Contemporary Romcom....
Contemporary romcom. How will the life of Darcy Barrett pan out? Following on from the enjoyable and entertaining ‘The Hating Game’ (the authors’ debut novel) we have a new set of characters, difficult to warm to, and a completely different storyline. Whilst the writing style remains firm the storyline fell a little flat and the protagonist just too difficult to like.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

A friend has been recommending this to me for the past year but unfortunately it just didn’t really do it for me, the main character seemed really immature and a bit annoying!

A cute read that kept me interested. There’s multiple stories here - Darcy has fallen out with her twin, she has a serious heart condition and no one knows about it, she’s jacked in her photography career and works in a grim bar, her grandma has left her property to the twins to renovate and then sell (why?), and Tom Valenska her brother’s best friend has been hired to do the renovation...
Lots of pulling at the heart strings and smouldering scenes, but there are too many unanswered questions and background setttings (see above) that aren’t fully explained or resolved.

Nevertheless it’s a cute beach read 3.5*

Darcy & Jamie have shared their best friend Tom since childhood, but now Darcy wants him to be all hers, or at least 99% hers.

I was in the mood for a fun rom com, nothing too deep. Most of the action takes place in the last 30% of the book. #99mine is a standard friends become partners story, with a lot of sexual references.

This book wasn’t for me, but I thank #NetGalley and the publisher for my free advance copy.

I haven’t read The Hating Game so have nothing to compare this to. Reviews I’ve read say it’s not a patch on that book, so perhaps that’s something special. 99% Mine was just fine.
The story is pretty obvious. Twins, Darcy and Jamie, are used to sharing everything. The biggest thing they’ve had to share is best friend, Tom, the young boy who became like another family member when his mother moved into the safe house opposite them. From the age of 8 the three have been inseparable. Darcy has had a huge crush on Tom all that time, everyone knows it and yet the friendship between Jamie and Tom prevents either of them from doing anything.
At the start of the story Darcy is not really all that together. She’s sarky, abrasive and not managing her heart condition well. She drinks too much, eats badly and is desperate to run away after a falling out with her twin.
Inevitably, the project to renovate her grandmother’s house is being managed by Tom. They bait each other, and all those on site can see it’s probably only a matter of time until something happens.
Most of the book focuses on undercurrents of flirtation. There’s the side issue of sorting out the twins’ argument, but everything goes pretty much as expected.
The happy ending is on the cards and all is well for all concerned. Nothing ground-breaking here, but it’s a story you might crack a smile at.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this.

I really enjoyed Sallys first book, The Hating Game, but this one didn't live up to her first book.
It felt like it was written by a completely different person and felt like it was written quite rushed

I liked some aspects about the book, it was a quick read and was interesting, but felt the plot very drawn out and repetitive and not much seemed to progress until about 70% through the book

also, i found the writing of the romance/sex scenes to be very cringy and cliche

I really wish i enjoyed this more, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me :(

This book was an average read. I had been expecting more but it was still an ok book.
Writing style and pace were of average quality
An ok book

If you loved Sally Thorne’s previous novel, The Hating Game, then you are going to ADORE this one. It’s romantic, hilarious, and captivating, the perfect read for this hot summer.

Darcy Barrett has been running away her whole life, traveling around the world as soon as possible. And now she is preparing to leave home again, as soon as the renovations of the house her grandmother left her are done. The only problem? The contractor doing the job is none other than Tom Valeska, her first and only true love. And how can she stay away from him when he is so sweet, caring, and funny?

I really enjoyed this book. I laughed a lot and I didn’t want it to end. The witty exchanges between Darcy and her brother Jamie were hilarious. They are twins, they take care of each other, but they have completely different personalities that clash over and over again. The relationship between Darcy and Tom is beautiful. They are obviously attracted to each other and it was funny to read Darcy trying to provoke and seduce him, while he tried to keep their relationship on the friendship zone. Tom is the typical nice guy who follow the rules and tries to make everyone happy. Darcy often describes him as “perfect”. On the other hand, Darcy is impulsive, jumping in and out of planes, ready for her next adventure. I loved see their relationship develop from friendship to love, with all its bumps and misunderstanding.

99% MINE is a refreshing, fast-paced and engaging read that features fantastic characters and Sally Thorne’s brilliant and clear writing that made me fly through the pages. Highly recommended!

After reading other Sally Thorne books, i was looking forward to settling in with this one, but sorry i was disappointed from the word go.
There didn't really seem any story line and i didn't enjoy the style of writing - Sorry !

