Story Lake, Book 1

From the publisher:

Brand new small town romance from #1 New York Times bestseller Lucy Score.

A Gilmore Girls meets Schitt’s Creek redemption romcom. What’s more inspiring to a romcom author than a hot, grumpy contractor literally knocking down walls?

Hazel Hart was a successful romance novelist until a breakup drives her straight into writer’s block. Having failed (and failed some more) to deliver her new manuscript, she’s hiding from the world behind a wall of old takeout containers until her publisher lays down the law. If she misses her next deadline it’s The End.

Desperate for inspiration, Hazel impulse-buys a historic home online and flees Manhattan to tiny Story Lake, PA. Upon her dramatic arrival―involving an incident with a bald eagle―she discovers the charm of her new home may have been slightly exaggerated.

The house is a wreck and the town is struggling after their biggest employer shut down. Also, since her raccoon-infested home came with a seat on the town council our introverted heroine is stuck with a front row seat to all the small-town shenanigans.

But Hazel isn’t worried. Not since all six-feet-three inches of grouchy contractor Campbell Bishop slapped a bandage on her forehead and unintentionally inspired the heck out of her. There’s only one thing to do: Hire Cam and his equally gorgeous brothers to renovate her new spider museum…er…house.

Okay two things. A fake date for “research purposes” will really put her work-in-progress on track. Before Hazel knows it, she’s writing a romance novel and living one. At least until the drywall dust settles, the town she’s falling in love with faces bankruptcy, and growly Cam remembers why he can’t live happily ever after.

Author’s Note: “This series is my love letter to every reader who said they wanted to move to a fictional town.”

**Don’t miss out on the stunning, limited DELUXE EDITION, while supplies last, featuring gorgeous designed edges, spot gloss on the cover, a map and chapter POV art.

https://amzn.to/47me4xj

This is the first book of a new series and was the start of my reading block! I loved this book, and when I was finished, I tried to move on to the next new book I had for review. I kept picking up new books and putting them down. Nothing was holding my attention, so I did a deep dive into Lucy Score’s backlist – reviews to follow! It took half a dozen books or so until I was ready to move on to a new author.

Hazel, a bestselling romance writer, finds herself facing a perfect storm of life changes: a fresh divorce, the loss of her New York City apartment, and a devastating case of writer’s block. In a moment of impulse, she dips into her savings to purchase a house in a tiny Pennsylvania hamlet—a purchase that unexpectedly comes with a seat on the town council.

Reality hits hard when Hazel arrives to discover her new home bears little resemblance to the charming fixer-upper she imagined. It’s a dilapidated mess, complete with a resident raccoon and more spiders than she’d care to count. Still, the town has one saving grace: a highly recommended contractor.

Enter Cam, the local contractor who’s as gorgeous as he is grumpy. Despite his surly attitude, his presence seems to unlock Hazel’s creative block. Desperate to keep her writing mojo flowing, she proposes they fake date. Cam thinks the idea is ridiculous, but Hazel’s charm gradually wears down his resistance.

What starts as a pretend romance soon turns into something real, filled with sizzling tension, hilarious moments, and heartwarming growth. This is a delightful fish-out-of-water romantic comedy where their fake relationship turns steamy, and the quirky townsfolk provide endless entertainment in the best possible way. The story builds to a satisfying happy ending that left me eager for more.

This is classic Score—fun, heartwarming, and populated with lovably eccentric small-town characters. Fair warning: like her other books, this one includes explicit intimate scenes, so readers who prefer fade-to-black romance might want to look elsewhere or skip those pages. For me, it was pure enjoyment from start to finish, and I’m already anticipating the sequel.

9/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

STORY OF MY LIFE by Lucy Score. Bloom Books (March 11, 2025). ISBN: 978-1728297057. 528p.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 at 9:36 AM and is filed under Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.