Book provided by William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.
Title: 99 Percent Mine
Author: Sally Thorne
Pages: 368
Genre: Adult contemporary romance, chick lit
My rating: ★★★
Crush: a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…
Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.
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. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.
Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that’s inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.
99 Percent Mine was such an anticipated 2019 release for me, and I am so thankful I got to read it in time for Contemporaryathon!
This book follows three main characters: Darcy and her twin brother, Jamie, and their friend Tom. All her life Darcy has had a crush on her childhood friend, Tom. But since Tom was Jamie’s best friend, she never pursued a relationship with him. Flash forward to the present and the twins have inherited their grandmother’s cottage. The cottage is in poor shape so they hire a home renovation team to come in to flip it so they can sell it. Enter: Tom, Mr. Home Renovator Extraordinaire.
I really love the premise of house flipping, and I knew that the setting of being confined in a small cottage was going to be the perfect set up for sexual tension. But for some reason I actually got a bit… bored? Maybe it’s because the ENTIRE book (except the first chapter) takes place in the cottage, so everything started to feel redundant.
Another thing that was also very redundant to me was the constant reminder that Darcy is “not like other girls.” There’s the constant reminder that she has a nipple piercing, her hair is short, she drinks a lot, she neglects her health, and she’s constantly globetrotting. Maybe I’m just tired of the “not like other girls” trope, but all of those points were ALWAYS brought up way too much.
I was also so disappointed in how Darcy treated Tom. Tom is, by far, the best character in the book. He’s so soft and kind, and learning about his past made him so much more likeable. But Darcy’s strong sexual aggression toward him borderline made me uncomfortable, and she was really demanding of him. Also? We are reminded practically on every page how hot Tom is. It’s like, okay… we get it. He’s hot. Let’s talk about something else. Lol!
Don’t even get me started on Jamie. Yikes. He was such a bad seed and I really didn’t like how he was painted to be a villain, but at the same time he was the only person who could help Darcy through her health problems.
I realize I just dumped a ton of negativity in this review, so I apologize! I actually did enjoy this book overall! I loved the cottage setting so much, and I really loved Tom. And I won’t ever deny that Sally Thorne is amazing at writing friends/enemies-to-lovers romances, and the way she builds sexual tension is A+. Are you going to get The Hating Game? No. But I do think fans of her writing will still appreciate this story. There’s a lot of talk about found family and strong friendships which warmed my heart, and the slow burn romance is worth it!
Buddy read with Trina, Heather, and Kristin!
xx,
Amy
A Court of Crowns and Quills 