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

I didn’t do my research on this one, and kinda lived to regret it.

When I saw a Lucy Score book on NetGalley I jumped at it because so many reviewers I have similar tastes with love her. The one book I did try, I didn’t like, and several reviewers told me I should try a different book because the one I read wasn’t her best. So I thought a ha! I’ll try this new book. But this is not a new book…it’s a rerelease.

Pretend You're Mine started out cute, yet quickly went into TOO MANY PECS, NOT ENOUGH PLOT. And I can appreciate an author building the book’s world (I do love me a small town with all the quirky, fun characters!), but at some point I don’t want any more inane details. I want depth. Yet the details, so many details, just kept coming.

But that wasn’t the only issue I had with this story. I found the heroine’s behavior toward the hero marginally problematic. If roles were reversed and the heroine was the one saying no and the hero kept pressuring her, I don’t think we’d be amused. We’d be raving about consent and respecting boundaries.

And the hero? He was a big pile of UGH. The widower who feels “responsible” for his wife’s death when he wasn’t? This hero had a martyr complex the size of the Grand Canyon. Dear Sir, get thee to a therapist, pronto. I’m also not a fan of using a tragic secret from the past to artificially build drama. Just tell us what happened already, even if you don’t want the heroine to know.

Finally, I think this book was about 200 pages too long - I ended up skimming a lot of the narration and just read the dialogue, which thankfully was good. Even still, it took me 10 days to read the book. I’m thinking this is another case of a super popular author I just don’t click with. Lucy Score seems to write books that focus a lot on the chemistry part of a relationship, whereas I prefer stories where there is more of an emotional connection first. Chemistry is good. Chemistry is important. But it doesn’t get my gears turning when I read a book.

I have the next book in this series (also a NetGalley ARC of a rerelease), and I’m determined to get through that one as well. So we’ll see if I change my mind about this author…

* thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received an advance copy of this ebook from the publisher for a honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This is a fast paced romance. I absolutely loved the characters and the writing style. This book is set in Maryland. I adored Harper’s character. The characters are relatable and enjoyable. This book is in stores for $18.99 (USD). You guys need to read this book it is addicting.

Luke and Harper. As a military spouse myself, I understand some of Luke’s thoughts and fears. Harper is a mess; impulsive and strong and ready to handle her problems all on her own. These two need a lot of help from their friends, but the ending makes it all worth it.

these were my first Lucy score books and did not disappoint! I really enjoyed this and flew through them!

Lucy Score never fails to deliver an emotional, heart warming read. I truly loved the characters. Harper is one of those characters that you just want to be your best friend. She of course falls and tries to fix our dear MMC.

Luke and Harper are hands down one of my favorite couples. I loved their growth and understanding of each other as we made our way through the story.

This was an emotional read for sure. Diving into Luke’s past was not for the faint of heart and actually really sad.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Lucy can write the dictionary and I’d be happy to read it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was only my second Lucy Score novel, and I’ve decided I’m a big fan. I really enjoyed reading Harper and Luke’s story, but I do wish so much of the book wasn’t focused on Luke’s time away. I feel like that part could have been shortened, and it wouldn’t have taken away from the story at all. The side characters were super cute and likable as well! Overall it was a great quick romance read with some excellent spice.

When it comes to lucy score she never disappoints and packs an amazing page turning story that keeps you enthralled all the way to the end. I highly recommend reading anything by Lucy Score and you wont be disappointed for sure.

This was my first Lucy Score book and i really liked it! I love that her characters all have an added history to them that make them more realistic. I can't spoil it but it was very satisfying to read about Harper and Luke overcoming their past and finding happiness together.

Lucy Score is one of my ALL time favorites, she draws you in to these amazing stories and pull on your heart strings in EVERY single way.

I loved this one for sure!

Loved this! Lucy Score does it again with another great series! Romance, love what more can you ask for in one of her books!

This was a great book- which is to be expected from Lucy Score. This story had banter, tension, and steam. The plot of Luke learning that he can love and be loved while Harper picks up the pieces of her own life and finds herself in the process makes for such a wonderful story. I love the characters that Score creates. Highly recommend that you add this book to your TBR!

