*TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic abuse/ Victim of domestic abuse, mention of SA (rape)

When I previously read, “Pretend You’re Mine”, I got to see glimpses of Gloria and Aldo, and was so excited to finally get to this book, “Finally Mine”, to read more about Gloria and Aldo’s relationship! This book had Aldo with his long lasting crush on Gloria since high school so you could say he was very much enamored with her. Gloria had faced a lot from domestic abuse from her ex boyfriend and set out for a fresh start with the help of her friends and family in the beloved small town of Benevolence. This story took place during the same time line as the first book so you still got to see Luke, Harper, Sophie, Ty, and the rest of the characters. This was yet again another story that was heartfelt, emotional, hopeful, and more.

Gloria Parker had endured a lot at the hands of her ex boyfriend Glenn. From both physical and verbal abuse, Gloria felt stripped of everything by Glenn, and felt like she had nothing. Until one day, Gloria decided enough was enough and broke up with Glenn. I can’t imagine how Gloria had felt over the years being with Glenn other than pain and misery, but I was glad to see her starting her new life and doing things she had always dream of doing. This depiction of domestic abuse touched on some key details on how someone like Gloria felt during and after the events of being with someone like Glenn. For Gloria, it wasn’t a simple, “ok, I’m done”, it was a matter of finally coming to the realization that enough was enough. Despite Gloria’s initial thoughts that people pitied her for staying with Glenn over the years, I was glad to see that she did in fact have a support system waiting on standby to help her in any way possible.

Along with Gloria’s new fresh start, I really liked how others such as, Aldo helped and supported her. As much as Aldo had dreamed of the day he’d get his chance to finally be with Gloria, he took his time making sure Gloria was comfortable at all times, and ensuring she knew that he would wait as long as it took in order for her to have the time to rediscover herself as an individual. Part of Gloria’s story was about her learning to live her life independent in a way she never thought she could do before, and I just really liked how Aldo made sure Gloria took the time for herself. Other men could have easily taken advantage of Gloria’s new single status and bulldozed their way into Gloria’s life, but Aldo being the understanding and great man wasn’t like that. 

Also was always such a confident, charming man, and I adored his personality and him overall. Once Aldo finally told Gloria how he had always had a decade long crush on her, it seemed like things were looking up for them, until while Aldo was in deployment and was caught in the middle of an IED strike. Suddenly with the trauma he went through and the loss of part of his leg, Aldo felt like he wasn’t the same old Aldo that once had envisioned a future with Gloria. While it was understandable to see how Aldo was during the aftermath, I will say I was glad that people like Aldo’s mom and Harper didn’t sugar coat anything with it, they both gave their own tough love to Aldo and reminded him that just because of what happened, didn’t take away from the chance he could have with Gloria. In this book, Aldo had a dramatic change in his life, but with his perseverance and determination, he went above expectations to meet his goals and get himself in a routine that helped with his physical therapy. Seeing Aldo after what he went through made me sad to see him distance himself from everyone, but once he got over some of his bad attitude, I was happy to see him once again embracing his loved ones, especially with Gloria. 

Reading Gloria and Aldo’s romance was beautiful, emotional, and loving. I enjoyed the pacing of the story, especially with it being kind of a slow burn. In my opinion, it felt like a slow burn since the beginning half of the story was all about Aldo and Gloria establishing a foundation for their relationship, and also both of them working on themselves due to their own traumas. With some small moments from their first kiss before Aldo left for his deployment to Gloria and Aldo staying up to watch “Pride and Prejudice” after the Fourth of July festival, and sharing deep, emotional conversations, the build up between them was worth the wait and honestly sentimental to me. Compared to Luke and Harper, Gloria and Aldo’s romance didn’t happen right away, but again I loved how they took their time to get to know each other even after knowing each other so many years. In addition, once Aldo put into plan his ideas of sweeping Gloria off her feet, it was so darn romantic and exactly the kind of love Gloria deserved.

Gloria and Aldo had initially taken things slow in their relationship, but once Gloria and Aldo had a taste of the possibilities of all that they could do together, it was like another match of fire was lit between them. The raw passion and absolute desire between Gloria and Aldo was amazing, and even from the sweet, slow tender love making was romantic, Gloria wanted Aldo to lose absolute control with her and have everything he could give her. To me, Gloria explored more of her desires with Aldo and took the initiative to let Aldo know she wasn’t fragile, she could handle more with him. Bless Aldo and him assuming he needed to be gentle with Gloria, like yes that was a nice thought, but let’s be real after Gloria finally experienced her first O, and what true passion felt like, she wanted Aldo to just let go and ravage her! And ravage her he did… straight up dominated in the bedroom (respectfully and consensually) SO HOT! While this book wasn’t super spicy, the few spicy scenes that were present, showed a side of Gloria I wasn’t expecting but rooting for her and applauding her for exploring different things in the bedroom with Aldo, YAY! The chemistry was fantastic between Aldo and Gloria and even with their cute, sweet, romantic moments, with the added sexy moments between elevated them even higher on the romance scale!

Through ups and downs, and trauma, Gloria and Aldo got their happily ever after. In the beginning of this book, Gloria didn’t know exactly how her new life would be, but it ended becoming the best decision of her life. Battling inner demons, and taking the initiative to seek out professional help such as, therapy to work through issues, both Gloria and Aldo became stronger versions of themselves. I absolutely loved seeing Aldo and Gloria together, and of course how in love Aldo was with Gloria over so many years. Aldo went after the woman of his dreams, and Gloria finally had the chance to experience true love. Both Gloria and Aldo were absolutely loving and I adore them so much. From the longing looks across the room, to the passionate filled nights they spent together, to the sweetest most romantic gestures (courtesy from both Aldo and Gloria), Gloria and Aldo had a love story that was swoon worthy. The ending was of course sweet, but the epilogue and bonus epilogue were what sealed the deal of the most wholesome and heartwarming happy ending for Gloria and Aldo. Man I’ve really loved all the characters in this series, and once yet I cannot get over this book. Any book written by Lucy Score is a must!