I have read and enjoyed Andy Jones's books previously so I thought this one would be similar. I was certainly pleased to see a character returning from Andy's debut novel El. He is Tom's best friend and is also the best friend in Just The Two of Us. I love the fact that El is gay and living with a disability but is still a fully formed character with a wicked sense of humour. Authors too often put in a disabled or gay character just to tick a box in their writing and so it was great to see El back again.

I had a hard time warming to Tom, our main character, as this book went on. I think that this is because he's just not the kind of person I would be friends with or really even cross paths with in real life and so I had trouble getting to know what he was all about. In my opinion he was really quite sexist and narrow-minded and so I really didn't warm to him. He is also well-written though and this is just a personal opinion.

In fact I struggled to come down on whether I actually enjoyed this book or not because of all the talk of getting to a certain number of sexual partners. That's just not the kind of thing I would sit down and judge someone by. I feel like the concept or trying to get to a higher number or stopping because your number is already to high is just really out dated and there are other judgements you make at the same time as making that one. I understand that this book wasn't written yesterday and so the attitudes were slightly different a few years ago but the whole concept just didn't sit with me.

There are also other things that the male characters do that kind of go hand in hand with talking about Tom's sexual conquests that I really didn't enjoy either. Their judgement of others is very much based on looks and their assumptions they make about a lot of the women they discuss is based around how that women dresses and how easy she might be to get into bed. I did persist in listening to the entire book because I wasn't sure if there would be a moral to all the laddish behavior exhibited by a lot of the characters and I was also hoping that the sensitivity displayed by Andy Jones in his previous books might shine through. Unfortunately it didn't and it wasn't and so I can't in good faith recommend this book.

I was very lucky to be given a review copy of this book by Andy Jones. I have read both his previous books, The Two of Us and The Trouble with Henry and Zoe and I really like Andy’s style of writing. I think, when reading mainly Women’s Fiction, you tend to read a lot of work written by female writers and, even though the style of every writer is different (and I enjoy all styles), you get something else when you read Women’s Fiction coming from a Male hand. I think there is less emotion in people’s actions and intentions but a deeper emotion when emotional connections are acknowledged – if that makes any sense!!

Anyway, this book was originally released before The Two of Us so you will see Fisher’s name mentioned and also El is a key part of this book – bear in mind (if you’ve read The Two of Us) this is before his condition has deteriorated. It was a lovely surprise to see El pop up in the book and I love him, his brashness and his loving relationship with his partner, Phil.

The story follows Tom as he has just cheated on his girlfriend and is now single having decided honesty was the best policy! He starts to think about all of the women he has bedded – which happens to 85 (Sadie-five). His friend, El, challenges him to make it to 100 before the anniversary of him losing his virginity – aptly named “C-day”! This sets off a string of funny, unintentional, random….well….shags basically! And we see Tom struggle with his feelings about what he is doing and what the outcome will be.

The story also explores the relationship between Tom, his widowed father and his much younger sister as well as between Tom and his much older neighbour (and new lover!).

I really enjoyed this book, but then I do always enjoy Andy’s work. I loved the message towards the ending about finding love again or not finding love again.

A nice, easy read, with some laughs and some cringe moments along the way! I can’t wait for your next book Andy! (Little request, could you do an E-short so we can catch up with Fisher from The Two of Us as well as seeing how Phil is getting on and Tom too?)

I have really found that my taste in books has changed over the past few years and unfortunately I left it a little longer to get to this one. I found the premise a little silly in the end but know younger me would have loved it.
I enjoyed Tom as a character and thought some parts were really funny but overall I got a little bored.

Thank you to Andy for sending me  a copy of this book via Netgalley. I've previously read The Two of Us and when Andy asked if I wanted to read Girl 99 I jumped at the chance. As a side note this story is set before The Two of Us.

Tom stupidly cheats on his girlfriend Sadie at the Christmas work party, when he decides that honesty is the best policy she doesn't exactly thank him.

When Tom's friend El (yes the same El from The Two of Us) hears of this latest development he makes a bet with Tom. To reach 100 sexual partners. With some coaxing from El, Tom reluctantly agrees to the bet.

When I was reading this book I felt like I had read parts of this story before. I'm not sure if this was because I knew El's story or because Tom's job was in the same field as Fishers, in The Two of Us and seemed to have some similar themes regarding the work aspect. Nevertheless I really enjoyed the story.

The story is mainly about Tom but I really liked Tom's sister Bianca. She's feisty and funny.

