Book 2 in the Benevolence series. I LOVED Aldo, and seeing Gloria face down her demons and grow into the person she wanted to be was beautiful. I think book 2 was drawn out considering the timeline overlapped with book 1 so several events were repeats from a different POV. I probably would've enjoyed this more as a novella. Also- shame on the townspeople for allowing obvious abuse to go on with no one stepping up. Ivan the Terrible was a fantastic supporting fur-character.

I like this book. There was alot of repeating since i read them back to back. I do love Lucy Score. I cant wait to read more from her.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I am a HUGE Lucy Score fan. I had actually read this series back in 2018 and it one of my least favorites. There was something about the times lines being intertwined between book one and two I ended up DNFing book two at the time. It was just not one of my favorite story lines. When I saw the ARC because it was being republished I was excited to try it and see if I liked it a couple years out from book 1.
I really enjoy the authors use of strong female character. I feel like Gloria was a start to some of her peak characters (think Rock Bottom Girl and By a Thread) but I had such a hard to reconciling my views of her as an abuse victim to how she was once she left Glenn _ it was so hard to see how she got herself into the situation. I know she said she missed her dad and was looking into a replacement figure, and she said the abuse was slow but she was just so vibrant and had such an amazing mom. It was hard to remember she was an abuse victim when she was so fearless with most things.
I loved Aldo, I loved Aldo in the 1st book and I loved him here. He knew what he wanted and he was going to get it. He was sweet and kind and hot. I really enjoyed his unrequited love and how he was going to win her back. I loved his competative attitude, his friendships with Luke and Harper and I loved his weird crazy relationship with his mom. It reminded me of Howard Wolwitz from the big bang theory. LOL
This is a small town romance and I love the zany kookie characters that Lucy Score tends to have. I could just start to see the town folks when Gloria was dealing with the 4th of July Parade. These type of scenes really flush out the small town setting and it makes me love Lucy Score books. . These weren't perfect but they were close and I could see where they were going. I can almost see the progression in her books.
That being said this book was 40% too long. At the 60% mark the climatic action scene where Gloria stands up for herself understanding she doesn't need Aldo but she love him, She has friends and family and a small town that is going to be there for her. They had amazing spicy scene and I was so happy at that point. Then the last 40% happened. Why - he had her, she had overcome so much. The HEA was perfect and then it was all messy.
Anyway. If you love Lucy Score, Small town romance, Strong female characters this series (and book) are for you.
Thank you to Netgalley for letting me reread this book. I love the new covers.

Lucy Score does it again!
This is a republication for a new cover and I think it's a slay. The previous cover is not one that would've caught my eye in the stores. This one.... totally will! The colors and design is beautiful!
As for the storyline, Score did an amazing job telling the story of Gloria and Aldo. Two victims of some kind of tragedy trying to overcome their fears, wounds and scars together. Score does a great job dealing with some trigger points.
This book does follow closely her book Pretend You're Mine, but doesn't need to be read after in my opinion.
I can't wait for the new cover to come out so I can scoop it. I will also totally be recommending this book to everyone. The series to be honest.
So, so good!

I struggled with this one a bit…not because it wasn’t good but because, for me, it was disturbing that no one did anything to lift a finger to stop the abuse Gloria endured. Truly everything she went through was gut wrenching! Like how is everyone okay turning a blind eye. And Aldo didn’t do anything because she wasn’t “his”?! It takes $0 to be a good human and no one has to be long to you to do so. I’m usually a Lucy Score fan but this one was too much for me trigger wise.

I requestd this book from netgalley. Thank you netgalley and publisher for accepting my request.

This book was not for me. I found the dialogue and the actual story boring. It was drawn out. why so many chapters? So unnecessary.
The story drags and the characters are bland.
I feel like the author just wrote this story for the sake of writing a story and didn't put much thought as to the true experience of what veterans and domestic abuse victims go through. Overall, I didn't feel this story was authentic and I was not drawn in or felt a connection to the characters.

After Gloria has the strength to finally leave her physically abusive relationship, she gets a second chance with dreamy local athlete and soldier, Aldo.

I love Lucy Score and her writing style so much and this was not an exception. This was fantastic and one of the few I haven’t read yet but I loved it so much and kept turning the pages.

Ehhh another swing and a miss for me. I didn’t love how Gloria and Aldo’s story was told. I didn’t love their whole story. Half of the book was boring to me and felt like it was filled with unnecessary details.

It felt like an exact retelling of “Pretend You’re Mine” with added in fake feeling drama to try and make it interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Aldo is the hero, the good guy. Gloria is the one who got away. And now she is fresh out of an abusive relationship, trying to establish herself and break her old patterns. He knows it's time to make his move, but suddenly his life takes and unexpected turn as well.

I was excited for Aldo & Gloria's story after meeting them in book 1 but for some reason I just didn't connect. Aldo is so likable, but I never felt the chemistry between them. Or, not as much as I wanted to. I'm glad I read it, but just isn't quite as good as some of Lucy Score's other books.

NetGalley & this author/publisher provided the ARC I read for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the second book in the Benevolence series. I have read the first book in this series, but I think you can read this book as a standalone without any problems. I normally do not love books that go over the same things as the other books in the series. This book does that, but you get the events through Aldo and Gloria's point of view. This book has the same time line and the same events happening that the first book as in it. I did enjoy getting it through Gloria and Aldo's point of view. I really fell in love with the characters in this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (That's What She Said Publishing) or author (Lucy Score) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

This book had so many heavy topics but was done so thoughtfully and beautifully. I felt like I was right there in the town of Benevolence with Gloria and Aldo. I was cheering for their happily ever after from the very first pages.

Finally Mine is another wonderful installment in this series by Lucy Score. I continue to love the character development as the characters seem to jump off the pages and into my mind. It was great getting to relive some scenes from a different angle compared to the first book in this series. I recommend this book for sure!

Absolutely love the story of Gloria and Aldo as much as I did in the first book. I’m so glad Lucy decided to write a follow up to their love story and really give them the detail they deserved. I know it’s some other comments people made note of the abuse. Gloria suffered before getting with Aldo but I think they’re discounting how people are in perfect and it takes time to grow into love.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I absolved this book and to see how Lucy Scores writing has evolved since this series is amazing. This is Gloria and Aldo’s story and is the second book in the benevolence series. I highly recommend it

Tw: domestic violence

Sadly, I did have to DNF this book because it was very triggering for me.

I was very intrigued by the story and where it could and couldn’t have gone. But the premise of her back story was making it very hard for me to read.
I love Lucy Score and was swooned by the way Aldo was with her. I haven’t read a military book before! So I was super excited to see what happened!

I would love to come back to this series to see the other characters and how I can be intertwined with their stories.

I never thought there would come a day when I did not like a Lucy Score book, but alas that day is here.
Everything about this book missed the mark for me. If you read Pretend your mine you do not need to read this book. At the end of the book Lucy states that this book was meant to be a novella and I think that is all this book needed to be. It was soooooo repetitive of Pretend your mine. Also the way the side characters treat Gloria after suffering years of abuse and domestic violence is embarrassing. I feel like Lucy could have done such a better job at bringing light to domestic abuse victims.

TW: Domestic Abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you read Lucy Score books then you know you have to read this book. I absolutely love Lucy Score. This was such a quick read for me. There was so much emotion and you couldn't help but cheer for Gloria. You will fall in love with her and Aldo. I would highly recommend this book.


Thanks NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

I attempted to read this one after Pretend You're Mine was a miss. I just don't think this duet/series is for me. But I will continue reading Lucy's newer books!

I’m already a fan of Lucy Score. I actually discovered her here on NetGalley. So when I got the chance to read some of her older titles on here, I jumped at the chance. I definitely liked this one and loved seeing where Lucy’s style was almost 5 years ago compared to now. Her writing has grown so much in such a short time, I’m definitely more obsessed with her current titles and am waiting with bated breath for her next release.