She’s the girl next door.
He’s the guy who’s loved her from afar.
They’re in for an unexpected tumble into love.

Title: Before Girl
Author: Kate Canterbary
Release Date: November 13, 2018

She’ll juggle your balls.
For Stella Allesandro, chaos is good. She’s a rising star at a leading sports publicity firm. She’s known throughout the industry as the jock whisperer—the one who can tame the baddest of the bad boys in professional sports without losing her signature smile.

But Cal Hartshorn is an entirely different kind of chaos.

He’ll fix your broken heart.
This ex-Army Ranger and now-famous cardiothoracic surgeon fails at nothing…except talking to a woman he’s adored from afar. Whether on the battlefield or operating room, he’s exacting, precise, and efficient, but all of that crumbles when Stella is in sight.

Cal always knows—and gets—what he wants, and now he wants all of her. His forever girl.

But Stella isn’t convinced she’s anyone’s forever.

Oh my manbrick!!!  Where to start?  If you don’t follow Kate Canterbary on social medial, first of all why not; second, you are missing so much goodness; and third, why the hell not.  The beginnings of this book were posted in early 2016 as just little snippets.  She claims they were a distraction as she was writing other books.  But that’s all we got.  About the equivalent of the first 4 chapters and then she was busy with other projects.  For some of us these characters were like the shy new kids at school.  We were dying of curiosity to know their story, but all they seemed to want to do is to lurk in the corner and watch us.  Hence, the standoff began.  We waited patiently (who am I kidding…try not so patiently) for these characters to speak to Kate again.  I think you could hear a collective roar when we found out this book was officially coming out.  Many of us fell in love with both Cal and Stella with just a few chapters, and we were DYING to know their story.  That’s a lot of buildup, both on the author’s part and the reader’s part.  I wanted this story so bad, but I was a little anxious about it too.  Would I love the rest of their story as much as I loved the snippets?   This book is EVERYTHING I hoped it would be and SO MUCH MORE than I expected!  Cal and Stella are now some of my most favorite characters ever, both individually and as a couple.  This book was well worth the wait.

Cal is shy and awkward; he’s growly and sweet; he’s an alpha male in the most unassuming way; he’s such a contraction of characteristics at times and that it makes him perfect.  Stella is a kick-ass woman; she’s strong and in charge; she handles multiple balls in the air like a pro; she unapologetically knows who she is; she’s also vulnerable and sweet.  She the kind of woman I want to be or at least be friends with.  The two of them together are perfect.  They both understand demanding jobs and accept that about each other. The chemistry is explosive and the heat can burn you from a mile away.

Not only do you get this amazing couple, but you get a plethora of side characters to fall in love with.  If you read Preservation, you will know the dynamics of the Hartshorn/Acevedo/Emmerling friendship.  They are 3 doctors that work at the same hospital and have become a tight knit group.  They love to give each other a hard time and you get lots of that in this book.  You also get a little more of Stremmel, a new doctor that came on the scene in Thresholds.  He’s so grumpy and it’s amazing.  I only hope that we get his story soon.  We also get Stella’s assistant who are like bickering siblings and a problem client that’s more like an overgrown child wanting attention.  The three of them are fascinating.  We also get a mention of a new doctor, that if previous books are any indication, hopefully that Easter egg will be in other books.  Many times a secondary character is just a way to move the story along.  A blip on a radar and someone you don’t think about later.  These secondary characters are definitely no blip.  They grab you by the shirt and scream in your face to pay attention to them.  Even if we only get a small glimpse, they are so intriguing and well written, you want to know more.

I know I’ve mentioned that some of the characters are in other books, but this is a complete standalone.  You do not have to have read any of the other books to thoroughly enjoy this one.  However, I have a feeling that you will want to go read the others after this one.  This book should go immediately to the top of your TBR list.  Wait…that’s not true.  You should stop what you are reading right now and read this book immediately.  Wait….still not true.  You should stop all other reading until you’ve read every single one of Kate Canterbary’s books including this one, at least once.  Yes, this is a book and an author who you will read over and over again.  Once you’ve read them all several times, you’ll want to get the audio books so that you can listen to goodness as well.