Tom manages to get himself into such ridiculous situations you can't help but laugh. This book will have you going from laughing to covering your eyes in embarrassment at the situations that Tom gets himself into.

I guessed how this story was going to end before we quite got there but I didn't quite guess the journey to get there. Verity is a little bit different. She's not afraid to be who she really is and there's something about her that makes Tom want to know more.

The thing I really like about Andy's books is seeing the story from the male perspective and I look forward to reading more from him in the future.

Andy Jones has done it again, Girl 99 is a great read full of humour and truth. Tom had been looking forward to spending the festive season with his girlfriend Sadie but she leaves him the day before Christmas. He’s more annoyed than upset, he knew she wasn’t The One; when he looks back through his conquests he realises that she was actually number eighty-five. He tells his best friend El about this which may be a mistake as he then agrees to a £1000 bet that he can’t make his number up to a 100 in the next few weeks. He certainly gives it a good try but then he meets Verity and he doesn’t want to count anymore as he knows she is The One but now he has to face up to the reality of how he has been behaving and that may not be that simple.
Andy Jones has a knack of creating a great main character that you can’t help but like. Tom does some things in the book that should paint him in a very negative light but I was still rooting for him and hoping he’d find his way. I loved the relationships he had with those around him. He is incredibly close to his Dad and Sister and after his mother’s death it is obvious that he has had to take on a bigger role in the family. One of my favourite parts of the book was his friendship with Doug, his elderly neighbour. Doug’s almost a father-figure to him, offering him wise words and trying to steer him back on to the right path. Their interactions really made me smile and they showed a very caring side to Tom’s character.
Andy Jones writes with much humour and wit; Girl 99 had me laughing out loud several times. Tom finds himself in a few interesting situations while trying to get to his 100. I think the best was his estate agent who definitely has an air of Fatal Attraction about her.
I have enjoyed all of the books by this author; his writing is funny, relevant and heart-warming, don’t miss Girl 99.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I had read the author's previous two books with Simon & Schuster and I was expecting a love story with a fun spark but also with some tears. But this story was considerably different to the previous two. I didn't warm up to the main character and his humour didn't make me laugh at all. I found him a bit too centered on himself and his quest was a bit meaningless. There were a few scenes that I enjoyed but in general it left me quite indifferent. I finished it out of curiosity but by the end, I didn't really care for these characters. I will continue reading this author, as I think he has a great way with words, but this one was a miss for me.

Thomas has just broken up with his girlfriend. Bored and confused he agrees to fill his vacant weekends with one goal — to sleep with one hundred women by his next birthday. Somewhere in the middle of his journey he meets Verity — his girl 99. Would he find the maturity to recognize what he is really looking for or would he miss his chance?

The novel has been categorized as women’s fiction, though, I think it’s more like of ‘men’s fiction’. The women written into the narrative served the purpose of Tom’s journey and solely to support his character development. They had very little to contribute to the plot besides being associated with him. A big proportion of the female characters were either former, current or potential romantic interest, often minus the ‘romantic’ bits of it.

Despite being a caring son and a devoted brother, Thomas came across as immature, somewhat selfish and inconsiderate when it came to other women’s emotions and his actions. I like flawed characters, they bring a spark to every story and make it even more interesting when the reader can follow their personal growth. However, I kind of missed to see this with the protagonist.

I just can’t take it seriously that a grown-up man would keep a diary with his ‘conquests’ where he rated each one of them up to his last girlfriend. He was always understanding with his sister and gave the impression that he doesn’t have an issue with understanding other women. Yet he failed to take into account the emotional state of mind of every other woman he had ever met.

Overall, the book offers a curious portrayal of modern relationships (and brief encounters) from a male point of view. It has a good premise that some readers can find humorous and entertaining. The protagonist doesn’t take himself too seriously and he eventually can come across likable. The story doesn’t come without a few lessons and has a bit of everything mixed into the plot.

I have kindly received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Uniton Publishing in exchange of a fair review.

It took me a while to get into the book, but I am glad I did not give up on it because I loved it! This is the first book that I read by this author and will definitely check out the rest.

My most favorite parts of the book were when the main character Tom interacts with his best friend El, and also when he has to act as a peacemaker between his sister and Dad. I also liked that even though he is trying to have sex with a 100 women, he is kind of sensitive and sometimes struggles with being the guy that is just having sex with women to up his number of conquests.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fun read!

Very entertaining story, about one lad who is trying to get his number up to 100, as a result of a bet! This is an amusing lad lit book, and as a female, its always great to get inside a male brain and see just what guys get up to when there are no women about to reign them in!

