“What changed?” She whispered it against his mouth. “Nothing.” His voice was gravel in the still of the kitchen. “I just want you more than I want to stay away from you.”
I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and we were talking about books. She mentioned Lucy Score to me and told me about this series.
Between the spicy scenes, the military story which is close to my heart since my husband is a veteran, and the cozy town of Benevolence, I absolutely fell in love with this story. I wasn’t really sure what to expect since I am new to the spicy romance books but I am officially hooked!
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Title: Pretend You’re Mine
Author: Lucy Score
Series: The Beneveloence Series, Book #1
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (LOVED!)
Spicy Level: 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶 (4 out of 5)
Summary from Amazon: “Luke Garrison is a hometown hero, a member of the National Guard ready to deploy again. He’s strong, sexy, broody. The last thing he’s looking for is a woman to ruin his solitude. When the wildly beautiful Harper stumbles into his life, though, he realizes that she’s the perfect decoy. A fake girlfriend to keep his family off his back until he’s deployed.
So what if kissing her sends his mind to wicked places? He can control himself. Can’t he?
Harper was on her way to starting a new life… again. But something about Luke makes her want to settle down in this small town and make his house a home. When she’s in his arms, she finally knows what it’s like to feel safe. Protected.
One night of sharing a bed turns into something much, much more… and soon Luke can’t keep his mind off Harper’s wide gray eyes or his hands off her luscious curves. He never thought he’d feel this way about a woman again. But he knows that he can’t tell her the truth about his dark past. And she can’t reveal what she’s running from.
At least this isn’t a real relationship. It’s only for a month. It’s only pretend. Until it isn’t…“
My thoughts: When I picked up this book, I was immediately struck by how strong, independent and ballsy Harper is. She accidentally stumbles upon the small town of Benevolence and finds herself smack dab in the middle of an altercation between a large man and his girlfriend. Not fearing anything, she breaks it up and meets Luke Garrison in the process.
First impressions of Luke is that he is a guarded, grumpy and set in his ways man who wants nothing to do with anything permanent or serious. But, he lets Harper stay in his house because she has nowhere else to go.
Over the course of the book, we see Harper and Luke’s affection toward each other and need to be around each other grow but Luke holds himself back and doesn’t want to get attached. Except, they can’t keep their hands off each other and they decided to pretend they are dating so his family will get off his back!
The spicy scenes are intense, beautiful, and sexy as hell. When Luke deploys for 6 months, we get a glimpse into the independence that is Harper and experience her coming into her own with the help of the amazing residents of the small town.
When Luke deployed, I found myself reaching for the box of tissues. The scene where Luke gets onto the bus to leave brought me back to my husband’s time in the military and was described perfectly. I felt like I was there with the Garrison family, feeling their pain at saying goodbye to Luke.
By the end of the book, I fell head over heels in love with both Luke, Harper and the town of Benevolence! The way they love each other, the banter between them and the relationship the Garrison family has is simply beautiful.
I can’t wait to read book #2! In fact, I already have it in my Kindle Unlimited!
Have you read any Lucy Score books? Tell me in the comments!