We are so excited to do our first joint review for the hotly anticipated next installment from Sally Thorne! After The Hating Game, this blog became one of her biggest fans....so when her newest installment became available for request, we apparently all jumped for it! Once we all realized it, we came up with the idea to post them all at once, since we all finished so quickly-in fact, we devoured it! Here are all of our reviews in one...and a Q & A to further show our thoughts side by side. We hope you enjoy it! 🙂 -Chelsea
99 Percent Mine by
Sally Thorne Purchase on:
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Crush: a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…
… 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…
REVIEWS:
**ARC received via Edelweiss (THANK YOU BABY JESUS!) by Chelsea, Arielle, and Cassie in exchange for an honest review***
Chelsea’s Review (5 Stars):
There are moments in your life that truly define you as a person, moments that are far and few between but, when it happens, you just know it changes/changed you for the better. For me, dramatic as I am, I find it transcendent when I discover an author who can make me smile in the worst of times, who I will obsess and stalk and wait for in the wings until they announce and/or produce another work. I have found lately that perhaps my busy schedule and tiredness can affect how I feel about a book, so I cherish these moments (that rarely happen lately).
Patty is a shiny shorthaired black and tan Chihuahua, with a big apple dome head. She’s got a judgmental narrowing to her eyes. I don’t take it personally anymore, but sheesh, this dog looks at you like you’re a steaming turd.
Perhaps I’m just jaded? When you read 100 books a year (give or take), you become pickier and not as easily drawn in as you once were, seeing as you read so many good books every year. But, to get to the point, Sally Thorne is one of those transcendent authors who sucked me in the moment I read her first novel, The Hating Game. There are some books that just CLICK when you read them, that make you forget there’s a world around you when you pick them up….and her first book, and now this masterpiece, are just that. Unputdownable and fantasy inducing.
He has his first job for his own company and doesn’t want me smooching around like Pepé Le Pew. I’m the client. I’m his best friend’s sister. I’m Mr. and Mrs. Barrett’s weak-hearted daughter. I’m the liability he swore to take care of.
I’ll admit this book was hard for me, at first. And let me stop there before I even begin, because I know I’ll forget and it’s very important to get this in here-what I’m about to say [but haven’t said] is the mark of a true author. Okay-now that that’s out of the way-this book was SO DIFFERENT from her past work. A lot of times an author knows what works for them and they stick with it for a while. I get it, I do-I’d do that if I had a speck of the talent my favorite authors have. But Thorne, in her cute little way, created a book that has just as much fire, passion, and heart without making it exactly the same.
Banter. Hot, heated I-can’t-have-you-but-I-want-you-banter/situations. Working in close proximity. It all seems the same, yet it’s so…vastly out of this world unalike. How do you do that? How can you keep your same writing style, so simple yet so bubbly and sweet, yet not produce a carbon copy of your first story? It’s witchcraft, honestly, because like when I read THG, this book could draw me out of my horrendous mood and take me to another world entirely and make me want to insert myself into this story in Darcy’s place.
Annnnd there’s the elephant in the room-Darcy is Lucy on crack. Darcy was by far the hardest thing to handle in this book. Darcy was….something else. And, here it is again-she won me over, by the end. In your face, extremely sexualized (a recurring theme, I notice, in Thorne’s work), and, frankly, somewhat aggressive-but not in a mean way…just, hey, she knows what she wants and, good lord, she wants it bad. And what does she want? Well..more like whom?
Tom Valeska. A perfect specimen of a man…I agree with her here-he stole my heart from the first page he entered. I couldn’t breathe from the moment we meet him until the end when I closed that sad final page (I hate when wonderful books have to come to an end). I don’t know what it is about fierce, jealous, loyal guys, but they just get to me. They pierce my heart and never let me go-but his backstory? What led them here? My lord. I was a GONER. It stabbed me and kicked the breath from my lungs and I just can hardly STAND it. Clearly I have breathing issues, because every time-every dang time-I fall for a dude, the first thing to go is rational thinking and my breathing.
But, to be fair, he was one sexy being. Josh and Tom are both amazing dudes and my favorite thing about both books, so I can only IMAGINE what Thorne could do/create/write next time! *Fans self*.
I have to be honest, though, the writing sometimes felt…so odd. I think that’s partially because it’s a very early copy of an ARC, and, also, we’re in Darcy’s mind and she’s a rather disjointed specimen of a girl. Meaning, I think Thorne wrote Darcy how we think-sporadic, flighty, jumpy, funny, quick-witted, and it was harder for me to flow with the story sometimes. It was a rare occurrence, but I did notice it. Or, ya know, it could just be me being tired, as I am, ALL THE TIME.
