I was soooo excited to start this one and was so thankful that NG gifted me an arc in exchange for an honest review. My opinion, least favorite of the series…

Sloane and her neighbor Lucian hate each other. And I mean HATE each other, and have for decades. However they can’t stay away from each other either. (that's it. That's the plot)

I loved Sloane in the first two books and was sooo ready for her story but even before it began I was so confused on how Lucian who so CLEARLY hates this woman is actually in love with her… to me, this book had characters with 0 personality, hated each other (not in a fun cutesy way) and the *spice* wasn’t even that great. It was just not the best note to end the series on, I found myself wanting to skip/fast forward parts (no romance needs to be 500+ pages people) and was overall very bored throughout. It did make me laugh and I did like the end so for that I give it…

Was very excited to finish this series. I am a Librarian so I've absolutely had a vested interest in Sloane's happiness throughout this book. Lucian was my least favorite "book boyfriend" of the trilogy and I disliked how quickly he went from rude and brooding to absolutely head over heels obsessed boyfriend; although, I will say that I enjoyed the flashbacks to young Lucian and Sloane. The suspense part of the series was interesting and a fun element to break it up from a traditional rom-com.

Wow. I’m blown away. This is Lucy’s best. I’ll come back to write a more thorough review. LUCIFER FOREVER 💜

I loved this book. Even though it’s the third book in a series and I didn’t read the first two, everything still made sense. The chemistry between the main characters was amazing. I especially loved the flirtatious texts.

Thank you to Bloom Books and Netgalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am so sad to see the Knockemout Series come to a close. But I will say, out of the three books this will remain my favorite. I really enjoyed the back story between Lucien and Sloane and witnessing their growth was a joy. Coming in at over 500 pages, it certainly did not feel long. Lucy Score has a way of building characters and communities that stick with you and have you caring for them as if they were your own.

This is a fabulous series. Filled with romance, hardships, trauma, and grief yet you will find yourself laughing through the tears. I guess all good things must come to an end and knowing when that end is, is so important. Leave them wanting more, they say, and Score did just that!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I needed this book. I waited for this book. I wanted this book. I LOVED this book.

Lucian and Sloan’s story is my favorite by far out of the entire Knockemout series, and that’s saying A LOT!
Definitely one of my top books I’ve read all year!!

Lucian grows up in the house next door to Sloan. Her family is everything his isn’t. As years pass, they become enemies to lovers. He believes he is broken though and can never give Sloan the life she wants. Their chemistry was off the charts. Lucian Rollins is officially my new book boyfriend.

The character development was so great. This book is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and just perfection! I can’t even describe how much I love this book. The spice was 👩‍🍳💋 I couldn’t put it down and stayed up wayyyy too late reading it. Worth it though! I can’t wait to reread this book!
This was hands down my favorite Lucy Score book to date!! She will forever be an auto buy for me ❤️


📘: Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score
🗓️: September 5, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Score, and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads.

"Lucian Rollins, a relentless and powerful mogul, harbors a seething vengeance, one he's hell-bent on achieving while keeping Sloane Walton, a tenacious small-town librarian, at arm's length. Their mutual disdain fuels fiery encounters, leading to a passionate one-night stand. Yet, with Sloane's desire for a family and Lucian's aversion to commitment, they face a profound impasse. But when threats loom, Lucian learns that leaving Sloane leaves her vulnerable. Will he make amends, or is this game of push and pull a lost cause? A gripping romance exploring past secrets, unlikely love, and the unrelenting fear of breaking one another."

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

This may be my favorite out of the series! The enemies to lovers trope always adds a wonderful level of banter that's just right up my alley. I couldn't put it down and the bonus epilogues added the perfect ending to a perfect series.

WOW. Lucy Score delivered on all the anticipation built up in this series! The depth of Sloane and Lucian's history and relationship was so well done and absolutely heartbreaking. Saying anything feels like spoiling everything, so just know that "Things We Left Behind" is a winner.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

It makes me want to cry thinking that this series is over!! Ugh, but Sloane and Lucian were the absolute perfect conclusion to the story. So much hurt and pain, the best enemies to lovers. I never thought in my life I’d think stop hating each other and get naked already but I did.

There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.

💭 The third book in the Knockemout series and I was so excited to receive and early copy! This was such a fun read. I wanted so bad to finish by pub date (yesterday!) but also wanted to make it last longer.