Get this book!  Get it now!  If I had won that $1.6 billion lottery I’d be giving everyone this book and all the books from this author.  Everyone needs Kate Canterbary books in their life, and you most especially need Cal and Stella’s story in your life.

 

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• Get a Taste of Stella and Call on Book+Main •

Torment, Mostly | The Ass(et)

Kate Canterbary doesn’t have it all figured out, but this is what she knows for sure: spicy-ass salsa and tequila solve most problems, living on the ocean–Pacific or Atlantic–is the closest place to perfection, and writing smart, smutty stories is a better than any amount of chocolate. She started out reporting for an indie arts and entertainment newspaper back when people still read newspapers, and she has been writing and surreptitiously interviewing people—be careful sitting down next to her on an airplane—ever since.

Kate lives on the water in New England with Mr. Canterbary and the Little Baby Canterbary, and when she isn’t writing sexy architects, she’s scheduling her days around the region’s best food trucks.

 

First comes love. Then comes marriage.
And after that? It doesn’t matter.
As long as they’re together.

Title: For Today
Series: The Avenue #3
Author: B. Cranford
Release Date: October 29, 2018

Seventeen Years Ago. The first time Aaron Andrews saw Simon Foster smile, he knew he was in trouble. He’d never seen anything—or anyone—like the man who’d stolen his favorite seat in his favorite coffee shop.

Six Weeks Ago. The late-night phone call that changed their lives forever was short. Four little words was all it took to set them on a different path—one that included new toys (not that kind), a dose of homophobia (been there), and an appreciation for spandex (though they always appreciated it . . .)

Today. That’s what Aaron and Simon are focused on as they try to plan the best birthday in the history of ever, all for the little boy who has quickly become their world. Even if that means dealing with too-tight costumes, a cape that won’t behave, a meddlesome family . . .

. . . and a past that won’t stay there.

I don’t normally read M/M, but I desperately wanted Aaron and Simon’s story from reading the other books in this series.  This book is everything and more than what I hoped it would be.  The book spans 20 years of their relationship, and what a beautiful journey it is.  This is such a beautiful story of meeting your soul mate and standing beside him through all of life’s ups and downs.  It’s a story of being and accepting who you are.  It’s a story of love, friendship, and family.

In this book you will get a range of emotions.  You’ll laugh at the innuendos, cry at many heart-wrenching and heart-warming  moments, get angry on both Simon’s and Aaron’s behalf, want to hug both of them at their heartbreaks.  Most of all throughout the book you will feel the love, the love of family and the love of a true partner.  Not only will Aaron and Simon give you couple goals, all of the siblings and significant others will give you family goals.  All families should love and accept one another as these siblings.  If you want a beautiful, captivating story about the strong bond of everyday love, then definitely get this book.

FREE with Kindle Unlimited

AMAZON UNIVERSAL

“Are you okay?” Simon asked, reaching over the table and resting a hand on Aaron’s. The contact was literally electric, a shock jolting the visual clear, and Aaron nodded fervently.

“Yeah, sorry, I, ahh . . .” Shit. He trailed off unsure what to say.

“Was it because I said I was glad you were nervous? I only said that because I am too, and didn’t want to be all nervy alone.”

“No, no, I got that. No problem.” He shrugged, feeling like his arms were no longer under his control. “I was thinking about your smile,” he offered his date, wanting to give the man the truth but maybe not the whole truth.

Which was surprising, considering that he was usually all about the overshare.

“In a good way, right? Not in a creepy way?” Simon asked with mock fear on his face, and joined Aaron when he began laughing.

“What, like the Joker?” Aaron asked, thinking of the gruesome, stretched smile of Batman’s foe. “Why so serious, Simon?”