Tom did the honorable thing and admitted to kissing another woman, to his then girlfriend. However admitting to that sort of indiscretion via email on a Monday morning is never the advised way to go about it. Understandably Sadie is upset and soon after Tom finds himself single.

While he is thinking, works out that he has currently slept with 85 women, in his life, but his mistake was mentioning it to his best friend. El, who has his own fascinating storyline, due to his degenerative illness, bets Tom £1,000 that he can't get his total up to a nice even 100, by a certain date.

In amongst Tom attempting to hit on almost everything wearing a skirt, in an effort to win the money, we also see a lot of him at work, where he makes adverts. Some of the best moments are the auditions for the series of adverts for Skittles, and then the production scenes. The right mix of humour and being quite sweet.

Tom meets and does more with all manner of women, but only some of them are described to the reader in any details, and even then the sex isn't explicit. I loved Tom's estate agent, some great scenes involving her, well not the agent herself but the antics. Then there is Tom and the car share with Sadie, where things aren't quite as simple as it sounds.

Then there is Tom's downstairs neighbour, an older man and one of Tom's friends. Watch out for an excruciating conversation between Tom and Eileen about Dave. Really though there was plenty of humour throughout the book, and even more memorable scenes.

I could probably sit and pick out memorable scenes all day, or I could urge you to have a look at the book for yourself!

Girl 99 will appeal to fans of Mike Gayle, Matt Dunn and Steven Scaffardi, and for anyone that wants to see a story transforming a rather laddish man about town, into someone who meets a rather intriguing woman. There are plenty of laughs, some bad language, plenty of alcohol, and generally an all around entertaining feel to the book. In addition to a few deeper storylines, but even the those were offset with humour in the right way!

Thank you to Lake Union and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book was a quick and easy read. Tom is very active young man who's dalliances catch up with him in due time. I found this to be a light and easy read and found myself rooting for Tom to find love in the end!

Oh guys, you've no idea how excited I was to read a book by Andy Jones - finally! I love reading women's fiction written from a man's perspective, and I also have both Andy Jones's previous book on my TBR pile, though have never come to reading them - YET - and so I was truly desperate to read "The Girl 99".

So this book. Arrrgh, it got me a headache. So torn about this one! It may be a book also for women but mostly I think it was for men - the story seemed to me like a never - ending boastings of a man about his conquests - and it actually was only about taking girls in his bed and crossing them off the list. Just look at me, the pasha, ha! And truly, if it is the way that men think and behave than I am really happy to be a woman. I'm sorry, maybe I just didn't got the story but this is how I feel, and it has nothing to do with feminism - I just felt like the women were objectified in this story. It might be that the main character is only looking for real love, to find The One but well, for me he's looking in the wrong way. However, OK, Tom has redeemed himself showing that he also has feelings and emotions, that he's not the heartless bastard that his best friend wanted to make out of him, and - hallelujah! - he seemed to learn what real love is. Tom was rather prone to putting himself into embarrassing situations and mostly he was rather misunderstood by the opposite sex. Hmm. His journey into the happy ever after was bumpy and painful. I also liked the writing style - it was sharp, the author is a good observer of reality and the story is original.

I liked the fact that there were also other aspects to the story. The author touches upon family dynamics as well in his novel and Tom's family was really well portrayed. The interactions between Tom and his father and sister were entertaining yet poignant, and the relationships in this family were so well captured and felt so realistic - the author writes as it is. But sadly, there was nothing that wow-ed me in this story and eventually I started to skim reading.
At the end the author mentions that his debut story is about one of the characters that also stars in "The Girl 99". Well, duh, but it didn't make me want to immediately read this book. Sadly. I was hoping for much more, for a clever, hooking, unique read but sadly nothing doing.

All in all, "Girl 99" was light - hearted and humorous (though it was not my kind of humour, however it is just my personal feeling and opinion and it doesn't mean that other people are not going to enjoy this book, which they already do!) book about finding love when you don't expect it. It is written in a very modern way, full of nowadays remarks, and it is especially visible in the way the characters communicate, as the dialogues are sharp and well - written. Yes, it was not only a story about making it to number 100, but also about finding out who you are and what it is you want for your life, and I appreciate that, and I am really, truly sorry that it didn't work for me.

Tom’s on a mission. His best friend El has made him a bet that he can’t sleep with 100 women and, having just split from girlfriend Sadie, Tom accepts the bet.