This story, in scope, is a much simpler story, yet the heart that’s buried beneath is so vast. A story centered around the beating heart of all three of our main characters, it adds depth to the story that you don’t even realize until they are all close to falling apart. I loved that this book had such a simplistic tone, yet it meant so much to every MC involved. It hit you in the heart and made you realize how special the project was to all three of them, even as they fought and bickered, and even though each outcome achieved something different for each of them. I truly loved that facet of the story, and thought that it added much needed layers in the story when Darcy got a bit silly-all the better for character growth and relatability!
And, lastly, the chemistry (of even her twin brother in this adorable little threesome). They all had such wonderful chemistry that leaped off the page, making you sad and angry, and then so quick to swoon or make your heart melt. Tom and Darcy have been circling one another like animals (but really) since they were young, and the sexual frustration and tension is through the charts and so palpable we choke on it. I literally was so invested in this that I would sit and read and re-read every adorable moment between Tom and Darcy, just to get more of them falling for one another (even though they both fell long ago).
I’m sorry, but Tom’s jellyness and possessiveness sparked a hunger so deep inside of me…I don’t even care how that sounds-it was by far my favorite part of their story, besides their deep rooted friendship. And, not even in a weird way, Jamie, in this little trio, added something spicy, too. I hated him at first. I did. Like…until the end. But, like all things, I fell prey to the vulnerability of not knowing your place and the uncertainty of losing a best friend-and a sister-and caved. I loved them all, in the end. But no one ever said I wasn’t a complete sucker.
He laughs, and the afternoon sunlight turns the floating dust particles into glitter around us. It turns his eyes to whiskey, and they get me drunk. A guy like this? He’s the only one who’s ever made my stomach flip.
So, here I am, writing my heart out about another Sally Thorne book, aching and craving anything and everything I can get from her. Anyone who hasn’t read her last book is crazy. So I really don’t know who those people are, but say you come across this review because you’re curious: You’re crazy, I don’t get you, and you need to skidaddle and get a copy of THG immediately so you can understand what I mean-then we can be friends. I think. We’ll see-you have to love Josh and Tom, yet you can’t have them. They’re mine. So…tentative friends. But all joking aside, I truly hope that when this one comes out everyone enjoys it like me and my blog mates all did (joint review on the blog for the win!) and that it helps you find your happy place like it did for me. Her characters are just like that-addicting in the best kind of way. Just plain unputdownable.
**Quotes are subject to change by publication, so I only used a couple :)**
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OMG I want to marry Tom Valeska. I literally ATE THIS BOOK UP. Why does it have to be overrrr??? From beginning to end, Tom had my heart and, somehow, Darcy won me over, too. Sally Thorne didn’t let me down 🙂
RTC!!!!!!!
View all my reviews
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Arielle’s Review (5 stars):
Buddy reading with Chelsea because SOME SWEET ANGEL FROM ABOVE/EDELWEISS GRANTED BOTH OF US A COPY *crazy eyes*
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**All quotes came from an uncorrected ARC and are subject to change**
My friend Truly—my only friend from school who still lives here—thinks that women should buy themselves an indulgent weekly consolation prize. You know, for putting up with the world’s shit.
Is it weird that my first thought when I sat down to write this was “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE WHAT QUOTES I USE?!”? I can’t even tell you the number of lines I have highlighted, waiting to be chosen as the best of the best for this review (I’ll give you a hint—it’s too many). So just know, that for everyone one quote I add, there’s five more in another document, waiting for you to read them and obsess over them just as I did.
“So, good T-shirts can die and go to heaven.” I grin at his expression: dismay, surprise, disapproval, and flattery, all erased in one blink. I’m addicted.
“You’re still a teenage dirtbag.”
Prim with disapproval, he looks at his watch.
“And you’re still a hot grandpa.”
When I first saw Sally post on her Flamethrowers Facebook page that Edelweiss had started to give away ARCs, you better believe I scurried my ass over there right after yelling at Chelsea to do the same. It was with a hope and a prayer and what do you know, WE BOTH ENDED UP BEING LUCKY ENOUGH TO RECEIVE A COPY. I think I probably screamed and blacked out for a second when I found out. I obviously started as soon as possible and honestly read that thing every single waking moment that I was able to until I was finished.
“You were quite a naïve boy. There are always puckered peaks and nests of curls,” I grunt, lifting a second half-empty box up. “And the women all orgasm after eight hard thrusts. Oh, Richard! Give me a break.” I write on the box: JAMIE’S FUCK BOOKS.