“Well, this night took a turn.”

“Yeah, that’s probably something you should know about me,” Aaron admitted, grimacing a little.

“What do you mean?”

“You might have noticed that, ahh, I have a tendency to, umm, you know, sort of, redirect conversations.”

“To killer clown smiles?”

“Honestly, it’s usually to sex. Or sex-adjacent.”

“Sex-adjacent?” Simon tilted his head with the question, clearly trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“Yeah, like sex jokes. Sex positions. Sex stories.” He tapped the front of his forehead. “I have a dirty mind.”

“I hope you’re not afraid to use it,” Simon countered, making it clear that the idea of Aaron’s dirty mind was not a problem in the slightest.

“I’m usually not. With you, though . . .” He trailed off again, taking a deep breath and committing to what his mind was trying to get his mouth to admit. “With you, I find myself wanting to say different things, in the hopes I won’t scare you off.”

“It takes more than a dirty mind to scare me off someone I like.”

“Such as?”

“Any kind of lair is probably questionable. I mean, no one ever has a good lair; it’s always an evil one. People who hate puppies and like bell peppers are also on the no list.”

“Wait, that’s kind of specific. Hate puppies and like bell peppers? Like, if I hate both, or like both, I’m okay?”

“Huh?”

“What if I love puppies, but also like bell peppers? Does that make me a no? I could learn to hate bell peppers for you.” Aaron opened his eyes with what he hoped was earnestness. Feigned earnestness, though, because he really didn’t like bell peppers.

“Well, if you’re willing to train yourself away from the vegetable that shall not be named—”

“The Voldemort of the vegetable drawer?” Aaron interrupted.

“Yes, exactly. So, if you’re going to commit to hating them, we might be okay.”

Aaron wiped pretend sweat away from his forehead and laughed. “Crisis averted.”

Also Available in The Avenue Series

#1 About Time

“Such an amazing, beautiful story that captivated us from the very first page. B. Cranford delivered wit, pull-at-your-heart-strings emotions, hot and steamy moments and all the swoony feels. We absolutely adored Ashton and Duncan’s story!”—New York Times Selling Author, Max Monroe

#2 Because Forever

“I cannot recommend this book enough! Beth does friends-to-lovers in a story filled with so much humor, warmth, reality, and gorgeous true-to-life relationships. Two best friends, a passionate love, an electric, snarky chemistry, and a family that loves and supports each other. Just…..FEELINGS.”—Kathryn Nolan, Author of Strictly Professional

B. Cranford is a proud Australian living in the USA, a lover of books, breadsticks and bed, and the mother of two children who are far too similar to their father for her liking. A lifelong reader, she dove into the romance genre on the recommendation of her best friend and hasn’t looked back since. Her debut novel, The Brightest Star, a second chance romance with (she hopes) heart and humor was released on July 13, 2017, which just so happened to be her birthday. Because if you release a book on your birthday, you get twice as much cake, and that can only be a good thing.

 

How long would you wait for love?

Title: Genealogy
Author: Mae Wood
Publisher: Atacama Books
Genre: Romance/Women’s Fiction
Release Date: October 25, 2018

Inspired by real, hundred-year-old love letters.

My great-grandmother’s name is bold across the cream envelope, now golden at the seams with age. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen graceful, purposeful handwriting with a fountain pen and not the hasty scrawl of ballpoint.

Alice Hirshhorn, Astoria Hotel, Seattle Washington.

“Letters to Great-grandma Alice,” I say with wonder, tracing my fingers over the faded postmark and foreign stamps.

December 1915. Philippine Islands.

I turn the thick envelope in my palm, slide out the tightly folded pages, and unfold the thin paper, taking care not to tear the letters that were important enough to keep for a century.

My dearest Alice

“Great-grandpa was in the Philippines?” I ask.