I have to admit that initially I felt uncomfortable with the premise of Girl 99 that Tom is prepared to work his way through women as sexual partners as if they are a disposable commodity because that felt wrong to me, until I realised that that is the whole point of the book. Tom needs to come to the same conclusion and unless he does, he won’t find contentment. You’ll have to read Girl 99 to find out if this happens!

I love Andy Jones’ lively and engaging style of writing. It’s humorous, conversational and honest so that it’s really effortless to read. He is able to use dialogue in a natural way that makes me feel as if I am eavesdropping conversations rather than reading them on the page. I frequently found myself cringing at El’s language in the restaurant, but equally it was exactly as he would speak.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characterisation too. I really felt I got to know Tom as an individual. He’s endearing, frustrating, an idiot, good friend and a fool so that, much as I wanted to dislike him at times, I simply couldn’t. It’s this characterisation that is the particular strength of Girl 99. I really enjoyed meeting the different characters, especially El and it’s no coincidence that Verity is so named.

I think Girl 99 has something for every reader. Some will enjoy the racier passages and there is quite a bit of sex in this narrative. Some will find (as I did) the parts about the shoot for the advertising campaign highly entertaining. But for me, what I liked most was the exploration of relationships and human emotion. Andy Jones writes with such skill that he manages to encompass a wide range of these relationships without them ever feeling contrived, from the gay partnership between El and Phil, through Bianca’s burgeoning love life, to the senior relationship between Doug and Eileen so that Girl 99 isn’t just about a man on a mission to sleep with 100 women, but is actually about the variety, reality and honesty of relationships.

Girl 99 is not easily definable. Part chick-lit, part contemporary fiction, part lad-lit and part humorous narrative it is, above all, a really good read.

Another excellent book by a man who is fast becoming one of top 3 authors. Romantic in parts and absolutely hilarious in most I chuckled my way through this book. I love the way Andy Jones writes and he makes it so easy to picture the characters in your head and form a relationship with them.
Brilliant

Another winner from Andy Jones! I find his novels refreshing and with great characters. I always feel like i can connect with them and this one was no expectation.

Girl 99 is fantastic fun! Huge-hearted, snort-your-tea funny and completely life affirming, it's the perfect feel-good story. Andy Jones has done it again, with pin-sharp observation, merciless wit and characters so real you could meet them in the street. I loved it!

When Tom kisses another woman at his works Christmas party he decides that coming clean with his girlfriend Sadie is the grown-up thing to do. Whilst that may in fact be the case, it well and truly puts an end to their relationship when she decides to return the favour and their relationship breaks down.
However, this isn’t the end of the world for Tom. As much as he liked Sadie, he knew deep down that she wasn’t ‘The One’.
When Tom tells his friend El of the latest developments in his love life and discovers that Sadie was the eighty-fifth woman that he had slept with, the pair do what any couple of young men would do in a similar situation (I would imagine…) and El makes a bet with Tom that he can’t reach the dizzying heights of one hundred sexual conquests. Tom, however, thinks different. He’s gotten this far…What are an extra fifteen notches on the bedpost?
The mishaps that follow are sometimes cringe-worthy, sometimes hilarious, but always entertaining, as Tom does his very best get to that all-important three digit number.
However, when he meets Verity, suddenly the other ninety eight conquests don’t matter – and she’s the only one that counts for something…But it can’t really be that simple can it? Can Tom really change his ways and face up to the way in which he has been behaving or is Verity destined to be just another number…?

After reading and loving Andy Jones’ other books I was thrilled to learn about Girl 99; it sounded smart, snort-out-loud funny and full of fun and in classic Andy Jones-style it certainly didn’t disappoint.

I will admit to having my doubts about Tom when I first started reading. Whilst I’m sure that there are men out there who have bets with one another about how many women they can sleep with, I wasn’t too sure how I’d be able to relate to a character with this as their objective in book form. However, I needn’t have worried because the truth is that Tom isn’t really like this at all. He’s genuinely a nice guy who just happens to be pretty unlucky in love. He’s actually a really likeable character and it became clear pretty much from the off that this wasn’t going to be some ‘ladish’ type book, detailing all of Tom’s conquests in list-format. Although it could so very easily have become that, it’s credit to Andy’s brilliant storytelling that it doesn’t. In fact this story is full of love, it’s full of warmth and it’s full of heart.