Basically what I have discovered is that Sally Thorne’s writing is like crack. Even though this story and these characters were completely different than her previous book, it still gave me all of the best feelings. With romance, because I’ve read SO many, it’s not often that I come across one that makes me feel every single emotion that strongly and when I do it become an absolute treasure. I also feel the need to say that even though I don’t personally know Sally, that I just feel this strong sense of proud-ness for her for this book. I know she scrapped the book she initially planned on writing right after The Hating Game and then struggled with writer’s block for a long time but Sally, if you ever read this, know that this book was absolutely 100% worth the wait (see what I did there?). I’m glad you took that extra time to write something because you loved the story and characters and that you didn’t force yourself to write a story that would never be what you wanted it to be. Reading about you getting your writing groove back on Twitter was a glorious thing to behold and I applaud you for that!
He tries to ease me with a hand on my shoulder. “Why are you doing this?”
“If I don’t do think, I’ll do something else.”
Something so deeply irreversible we won’t be able to make eye contact when we pass each other in the nursing home hall. Fuck it. That complete honestly I pledged? Here it comes. Up my throat and out loud. One big terrifying blurt.
“Are you going to put your hands on me, or what?”
Anywaysss–this book is not just about Darcy Barrett and Tom Valeska, no, it’s also about her relationship with her twin brother Jamie, and the relationship that all three of them have together. It’s about Darcy’s weak heart and Patty the dog and the house that Darcy’s grandmother left her and her brother to fix and flip and Truly’s underwear business. All of these things are interconnected because Darcy and Tom’s lives have been interconnected from the very first day Jamie brought him over to their house when they were kids. Everyone went on such a journey during this book and I was especially proud of the transformation that the twins went through from the beginning to the end.
I can’t say it. I will explode if I don’t say it. “You got the best butt on the planet.” I put the camera on high speed and begin to paparazzi his ass.
Even though the book is about all of those things, the main focus is obviously on Darcy and Tom. O. M. G. Can we just talk about how delicious the tension between them was? I could barely handle it. I honestly don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to spoil anything about the book at all, just know that I was in love with both of them and I loved this entire book so much. If you enjoyed The Hating Game you’ll definitely love this one, too.
“No one else is kissing your anymore,” he tells me in a conversational hush, not breaking our contact. “Your mouth is mine.”
HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THANKS to William Morrow Paperbacks and Edelweiss for the chance to read and honestly review this book. ♥ ♥ ♥
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Cassie’s Review:
All hail Sally Thorne! She, along with Marianne Zapata, have made me come to appreciate well-written modern romances. For a girl that loves her dystopian and thrillers, this is a big switch in my normal reading habits. I was gifted “The Hating Game” by Chelsea for Valentine’s Day and I absolutely loved it. So much that I’ve read it a few times now. So when I found out Sally had another book coming out, I had to get my hands on it.
“99 Percent Mine” was a great follow-up to the fantastic “The Hating Game.” However, it didn’t surpass it. But I’m honestly ok with that, as “99 Percent Mine” is wonderful all on its own.
Tom Valeska has an animal inside of him, and I’ve felt it every time he’s looked at me.
This book is told from the perspective of Darcy, a long-time friend of Tom, who was her twin brother’s best friend. It’s clear that Darcy has been in love with Tom for a long time, but for various reasons, they have never gotten together. When the book starts, Tom is engaged and Darcy is living a bit of a nomadic life, except she’s in town to oversee the renovation of her grandmother’s home, which is being done by Tom’s newly formed construction company.
Darcy tries to keep her feelings under control, but as she learns more about Tom’s relationship status, things quickly escalate.
Get it together, Darcy. It’s not his fault he was born with your favorite kind of bones. He’s a sweet shy solid-gold human. Someone’s fiance. You’re a teenage dirtbag. Leave him alone.
While I liked Darcy overall, she was certainly not my favorite leading lady. She is strong and independent, which is great, but also very forward and lacking much of a filter. For these reasons, it was hard for me to connect with her. I definitely was still rooting for her and Tom, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t love this character.
Tom reaches for my arm but stops when an inch separates our skin. He opens his hand over the mark and measures it. He’s pissed. Outraged. Mouth open from the sheer audacity.
Tom. Freaking. Valeska. For every issue or annoyance I had with Darcy, Tom made up for it in spades. He’s funny, sweet, thoughtful, jealous and just overall amazing. I love his determination to make his business succeed and his loyalty to his adopted family and friends. He may not have been perfect, as Darcy kept alleging, but he was pretty damn great. Sally Thorne knows how to write an amazing male lead. Josh Templeton was amazing, but Tom took it up a notch. I can only imagine what the next male lead will be like.
His touch bring me relief, but also a restlessness. There are too many people in this room. They’re all a bunch of laughing, drinking jerks who don’t know that they need to get out.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was cute and funny and had great characters. While I obviously had a few issues, there were relatively minor and still make this an easy 4.5 stars for me. Don’t hesitate to pick this up when it comes out.
