REVIEW: Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score

In Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score, Knockemout, Virginia’s head librarian Sloane Walton has learned over the years to keep Lucian Rollins at arm’s length. The easy friendship they once shared as teens was broken one horrifying night when she took matters into her own hands, and he ended up paying the price for it. Even while recovering from a recent family loss, Sloane steers clear of Lucian. Or she tries to. Because everywhere she turns, he’s there, infiltrating her grief and their hometown. After one too many interactions leave her frustrated in more ways than she can count, Sloane stupidly agrees to a one-off with Lucifer–er, Lucian. But it doesn’t have the end result they’d hope for. Their sizzling night just proves that whatever is between them is way stronger and more intense than she’d realized. And as danger once again comes calling, being part of Lucian’s world might be what puts Sloane directly in harm’s way.

‘It was strange, having a secret with the boy I’d once loved and now sharing it with the man I couldn’t stand. There was subtext to every interaction.’

Lucian tries his best to forget the way he grew up; the atrocities he saw and dealt with at the hand of someone who should have loved him. That’s why he’s amassed as much power and wealth as possible–to right the wrongs of the past and to never be put in a position of weakness again. Sure, it gets lonely at the top. And there is times Lucian can’t help but think of what could have been with Sloane. But he’s no longer the teenager who climbed the cherry tree outside her window to get in her room to talk and listen to music. Having her anywhere near him these days would put her at risk on a daily basis given all the enemies he’s made. But after a foolish decision to spend one entire night worshipping Sloane’s gorgeous body, just to get it all out of their system, Lucian realizes he can’t let her go. Even though he knows he should.

“What’s the one thing we haven’t tried to stop whatever this is between us?”
“Murder?”
“Sex,” I countered.
“You’re serious.”
“One night,” I offered. “We get this insanity out of our systems.”
“We don’t even like each other. How am I supposed to let someone I don’t like do naked things to me?”
“Because I’ll make it feel so good you won’t care.”

The final book in Lucy Score’s popular Knockemout series is an absolute must read. Things We Left Behind spanned a few (chaotic) decades, mended a lot of hurt feelings, and threw together two people who couldn’t be more right for each other.

‘When things turned to ruins, Sloane and I were there for each other. Always. It was time we both remembered that. Because I wasn’t walking away. Not this time. Not ever again.’

CW: View Spoiler »Loss of a parent (cancer), grief, domestic assault & child abuse (both detailed), attempted murder. « Hide Spoiler

Tears were shed. Laughs were had. Heart(s) melted. And that was just me reading Things We Left Behind. We’re not even talking about the many ups and downs our hero and heroine, Lucian and Sloane, went through over the years. If you’ve read the two previous books (which I highly suggest doing as the story arc continued right where it left off in Things We Hide from the Light), then you’ve seen the bickering and sparks flying between this couple. So. Much. Bickering. But it was outrageously funny and on-point for Sloane and Lucian’s fiery relationship. Finally getting a full look at just what had taken place between them, how entangled their lives became as teens, and how many challenges they’d overcome personally–especially Lucian–made their propensity to push each other away make so much more sense.

What is it about a morally gray hero who you just *know* is hiding a soft & squishy heart that makes us swoon? Lucian was painted as both a hero and sort of a villain in the books leading up to Things We Left Behind so it was tough to tell which one he really was. (There was a reason Sloane dubbed him “Lucifer”!) In my humble opinion, he was a hero who had the capacity to do *anything* it took to keep his loved ones safe. And Sloane definitely fell in that category. I won’t get into Lucian’s harrowing past, but I will say it shaped him into the man he became. So even though it was heartbreaking, he found a way to push forward and rise to the top of his game in the D.C. political world which put him in a position to also help combat shady things happening in Knockemout.

Sloane was as feisty, loving, smart, and overly courageous as I thought she’d be. The head librarian in town, she knew and was adored by everyone. Before all the amusing antics she and the rest of the crew got up to in this story, things did start on a more somber note after the passing of Sloane’s amazing father. But the care, concern, and warmth the town showed her and her family brought home exactly why readers have fallen in love with Knockemout. And it was the catalyst for her and Lucian to finally try to talk out their differences–and get each other out of their system. Hilarity ensued. Feelings were denied and tempers flared all while their friends waited in the wings for Sloane and Lucian to figure it out. But at the end of it all, they proved to themselves as well as everyone else in their lives that what began in their teens was something that could sustain anything thrown at them. Sigh.

QOTD: Lucy Score included two terrifically epic epilogues that aren’t to be missed. Do you usually read epilogues or skip over them?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: September 5th, 2023 | Bloom Books | Knockemout #3

There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.

Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his father’s mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building an indestructible empire. The more money and power he amasses, the safer he is from threats.

Except when it comes to the feisty small-town librarian that keeps him up at night…

Sloane Walton is a spitfire determined to carry on her father’s quest for justice. She’ll do that just as soon as she figures out exactly what the man she hates did to—or for—her family. Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and the dislike they now share for each other, Sloane trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.

When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, these two find themselves not quite regretting their steamy one-night stand. Once those flames are fanned, it seems impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.

Broken men break women. It’s what Lucian believes, what he’s witnessed, and he’s not going to take that chance with Sloane. He’d rather live a life of solitude than put her in danger. But he learns the hard way that leaving her means leaving her unprotected from other threats.

It’s the second time he’s ruthlessly cut her out of his life. There’s no way she’s going to give him a third chance. He’s just going to have to make one for himself.