Tom’s best friend El (who you may recognise if you’ve read The Two of Us) is suffering from Huntington’s disease and the friendship they share will leave you with a lump in your throat. This is definitely a softer side of the story that I have come to expect from Andy’s writing and it also contributes towards showing the reader that Tom has a heart of gold really and would do pretty much anything for his family and friends. El’s condition was sensitively written and utterly touching, especially the scenes with his partner, Phil. I can guarantee that you WILL have tears…

I felt that the characterisation in this novel was also really strong. I quickly warmed to Tom despite him getting through his list of women at the rate I would (ideally) like to get through my TBR list…He was flawed and easy to relate to – whether you’re a female or male reader – and he was simply trying to find out about himself…Pretty much like 99.999% of the rest of the population. Yes, there were times when I wanted to slap him round the chops and yes, there were times when he would really frustrate me, but deep down he was a good guy. He deserved to find a girl that was right for him- whether she was number 100 or 500. I couldn’t help but root for him and hope that he would eventually discover what love should be about.
Another character I loved was Tom’s elderly neighbour Doug. I loved the friendship that they shared and Doug’s pearls of wisdom and advice. I was also a fan of Tom’s sister, Bianca. Feisty, smart and unafraid to say what she thinks she was also a joy to read about and contributed to Tom’s journey in her own unique way.
I also love the fact that Girl 99 can be read and enjoyed by anyone – male or female. This is such a rare quality, particularly for humorous romance, yet I feel as though Andy Jones has achieved this with ease. Whilst some female readers might be shaking their head in despair and reading those cringe-ier moments through their fingers, equally male readers would undoubtedly nodding their head in agreement and relate to the story in many different areas.There still seems to be a shortage of chick-lit written from a male perspective and this is something which really needs to change. Not only do I love it as a genre but I also find it fascinating to see the story play out before me from a male point-of-view. We need more authors like Matt Dunn, Jon Rance and Andy Jones because their novels have something just that little bit unique. Often spit-your-tea-our hilarious, candid yet poignant and touching at the same time, these are the types of books that I can never get enough of. My favourite part of the story was definitely what happened at the end…I don’t want to give too much away but the scenes in which Tom attempts to put right his wrongs were smart and brilliantly written.

Girl 99 is a really refreshing and unique read. I love how Andy combines the lighter yet more complicated side of relationships, humour and more serious matters all at the same time. This is definitely a book that will have you laughing then bawling from one page to the next. It’s full of depth yet has that distinctive sense of fun that I have come to expect from an Andy Jones book.
Enjoyable, touching, heart-warming and above all, honest. Girl 99 is one not to be missed.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Everyone has a preference in books. My (major) preferences are: a good mystery/plot twist, and short chapters. This book provided neither of those, yet I found myself loving it!

This book has the makings of a rom-com movie. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

When advertising producer Tom’s girlfriend leaves him at Christmas because he kissed another girl, he realises that he has slept with 85 women. His best friend, El, who has Huntington’s disease, urges him to get to No. 100 within a few months, throwing in a one-thousand-pound wager to spice things up. Somewhat reluctantly Tom does add a few more notches on his bedpost, but then he meets someone who may be The One – the one who may also lose him that one-thousand pounds. An earlier version of this story was first published in 2012 with The Two of Us character Fisher as the main man, hence the reappearance of his best friend El. Jones acknowledges in a note at the end that Girl 99 comes first, before the events surrounding El in The Two of Us.

4.5/5

I’ve read the first two books by Andy Jones and they were both very good, so I was definitely looking forward to this one. It has a slightly lighter tone than the other two, but still has the same sense of fun, and I was soon relaxing as I delved into the story.

The writing is as sharp and observant as the other two. You have the funny moments, even when it’s also quite bad at the same time, there is some humour to it.

I was worried initially that I wouldn’t like Tom because I couldn’t relate to his objective and at the start he was more about the numbers than the people in one way, but I was stupid for worrying. I actually really liked him, he’s flawed (aren’t we all?!) but likeable. I loved reading about him and his family. As he was a fair bit older than his sister, it left him in the middle a bit, but he stuck up for his sister a lot which was great to see. Also to see his sister grow as well, especially when going on

This book also stars El, who also starred in Andy’s book ‘The Two of Us’, but this book is set before then, so El’s illness is less progressed. This didn’t stop the emotion being there. el’s relationship with Phil was absolutely heartbreaking. It added a bit more depth, to a story that is relatively light hearted.

This book was a fairly quick read that offers a lot of heart, but also the sense of fun I’ve come to enjoy from Andy’s books, even more so than the other books given the lighter overall tone.

Every pot has a lid and Fisher was determined to enjoy as many women as he could until he found his.
Enjoyed the journey with him - laughing all the way.