This is such a fun, romantic, beautiful story of friendship, sibling bond and love. I enjoyed it very much.

Halfway through the book and I knew that I stumbled upon a book that I’ll probably end up hating. I have heard so much about ‘The Hating Game’ by Sally Thorne and when I saw this book appear on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. Little did I know that I would end up hating the characters more than the actual plot.

Darcy, a wedding photographer turned bartender is going through a difficult phase. She can’t find her passport, has to live with her twin brother Jamie and has inherited a cottage from her grandmother that needs immediate fixing. There’s one another problem, Darcy has a huge crush on Jamie’s best friend Tom. Do imagine a tig of war among these characters for attention and love because that’s exactly what happens next.

Tom, however, is unavailable and Darcy is jealousy personified. She imagines killing Tom’s girlfriend in the most brutal ways at multiple times.

Darcy, as a character was someone I hated. She was too angsty for my taste, and her spontaneous behavior sometimes got on my nerves. Her conversations with every other character lacked depth and felt forced and unnecessary. She also gets a bit cheesy once in a while, something I think was uncalled for. Darcy’s accept-no-bullshit attitude gets old very soon and her concept of love=possesion was something that stood against everything I believe in.

Tom’s response to certain things, such as his disappearance after an argument, his failing stress management skills and his secretive nature didn’t help the plot either.

While I loved the concept and the actual plot, it’s the characters that made this experience troublesome and disjointed. ’99 Percent Mine’ is angsty and unbearably cheesy, with very few instances that make you go awww. You can always binge-read it since it worked for a lot of people, but at your own risk.

After loving Sally Thorne’s debut The Hating Game I couldn’t wait to pick up her next book and luckily it was there waiting for me on my Netgalley shelf. I have to admit I was slightly worried because if you saw my review for The Hating Game you would know that I was a little crazy for that book! I tried to start reading 99% Mine with as much as an open mind as I could. They are different stories after all and that is how I decided at look things. So what did I think…

In 99% Mine we meet Darcy who after inheriting her grandmother’s house finds herself face to face with her childhood crush Tom. Things aren’t straightforward with the house as there’s a stumbling block in the form of her twin brother who is joint owner of the house. Both twins want the house a certain way and Tom is firmly stuck in the middle of the siblings. I think Darcy made for a great main character she has a tough no nonsense attitude and is fun but she also has a vulnerable side that she hates. To begin with I think Sally Thorne made her into a character that I couldn’t quite get a feel for but as the story progresses her personality begins to shine through. Tom is the ultimate good guy but written in a way that you know there is more than meets the eye. They are in essence complete opposites but sometimes this works out well and for the most part I think it worked brilliantly in this book. Put it this way I was hoping for a happy ever after for them!

There is such a fun feeling to this book and I easily became wrapped up in Darcy and Tom’s friendship and chemistry. They are pretty wary of each other to begin with but I love how their friendship starts to creep back into their interactions along with a very simmering undercurrent that was fun to see play out. Darcy has spent a long time travelling and you really get a feel for how tense she is at having to stay in one place especially as the connection with Tom begins to heat up. Alongside this there is also a wonderful dose of romance that weaves its way into the story especially as we see snippets from the past.

99% Mine has a wonderful balance of simmering romantic tension, plenty of fun moments and gorgeous chemistry!

The story of Darcy and Tom. Friends since children, now he is helping her and her twin Jamie renovate a house they have been left.

Will they finally get it together?

This exceeded my expectations by a long shot. I was intrigued by the synopsis but figured it would be just like any other contemporary romance, but the wowee the character development of our leading lady, Darcy!

99% Mine is a story about trusting yourself, learning how to be honest with each other, second chances, and love that’s been able to withstand everything that has come in its path. Darcy has always had to share her neighbour Tom with her twin brother. Her brother monopolised the time with Tom and left Darcy with 1%. The one percent was enough for them to each independently fall in love with each other but not enough to do anything with it. Until some years later, facing a lot of things that had been left unsaid, they’re finally dealing with the elephant in the room - a good elephant.

Darcy starts a bit rough and we aren’t given her backstory straightaway so it’s a bit of a brash personality that might scare you away if you’re not willing to commit just a few pages more and get to know her. As we learn more and more about Darcy, you can completely understand her anger and bluntness and flight instinct. Darcy is a complex character who took her own path to self discovery through travel, which I can totally resonate with. Her family seemed really bitter about it because she didn’t discover herself at home, but that was totally their fault as they didn’t exactly make her feel welcome there. She came a long way in this novel and found herself again and found her place in the lives of those she’s cared about.

