Harper couldn’t catch a break! From catching her boyfriend/ boss with another woman to driving off in a mad dash to get away from him, she forgot all her things behind, and suddenly didn’t know where to go. As if things couldn’t get worse, her car ran out of gas and she found herself stranded in the parking lot of a small town bar which then lead to her getting into a fight to save another woman. Simply put, this story started with a bang and quite the introduction for Harper and for Luke.

I have my certain favorite tropes and if there’s one among them that I cherish so much it’s when the story takes place in a small town! The small town in this book took place in Benevolence where Harper found herself meeting all the townspeople including the handsome and kind Luke. Luke was just minding his own business one night when suddenly he saw Harper jump in to safe Gloria from her horrible husband. Luke didn’t expect to be jumping int as well as inevitably saving Harper, but guess life works in funny ways sometimes. With Harper having no money, no phone, and honestly no idea what to do next, Luke took it upon himself to help her out, and make sure she was safe. Even though Luke and Harper hadn’t known each other for that long, give or take a few hours, I could see that Luke had a protective streak in him especially when it came to Harper. Seeing Luke be concerned over Harper’s injuries and calling her names of endearment without realizing it made me think, “wow this man has no idea how wrapped him he’s become in this woman”, but also made me like Luke a lot just from the beginning chapters. 

Right away just from reading the first few chapters, I was immediately hooked and loved every second of it. With Harper and Luke at the helm of this story, they gave humor, heart, romance, passion, and overall amazing characters you can’t help but fall in love with. I found it amusing just how much Luke tried to stay away and avoid temptation from Harper because, Hello the man couldn’t help but want to claim her all to himself. Harper as well was immediately enthralled by Luke’s stoic yet kind demeanor and of course once Luke’s protective and alpha male side came out, Harper’s heart rate sky rocketed out of her chest! Even with the other characters such as, Luke’s entire family, the other townspeople made the story enjoyable and you could feel the heart warming feeling of the small town. 

Another beloved trope I loved seeing in this book was fake dating! With Luke wanting to fend off his family’s insistence that he get a girlfriend and Harper needing a place to stay and a job, they each found a solution to their problems, fake dating each other. We all know that with fake dating, we know how’s it’s going to end, but it doesn’t take away from all the fun and romance that ensues in the storyline! From the beginning, it was clear that Harper and Luke both found each other attractive, but from Luke’s point of view, he didn’t want Harper to potentially get hurt and it seemed through subtle details throughout the story that there was more of a reason why Luke tried to distance himself from Harper and his attraction to her. Aside from the moments of hesitation on Luke’s part, Harper and Luke fake dating worked out well for them and they didn’t even have to fake anything since they genuinely liked each other and natural chemistry. 

The chemistry between Harper and Luke was so palpable and filled with tension that you would want to cut through all of it just to get to the good stuff… which was what Luke and Harper inevitably got into. From Luke’s moments of pushing aside his initial hesitation to his outright jealousy over seeing Lincoln try to put the moves on Harper, Luke was head over heels for Harper. I really loved Luke and Harper’s scenes together and not just the hot steamy ones, but also when Luke would just lose all control and reveal to Harper just how much she had an effect on him. Harper was always on board with wanting to pursue Luke, even with the knowledge that he would be leaving for his next deployment soon, she wanted to take whatever chance she had to make the most of it with Luke. 

Now, along with the chemistry, the spice in this book was *chef’s kiss! Don’t be deceived by the books cover or the idea of the story because, with Lucy Score she knows just how to weave a beautiful, heartfelt story with hilarious banter and some steamy scenes. Whenever Luke would tell Harper exactly what he wanted to do to her or just skim his hand down her arm to giving Harper the most passionate filled kiss to stake his claim on her, I just about swooned and almost fainted! Harper wasn’t the only one who fell short of breathe whenever Luke was around saying the sexiest things ever. Again, the chemistry between Harper and Luke was downright hot and just WOW! Harper was so lucky to have stumbled upon the town of Benevolence because, she hit the jackpot that was Luke Garrison. There are a couple of scenes that come to mind when I think about Luke and Harper when things started to heat up between but I’ll just say, read this book and you’ll see just how much Luke was able to command power both in and out of the bedroom. 

 Now with all the romance and humor and lightheartedness, there was also heartfelt, sad, and tough moments. Between the realization of why Luke was so guarded about his past and not fully letting Harper in, to Aldo’s accident while in deployment, it was a lot for Harper and everyone else. Learning about Luke’s past and just how much it changed his life and therefore made him build both metaphorical or physical walls spoke volumes on the amount of pain he endured that I cannot begin to imagine. Although it was heartbreaking for Harper to learn the truth herself instead of from Luke directly, it did give her many unanswered questions she had wondered about, but was the able to gleam the truth from it. With Aldo’s accident with the IED while in deployment it was a scary moment, but thankfully he was ok. Seeing Aldo after his surgery and coming back home made me happy to see him alive and well, but also made me want to see more of him with Gloria. 

This was such an amazing story! Lucy Score always captivates my attention with her stories. With the small town setting, fake dating trope, alpha male/protective/ possessive curtesy of Luke, and the lovable characters from the Garrison’s, Aldo, Gloria, and of course Harper, this was such a fun book to read. There was also a bit of suspense and danger that I wasn’t expecting, and literally this story just kept getting better and better with each page I read. The romance and spice was red hot and passionate! The hilarious banter was great, and the ending and epilogue made me so happy for Harper and Luke. There were some emotional parts as well that tugged on my heart strings, and (sigh) I just loved this book so much!