This was an overall good read. I didn't read the first book in the series, but from what I gathered, they all take place at the same time. I love how Lucy adds a bit of suspense to her romance. I've read so many first person narratives, it always takes me a while to get used to third person. I see the appeal though, you get an outside perspective to everyone's story. Aldo and Gloria's story is very heartwarming. Having been in a situation like Gloria, I can understand why she stayed. Aldo is a fucking saint for waiting for her, but the fact he thought she couldn't love him made me.wanna smack him. They both had their demons and overcame them together - beautiful.

The sequel to “Pretend You’re Mine”, “Finally Mine” follows the story of Gloria and Aldo and can be read as a standalone. While I enjoyed this book more than the prequel, I still felt that the overall story lacked

Gloria has been dating Glenn since she was sixteen, and although the relationship became abusive a long time ago, she stayed with him until now. After a difficult separation that leaves Glenn in jail, Gloria is left trying to figure out who she is now in a town that only sees her as poor little Gloria. Meanwhile, Aldo is smart, successful, fit, and he’s had a crush on Gloria for the last ten years. After tragedy occurs, both Gloria and Aldo are forced to face their demons if they have any hope of giving their relationship a chance.

Personally, I thought this book had more of the depth that I thought its prequel lacked. Serious topics of abuse and depression are addressed in the most sensitive of ways, and it gave the main characters Gloria and Aldo some dimension. Their struggles felt real, and their characters seemed more relatable.

However, the overall timeline felt rushed, especially when trying to reconcile such serious topics and the healing that needs to come with it. While each of the main character’s storylines had depth, I don’t think them as a couple had that same level of depth. At one point, Gloria seems more moved by what is happening with her friend Harper than what’s occurring in her own relationship. While I did want these two together at the end, I wasn’t as invested in their story as much as I wish I was.

Fans of Lucy Score may still want to give this book a try. It is a fast read and if you’re looking for some steamy scenes, this book will not disappoint.

**Thank you so much to Bloom Books and NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion!**

okay so – what i didn't realize when i requested this on netgalley was that this is the same story as the first book set in benevolence, but told from the perspective of two other characters. you often see the same scenes and dialogue, but from the viewpoint of the other character in the scene. i love a good second story set around characters we already know, but i didn't love seeing the same story ~again~ from their perspective. i would've loved to see their story continue, and to learn more about everybody in town. in just didn't really seem necessary, especially since these are being reprinted, so i was reading them back to back.

Finally Mine by Lucy Score is the 2nd book in the Benevolence series but it can be read as a standalone. This book follows Aldo and Gloria and I was really excited to read about them because they seemed so sweet in the first book. I was not disappointed by their romance! Aldo has had feelings for Gloria since high school but she was with someone else. Gloria's ex was abusive and when Gloria attempted to leave him he almost killed her. When the ex is sent to jail, Gloria gets her chance at a new start. Aldo also sees this as a chance to tell Gloria how he feels. However, he is leaving for deployment soon so he tells her how he feels and that he wants her to live her life while he is gone. I really appreciated that their relationship got a chance to work out this way. Gloria has been controlled by a man for 10 years and she deserves this chance to make her own choices. I loved getting to see Gloria grow as her own person with and without Aldo. I loved Aldo and Gloria together and their relationship was really beautiful. The main issue I had with this book is that it felt like I was reading book one again. It was the Luke and Harper show all over again. This book follows the same timeline as the first book (both books start at the same place in time). I was excited about this because I wanted to see the events from Aldo and Gloria's POVs. The first 50% was essentially the same story with the same conversations and events. Seeing things from the new POVs did not add anything new. The second half had way too much of Luke and Harper's relationship which was unnecessary because: 1. we already saw this in the first book and 2. this book is not about them. Luke and Harper's drama ended up causing issues with Aldo and Gloria's relationship which was frustrating because it was not necessary. If you are interested in these books I would recommend skipping the first book and just reading this because everything from Pretend You're Mine gets rehashed in Finally Mine. I enjoyed Aldo and Gloria's relationship but I there was too much from book 1 for me to enjoy the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for a review!

After reading the first book in this series and loathing it I really didn’t want to read this one but I was already approved for it. I hate DNF’ing but I don’t see any other choices here. I’m about 20 percent in and I am not finishing.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

Lucy Score returns to Benevolence, Maryland in Finally Mine. The novel focuses on the relationship between Gloria Parker and Aldo Moretta. They grew up in Benevolence, where Gloria began dating Glenn Diller when she was sixteen, and spent ten years in a toxic relationship with him. When Harper attacks Glenn as he is choking Gloria, he is arrested and placed in jail.

Gloria finally has the chance to change her life. Aldo is very interested in her, but only has a month before he deploys to Afghanistan with the National Guard.

The novel explores how an abused woman grows when freed, and begins to learn who she is. There are multiple scenes that are taken verbatim from Pretend You're Mine when the protagonists interact, though from Gloria's perspective.

Overall,this book is more realistic regarding the struggles of establishing a relationship between two damaged people. It can be read as a stand alone novel, but the characters and plot are better when both are read.

From the start this book felt very similar to the first in the series, in my opinion. Of course you expect the town to be the same, some of the characters. But the main character leaving her longtime boyfriend in the first chapter in both books immediately just made me feel like I was reading the first book again. A lot of the banter/storyline is also the same since the men in both books are leaving for Afghanistan. You also have a lot of Harper & Luke (the couple from the first book) basically reliving their story from the perspective of their friends, Aldo and Gloria (who are the couple in book two). It was too repetitive for me. Overall I just wasn’t engrossed with the story since it wasn’t anything different. I gave it three stars because Lucy Score is a great writer and this story is still good, it’s just too much repetition from book one in this series.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy.