Lucy Score had me at the first word in the title: Pretend.

It can’t be a coincidence that this book that starts with ‘Pretend’ just so happens to us the fake dating trope. Nope. No way.

In case you didn’t know from any of my other reviews, let me make one thing clear: I AM HERE FOR FAKE DATING. There’s nothing I enjoy in my books more than watching two people pretending to be in a relationship while ALSO pretending to not have feelings for each other. The drama and tension and ‘will they or won’t they’ gives me such joy. The combination becomes the perfect recipe for a Happily Ever After in my humble opinion. Harper and Luke were especially easy to fall in love with, and I’m sad that the book wasn’t double the size.


Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
Luke
Luke is caring and protective, but his heart is closed off. He’s been through the wringer, that one. A military man who lost his wife in an accident, he’s intent to focus on himself and his career and nothing more. But, life doesn’t work that way. He meets Harper, coming to the rescue of someone else in need, and can’t stand by while she’s in jeopardy.

Harper needs a place to crash. Luke needs a fake girlfriend so that his family will ease up on him and give him space to life his life. Family pressure – I’m sure we’ve all been there a time or two, right? These two end up crashing together for a mutually beneficial outcome that’s strictly business and has an expiration date.

Should be easy.

“You deserve someone who’s going to fall head over heels in love with you. Marry you and spend the rest of his life giving you everything you’ve ever wanted. I can’t love you. I can’t love anyone again. But I want you. I want you so bad that it feels like any moment without you is empty.”

Harper
“What am I supposed to do, be all ‘woe is me’ for the rest of my life? I still get access to the same sunrises everyone else does, the same twenty-four hours in a day. And if I don’t take advantage of those things, it’s my own fault.”

Harper is spunky, driven, and stubborn and not one to sit around and wait for things to happen for her. She is resilient and willing to make her own destiny. I absolutely LOVE her character. It’s not easy to focus on the good and to choose optimism. There are so many bad things happening in the world, whether it be big picture or small scale petty problems that either way you spin it, it’s enough to drag someone down. Harper’s attitude throughout this novel drives home that idea that we can reset ourselves, restart every day with a blank slate, and choose to look on the brighter side of life. Her character inspires me to choose positivity.

I love love
“He was her dream come true.”

Sometimes I just want to shout at my book and tell them, ‘you’re being STUPID! Can’t you see you love each other already?! Stop fighting it!’ Thank goodness Luke finally comes to his senses, of course right at the very end when it’s almost too late, and tells Harper that he loves her.

At karaoke.

In front of everyone.

A glorious grand gesture.

Photo by Nikola Đuza on Unsplash
I love love. I love romance, and grand gestures, and happy ever after’s. This book is quite large with 50+ chapters, but I really do wish it could have kept going for twice as long. I’ve already purchased another from Score’s backlist, and a side character in this novel will be getting their own story released in June, so I’m calling it now I’ll be a Lucy Score super-fan before you know it.

If you’d another Bee’s thoughts on Lucy Score, please check out this review from Jes for Maggie Moves On. It was a 5 star read for her!

Mannnnn do I love Lucy Score lol I can’t even remember the first book of hers that Ashley recommended to me but I was hooked! Luke Garrison became my first serious book boyfriend and all others have been compared to him. What I think I love so much about Pretend You’re Mine is that I relate so much to Luke. Without giving anything away, I’ve also suffered the same kind of loss as him and have felt what he feels. That was the first time I’ve read anything like that in a book and it really just settled in my heart.

So all that being said, I adore Harper! She’s feisty, brave, independent, and goofy. She comes from a hard background and has never really found her home. Luke is the alpha protector, hot headed, sad, lost grump that likes order and repetition. He has an amazing family and a great group of friends, all of which make up the supporting characters (and future main characters) of Benevolence. I love them all. If you haven’t read Lucy Score I really recommend this as an intro but honestly you can’t go wrong with any of her books