99 Percent Mine By Sally Thorne
2.5*

This is probably one of my shortest reviews ever. I wanted so much to love this book and maybe I put pressure on the book, the author but -and this is coming from someone who can knock out a book a day- this book took me three days to finish because I simply could not bring myself to continue with it - it was that laborious. The story was disjointed and the characters had zero connection. The romantic aspects were negligible. The characters were ok enough but not such that I felt invested in them individually or as a couple. I hate ‘best friends’ who are saboteurs and I really hate this review and what it says but in all honesty, the final third of the book was it’s only redemption. Finally, there was one important detail I really wanted from this book (about the ring and letter) and the author left it unanswered. Why, goddammit, why?

*I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

**Reviewed by Melinda for Joandisalovebooks Blog.

This has been a highly anticipated and long awaited second novel from this author. I waited to start this until I had time to really sit and enjoy it, and that I did - enjoyed it, but I didn't love it like the first book. I know you are not suppose to compare books from the same author as it is like comparing your children, but I felt it should have had the same quality of writing which this one didn't. The first few chapters were baffling with waffling dialogue that at times were hard to follow. Granted, I did have an early copy and the formatting made it more difficult but this was not that. It was like hearing one side of a story and only getting part of it in words on paper and the rest is lost in the character or author's own head. And it slipped back into that state from time to time during the book. I kept going from rolling my eyes to swooning - from wanting more to wishing they'd hurry up and get it on! Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad book, it is good but not completely polished or perfected. It doesn't have the same light hearted ness that the first book had. This one is more intense and deeper.

So what is it about? It is a tale of childhood friends that have a bond as strong as family can be. They are propelled together to renovate a treasured home to sell after. Throw into the mix that they each have had feelings for each other since they were teens and now are both single. Makes for some interesting work days for one and all.

Darcy is a twin, and her brother Jamie has laid claim to Tom their friend as his bestie since they were eight. He has warned her to never hurt Tom and to just keep walking by. I feel it is definitely an opposites attract romance with missed chances when they were teens and the sexual tension is lit with all the years they have wasted! What I did love was Tom. He is that hard working, strong morals guy that would do absolutely anything for his family and especially Darcy. She was irrational more times than not, but she is undeniable loveable. When they were alone and connecting, it was simply great. Poor Tom just had to endure all the other craziness that comes with the twins. The last chapter / epilogue seems to be setting us up for maybe a sequel or second book with Jamie's journey? Hopefully it will be more sumptuous than this one.

The Hating Game was one of my favourite reads of 2016, so safe to say that I was extremely excited to get my hands on Sally’s latest novel, 99 Percent Mine. This novel is not out until 29 January, so a big shout out to my friend Alana, who managed to convince the Netgalley fairies at Hachette Australia to provide an eARC for me to read and review.

If you’re looking for a great summer beach read for those residing in the southern hemisphere right now, then look no further than 99 Percent Mine. It has all the right ingredients for the ultimate swoon read, and I guarantee that any romance/chick lit lover will devour this novel in a matter of hours. I know I did.

For those that have read The Hating Game, our protagonist for 99 Percent Mine is nothing like the sweet and small Lucy we all met and loved in Sally’s previous novel. Darcy Barrett could eat Lucy for dinner — in a good way! She’s sassy and fierce, in a way that’s completely different to Lucy, and it’s pretty hard not to root for her. An avid traveller that never stays in the same place for long, for the first time in years, Darcy is living in the inherited run-down cottage of her grandmother, which she and her twin brother co-own. They’re left with the instructions to restore it for sale, and her brother’s sent his best friend Tom to help with the renovations.

