Author: Lucy Score

Lightning Review: Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy Score

Posted August 21, 2023 by Holly in Reviews | 5 Comments

Lightning Review: Things We Hide from the Light by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Holly
Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score
Narrator: Lila Winters, Sebastian York
Series: Knockemout #2
Also in this series: Things We Never Got Over
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 21, 2023
Format: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited, Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 589
Length: 17 hours and 36 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Nash Morgan was always known as the good Morgan brother, with a smile and a wink for everyone. But now, this chief of police is recovering from being shot and his Southern charm has been overshadowed by panic attacks and nightmares. He feels like a broody shell of the man he once was. Nash isn’t about to let anyone in his life know he’s struggling. But his new next-door neighbor, smart and sexy Lina, sees his shadows. As a rule, she’s not a fan of physical contact unless she initiates it, but for some reason Nash’s touch is different. He feels it too. The physical connection between them is incendiary, grounding him and making her wonder if exploring it is worth the risk.
Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded… even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.

Things We Hide from the Light is the second book in the Knockemout series. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. I loved the first book, Things We Never Got Over, and I was so excited to get Nash’s story! With Lina! Ahh!!! I got it from KU the day it was released and purchased the audio add-on so I could listen when I wasn’t able to read.

Sadly, I was underwhelmed. I found myself frustrated by Nash for the majority of the book. I had such a hard time with his “hurt feelings” and the way he treated Lina. Maybe I wasn’t as invested in her lie by omission as I should have been, but his level of anger and the way he lashed out was so over the top I had a really hard time with it. Since I didn’t understand his level of anger, I had a hard time forgiving him for acting the way he did. That’s not to say Lina was blameless, but it was really Nash I struggled with. I did enjoy being back in Knockemout and the secondary characters.

It may have just been my reading mood and not the book, so take that with a grain of salt. YMMV.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Knockemout

three-half-stars


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Review: Finally Mine by Lucy Score

Posted August 14, 2023 by Holly in Reviews | 7 Comments

Review: Finally Mine by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Holly
Finally Mine by Lucy Score
Narrator: Melissa Moran
Series: Benevolence #2
Also in this series: Pretend You're Mine, Finally Mine
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 26, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 458
Length: 11 hours and 30 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Who is he if not a hero?
Aldo Moretta has always been the hero. The strongest, the fastest, the bravest. He fought for his country and built a thriving business in his hometown. With friends and family never more than a few blocks away, there was just one thing he was missing. The right girl.

She’d fallen for the wrong guy. The bad guy. But now that she’s finally free, Aldo isn’t going to miss his second chance. Not until his last deployment goes horribly wrong. He was prepared to give his life, but he wasn’t ready for an injury that takes a piece of him. How can he be her hero now?

Who is she if not a victim?
Gloria Parker walked away from a relationship that almost cost her her life. But the shame clings to her like a shadow. She’s wasted ten long years on the wrong man. When the right one returns home scarred and broken, she sees a kindred spirit. But as Gloria rebuilds her life, brick by brick, she wonders if she’s cut out for love. Real love.

Will they find a way to heal together or will their wounds keep them from the happiness they both crave?

I got the ebook from KU then purchased the audio add-on and switched between reading and listening. I enjoyed the narrator.

Gloria has spent ten years in an abusive relationship. Aldo wanted her in high school and now that she’s decided to take her life back he wants to be part of it. He knows she needs time, but he can’t chance her finding someone else, so he makes his intentions clear before he deploys for 6 months with the National Guard. Only the Aldo who returns isn’t the one who left. As the two of them deal with their scars, they’ll have to decide if they can make a relationship work.

I really enjoyed both Gloria and Aldo. Some parts were hard to read, but the overall feel of the novel was upbeat. I loved that Aldo just wanted Gloria to find herself and be happy. He was loving and supportive of her, even when he couldn’t love himself. I also liked that Gloria recognized that she needed to sort herself out before she could get into a relationship.