“Oh no. Not your great-grandfather,” answers Grammie, her eyes twinkling with her mother’s secrets. “Elliott.”

~~~

At thirty-three and with her future unclear, Ali Waller finds her way home again. A box of long-forgotten love letters written to her great-grandmother holds the unlikely key to Ali finding her new path.

As she tracks down the letter writer and his descendants, Ali learns the magic of love, hope, and resilience.

Told by three characters, and across century and an ocean, Genealogy is an enchanting story about love and loss, taking chances, and embracing the surprises that life brings.

This book is such a beautiful story.  It will take you on a heart-melting and heart-wrenching journey that spans 100 years.  This book is sweet and emotional.  It’s about learning about yourself through your past and learning to live through life’s drastic turns.  It’s about finding love through 100-year-old letters and “letters” of today.

This book is a complete standalone.  It’s also a clean and sweet book.  You won’t have any sexy times, but this book doesn’t need it to captivate you.  It’s sweet, romantic, and an epic love story.  This is the perfect book to share with book clubs, friends, family, everyone.  If you are looking for something different, something that give you hope and teaches you about love and the unpredictability of life, then this book is a must read.  After reading this book I wish I could find some beautiful letters from an ancestor and take a journey in the past.  This story is one to savor.

* FREE with Kindle Unlimited *

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Present day – August – Ali

She didn’t want to move, and I didn’t want her to move either. But we were doing it, together. Sifting and sorting. Shredding and donating. Culling a lifetime into piles to be packed and placed into boxes. The lucky things would end up in my grandmother’s new six-hundred-twenty-three square foot assisted-living apartment. The not-so-lucky would end up on a curb.

“These linens,” she said, pointing to the bottom drawer of the sideboard in her formal dining room. “You need them.”

“Grammie, I don’t even have a dining room table,” I said, trucking along in our project to conquer the contents of at least one room this weekend.

“You had one before and you’ll have one again. And these are Irish linen.”

I thought of my tiny kitchen table, covered in discarded mail and unread magazines, not draped in substantial creamy white. She knew I didn’t have the space. I made space for the vintage black satin peep-toe pumps of hers from the fifties and had placed those in the “Ali” pile with a smile, but linens were a different story. The tablecloths were huge. For a table big enough to seat a dozen guests.

“They were Alice’s,” she said.

The trump card played, I bent and pulled them from the low drawer. I was Alice’s namesake, but I’d always gone by Ali because Alice felt formal and traditional, two words that didn’t fit me. She was the great-grandmother who I’d never met, who died a decade before I was born, but whose existence was never far from my mind. “Ali. A-L-I,” I’d explained a million times over my life. “It’s short for Alice. I’m named for my great-grandmother.”

“Well, one good thing is that your monograms match.”

I fingered the tiny beverage napkins, trimmed in hand-tatted lace and embroidered with ALW.

ALW—I smiled. Alice Lenore Wertheimer. Alice Lenora Waller. I was flirting with becoming Alice Waller Sayer, but I was solidly myself at the moment.

“Did she embroider these?” I asked, the old fabric stiff and smooth to the touch.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember my mother doing any needlework, but I suppose all women did back then.”

“True,” I said, flattening out the material with my palm and tugging out a crease. I dragged yet another plastic bin over and began piling the linens in, amazed that they had survived the years.

“The story on one of those tablecloths is that it was a wedding present from some member of the Denny family.”

Ah, an old Seattle story. I knew it wasn’t going to be long before I got one. My ancestors were early settlers of the city and my grandmother carried the banner of native Seattleite proudly, looking down her pioneer nose at the Microsofties and the Californians who had invaded her precious land. And though she’d moved to Kansas City with my grandfather nearly fifty years ago, the city was in her DNA.

I half-listened to her prattle on about some trip to Japan to obtain plants and animals for the Woodland Park Zoo as I examined the linens and placed them in the plastic storage tub.

“Okay,” I said, looking around the room, the sideboard now empty. Something accomplished today, and it made me feel good to have one of the many small tasks that it would take to empty this big house done. I looked at my watch. “I have to leave at three to head back to the hospital, so what can we get done in an hour?”