As her brother’s best friend, Tom Valeska is definitely off limits. And Darcy is totally fine to only have 1 percent of him. But even with all of her travelling, she’s never come close to finding someone quite like Tom. 99 Percent Mine follows a cliched plotline, but I can definitely forgive this because as with Sally’s previous debut novel, the story is driven by the characters you meet. Darcy and Tom are entirely different to Lucy and Josh, yet the same kind of romantic magic leaps off the pages. I adored the slow burn romance and even the cliched “he’s-broken-up-with-his-fiancee-but-hasn’t-told-her-yet” plot because the reveal was just so satisfying.

Sally, you’ve done it again. I cannot wait to see what you come up with next!

Thank you to Hachette Australia for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed Sally Thorne's debut novel 'The Hating Game', so I was excited to read her second novel.

Unfortunately, I don't have many complimentary things to say about 99 Percent Mine.
The characters were unlikable, the dialogue was clunky, some scenarios incongruous.
There's no way of telling where the novel is set - it's all very generic - but it's not the novel's biggest fault.

I'm afraid '99 Percent Mine' is 99% forgettable. Here's hoping Sally Thorne's third novel will be more accomplished.

99% Mine is a fun novel to read if you don’t take it too seriously or expect too much. It took me a while to enjoy this book because I found the main character Darcy to be annoying rather frequently in the beginning. I was able to overlook a lot of my issues with Darcy once we were introduced to our love interest Tom. He was charming, and it complimented her character enough to minimise the issues I had with her while he was in a scene.

I had some issues with the dialogue feeling unrealistic in places and this did take me out of the story a few times but overall the cast in this story is fun and I enjoyed Truly and the building crew whenever they appeared. This isn't a fast-moving romance and I was a little disappointed that 99% Mine ended when it did because I could have happily read another 100 pages with these characters. Unfortunately, that isn’t because it was so incredible that I needed more, but because I feel like it took so long to get anywhere that by the time the interesting stuff was happening there weren’t many pages left.

Despite me saying this I still had fun reading 99% Mine. I liked it enough that I will go back and read her other novel The Hating Game at some point in the future.

Many thanks to Hachette Australia and Netgalley for a copy of 99% Mine to review.

Darcy Barrett is a train wreck and I love her!

Darcy and Jamie are terrible twins, they really make a mess of things. Their buffer throughout their childhood and into adulthood is Tom. They each want Tom to be ‘theirs’ and one twin hasn’t quite worked out how to share him, while the other battles with feelings that they believe are not reciprocated.

I loved The Hating Game, and this was a good follow up, but where THG is a light and airy romantic comedy, this one is a bit darker and has a lot more smut. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; THG glossed over it, so I wasn’t expecting it in this one.

99 Percent Mine is a slow burn, it takes some time for the storyline to pick up, and even then, it’s doesn’t get super engrossing until about half way. I loved Darcy and liked Tom, the others felt a little underdone, but I guess it’s not their story.

Overall I liked this book, but I enjoyed The Hating Game more.

Thank you to Sally Thorne, Hatchette Australia and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Sally Thorne’s hit The Hating Game, so was excited to get my hands on an advanced copy of 99 Percent Mine. It didn’t quite wow me as much as the former, but it was a cute, funny and sweet romance.

Darcy and her twin brother Jamie have to get their late grandmothers house renovated and sell it to split the money between them. Enter Tom, builder extraordinaire and Jamie’s best friend. He also happens to be the only man Darcy has ever loved. Newly single, and with his own building business, Tom has agreed to renovate the place for them. Will anything ever get built with all the sparks that are flying between him and Darcy? And can Darcy’s dodgy heart take it?

I enjoyed 99 percent mine, however I found the continual hyperactive banter and non-stop inner monologue quite annoying. Darcy just couldn’t stop going on and on about how hot Tom was and it wore thin pretty quickly.

However, overall it was a cute little romance book. A few twists and turns salvaged the story line, however it didn’t quite live up to its predecessor.

There were some lovely, sweet parts to it and some steamy scenes. Overall I enjoyed it. I just didn’t particularly warm to the characters.