I WANTED TO LOVE IT SO BAD! IT just wasn’t for me though. Compared to Score’s other books, the pacing just felt way off and even though the characters had very deep and tragic trauma, I had a really hard time FEELING IT. Aside from the first chapter, I just didn’t feel captivated by the story.

The strength Gloria and Aldo possess. both as individuals and as a couple, is nothing short of admirable.

Gloria is coming out of a 10 yr abusive and toxic relationship but getting back out there so quickly wasn't exactly part of her plan. Hometown hero Aldo has other plans as he's been pining for the girl since high school but not until she's ready. The way he expressed his interest without making her feel uncomfortable was one of my favorite things. He promised a date in 6 months if she'll have him after he's back from deployment. Although an injury cuts his time short on deployment and getting back to the "old" Aldo is harder than it seems. This time it's Gloria who ends up being the hero.

While one of the main things I enjoyed about this book is how easily the plot/storyline interviewed with Pretending You're Mine, I wasn't the biggest fan of how many scenes were repeated. For a good chunk of the book, I thought I was just re-reading the previous book and I would've loved more scenes that weren't in the previous book. As well as lengthening it beyond where the first book ended to get a better look at how things ended after the first book ended. Harper felt like she was given more credit than Gloria with his health and getting him back to being Aldo but it was hard not to love and enjoy these two and their relationship.


Leaning more towards 3.5/5 stars for me
3/5 Twice Level
TWs: Mentions of domestic abuse, physical abuse, war, medical trauma, medical content, injury/injury details, blood, toxic relationship, and sexual assault/rape
While I have received an arc of this book, my thoughts are all my own.

Brooooo...let's add this to the list of indie books that didn't need to be re-published once the author became a tik tok hit. Lucy Score has really well-written books...this is not one of them.

I've not read all of Lucy Score's books, but this one didn't feel like what I expected. I didn't read the first in this series, but from my research it seems that's ok. While in other books, Score has written characters who seem unlikeable that redeem themselves, but those in this current book left me feeling a bit meh.

The abuse that was suffered, and how the main character wasn't really helped/supported made me both sad and angry.

I'll always read a Lucy Score when given the chance, this just wasn't my favorite - Thank you, Netgalley!

4 stars out of 5!

This is the story of Gloria and Aldo. Gloria has just gotten out of a bad 10 year relationship. Aldo has had a secret crush on Gloria since high school. Aldo is set to deploy for 6 months and tells Gloria he would like to date her when her returns. In the mean time, Gloria has been piecing her life back together but then Aldo ends up getting hurt and comes back home early. The rest of the book is about Aldo's and Glorias relationship. The ups and the downs.

I really enjoy Lucy Score's books and this book was no exception. This series just keep getting better and better, I could not put the book down. I really loved the character development and thought the book had just the right amount of spice to it.

The reason I gave it only 4 stars was because parts from book 1 were copied and pasted into this book. I read Pretend You're Mine right before this book and I did not like reading the same wording over and over again. The 2 books take place at the same time so it was nice to see a different point of view, but I did not like the repetitiveness. This book could 100% be read as a standalone book.

Overall, this book was really good. I'm so happy how the book ended and I'm looking forward to reading Protect What's Mine.

this series gets better as it goes. the characters are written so well and I honestly enjoy the plot. the spice level is just right and I can't get enough!

I love Lucy score!! One of my favorite authors of all time and this book was no exception!!!! Loved the story of Gloria. I read the other book first so knew about their relationship and loved getting a closer look! Another win by Lucy score!!!

This was not the book for me. I ended up with a DNF at 20%. I’m not saying it’s objectively a bad book, just not my cup of tea.

After a painful past Gloria is free! Well, after a lot of fighting that is. Whew, it was sad to read about Gloria's life and how long she had it so bad but its a fact that this does happen. Made my heart break a little inside.

Aldo has loved Gloria for years. He even tried to talk to her long ago, but it was something that lead to Gloria being hurt so Aldo has always regretted it.

I loved how Gloria made her own path and a new life for herself. She still had that voice repeating all the words she'd heard throughout the years. It was impressive. Very sad though how she would talk to herself as past her, who should have left years ago.

Aldos path was lead by his "mistake" all those years ago. And he has some demons of his own to face.

I enjoyed the second chance for Gloria, and the new life she made.

This one is the 2nd book in the series. It could be a stand-alone book. There were a lot of things in this book that were in the first one.
This book was about Aldo and Gloria. Aldo & Gloria went to high school together. Aldo is an engineer and in the National Guard. Gloria was in an abusive relationship and walked away.
This is a love story about the 2 of them with some steamy romance scenes.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

DNF

I personally love Lucy Score with all of my heart, but I couldn't finish this book.

I was so enraged at the treatment of Gloria and how no one came to her side while she was getting abused and raped by her ex. It really took me out of the story, and I really couldn't continue afterwards.

I still will be reading Lucy's work, but this was a bit of a disappointment.

Thank you to Bloom, Lucy Score, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this novel. This was the second book in the Benevolence series. It is a small town romance about Gloria and Aldo. A military man who is pining over the girl he has loved since high school. I liked the back and forth between these two. The banter is great. I did hate the relationship back and forth with them. I know the circumstances require it but they handled the situations poorly. I honestly enjoyed book 1 of this series more. I did love getting to see another side of all the characters that were introduced in book 1. However, if you read book 1 right before this one like I did, I ran into the problem of chapters being repeated to the point of skipping through them. I will continue to read Lucy Score novels as I do like her style of easy writing. Overall, this was a quick, cute romance to read and I love the small town of Benevolence.

Loved this story that made me smile and root for the characters. There's romance, there's fun, but there's also the story of a woman who find herself and happiness.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine