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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I was so excited to read Aldo and Gloria’s story after I finished Pretend You’re Mine. This book was just as good as the first but definitely presented a little better due to the strong character development and obstacles that needed to be overcome. I would have bumped my rating up but my reading was a bit disrupted by the repetitive portions of dialogue and the scenes covered in the previous book. If you loved Pretend You’re Mine and fell in love with both of these characters, this is definitely a great small town romance with tons of emotional baggage and a love that’s been a long time coming.
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Gaslighting, War
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Violence
Finally Mine is my first Lucy Score book and I feel like I am not sure what my thoughts are on the book. I didnt dislike it, it kept my attention and I finished it but I was also angry by the book. I thought it handled the extremely sensitive topics pretty well and did not hide the pain or show immediate unrealistic improvements. I think I was so angry that nobody helped her for so long even though everyone knew what was happening. I get it was a tough situation but 10 years and Aldo did nothing to try and save the women he claims to love forever. I dont know, I get its complicated but I just struggled.
Another full blown story. Writing style takes adjustment. It’s heartwarming. And heart squeezing. Domestic abuse and war veteran.
“I thought I was too damaged to know what real love was. But I was wrong. I know what it is because of my scars, because of my past. I know what love is. I know that I love you and that I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you if you let me.” Her voice trembled. “Hell, I’ll spend the rest of my life loving you even if you don’t let me.”
Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Finally Mine.
Gloria Parker wasted ten years with the wrong man – one who almost cost her her life.
Arlo Moretta’s life seems fulfilling from the outside looking in but has always been missing something – the right girl.
This one was a little hard for me to read but I am SO glad that I stuck it out despite being lightly triggered from Gloria’s past. I do wish that SOMEONE would have spoke up for Gloria, helped her out, etc.. but as someone who’s been in that type of situation (not on the same scale) I know that it’s hard to listen to those outside of the relationship.
I was introduced to both Gloria and Arlo in Pretend You’re Mine and I wanted to go deeper and that’s exactly what Finally Mine did for me! You’re seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s all there. Lucy did an amazing job with this story.
Please read the TW in this book. I almost couldn’t finish it. I am glad that I did, however your mental health is much more important than any book.
Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Finally Mine.
Gloria Parker wasted ten years with the wrong man – one who almost cost her her life.
Arlo Moretta’s life seems fulfilling from the outside looking in but has always been missing something – the right girl.
This one was a little hard for me to read but I am SO glad that I stuck it out despite being lightly triggered from Gloria’s past. I do wish that SOMEONE would have spoke up for Gloria, helped her out, etc.. but as someone who’s been in that type of situation (not on the same scale) I know that it’s hard to listen to those outside of the relationship.
I was introduced to both Gloria and Arlo in Pretend You’re Mine and I wanted to go deeper and that’s exactly what Finally Mine did for me! You’re seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s all there. Lucy did an amazing job with this story.
Please read the TW in this book. I almost couldn’t finish it. I am glad that I did, however your mental health is much more important than any book.
3.5 stars
It took me awhile to get the guts to read this book as a military spouse, and as someone who knows a little more than the average person about the damages war can do to a person. I didn't want Score to get it wrong because I would be glaringly obvious to me, and I love her books. I also was nervous for her to get it right because there's no way to do domestic violence and amputation that doesn't involve pain.
I think Score did a pretty good job on the believability angle for the most part. Aldo definitely bounced back way faster than the amputees in my life ever did so that was taken with a grain of salt. And I think Gloria got past the physical side of what she went through easier than most do as well, especially after a decade of it. It would have been more believable had she had more setbacks to physical intimacy of all kinds than she did. But otherwise the slow burn of them coming together was done really well. I'm not sure I'm a fan of a story being told stretched over so much time, but that's more a personal thing than a failing of this book.
If you're looking for a slow burn romance that unfolds a little at a time, through all the different parts of their relationship, with war and domestic violence being key elements, this is a good book to jump into. I like a little more urgency in my books so I felt a little bored towards the end, but again, I think that's more that this type of storytelling isn't my style. I love almost everything Score writes so I'm glad I at least gave it a shot.
It took me awhile to get the guts to read this book as a military spouse, and as someone who knows a little more than the average person about the damages war can do to a person. I didn't want Score to get it wrong because I would be glaringly obvious to me, and I love her books. I also was nervous for her to get it right because there's no way to do domestic violence and amputation that doesn't involve pain.
I think Score did a pretty good job on the believability angle for the most part. Aldo definitely bounced back way faster than the amputees in my life ever did so that was taken with a grain of salt. And I think Gloria got past the physical side of what she went through easier than most do as well, especially after a decade of it. It would have been more believable had she had more setbacks to physical intimacy of all kinds than she did. But otherwise the slow burn of them coming together was done really well. I'm not sure I'm a fan of a story being told stretched over so much time, but that's more a personal thing than a failing of this book.
If you're looking for a slow burn romance that unfolds a little at a time, through all the different parts of their relationship, with war and domestic violence being key elements, this is a good book to jump into. I like a little more urgency in my books so I felt a little bored towards the end, but again, I think that's more that this type of storytelling isn't my style. I love almost everything Score writes so I'm glad I at least gave it a shot.
This was my least fave of the benevolence series. We saw so much of this couple in the first series and pretty much knew where they landed so there were no surprises. No mystery but still a cute fluffy romance.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have a crush on Arlo and want to be friends with Gloria. Enjoyed getting more details on their story! Some of it felt a little redundant since most of it was covered in the first book but enough new stuff was shared to keep me invested.
Open door.
Open door.