Would I recommend 99 Percent Mine?
It was a cute little book. It had some very funny parts, if you are a big fan of romantic comedies, you may be able to set aside the hyperactivity and will hopefully enjoy it more than I did.

Many thanks to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for a copy of 99 percent mine to review.

This was such an amazing romance book. I loved Darcy's character she was spunky, sarcastic and funny, but she also was vulnerable. Tom was swoon worthy for sure, a guy so devoted, loving, caring and fun. Whenever they're together it was explosive!

I have to give this book major props for having such unique and realistic characters. I loved that Darcy had a friend in Truely and her close twin relationship with her brother, Jaimie was also really fun. It was awesome to see a female main character that was so strong but also soft, that didn't need to bring down other women around her to make herself 'different', instead we got the amazing Darcy that is just unabashedly herself, and is great in all ways.

Sally Thorne has come off a massive debut from The Hating Game, and really knocked 99% Mine right out of the park. She is an author that has definitely just jumped right onto my 'always buy list'.

I was so excited when I was chosen to review this book!
I wasn't let down either. Sally Thorne has a writing style that is so colourful and distinct; I find her writing style extremely refreshing in the huge sea of badly written romance novels. I seem to bring this up again and again; I am not a huge fan of first person narrative but she makes it work to the point that you don't even notice it.

I felt like I got to know each character very quickly and i did actually like each of them (always a bonus!)

The plot was good -although the reason for Jamie's absence and Darcy's huge lifestyle change/ bender seemed a little underwhelming.  In fact so did Tom's reason for leaving towards the end. I think perhaps these parts of the story could honestly have been fleshed out more to really emphasize the make up scenes.

That's not to say I didn't thoroughly eat this story up! I really enjoyed it and think it makes a great follow on from the 5/5 The Hating Game.  ( I really didn't want to mention The Hating Game in this review but it is why I am here! So apologies for bringing it up.)
I can't wait to read more from Sally Thorne! This book has cemented her as a go to romance writer for me!
3.5/5 stars

I'm going to be fully upfront. Sally Thorne wrote one of my favourite books - "The Hating Game". And boy did I love that one. So, when I started this, I'll just say I had high hopes. For a little while, maybe the first few pages, I was a bit unsure if those high hopes were going to be met. Darcy, the protagonist, I found a bit hard to relate to at first. She comes from a very different place and is rough, tough and a little darker than I was expecting. BUT. After the first chapter, I really began to get into the groove of it. And to cut a long story short - I really enjoyed this novel. I really did.

And boy, can I just say how swoon-worthy Tom Valeska is. You can see why Darcy wants to make him "99% hers". And I don't blame her. I have to say, though, by far the best part of this novel, was Darcy herself. Darcy was feisty, fun and just a whole lot of fun to read along with, even though at first I wasn't sure if I was going to like her/this novel. I think that Thorne really portrayed her well, a complex creature, who is tough yet at the same time has a dysfunctional 'cotton reel'/ heart. It's little things like that that kind of made her a little bit more real.

Is this book different from The Hating Game? FOR. SURE. They are literally polar opposites, from the characters personalities, to their look, to the storyline. And perhaps that's where my thinking was wrong coming into this book. I was expecting this novel to be more similar to and like The Hating Game. But it's not. It's completely its own novel and story, and yet still retains Sally Thorne's lovely writing style and eye for romance stories. It's hard to believe that this is only her 2nd book she's ever written. So I look forward to all her future novels.

Believe me, if you're looking for a good story to read, this is one for you. Definitely.

Note: I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, maybe it's just me.

I'm scrolling through the reviews and anticipation reviews for this book, and maybe it's me that has the problem.

Look, this book was ok, but I'm just not feeling the mad love for it that everyone else seems to have experienced.

Darcy has been in love with her twin brother's best friend forever. He's now renovating the house she's been living in, and so they are in constant close quarters. Is it a recipe for disaster, or the start of something really, really right?

Look, this was quite a hot little book. The chemistry between Tom and Darcy was off the charts.

