Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over: Knockemout Series

Is Things We Never Got Over worth reading?

Overall, the Things We Never Got Over series by Lucy Score is worth reading if you like a face-paced, spicy romance novel with some deeper plotlines.

Things We Never Got Over Series in Order

There are three books in this series, also known as the Knockemout series (based on the fiction small town in Virginia where they take place), and we do recommend reading them in order of publication for the best reading experience.

1. Things We Never Got Over (2022; main characters are Knox Morgan and Naomi Witt)
2. Things We Hide From the Light (2023; main characters are Nash Morgan and Lina Solavita)
3. Things We Left Behind (2023; main characters are Lucian Rollins and Sloane Watson)

Things We Never Got Over (2022; Book 1 of 3)

Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout Book 1)

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New York Times bestseller

TikTok sensation

Things We Never Got Over Age Rating

We recommend Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score for mature adults ages 18 and over, due to some scenes with graphic and explicit sex.

Things We Never Got Over Summary (Without Spoilers)

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score is the first book in a three-book Knockemout series.  This book follows Naomi, a 30-something identical twin, immediately after she left her groom at the alter, to a middle-of-nowhere country town in Virginia called Knockemout, which feels a bit like entering a time warp.

Naomi shows up to help her twin, Tina, who lives in Knockemout, and there, she meets the brooding perpetually-single local bartender/barber, Knox Morgan.

Naomi’s twin, Tina, is her polar opposite and always seems to be up to no good. Although Tina exits the story fairly quickly (not a spoiler), she leaves behind her 11-year-old daughter, Waylay, and with no other family in town, Naomi is the only logical choice to care for her.

Naomi and Knox are immediately attracted to one another but dance around their magnetism, as neither is looking for or desiring a relationship. As the story progresses, however, their connection is undeniable and they soon throw out all the rules they’ve set in place.

Things We Never Got Over, despite being a romance at its core, also features an entertaining cast of supporting characters and many unexpected plot twists. Naomi’s new life in Knockemout isn’t an easy one, as she faces a custody battle, a new job, the return of her evil twin, organized crime bosses, and tries to manage her feelings for Knox at the same time.

In a town where things seemed so simple when she arrived and everything was handled with a handshake, why did Knockemout, Virginia turn into the most complicated town in the country for Naomi Witt?

Things We Never Got Over Review

Things We Never Got Over was a quick read despite being over 500 pages. That being said, I felt some parts, and even characters, were unnecessary and that the book could have gotten its point across in around 300 pages.

Some parts of Things We Never Got Over were tremendously cheesy. For example, Knox owns a restaurant and brings brownies and Midol to the female servers once a month when they are on “Shark Week” since their cycles are synced. The chapter then describes the women walking around the restaurant with heating patches on their bellies eating brownies. That is not only far-fetched but unrealistic.

Speaking of far-fetched, Naomi’s best friend Stef visits her, then essentially just stays for the entire book. Her parents do the same. The reader is unrealistically left to believe that these normal people are just flocking to Knockemout and joining in the BBQs and festivities and living as one happy big joyous family.

When I say there are unexpected twists and turns in Things We Never Got Over, I very much mean that. I do not think any reader who began this story and learned about small town, U.S.A., its sexy bartender, and its wide-eyed newcomer expected it to take turns involving a crime boss, kidnappings, gunned-down police chief, and poker games with questionable characters, but alas, it’s all in there.

For a spicy romance novel, I feel the last quarter of Things We Never Got Over was a bit of a reach as it attempted to cross the line into thriller territory. While I understand the story needed more depth, I am unsure if this plot twist really worked. It felt a bit forced.

All of that being said, I did enjoy Things We Never Got Over. It was fast-paced, and some of the characters, particularly the main characters, were very well-developed. Score’s description of the town deserves a nod, since I felt I could picture Knockemout perfectly.

And the spice, well, if you like it… it’s very much there. This was, at its core, a romance of two unlikely people, and the witty supporting cast that surrounded them was more than entertaining.

One thing I loved about Things We Never Got Over is that Knox was 43 years old. As a fortysomething myself, I especially notice that the majority, if not all, of the books I read in the romance genre, focus on characters in their 20s or early 30s. Kudos to Score for making her leading man a bit older and therefore more relatable to people in my age category.

Overall, a good read. A great read? I wouldn’t go there. But good read, yes. Things We Never Got Over would be the perfect book to bring to the beach and read while watching your kids splash in the ocean.

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Things We Hide in the Light (2023; Book 2 of 3)

Things We Hide from the Light (Knockemout Series, 2)

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Things We Hide From the Light Age Rating

We recommend Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score for mature adults ages 18 and over, due to some scenes with graphic and explicit sex.

Things We Hide from the Light Summary (Without Spoilers)

Things We Hide From the Light is the Things We Never Got Over sequel and Lucy Score’s second installment in what is to be a three-book series. While the first book, Things We Never Got Over, told the story of Knox Morgan and Naomi Witt, Things We Hide From the Light focuses on Knox’s brother, police chief Nash Morgan, and insurance agent Lina Solavita.

Nash is in a funk as the book begins as he is trying to heal both mentally and physically from a gunshot wound that occurred in the first book. He cannot seem to get his head on straight or enjoy what he previously did, not even his work.

Enter Lina, his new neighbor in town on assignment. She is a traveling large-claims insurance agent. She is a non-committal type who is a bit of a wild child and has no interest in settling down.

While Nash and Lina get to know one another, they embark on a quest to answer some major unresolved questions from the first book in the Knockemout series.

Duncan Hugo, son of a local crime lord, is still on the loose after the crimes he committed in the first book.

Additionally, one of the Knockemout police officers who works under Nash, Tate Dilton, is placed on leave for complaints of harassment. Dilton cannot seem to leave well enough alone and seems to be a thorn in the side of both Lina and Nash.