I’ve been ready for Lucian and Sloane’s story since book 1. I was dying to know about their past and why they hated each other so much. Their banter was the best - great enemies to lovers romance.

Sloane might be my favorite character in this series. Tiny but mighty, the girl is sassy, independent, lovable, and absolutely hilarious. The perfect match to Lucian’s icy tough-guy shield. Can’t let that fool you, big guy has a big heart. Great chemistry between these two. Their fighting filled with tension and witty banter had me rolling. Loved their backstory and how they were always meant to be!

So sad it’s over, but loved it so much!

The last in the series does not disappoint! We have been teased with Sloan and Lucian's story for the past few years and it is finally here! The angst, the tension, the drama, the STEAM, the friendship, the romance, and everything else in between has made this book my favorite in the series BY FAR. I love a good enemies to loverss back to enemies and this was immediately a favorite, Highly HIGHLY recommend.

It's been over a month since I've read this book and my feelings about it have not changed - IT WAS SO AWESOME! I was waiting for Sloane and Lucian's story since book 1 and I am very happy to say that it lived up to the hype and anticipation for me. Stories with build up through multiple books and with a shared past between the characters have to be told just right to hit all the spots, and this one did for me.

Like the first two books in the series, <I>Things We Left Behind</i> was really really fun and I loved hanging out with them all again. The found family within this group is amazing. I know this series is over but I hope Lucy Score delivers more stories like it, I'd eat them right up!

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC!</i>

What a perfect ending to this series. Lucian and Sloane were my favorites. I loved getting to see all the characters from the past books. The chemistry was off the charts. The banter was perfect. Truly a great ending.

LUCIAN MF ROLLINS

That’s it. Thats the whole review…

Just kidding.

Sloane is the baddie little librarian we all didn’t know we needed and she sure holds her own with the Knockemout crew.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

5 stars—from book 1, I needed Lucian and Sloane. The banter. The looks. The open hatred with each other. I NEEDED THEM…. And Lucy, she gave us. She gave us all of Lucian and Sloane, past and present. I loved it all.

Lucian’s “I hate you but I love you but I need to keep you safe”

Sloane’s “I actually hate you but I miss the old you but wait I love you???”

Forever Lucian and Sloane, I love them.

Sloane and Lucian bring all the perfect aspects of my two favourite romance sub-genres (enemies to lovers, second chance) into a witty, spicy, action packed adventure where I was questioning the whole time how this ended up second chance in the first place with how cute these two were.

All this book made me do is want to read books one & two which I have not read. No one knows why their high school friendship ended and years later as they try to navigate around each other, unsuccessfully, things are slowly revealed. I loved the banter between Sloane and Lucian as they tried to deny their feelings for each other. This is a small-town and enemies to friends romance at its best.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

I came to this series at the very end, with this novel, and while it can be read as a stand alone, I'm definitely kicking myself for not picking up the first novel and starting there because I'm certain that those two couples in those books had a fun time hating each other before loving each other, if Things We Left Behind is any indication.

In this novel, Sloane and Lucian are currently mortal enemies but only after they were close friends in their younger years. As the novel progresses, their backstory is woven in and you come to understand why they're both so resistant to tolerating the other, despite the fact that their mutual friends adore them both, and Sloane's family sees him as nothing short of wonderful. Their current day selves are busy detesting the other and being successful as a head librarian (Sloane) and a businessman (Lucian). And as the bad guys --ones most likely first introduced at the beginning of the series-- insist on doing bad things, Sloane and Lucian find themselves thrown together a lot. Their banter and sexual tension are hilarious and cause the pages to turn quickly. As they spend more time together, they begrudgingly put aside some of their differences to scratch an itch they've had for quite a while; and though they'd love to keep it secret, that, of course, is impossible.

Things escalate with the bad guys and with Sloane and Lucian and before you know it, they've find themselves bring down the baddies while falling in love.

Yet another fun read by Lucy Score....one that just makes me look forward to what she's writing next.

I loved the first novel in this series, never read the second, and then read this novel as it was the one I was really most interested in. That being said, it was fine.

What I liked was the characters and the spice. That was really good and enjoyable and I enjoyed reconnecting with characters from the first novel.

What I struggled with is … what does Lucian actually do? He’s always in helicopters and doing fancy things but none of it makes any sense? His job(s)/company/everything he does? It doesn’t make any sense. The location and its proximity to DC never made any sense and that continued here as well. There was also just a lot going on and a lot of plot points going on as well.

I think I just wasn’t vibing with this as much as I wanted to.