I love the knock ‘emout books but this one wasn’t for me. Didn’t vibe with the characters or storylines.

I adore Lucy Score and her newest novel sizzles along the spice-meter. I did find it difficult to stay engaged during some of the inner monologs due to the intense negativity caused by prior abuse and trauma for our leading characters. It still largely follows the classic romance arch-type, but there is a lot of focus on the healing process which does depart from the overarching trope slightly. It is an important book- romance and love after abuse and trauma- but feels a little heavier than a "classic" romance.

I love Lucy Score. I slubbed around for an entire day reading this. I love love love Aldo. I thought it was cool how this ran completely parallel to Pretend You’re Mine. The Benevolence series may be my new favorite Score series. Can’t wait to check out Linc’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy on exchange of an honest review.

I love a good small town romance!

after being in A long term abusive relationship Gloria is trying to find herself. Aldo has had a crush from a far since high school and has just been waiting on his chance. But Also is deploying to Afghanistan for 6 months and wants to date Gloria when he returns. Will it work?
I loved the relationship between Gloria and Aldo. Steam was great.
BUT
I wish it wasn't taking place at the same time as ANOTHER romance in the book. I was distracted by all the details of the other romance ( the first book that I haven't read) . I feel like we could have had less details about that storyline and we would have had a better book.

I was so excited to read this and go back to Benevolence! Score really makes her towns feel like home and her characters feel like family that you love to keep coming back to.

Aldo may be one of my all time favorite book boyfriends. He is an absolute king and amazing partner. Once he battled his demons, he went above and beyond in everything he did for Gloria, including giving her space and time to heal for herself and listening to her story when he wanted to punch Glenn.

I think my biggest issue with this book is that because it occurs at the same time as pretend your mine, there are quite a few scenes where the dialogue from the first book is word for word repeated in this book. While this may not be a problem if you spread the books out, I read them both within a week so it felt very repetitive.

My other issue was the third act breakup felt really out of character for Gloria. Why is she suddenly questioning their relationship after talking to Aldo so much about healing and communication and trust and after all her work with her therapist? And after she yelled at Luke for literally doing the exact same thing. I’m glad everyone told her she was a chickenshit.

Overall another really enjoyable book by Lucy Score and j can’t wait to read the third book in the Benevolence series!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Lucy score herself for providing me this arc in exchange for a honest review. Another masterpiece from Lucy score. Loved both books provided to me from this series, and the covers ARE TO DIE FOR!

An emotional, heartwarming story about finding yourself and rising above the darkness.

Set in a small town, with a military veteran serving as the MMC, this story is all about the FMC, Gloria, saving herself. Rebuilding herself. Wanting better for herself. Realising her worth - herself.

I’m still processing exactly how I feel. There were some utterly unforgivable things here if you look at the actions of the townsfolk, “hero” included, through one light…. But then there was a heroine who saw her worth and saved herself in another. I’m off to read the first one to see if that sheds anymore details.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an older title getting a revamped cover. All thoughts are my own ☺️

Thanks to Sourcebooks Bloom Books and Netgalley for giving me an e-arc for an honest review.

I wish that this didn't take place at the same time as Pretend You're Mine. A good probably 50-60% of this book already happened in the first book and we just were getting the thoughts from the other characters for the exact same conversations most of the time. Other than that, I did like the story.

the abuse was not handled to the best of her abilities in this novel unfortunately :(

i will definitely still be reading more from her, but the topics in this novel were not for me

Finally Mine (Benevolence Book 2)
by Lucy Score
Pub Date 13 June 2023
SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books
General Fiction (Adult) / Romance
Rating 4.25/5

After meeting Gloria and Aldo in Pretend You're Mine, we follow their journey in Finally Mine. It has been a pleasure reading two of the three books in the Benevolence series with their beautiful revised covers. Each book can be read standalone. They are heartfelt and delightful.

A long term abusive relationship has led Gloria on a quest to discover her true self. Gloria left her ex and Aldo wants to show his feelings for her, but Aldo is deploying to Afghanistan for six months. When he returns, he hopes to develop a relationship with Gloria. Does time apart change his feelings?

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for sharing this stunning novel with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

This was epic. I knew Gloria and Aldo were going to be the new OTC for me. I definitely feel like the writing and covers have definitely received a upgrade for the better! I know everyone is obsessed with her Knockemout series which I plan on reading next but I just want read her other works as well. The plot is way better and realistic in this one. The characters are so relatable. I wish the "Ma" and some I feel like southern slang is in this series which if you're in the the North East I don't see why that it is but if your from a small town I can also get it somewhat. The author's warnings are so cute and the first liner when you look up the blurb for this book is classic. IF you love the Book tok famous Knockemout series I think you would love this series next!

I think that I enjoyed the first book in the series a little better. This one Carrie’s along similar characters to the first one, but there are heavy topics in this one (domestic abuse, SA, etc). Also if you love a woman would you not want to protect her???? This book was extremely similar in dialogue and events to the first book. It would have been nice for “newer” voices to be heard and not the nearly same type of characters from the previous story.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

The main protagonist, dealing with domestic violence issues, where no one seems to help....and then transitions to a new love story?

Didn't work for me.

I love Lucy Scores books. This one had me completely emotionally vested and I could not stop reading even if I wanted to, but I didn't. I has to stay up late to finish it. Yes it was absolutely delicious.
I just reviewed Finally Mine by Lucy Score. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Lucy Score is a new to me author, and one I will definitely be reading again. I loved this story,
I read it as the love story it was and didn’t dig too deep into the whys and how comes when it came to Gloria’s abusive relationship. Gloria has moved on from her abusive ex, she’s thrown caution to the wind and finally decided to take control of her life. While doing so, she met the truly wonderful Harper, and a firm friendship is born. In fact when Gloria’s abusive relationship ends her life really begins and many friendships are formed, including her one time crush and forever admirer, Aldo. Although Gloria can’t see a future with anyone so soon after ending her previous relationship, Aldo is a patient man, and he’s playing the long game. Their future though, doesn’t pan out quite the way either of them envisioned. Highly emotional, 100% sweet, and seeing the two broken pieces that were Gloria and Aldo moving forward to try and build a relationship together was well worth the angst. It was wonderful watching them deal with their vulnerabilities and learning to trust again, taking charge of their life and feelings. Plenty of ups and downs, tears and laughter, so much to keep you entertained in this small town romance. A truly enjoyable read. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. This is the second book in the Benevolence series.
I definitely liked the first book better. The storyline is very similar and follows the plot from the first book "Pretend You're Mine" except this one is from the perspective of Aldo and Gloria.
I've never read a series that had different POVs separated into a different book. I commend the author for being able to do this as I'm sure it was not an easy feat. However, I do not care for this style as much. It was somewhat like reading the first story all over again. I feel like the first book was more intriguing and captured my attention more. The emotions I felt reading this book cannot compare to that of the first book.

This one is a bit slower of a burn and it doesn't pick up and get spicy until the last 20% or so. I still enjoyed reading from Aldo and Gloria's perspective and it was fascinating to see how the author could create a separate book with the same storyline but different POVs.

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second story in this series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. In the first book we get to meet Gloria and Aldo, but we learn about their relationship from the main character’s perspectives. In this story we get to learn about their relationship from them. It was really interesting to read a story where you knew about certain events, but get to experience them through other people’s perspectives. Aldo is a former football star turned soldier, a cocky Italian guy with a big heart. Gloria is a shy woman, just coming out of a decades long abusive relationship. Aldo has been in love with Gloria for years, but feels like he should give her space after all she has been through, and he is set to deploy for 6 months. Gloria finds if hard to believe a guy like him could be interested in a girl as damaged as she is. When Aldo comes home he comes back with a lot of problems. Will Gloria and Also be able to set their problems aside and figure out how to be together, or are they both going to miss their shot at happiness? A fun quick read, with some very empowering and important themes. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

I distinctly remember the first three days after my marriage ended. Everything in the house broke at once and I was a 25 year old single mother to two children. I'd spent the last five years giving every part of my soul to a man who shredded it to pieces.

Why had I stayed through abuse? Why did I allow him to abuse my children? Why wasn't I strong enough to walk away? Why had I given 5 years of my life to a man who manipulated and abused me.

Grief.
Guilt.
Anger.
Relief.

9 months later, I met my "Aldo", and the subsequent whirlwind of emotions had me contemplating ending the relationship far too often. Maybe I was making a mistake. Maybe I was rushing things. Maybe I was falling in love with another man who would end up abusing me too. I spent so much time doubting every interaction and overanalyzing every situation.

Suffice it to say, I found Gloria extremely relatable and the book was a beautiful insight into a relationship after abuse.

Aldo, who has loved Gloria for 10 years, acknowledges that she doesn't need someone to "fix" her, she needs to learn she can stand in her own two feet—that she is strong and worthy. He decides to patiently wait for her as she heals from a decade-long abusive relationship.

His plans change when he comes home from Afghanistan with a debilitating injury—he feels like he is no longer good enough for the woman he has loved since high school.

Finally Mine is a book about vulnerability, love, heartbreak, and healing. Aldo and Gloria are both lovable and relatable.

What's stops this from being a 5 star book is how much of it is copied from Pretend You're Mine. Instead of simply expanding on the time-line with different perspectives, many of the scenes are repeated dialogue from the first Benevolence book.

Overall, I really enjoyed getting to know Aldo and Gloria better.

I was really excited to read this, but I just couldn’t get over how the male love interest was never protective of the woman he was supposedly in love with. Romance books that include sensitive matter like domestic abuse are usually made to provoke hope in the readers, but I really couldn’t find much of that in this one.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. go and get it.