“One drawer to go,” she said from the dining chair where she’d settled in while I’d knelt in front of the sideboard. “The bottom one.”

Her words made my chest ache but also soothed them. I hated that she was getting confused more often. It reminded me that one day Grammie would be gone, but it also convinced me that we were making the right decision to move her. No more worry about her alone in this big house.

“All done,” I said, pointing to my tub of linens.

“The bottom-bottom one, Ali. The apron is a drawer.”

“I didn’t know that,” I said, feeling sheepish that I’d thought she had been confused. “A secret drawer?”

“That’s the point,” she said. The sideboard had been in this house my entire life and I’d never known that. I tilted my head to look at the piece, not quite believing her. “It’s where your grandpa kept his favorite pistol.”

“Still there?” I said with a smile, reaching down under the lip of the cabinet.

“Well, maybe. It’s been a long time since I dug around in that thing.”

“I’m going to change your name to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler,” I said, giving the concealed drawer a tug. It didn’t budge. Maybe she was confused after all. “Or Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. But only if we find a Degas or pirate gold.”

“It was a statue of an angel. Leonardo da Vinci,” she corrected me. In and out. Touch and go. Here and there. I was never sure where a conversation would lead us, and based upon the swelling in her extremities, I wasn’t sure today was going to be a good day for coherent conversation. It wasn’t her head so much as her heart that was slowly killing her by refusing to pump. She needed access to round the clock medical care now, not just sitters and family at the house, and we were making that happen although no one was happy about it.

“Oh, that’s right,” I replied, the memories flooding back of the story of a headstrong girl and her younger brother running away to the Met. “What I really remember about that book was them taking a bath in the fountain.” My grandmother and I were very close. The afternoons of my childhood had been spent at her house with my brother and sister. And while my parents were at work, Grammie showered us with troves of books. She was a children’s librarian. Or she had been until she’d gotten married. Because, as she’d explained a million times to me over the years, in those days nice women didn’t work outside the home after they were married, and so she’d retreated to a life of children and tennis and dinner parties.

I gave the drawer another tug and it budged a few inches, but it didn’t slide open.

“Oh, and the sideboard is yours too. No argument. It was—”

“Alice’s?” I guessed as I wiggled the drawer open to find not pieces of eight or a sketch of a ballerina, but more table linens.

“No, her mother’s. You’ll be the fifth generation of women in our family to own it.”
I looked at the dark, heavy Victorian behemoth with new eyes, knowing it was going home with me. And knowing I had nowhere in my tiny, Ikea-furnished apartment to put it, but I spoke the truth: “Thank you. I’ll be a good caretaker.”

“I know you will, sweet pea.”

I looked down at the linens, focusing on the task rather than the meaning of the work I was doing, filling the plastic bin with more ancient fabric than I’d ever begin to use. Under the last tablecloth, I found a small, flat box. The pistol? I recognized the foil-stamped logo. Frederick & Nelson, the grand Seattle department store that now only existed on Grammie’s bad days when she’d ask me or someone else to take her there for lunch.

“Grandpa’s gun?” I asked, setting the box into my lap as I sat on the floor. I lifted the lid.

“Papers,” I said, a little weary at the prospect of spending the last bit of time before I had to leave focused on her reading each paper carefully before deciding whether she could part with it.

My grandmother was a pack rat. I’d recently dropped off two decades of yellow-spined National Geographics at the recycling center and her garage was still stuffed to the gills with boxes of papers. I’d had visions of a huge bonfire while she was at a doctor’s appointment just to speed up the process.

The box resting in my cross-legged lap, I riffled through the contents. “Letters,” I said, pulling one out. At least it wasn’t receipts from the nineteen sixties, though the hospital bill from my mom’s appendicitis at age eight had been a gem. The total bill was a few hundred dollars and Mom had spent three days in a children’s ward. Most of my patients were sent home by the end of the day with a bill in the thousands.

The cream envelope was golden at the seams, the clean, cursive writing enchanting. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen graceful, purposeful handwriting with a fountain pen and not just a hasty scrawl of ballpoint on a scratch pad.

Alice Hirshhorn, the letter’s front proclaimed.

