past and I can go on and on. No wonder this one was so thick!

I enjoyed the majority of this, Luke was a pain in the butt! He needs therapy and I say that with the best of intentions. He was sweet and caring (and possessive) when he wanted to be, and a total jerk when things got rough. Harper was sunshine, mystery, and hard headed.

I really liked all the side characters in this one, and I know we get Gloria’s story next (which I’m worried and excited for).

This was quite a bit (okay a lot) steamier than I usually read. Just giving you a heads up, it’s easy to skim through the open door scenes if it’s not your thing.

Read if you love:
- Small town romances
- Tragic pasts
- Fake dating
- Just one time to get it out of our system
- Deployed heros

Lucy Score is my mew favorite author. I read my first Lucy Score book in 2023, and I have a goal to read all her published books. Loved Pretend You're Mine with all my heart, just as I have wholeheartedly loved every single one of her other books!

Trigger warnings in the book

I wanted to like this book. And at times I did.. but there were also times I did not.
The main character Harper is a little too optimistic and too cheerful, making you feel she can't be real at all. She is too good to be true. , actions she lost her parents at the age of 6 and grew up in foster care, she was hungry for love. That is why, my heart ached for her. I cried for her so many time.
But the writing just wasn’t for me.

If you’ve read Lucy Scorr books, then you know going in that you’ll be smiling, crying and back to smiling going through a whirlwind of emotions. This book is no different. Takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions.
This book made me want to a small town and experience all the things Harper does! And I LOVED harper! Can’t wait to read next in the series.
Thanks to Netgalley for this arc to give an honest option.

Have you ever read the first book in a series and immediately started reading the next after you finished because the first book was so dang good?

I can not tell you how much I loved these books! I have the third (Protecting What's Mine) on hold at my library.

When I started reading Pretend You're Mine, I jotted down just a few things about the book that hooked me. I loved how the small-town vibe and quirky characters reminded me of The Gilmore Girls ❤️ The one bed and fake relationship tropes were predictable but so sweet and funny that I didn't mind a bit.

I really enjoyed the characters and the setting in this book. I liked Harper’s quirky Bess and I thought Luke’s struggles with his past were well written. The big conflict was good too! I would definitely recommend this book and I plan to continue the series.

Luke Garrison shows up at the local bar one night to find Harper Wilde literally going wild. As she wakes up, she sees this handsome man and it's an insta-crush. Luke is leaving for deployment in 30 days and his sister develops a plan to have Harper play Luke's girlfriend until deployment. Like most fake romance books, they end up falling for each other. But Luke (and Harper) are both hiding secrets that threaten to destroy them.

This book was freaking adorable and sultry. It was also an emotional rollercoaster. I laughed, I sobbed, I sobbed again. Lucy Score's best book so far.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me to read/review an advanced copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am just a fan of Lucy Score - she could most like write a dictionary and I would enjoy it. This book is no different - it was thoroughly enjoyable. All the characters were relatable, but Harper, who had been through a lot in life, was so lovable and I thought her personality really shines through in this book. Luke, our MMC, is that character you love to hate and sometimes hate to love. He was definitely not as lovable as Harper and honestly his resistance, mostly for respect of his late wife, and bad attitude was often frustrating.

Though this ending was not my typically preferred happily ever after - it was still a good ending and I think more realistic than most HEA - love isn’t always easy, it takes work and I believe this is a perfect portrayal of that.

this was a really cute book!

thank you to the author, netgalley, and the publisher for this advanced copy to review!

Pretend You’re Mine
By Lucy Score
I received this book from #netgalley as a re release.
It’s a fake dating romance that was barely fake. It was instant lust and the first night she meets him she’s sleeping in this complete strangers bed because there is no furniture? How does she know he isn’t some serial killer!? I digress. Ok it was very unrealistic. But I eventually loved the chemistry between Harper and Luke. He’s a military man with a sad past. And she’s a woman on the run from her past. Bada bing bada boom….passion…sexy time and more spice than I expected.
I enjoyed the book a lot more than I was expecting to with how it began.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
#romance #romancebooks #lucyscore #netgalleyreads #review #bookrecommendations #bookreview #alwaysreading