Review: Finally Mine by Lucy Score

 

I finally got to the sequel in the Benevolence series. I have been eyeing this for the past year because I was obsessed with Pretend You're Mine. I read that in two days, I could not put it down. This installment took me almost a week to read. I just was not as invested in the story because a good portion of it seem to be a retelling of the first book of Luke and Harper. Obviously the beginning of this would be a retell because Gloria was the victim.

We follow Gloria and Aldo and their connection and love story. The scene that started it all was Gloria being assaulted in the bar parking lot by her boyfriend Glenn. Harper ends up jumping into the fight and Luke ends it. Gloria is finally leaving Glenn, which is what sets him off. He gets arrested finally and Gloria goes back to her mother.

This book is heavy on domestic assault and the victim shame and guilt that follows. The whole town knew what was happening and all Gloris sees is pity. She feels that she is a disappointment to her mother because she let it go on for 10 years. Aldo is finally happy that Gloria took the initiative and left Glenn. Gloria starts to take steps to better her future. She gets a job at the florist and she becomes fast friends with Harper and Sofia. 

Gloria is constantly thinking that the town calls her poor little Gloria Parker and it is mentioned a lot throughout the book which got really annoying and it made me just feel horrible for all the domestic abuse survivors out there that don't have support after leaving and constantly torture their selves with unhealthy thoughts. 

Gloria and Aldo grow close and eventually Aldo deploys. While on his tour, his convey hits a roadside bomb and he has to have his leg amputated. He comes back broken and angry that his future with Gloria has been snatched from him once again because he believes that since he lost his leg, he is no longer whole and not capable of keeping her safe. 

Alot of things happen and Harper and Luke's relationship and scenes from the first book make a reappearance which was really frustating because it took me out of Gloria and Aldo's story. I know that I will be dealing with some more scenes from the first book and this book in the next book.