I accidentally read this series backwards (I started with book 3), but it’s one of Score’s better efforts, in my opinion.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Benevolence

four-stars


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Review: Finally Mine by Lucy Score

Posted July 17, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Finally Mine by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Casee
Finally Mine by Lucy Score
Narrator: Melissa Moran
Series: Benevolence #2
Also in this series: Pretend You're Mine, Finally Mine
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 26, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 448
Length: 11 hours and 30 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Who is he if not a hero?
Aldo Moretta has always been the hero. The strongest, the fastest, the bravest. He fought for his country and built a thriving business in his hometown. With friends and family never more than a few blocks away, there was just one thing he was missing. The right girl.

She’d fallen for the wrong guy. The bad guy. But now that she’s finally free, Aldo isn’t going to miss his second chance. Not until his last deployment goes horribly wrong. He was prepared to give his life, but he wasn’t ready for an injury that takes a piece of him. How can he be her hero now?

Who is she if not a victim?
Gloria Parker walked away from a relationship that almost cost her her life. But the shame clings to her like a shadow. She’s wasted ten long years on the wrong man. When the right one returns home scarred and broken, she sees a kindred spirit. But as Gloria rebuilds her life, brick by brick, she wonders if she’s cut out for love. Real love.

Will they find a way to heal together or will their wounds keep them from the happiness they both crave?

Aldo Moretta has wanted Gloria Parker since they were in high school. He stepped aside when she started dating another guy, though it was hard. It got harder when she started being abused by her boyfriend. Now that Gloria has left Glenn, Aldo finally (heh) gets his chance with her. The problem is that he’s being deployed to Iraq and he doesn’t want her to wait for him. He wants her to stretch her wings and figure out who she is aside from a victim.

When Aldo is hurt in Iraq, he isn’t sure he can be what Gloria needs. After having to get one of his legs amputated below the knee, Aldo feels like he’s not a man that Gloria needs. He wasn’t there for her while she was being abused and now he feels like he’s not as much of a man. It was stupid, but he was clearly struggling. Harper helped him worked through his issues. One of the best things about this book was getting Aldo’s POV on his friendship with Harper. It was probably one of the best friendships that I have ever read in a book.

I’m not a huge fan of series books that have concurrent timelines (see The Purveli by Dianne Duvall). Finally Mine takes place at the same time as Pretend You’re Mine. While it was interesting to see Aldo and Gloria’s relationship with Harper and Luke, I still couldn’t get completely behind this book. It’s not that it wasn’t a good book, because it was really good. It just wasn’t as good as Pretend You’re Mine. Aldo and Gloria were sweet and I enjoyed it, but my expectations were really high.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Benevolence

four-stars


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Review: Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy Score

Posted June 26, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Pretend You’re Mine by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Casee
Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score
Narrator: Melissa Moran
Series: Benevolence #1
Also in this series: Finally Mine, Finally Mine
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: November 8, 2018
Format: Audiobook, eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited, Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 474
Length: 11 hours and 41 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: four-stars


I only wanted to protect you…

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…

I first read this book in March, but didn’t review it. I decided to listen to it on audio to see if I adored it as much as I did when I read it. The answer is a resounding YES. I loved this book from cover to cover. It has everything I look for in a romance. It had a tortured hero, a loveable yet quirky heroine, a small town that you couldn’t help but love, and secondary characters that only added to the story. This book was everything.

Harper was a force of nature. Once you got in her path, she didn’t let you go. Harper first meets Luke after a barfight that leaves her unconscious. When she wakes up, she sees Luke Garrison & thinks to herself that nothing could look as amazing as he does. They instantly click, but Luke is closed off in some ways. When his sister, Sophie, suggests that she stay with Luke for the night, she can’t turn down the offer. She has no money, no cell phone, and her car is running on its last leg. Harper has no idea what she’s in for when she decides to stay in Benevolence.

Life hasn’t always been easy for Luke Garrison. Losing his high school sweetheart on the day that he comes home from Iraq is something that he hasn’t moved on from. He is immediately drawn to Harper & her openness. You don’t ever have to wonder what Harper is thinking, because she tells you. He is worried that she will kill herself one day. It would be an accident of course, as Harper tends to be accident prone. It doesn’t take long for Harper to be fully immersed in Luke’s life & he doesn’t know how he’s going to let her go when he leaves for his next deployment. Then he doesn’t because he asks her to wait for him.