Darcy and Tom’s romance was so sweet. I loved seeing the feelings emerging that had kinda always been there between them but had been sorta “off limits” when they were younger. A lot of forgiveness and honesty was required for things to get going and it was just a beautiful story of second chances and how powerful real love is that it can stand the test of time and circumstance. I loved Darcy, I loved Tom and I loved their story. Tom was always the only one who could break her walls down and he was as dedicated to her as he always had been - absolutely perfect for her. Likewise, Darcy was the only one who could break Tom’s walls down and whom he could be completely vulnerable with and she always knows exactly how he ticks and how he needs help - absolutely perfect for him.

It’s actually a great love story and I do recommend it!

Try as i might I couldn't help but compare this to Thorne's previous novel "The hating game" which was fantastic in every way.
This was sweet and charming in part but lacked the je ne sais quoi that made The Hating Game really special. I thought the characters were nice enough but i didn't love them however the plot was pretty fun.
I would recommend reading this if you're a fan of the genre .

I have been eagerly awaiting the follow up to the Hating Game, telling myself that it’s going to be a hard act to follow. The Hating Game was amazing...so much so, I read it twice! So 99% mine had a lot to live up to.

I struggled to warm to Darcy the main female character. But as the book moved on her harsh nature was explained. It took me a little while to fully get into the book, but as I approached half-way I found myself not wanting to stop reading. Tom was a fab character, he was strong, sexy and just perfect!

The writing was well paced, descriptive without being boring and tensions were written so well.

I really enjoyed this book. Not as much as The Hating Game, but this was a great read. I would highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A good read, entertaining and engrossing.
It's heartwarming, fun to read, and it keeps you hooked till the last page.
I liked the relatable and well written cast of characters, the engaging plot and the setting.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

As a huge fan of the author's first book The Hating Game (I've read it a LOT) this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year but I have to confess that for a fair amount of time I was too scared to read it.

I put it off and put it off, I read some of the reviews, and then I put it off some more. I think I was worried it wouldn't be good and that it would somehow take the shine off The Hating Game. It was only receiving an advance copy from Netgalley that forced me to take the plunge and I'm so glad I did as I kind of loved it.

This is not The Hating Game and if you go in expecting it to be you will be disappointed. It's a very different story about very different characters and is just as brilliant but for different reasons. For me this may not have had the same romantic spark or be an upbeat fun read but it was packed full of feels. I laughed, I smiled, I shouted at a certain overbearing brother and I cried a lot.

I suspect I am a bit of an odd bod in the number of times I cried while reading this but I just related so much to Darcy and what she went through I couldn't help it. She seems tough as nails, independent and determined but she's just a mass of fear, loneliness and self recriminations. She has a heart condition that means she's used to being left behind or made to feel like a liability so she pushes everyone away to avoid being hurt. There are very few people she trusts and one of those she relied on the most, her grandmother, has died leaving her and her twin brother her house on the stipulation they restore it before they sell it.

Weirdly I think it was Darcy's relationship with her grandma and her grief over her loss that got to me the most in this story. I could relate so much and it absolutely broke my heart watching her try to let go. It also frustrated me no end that both her brother Jamie and romantic interest Tom couldn't see this.

I also really liked how determined Darcy was not to let anything hold her back, to live her life to the fullest. I liked the dynamic between her and Tom and that it was for the most part her pursuing him. It's good to see an alpha female for once although that's not to say Tom doesn't turn the tables on her at times.

I also really loved how real the relationship between Darcy and her brother Jamie was. They bicker and they squabble but deep down they depend on each other. He comes across as absolutely horrible at the start and I thought there was no way he could redeem himself but once he finally appears in person my view of him did start to shift.

The one bit I was less sure of was the romance. There are some brilliant scenes but there were also some that were a little uncomfortable and awkward. There was chemistry but at times it is difficult to see what the attraction is. They are just so different personality wise and there never seems to be a moment where they really get each other.

Thankfully for me however the other aspects of the story made up for it. Thorne's writing is as wonderful as you would expect, warm and funny but with a little bit of an edge this time, and it was so easy to settle in to this story.

I think she's proved with this book she's not a one hit wonder and I look forward to whatever comes next.

I’m a little late to the party on this, but I absolutely loved it! A really lovely, light summery read, with the perfect combination of a not-too-sugary heroine and a perfect-imperfect hero.