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Professional sassypants and novelist, Mae Wood has been a bookworm her entire life.

She loves cheeses, complicated crafts that she’ll start but never complete, and puns.

A while ago Mae decided that she needed to give up the fear that she couldn’t write “great literature” and write what she wants to read.

And she wants romance. And laughter. And real life.

She wants heroines who are brave. Brave enough to be themselves and brave enough to fall in love. She wants men who are strong and kind.

Mae is married, and has two darling children and an old dog who naps at her feet while she writes.

Keep in touch with Mae and find bonus content at her website — www.maewood.com

 

RELEASE NOTICE
Title: Finally Mine
Author: Lucy Score
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 26, 2018

Blurb

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?

Publisher’s Note: Finally Mine is the companion novel to Pretend You’re Mine, Harper and Luke’s story. It can be read as a standalone.

Review

There are some book that touch you in such a way that it’s difficult to describe. Especially if you are trying to write a review for it. This was just such a book for me. It’s one of those books that will stay with you. It took me a few days to process it before I attempted this review.

Some of the basics…this is a complete standalone. However, if you read Pretend Your Mine, you know and love this couple already. The story-line runs parallel with the story-line in Pretend Your Mine, so some scenes overlap but from a different perspective. If you haven’t read Pretend Your Mine, I promise you will not feel like you are missing anything, but I have a feeling you’ll run and read it once you are done with this one. I guess at the heart of this book I would call it a second chance book. Not just a second chance romance book but a second chance at life book. This book has so much in it. It’s got some military, small town, humor, tragedy, emotions, and more. This book is about fear, rebirth, acceptance, and finding your own strength. It’s about discovering who you are when faced with tragedy, and loving that person. It’s about friendship and letting people love you.

If you’ve read Lucy Score before, you know she writes about these amazing kick-ass female characters that just jump off the page with strength, sass and intelligence that any woman would admire. Gloria is very different. She is unsure, timid and riddled with self-doubt. She’s one of those women that is easily overlooked. The most beautiful part of this book is seeing her blossom with a quite strength and learning to truly become herself. I think that her strength, one that is hard earned, is more admirable than most of the female characters I read from any author or genre. I connected with Gloria on many levels. Her journey gives me hope and is awe-inspiring.
As amazing as Gloria is, Aldo is just as wonderful. He is in my top 10 favorite book boyfriends of all time. Aldo has so much going for him, but my favorite part of him is how much he believes in Gloria. No matter what, his belief in her never waivers.

This book has ALL the feels and I think it is Lucy’s best book yet. Make this book the next one on your TBR list. Wait…no. Stop what you are reading and read this book now. Once you are done reading this book then tell all your friends about it. Or better yet…just give them a copy. The world needs more love, hope, and acceptance like in this book.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42416455-finally-mine

PURCHASE LINKS – $2.99 for release week only

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JL1Y2DD
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JL1Y2DD
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07JL1Y2DD</ a>
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07JL1Y2DD
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07JL1Y2DD

FREE in Kindle Unlimited

AUTHOR BIO

Lucy Score is the author of the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestseller Pretend You’re Mine. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism. She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym. She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, or oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website: http://www.lucyscore.com/
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/lucyscorewrites/
Newsletter: http://www.lucyscore.net/subscribe-lucys-newsletter/
Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/scorelucy/
Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LucyScore1
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lucy-score
Blog at: http://www.lucyscore.com/blog/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8103667.Lucy_Score
Booksprout: https://booksprout.co/author/100/lucy-score
Book+Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/lucyscore