I've never read a book that is a sequel/follow-up that tells the story of two characters on an identical timeline as the previous book. I don't think I'm even saying that right.

Reading "Pretend You're Mine" about Harper and Luke and then reading this, where the storylines overlap was a trip. Reading lines that were said in PYM and then reading them again here was bizarre. Not bad at all, just weird and a new experience.

I very much enjoyed Gloria & Aldo's love story. They both had obstacles that could've been insurmountable but together they triumphed. I think I could read about the two couples for many books to come.

Gloria and her relationship with Glenn and the domestic violence she suffered was hard to imagine. People (both men & women) go through it every day and it's so brave for those that finally manage to get out!

I know there's a third book in the series but based on the first two I'm not sure who it'll be about. Let's just hope there's lots more of Harper & Luke and Gloria & Aldo.

This is the second book in this series and even if you did not read the first one (and seriously don't miss the first one) this one revisits most of the first book. Gloria has escaped her abusive relationship and is now free to live the rest of her life and just in time before she lost hers. Aldo has always wanted to be part of her life and connecting with her just before he leaves for deployment is not ideal but that is life. Except he suffers a devastating and life altering injury that has him spiraling until he gets a handle on his recovery. They are there for each other and since both have insecurities they have to work through will they be able to find their way together through them? Of course they will!

Unfortunately most of Gloria and Aldo’s story had already been told in pretend your mine, so this felt really repetitive. I didn’t LOVE Gloria or Aldo so I was pretty bored. It seemed like dialog was copied word for word in some spots from the previous book which was frustrating. I love Lucy Score so I’m going to chalk it up to this one wasn’t for me and try again with the next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom books for the ARC copy!

Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to see this since Lucy Score is all over Booktok, but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Lucy Score for letting me read this wonderful book! Benevolence #2 was amazing and I’m so glad we got a closer look into these two characters lives.

Usually sequels are second tier after an explosive first book in the series. I’m happy to say that I enjoyed this one just as much as the first!

I love Lucy Score and every book she wrote.
Personally, the benevolence series is not my favorite.
But, Finally mine was my favorite of the three.

I love Aldo and Gloria and how they got their second chance love.

Gloria is such a strong female character who feels deeply. She is fierce and she grows so much in the story.
Aldo does the same in other ways and I loved how they complemented each other.

Her scars are inside and his are outside and they helped each other to get through it.

If you like a second chance romance in a little town with spice, you're gonna love this book.

I given this one a 3.5 ⭐.

This gives me "It Ends With Us" vibes, and not in the good way (if there is a good way). D U D E. TEN YEARS? You just chillinggg???

DNF. I figured I would like this one better than Pretend Your Mine but it was worse. I appreciated the look into someone who was in an abusive relationship for so long, but it just made me too angry that no one did ANYTHING.

Also was not a hero in any sense besides being a war hero. Back at home he did absolutely nothing.

Thank you to NetGallery and Bloom Books for this eARC.

This is Gloria and Aldo’s love story . It’s a happily ever after book and it is sweet going into the details of the romance . You get a little bit of their romance in book one of the benevolence series . The writing is typical Lucy score and this book is long like her typical other books . There are steaming parts and some cute romance scenes between the two main characters

Loved loved loved can’t say enough good things! Will be reading more of her work for sure! Thank you for letting me read!

Finally Mine by Lucy Score is a heart wrenching second chance romance. This is a truly moving tale of redemption and rebirth from trauma and pain. Aldo and Gloria didn't have an easy path to happily ever after and your heart is going to be tested here.

I will say two things before I go in details of my review : 1) I have not read Luke and Harper's story that came before this one so I am not sure what's other reviews are talking about this one being a somehow repeat of book 1. 2) This is sad and disappointing to see the narrow view of some reviewers about how someone in a domestic violence should react or how their family members should react. Domestic violence is a monster with never ending heads and there is no set way for anyone to react. And I feel if they read the full book, they would see the situation is no one's fault but the abuser.


Aldo is going to make a move finally for the woman he has loved for years from afar as Gloria has finally left her 10 years of abusive marriage. But he need to let her heal and he has a six month long deployment as national guard soon. This deployment will forever change his life because he will lose not only his leg..but his soul too. Can two broken Souls be whole together?

I absolutely loved Gloria's journey to healing and finding herself. I am so glad the author kept it raw and real. It's so easy to judge one’s action but abusers manipulate the survivors expertly..like her husband did. Made her feel like it's her fault. She was completely broken without her confidence or without her sass or without self belief. But she found some amazing friends and of course Aldo..who helped her to rebuild her life. There were many moments of setback, doubts and fears but she slayed her demons. Aldo started as a dazzling character. Confident. Charming. Alpha. Protective, sweet and sexy. The war ravaged not only his body..but his soul too. And for some time he was in a dark place and he thought he is not worthy of Gloria. Now it's Gloria s turn to make him believe in himself again. It was a bittersweet romance with plenty of angst. It was slow burn but finally you will get some spice. I loved the small town..and I absolutely loved Luke and Harper! I guess I have to read their story too.