All the characters we know and love from Things We Never Got Over are back along with a few new ones, working together and using their own strengths to get to the bottom of small-town Knockemout’s large-scale mystery, and Things We Hide From the Light culminates in a tense, suspenseful scene that finally brings some closure to the multiple loose ends these characters face at the book’s beginning.

The stars of the show here are Nash and Lina, who have their own reasons for not wanting a relationship but seem to feel a magnetic pull toward one another that cannot be denied.

As the two navigate through the twists and turns that accompany being neighbors, being attracted to one another, and trying to identify and hunt down criminals, they find themselves inching closer and closer to one another and learning that some of the answers they may be seeking are right in front of them.

Things We Hide from the Light Review

I enjoyed Things We Hide From the Light more than the first installment in this series. Nash and Lina are an interesting couple and Score does a wonderful job developing them. After reading two of her books, I see a trend here: the character development of her main characters is excellent.

It should be noted that the police and crime details in Things We Hide From the Light give it an extensive amount of depth. Whereas with the first book in the Knockemout series, I felt that romance took the front seat and the crime scenes were slightly forced, Things We Hide From the Light does a great job at blending the two perfectly and balancing the story nicely.

That being said, the spicy romance is not lacking in this book, but it’s more of a slow burn so be willing to wait for it.

Score has been criticized a bit for the length of her romance novels and I have to agree. To use over 600 pages to tell this story does feel a bit excessive and certain parts and even minor characters (a great example is Mrs. Tweedy) were quite frankly unnecessary.

Similar to the first book and perhaps even more so, there were some cheesy scenes in Things We Hide From the Light, but Knockemout has really grown on me and I found myself smiling more, cheering for the characters more, and just embracing Knockemout for all that it is as I read this novel.

One other criticism I have and seem to share with other readers is that Nash and Lina fall hard and fast for one another but don’t have many scenes where they are really talking and getting to know one another. I simply got the impression that these two characters did not know much about one another apart from mind-blowing sex.

Overall, I did enjoy Things We Hide From the Light. It’s a fast-paced read with a great storyline and subplots. Score has the remarkable ability to get me to finish a 600-page book in less than a week, and that’s a feat. The crime is crime-y, the spice is spicy, and the characters are witty and a lot of fun.

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Things We Left Behind (2023; Book 3 of 3)

Things We Left Behind (Knockemout Book 3)

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#1 New York Times bestseller

Things We Left Behind Age Rating

We recommend Things We Left Behind for mature adults aged 21 and over due to content including alcohol abuse, graphic domestic violence, and graphic sex.

Things We Left Behind Summary (Without Spoilers)

Things We Left Behind is the third and final book in Lucy Score’s Knockemout series, which focuses on the story of the Morgan brothers’ brooding and mysterious friend, Lucian Rollins (who has a propensity for wearing suits and keeping tight-lipped about his work), and the petite, yet feisty, local librarian, Sloane Walton.

As hinted at in the previous two books, Lucian and Sloane have a history and are arch-enemies. The two can barely stand to be in a room together without shooting insults and quips in one another’s direction.

Told in the present time with a few flashbacks to show the early aspects of their relationship, Things We Left Behind tells the good, the bad, and the ugly and answers all of the reader’s burning questions that have built up for two books.

We learn that Lucian and Sloane’s tumultuous relationship is riddled with hope, betrayal, anger, and lots of loose ends that were never tied up.

As the two battle an undeniable connection between them, can they fix the errors of their past in order to move forward into the future?

All of Knockemout’s fan favorites are back to help tell the story of Lucian and Sloan and we watch their personalities and relationships blossom alongside our leading couple.

Lucian is a power seeker, always bent on revenge and erasing the damage his father did to the family name. He’s bonded with the feisty librarian over a dark secret from the past and their current hatred for each other.

These enemies just may turn into lovers. However, their newfound sparks bring them to yet another source of disagreement — her desire to start a family and his refusal to even consider it.

Things We Left Behind Review

Things We Left Behind was one of the most anticipated releases of the year for me personally. I finally embraced Knockemout and all its cheesiness and, after finishing up the trilogy, I wish I could move there tomorrow.

Score does a beautiful job describing the characters, the setting, and the feelings of those involved. I feel that reading her books is a very immersive experience.

Lucian and Sloane were by far the most anticipated couple to read about, and their story certainly did not disappoint. Some popular tropes used in this book are enemies-to-lovers, small-town romance, and childhood love. (Revealing more tropes may spoil the plot!)

Lucian and Sloane, both minor characters in the first two books, finally receive the spotlight they so deserve. We now learn why Lucian is the way he is, how Sloan plays into it from Day 1, and how the two fit into one another’s lives.

Lucy Score’s characteristic steamy scenes are certainly not lacking in this
story. Easily the most sexually graphic book in the trilogy, Score punctuated the intense connection between these two characters with very raw, unfiltered interactions, both sexual and nonsexual, to help the reader really get a grasp of all they’re going through and have been through.

All in all, I couldn’t recommend this book highly enough for fans of Lucy Score’s Knockemout series. The trilogy would simply not be complete without telling the much-anticipated story of Suit Daddy and his leading lady.

This book was the cherry on top of a small-town romance trilogy sundae, and I highly recommend it.

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Conclusion

Now you know everything a reader really needs to know about Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over series — a TikTok sensation. To reiterate just a few of the main points, we think this book series is best for mature adults who enjoy very spicy romance with some deeper plotlines, like Colleen Hoover’s books and/or Tessa Bailey’s books and small-town romances.

You can buy each book separately or as a full set on Amazon:

Knockemout Series 3 Books Set By Lucy Score

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Already started the series? Then, share your personal favorite couple from the Knockemout series in the comments!