This was a very interesting book insofar as some of it takes place when Luke is overseas. Harper knows she loves Luke, just as she knows that he’s closed himself off from loving anyone. She doesn’t know what his story is, but she hopes that he will tell her some day. Then she finds out his secret on her own. I loved that she didn’t freak out. Harper was just such an amazing character. I loved both Harper & Luke, but it was Harper that really stood out for me. Like I said, I loved everything about this book and think that it’s the best book in the Benevolence series.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Benevolence

five-stars


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Review: By a Thread by Lucy Score

Posted June 19, 2023 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: By a Thread by Lucy ScoreReviewer: Holly
By a Thread by Lucy Score
Narrator: Erin Mallon, Sebastian York
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 23, 2020
Format: eARC
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 582
Length: 14 hours and 21 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars


Dominic was staring at me like he couldn’t decide whether to chop me into pieces or pull my hair and French kiss me.
Dominic

I got her fired. Okay, so I’d had a bad day and took it out on a bystander in a pizza shop. But there’s nothing innocent about Ally Morales. She proves that her first day of her new job… in my office… after being hired by my mother.
So maybe her colorful, annoying, inexplicably alluring personality brightens up the magazine’s offices that have felt like a prison for the past year. Maybe I like that she argues with me in front of the editorial staff. And maybe my after-hours fantasies are haunted by those brown eyes and that sharp tongue.
But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be the next Russo man to take advantage of his position. I might be a second-generation asshole, but I am not my father.
She’s working herself to death at half a dozen dead-end jobs for some secret reason she doesn’t feel like sharing with me. And I’m going to fix it all. Don’t accuse me of caring. She’s nothing more than a puzzle to be solved. If I can get her to quit, I can finally peel away all those layers. Then I can go back to salvaging the family name and forget all about the dancing, beer-slinging brunette.

Ally
Ha. Hold my beer, Grumpy Grump Face.

Author’s Note: A steamy, swoony workplace romantic comedy with a grumpy boss hero determined to save the day and a plucky heroine who is starting to wonder if there might actually be a beating heart just beneath her boss’s sexy vests.

I’ve heard mixed things about this book and since Lucy Score can be kind of hit or miss for me, I was on the fence about trying it out, but I’m glad I gave it a try. This was a really cute read. The banter was a lot of fun and I really loved the grumpy/sunshine theme.

Dominic meets his mom for breakfast one morning, gets into a verbal sparring match with his waitress and demands she gets fired when she doesn’t back down. His mom ends up offering Ally a job, which she’s desperate enough to take since her father needs medical care and she’s completely broke after a series of unfortunate incidents. The vibe in the office is a little strange and Dominic is a total grump, but Ally soon finds herself getting shuffled around the office as a Jill-of-all-trades, which often keeps her in direct contact with him. Since his mom has made it clear he can’t fire Ally, she figures she has nothing to lose by giving him a hard time back.

Dominic is trying to clean up the mess his father left in the company, and he doesn’t want to do anything to make their employees feel unsafe, but he can’t help how he gravitates to Ally. She’s full of sass and sunshine, and she pulls him out of his own head. But he can’t be with her as long as she works for the company. Since he can’t fire her, he’ll just have to get her to quit….

I really love the first 3/4 of this book. The banter and sexual tension between Ally and Dominic was really good. I loved what a grump he was and how she seemed to pull him away from that. What I did not love was the way he tried to push her to quit during the last 1/4 of the book. He spent the entire book feeling kind of skeevy because his dad was a creep, yet he kept trying to force Ally to quit? She didn’t share her personal issues with him, but he knew she needed the job and still tried to force it? It went on too long and really hurt my overall enjoyment of the book the more I thought about it.

I also felt like the characters acted much younger than they were purported to be. He was in his 40s and she was close to 40, and yet they both acted kind of immature at times. They felt like they were in their 20s, not their 40s.

The book was on the long side and I got frustrated with both of them at various times throughout, but I enjoyed it as a whole. As long as I don’t think too hard about the way he acted.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

four-stars


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