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Group Q & A:
1. What was your favorite part of the book?
Chelsea: If I am being honest, it was anything and everything involving Tom. That’s not necessarily a specific answer, though, so I THINK my favorite part has to be ‘the morning/day after. And, okay, a broad but extremely truthful answer is when Tom is jealous as Darcy works on the construction crew-I can hardly stand those moments…they make my heart explode with feels! Oh, and I can’t not mention the moment we learn why Tom picked a chihuahua….my heart.
Arielle: Ugh this is a hard question. Well I’ll go this route, two scenes that really stuck in my brain were when Darcy found out that Tom was single and started tearing the kitchen apart/trying to get in Tom’s pants, all at the same time, lol. Also, there’s another part where he comes up behind her and starts talking in her ear and….I just got the whole body shivers. So yeah, what Chelsea said, a lot of things with Tom, Darcy, and Tension.
Cassie: Wow, this is a very hard question to answer. I think my favorite scene was when Darcy and Tom go on a date to a bar. Darcy was kind of dialed back and they were just able to have a nice conversation. There was so much pent up sexual tension it was wonderful. I loved their back and forth, but I often found Darcy to be over the top. So to see her reigned in a little bit with Tom was a nice change of pace.
2. What moment made you immediately want to pick up your phone and text/chat about it? (Good or Bad)
Chelsea: I mean… ALL OF THEM! But I specifically remember picking up the phone because I just COULDN’T CONTAIN MYSELF during the first childhood flashback of Tom. It lit a fire in me and I just…oh man I got obsessed QUICK.
Arielle: Basically every time I highlighted a funny line or came across some scene of sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife…so basically most of the book bahah.
Cassie: I don’t know how to pick a single moment. But honestly, I loved the first moment Tom pulled up with Patty and he and Darcy started their banter. It was funny and magnetic and set such a great tone for the rest of the book.
3. Tom Valeska-Did he reach instant BBF status, or no?
Chelsea: LOLZ what do you think?! INSTANT.
Arielle: HE WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED/NEEDED. I’ve got a weird thing for characters who can use tools and work with their hands..
Cassie: YES YES YES
4. What was the most unexpected moment?
Chelsea: I can’t say the real unexpected moment, because it’s a spoiler. I’ll just say its after Tom says his piece. Truly, I didn’t expect that. Also, a safer and non-spoilery answer is Darcy’s personality in general-she was not what I was expecting after Lucy.
Arielle: Well weirdly enough it was kind of how much of as ass Jamie is. I don’t think that’s really a spoiler because you find out right away that he and Darcy aren’t talking. I just think I am under the impression that twins never fight and always get along (which I know isn’t true, but still). Don’t worry, he redeems his asshat-ness and helps Darcy come to terms with certain things at the same time, too.
Cassie: Mine is the same as Chelsea’s. I didn’t expect something Tom does near the end at all (at least to the extent it went). It’s not a bad thing, but just seemed out-of-character.
5. Overall Thoughts?
Chelsea: This book was just an out of this world instant favorite for me-it came out of nowhere and I was so happy and blessed to get it way before it’s even available. I devoured this book-yet read it so slowly because I had to re-read every moment involving Tom 500 times. It’s rare that I fall for a book this deeply, especially a contemporary, and the last time I happened was the beginning of the year with Mariana Zapata’s books. But, before that, it was The Hating Game. So I think it’s safe to say that Sally Thorne is an absolute favorite author that I can count on when I’m down and out…she’ll always put a smile on my face.
Arielle: I LOVED this book. A good story is what drives my interest but great writing is what ignites a spark deep in my soul. Thorne’s writing is so unique and hilarious in a way that I have never found in any other author before. I loved meeting and getting to know Darcy’s crazy personality and Tom’s steadfastness and I think it will be rare for other people to not feel the same way. THANK YOU, SALLY, FOR TOM VALESKA!
Cassie: I really enjoyed this book but I don’t think I can say I liked it more than “the Hating Game.” By no means does that mean this book isn’t good, because it is, but I missed the hate-to-love aspect that happened with Josh and Lucy. While I think it’s safe to say that in both books the characters will get together, I enjoyed the more slow-burn and hate-to-love with Josh and Lucy instead of the when-is-it-going-to-happen between Darcy and Tom. While Tom was an absolute GEM of a character, Darcy was…a lot. I didn’t relate to her and found her a bit all over the place. At the end of the day, I still was left smiling and thrilled to have another Sally Thorne book in my life.
We hope you enjoyed our first joint review post! Is everyone excited for this Sally Thorne masterpiece?! Let us know below!
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