But.

I found it a little bit disjointed, the book jumping from one moment to the next with no transition. Whilst the conversations were hot, they didn't always flow and I would have to go back and re-read to see if I'd missed something.

The start was so awesome, Darcy this kick ass chick working in a biker bar taking no shit from anyone. Then she sees Tom and falls all over herself and becomes someone else entirely. And once Tom was in the story, we just didn't see kick ass Darcy anymore. We didn't see her in bar, or doing anything much but moon around over Tom (and maybe pull a few tiles off the wall). I guess, I just would have liked more.

More Darcy, just being Darcy. Her having a life outside of Tom. And even Tom to an extent, having something more than Darcy. I don't like when books get ridiculously complicated, but for me this was just a little too simple, if that makes sense?

Look, I'm intruiged enough to try the authors previous works, The Hating Game, but this book was just perfectly ok, nothing spectacular, unfortunately.

**I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Hachette Australia.

I was caught by surprise by The Hating Game, Sally Thorne's debut novel. It was a reading copy sitting on the shelf out the back of my work. I picked it up, knowing nothing about the premise, author, or general reviews, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The most memorable thing in my mind from that book was the characters and their chemistry. That same chemistry is present here in her latest book 99% Mine. Darcy and Tom come alive with their banter, unspoken confessions, and sexual chemistry.

While I adored the characters and the majority of the plot, I found the ending seemed a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the novel. There were some plot threads that felt rushed, and some I found unanswered, and the conflict seemed to appear, and resolve, a little too quickly. In the edition I read as well—I acknowledge that it was an early reader copy—there were many proofreading errors that I hope will be fixed by final print.

I still managed to read this book in one sitting and I had a pretty fun time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for a chance to read and review this book. The Hating Game is one of my favourite romances and this book did not disappoint. I’ve read a few conflicting reviews and the one thing that should be remembered, is that it’s not the Hating Game. The two shouldn’t be compared. In reality, the fact that the characters and story are so different is a testament to the author.
One of the main characters, Darcy, is a total badass. She’s tough (not when it comes to feelings maybe) outspoken and possibly unaware of how fragile she is. Her inner dialogue is outrageous and hilarious and usually truthful.
Tom Valeska (you can’t say one name without the other) is literally the ‘perfect man’. Their interactions kept me on the edge of my seat and the fact that he’s a good boy was doubly attractive. Sometimes a bad boy really is just a bad boy.
Darcy’s interaction with her twin brother was also insightful. It included the highs and lows of such a close relationship and the realities of family. The characters felt so real I feel like they’re still there now, bickering at the building site.
I give this book 4.5 stars.

Darcy Barrett found her dream man at age eight - ever since, she's had to learn to settle for good enough. No one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that he's her twin brother's best friend - oh, and that 99 percent of the time, he hasn't seemed interested in her.

When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they're left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. When Tom takes on the repairs, sparks start to fly - and not just because of the faulty wiring. Soon, a one percent chance with Tom is no longer enough. This time around, Darcy's switching things up. She's going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.


Look...I have to say I didn’t exactly love it. I loooved The Hating Game by Sally Thorne but found this a little too long and stretched out. So much sexual tension that takes too long to get resolved. They basically say they’re in love with each other a third of the way through the book but just spend the rest of the book doing awkward foreplay that leads no where. There was none of this stretched out “do they like me” drama. It was clear from the start and left nothing to be desired for the reader for the rest of the book.

5 Valeska stars!
Believe me, no amount of words would describe how much I loved 99% Mine. The story was epic, the characters were amazing and the style was simply outstanding.

5* Make You Mine Stars

I was so excited to receive my ARC of 99% Mine as I absolutely devoured and loved The Hating Game. Sally Thorne is one amazing and talented writer.