I reviewed a complementary copy from Netgalle and Bloom Books

I really enjoyed the first book. I could hardly get through this one. So many repeat conversations. I feel like there were whole chapters I just skimmed through because it was just word for word from book one. Also, I know Aldo was hurting, and I appreciated Grace standing up for herself against him being an a$shat, but I really disliked him in this book for too much of the story. He knows everything she's been through, he knows he gave her hope for them, and yet he completely mistreats her because of his own issues. Barely got through this one to be honest, which I was sad about because I loved the characters in the first book.

This is the story of Aldo and Gloria. This book really hit home for me. It is a beautiful story of overcoming our demons and the past that tries to define our future and will if we don't break it.
This is the second book, with Pretend Your Mine coming first. They are stand-alone novels but interweave greatly in both books.
This story was beautifully told and rang true. Gloria was in an abusive relationship for ten years with her high school boyfriend. She was telling him she was done when he choked her, likely going to kill her, and a stranger stepped in. She presses charges this time and hands over her evidence of every beating she has ever received at his hands. Her story of growth is beautiful.
Aldo has been in love with Gloria since high school, but Glenn started dating her before he got the nerve to ask her out. When he confronted Glenn about being so possessive, Gloria got hurt. So, he backed off and loved her from afar while playing the field. He is about to be deployed when Gloria presses charges. He tells her how he feels but that he doesn't want her to wait for him. He wants her to grow and learn who she is again. He wants her to find what she loves, pursue it, and date. He doesn't give her a way to contact him while he is gone for six months. Until everything changes.
Aldo is so swoon worthy. His understanding and maturity 98% of the time are unmatched.
I highly recommend this, I would just say don't read Pretend Your Mine and Finally Mine back to back as there is a lot of overlap. They are both so good!

Finally Mine is interconnected to the timeline of Pretend Your Mine. I love how Gloria finds another second chance in love and in life.
Will recommend the series to other romance readers I know.

I was a little nervous starting this one when I realized it exists in the exact same timeline as ‘Pretend You’re Mine’. I worried it would feel redundant, but I was also very curious how things would work out because you got just enough surface level detail in the prior book to know that Aldo & Gloria’s relationship was progressing but with none of the details. I loved it. Aldo is the (im)perfect cinnamon roll hero (mostly) and Gloria is starting a brave new life. I loved how he “forced” her to find herself so that any relationship they began could begin on solid footing.

There were some aspects of realisticness I questioned, like healing timelines primarily (both mental and physical), but I assume this was just a case of artistic license, and didn’t let it bother me too much. I just loved Aldo & Gloria.

I’ve never read two books set so concurrently until pretend your mine and finally mine, and when I got to the end of this one and saw that Aldo and Gloria’s story was originally just a part of Luke and Harper’s, not originally intended to be its own, it made so much more sense to me! I did enjoy getting hints of pretend you’re mine, and bits and pieces we didn’t have before in addition to obviously a lot more of Gloria and Aldo’s story. Gloria and Also are such an inspiring couple. They’ve been through so much to even be able to be at a place to date. The chapters that were Gloria, then Aldo’s, side of their therapy sessions were sometimes hard to read but so good. This is definitely on the heavier side of romance but a loving story.

For anybody who read Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score, this is the story of Gloria and Aldo, two of the secondary characters from that book. I'd definitely recommend reading it first as this book takes place at the same time and does contain spoilers for that book.

I'm so glad that this book explores the relationship of Gloria and Aldo! Gloria's struggles with her self worth after being in a long term abusive realtionship are so hard to watch, yet so beautiful to see her overcome. Aldo's love for Gloria started in high school, and he has waited all this time for his turn at dating her, all while knowing and understanding that he can't rush into a relationship while she is still healing. When his deployment to Afghanistan leaves his injured, watching him try to distance himself from Gloria is devastating. This book is full of second chances, of learning to lean on others, and on being one's best self in the face of adversity.

I love everything about the small town of Benevolence and the people who live there, and this book cemented my feelings. I can't wait to read more about them!

Thank you to Bloom Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book was also a small town romance but it had heavier topics so please check your trigger warnings. It was all about moving on and finding lost loves. I love how this series are interconnected standalone‘s, so you don’t necessarily need to read them all in order the people almost felt real unbelievable and I think that is what made the story beautiful.

Sweet Couple

Okay, I’ll admit I was expecting a funny story after reading my one and only book by this author. But that’s on me and not the author of this story. I just assumed all her stories were laugh out loud kind stories.
This is a sweet romance which I highly enjoyed. I’m obviously still rating it 5 stars due to it being a story that captured my attention and was hard to put down.