The story of Darcy Barrett and Tom Valeska did not disappoint. It is a slow burn childhood friends to lover romance. Darcy and Tom are reunited when Tom has taken on the job of refurbishing the cottage that Darcy and her twin brother Jamie inherited from their grandmother. I enjoyed Darcy and her quirky ways and sassy mouth. Tom was very likeable and protective in his ways with Darcy. The secondary characters were well developed, realistic and very likeable too.

If you are in the mood for a hilarious romance and quirky characters then I highly recommend this wonderful read.

I would love to have a follow-up book on Jamie to find out what he has got up to!

Many thanks to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for my ARC to read and review.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

… If Darcy Barrett hadn’t met her dream man when she was eight years old, the rest of the male population wouldn’t be such a let-down. No one measures up to Tom Valeska, aka the best man on Earth, not in looks, brain or heart. Even worse is the knowledge that her twin brother Jamie saw him first, and claimed him forever as his best friend.
Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. One percent of Tom has had to be enough for Darcy, and her adoration has been sustained by his shy kindness. And if she’s honest, his tight t-shirts.
Now Darcy’s got three months left to get her life together before her twin insists on selling the tumble-down cottage they inherited from their grandmother. By night, she’s working in a seedy bar, shooting down lame pickups from bikers. By day, she’s sewing underwear for her best friend and wasting her award-winning photography skills on website shots of pens and novelty mugs. She’s enjoying living the messy life, and a glass of wine or ten… until that one night, when she finds a six-foot-six perfect package on her porch.
Tom’s here, he’s bearing power tools—and he’s single for the first time in a decade.
As a house flipper extraordinaire, Tom has been dispatched by Jamie to give the cottage a drastic facelift that will result in a ton of cash. Darcy doesn’t appreciate Tom’s unsentimental approach to knocking down walls, and he really, really doesn’t approve of her current burnout boyfriend. They can’t be in the same room together without sparks flying- and it’s not the faulty wiring. One bedroom wall separates them at night, and even that’s looking flimsy.
Will Tom ever see Darcy as anything other than a little-sister obstacle to get around? And can she stand up to her most formidable opponent—her twin? This time around, she’s determined to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers, and he’s never managed to say no to her yet…

I have to admit I was scared to read 99 percent mine due to fact that I loved the Hating Game so much I was worried this would not be as good, but I am glad I read it because I loved it. This was a perfect read for me when I was in the hospital because it was such a quick fun and romantic read.

Yes the characters drove me crazy at times but I don't think I have read any romance that has not made me a little frustrated with the characters at least once. The one thing that frustrated with these 2 was the lack of communication they had for such long time friends and how her Twin Jamie had so much control and for lack of a better word was bit of a dick (mine you I would love a book about his love life next, he needs a certain woman to put him in his place).

Like I said before I read this when in hospital and I have to admit was in a lot of pain but could still smile, enjoy this book and keep my focus on the book so that is stating a lot (if anyone knew what I am like with pain would say).

I ended up giving 99 Percent Mine 4.5 Stars and I am so excited to read what Sally Thorne brings out next. I have found another amazing Author this year that I will read their books as soon as they are released.

Romance…. when its done right my first thought is: This is my drug, and my first words are: More please?

Sally Thorne’s writing is reminiscent and nostalgic, it will make you remember the BEST things. She is down right quick and hilarious. Metaphors and similes for daysssssss…. She will get you, her words are her weapons. Don’t go in expecting The Hating Game (I didn’t), nothing is ever going to be the same and thats so fine because this was its own kind of wonderful.

Darcy. I liked her instantly and loved her very soon after. I want her in my tribe. She was sassy and bold. She had a glass half empty attitude that I can certainly relate to. Inside she was lost, she was so raw and true, I was genuinely moved by what she laid bare. Darce is still sporting a childhood crush on the boy across the road (personal-kryptonite-trope), the weight of it came off the pages and into me. It was enough to drive anyone to drink and into a sugar coma - pass the candy, please.

Tom, a loyal dependable wolf, Mr. self control, he was all things beautiful wrapped up in a sex-god-type package. He was malleable to the point that it was pure bliss when he let his guard down. He shared his own truths, desires and imperfections and found that he had his own pack all along. Sigh!

Their story was full of longing, one of my favourite things to find between pages. I would read their whole tale if I could, starting at the very beginning through the 18 torturous years. They had chemistry that was palpable, likely to melt the paint off Loretta’s crumbling walls.

Special mention to Jamie, I don’t think I have adored a secondary character more. Oh god, the twinship!!! Patty, what a little legend. Also Truly, a gorgeous best friend, the soft to Darcy’s hard.

As much as I want to share a million quotes here, I don’t want to spoil one line. I am so excited to hold the perfectly edited paperback in my hands and have a re-read on release.

Darcy Barrett has always wanted Tom Valeska - to her, he is the perfect man, but as children her brother claimed him as his best friend before she could and she's been left to make do with 1% of him.
Now, he's renovating the cottage her grandmother left to her and her twin brother and is single for the first time in a decade.
And Darcy is determined to make Tom 99% hers.

4.5 Stars!

Firstly - I loved this. Like seriously loved it. I loved The Hating Game (it's probably my favourite book in the world) and I was so excited to see what Sally would create next and I was so pleased! This book is really nothing like THG; the characters are very different, the setting is very different but Darcy and Tom's story gave me the same happy-smiley-warm-fuzzy feeling that Lucy and Josh's did.
I'm already so excited to reread this, because Sally is so good at creating stories with very real/relatable characters that give you something a little different and a little more each time you read them! I found myself highlighting lines every few pages, and I can't wait to actually hold this book in my hands.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
1. Darcy Barrett. She's snarky and a bit of a hot mess but as you move through the book, you realise how quietly vulnerable she is, and see exactly why she's hiding her soft spot beneath layers of sass and sarcasm. Her feelings for Tom literally made me ache for her, and while I've read many a book with this trope before, I've never enjoyed one as much as this. Sally made you feel Darcy's desperation and longing in a way that was incredibly genuine. She made Darcy's love of Tom feel real and not forced or shallow in the way so many attempts at this trope are. Darcy also had amazing character development across the book, gradual and realistic and I was rooting for her to find her way almost as much as I was rooting for her and Tom. I hope other readers enjoy Darcy's journey as much as I do, because in the real world, we're not always likeable and we don't always like ourselves and I love how real Darcy felt to me.
2. Tom Valeska. Oh you sweet darling man with the tight t-shirts and tiny, sweater-wearing dog. Tom Valeska is fictional, and this makes me sad because wow, what a man. Tom is openly sweet and quietly savage and the kind of male lead few authors can write without these two personality features making them seem like they're two different characters all together. I truly don't want to talk too much about Tom because I want readers to be able to read this book and fall in love with him themselves. Tom also had great character development across the book and I can't wait to go back and reread it to pay better attention to his journey as it was more subtle than Darcy's (this was because we were in her mind the entire book) but wonderful nonetheless. Like my great love, Joshua Templeman, Tom Valeska is definitely not perfect, but he's genuine and kind and Sally is so good at creating male leads that with every read through become more layered and intense.
3. PATTY. I'm just going to let you guys discover all of the joy that is Patty yourselves.
4. Truly. Truly is Darcy's best friend and I found her to be totally distracting because I wanted to know everything about her - Sally, you're too freaking good at this. I really, desperately hope we see more of her in whatever wonderful book Sally is working on next.

WHAT I DIDN"T LIKE SO MUCH:
1. I wish the final arc had been a little longer, even just a few pages, because I really wanted to stay in this story a little while longer. I'm already itching to jump right back in.

This review is based on the ARC provided by the author and/or the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an enjoyable read that will have you racing to devour every detail. A sweet, swoony, friends to lovers romance, a quirky relationship between the twins, The banter was funny, the chemistry was scorching and the drama was just the right amount. Overall a great read.