Title: 99 Percent Mine

Author: Sally Thorne

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Hachette Australia/Piatkus

Published: 29th January 2019

Format: Paperback

Pages: 372

Price: $29.99

Synopsis: Readers and critics alike raved over USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne’s smash hit debut, The Hating Game , which has sold in over 20 countries. Now she’s back with an unforgettable romantic comedy about a woman who finally has a shot at her long time crush if she dares.

Crush (n.): 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.

This next hilarious romance includes a special PS section with two Happily Ever Afters one for this novel featuring Darcy and Tom and the other, an epilogue featuring fan favourites Lucy Hutton and Josh Templeman from The Hating Game! 

~*~

I was attracted to Sally Thorne’s first novel The Hating Game because it was a cleverly written romance, where the characters were three dimensional, had lives beyond wanting to date, and many things happened that led to them to grow from hatred, to respect. And then from respect to friendship, and finally to love. Not only that, the characters were allowed to be who they were as individuals, and the story was filled with so many aspects that allowed the characters to grow as they explored more than just their relationship.

And, in 99% Mine, we have a couple in a similar situation – where being together has been fraught with issues and obstacles – Darcy couldn’t say i love you as a teen, Tom is engaged, and to top it all off, Tom, and Darcy’s twin brother, Jamie, are constantly worrying about Darcy and her heart condition: has she taken her medication, Darcy, you can’t over exert yourself. In these moments, I felt Darcy was at her strongest, showing her conviction of character, and her refusal to let her disability define her, though it has restricted her in the past, as she recounts throughout the novel, which is told from her point of view.

Darcy has been in love with Tom for years, but both seem to have avoided the issue since they were eighteen, and Darcy has spent time jetting off around the world, working as a photographer and in a bar to make ends meet. When Tom is set to start work on her grandmother’s old cottage to sell, Darcy finds her feelings are bubbling again. Whilst Loretta, Darcy and Jamie’s gran has instructed them to sell, Darcy wants to keep the house and live there. This adds another layer of tension as Darcy becomes involved in the renovations, putting her health at risk.

The romance in this novel is more overt – because the characters are more obvious about where they want it to go, but much like The Hating Game, they take their time to fall into it. Here, they need to navigate the complexities of prior friendship, and a fiancé and Darcy feeling like Tom is overprotective or hiding something from her – or both – that need to be worked through before the inevitable can happen. When couples get together towards the end, it feels more satisfying, because as a reader, I get to go on the journey with them, and see what led to them wanting to be together. It is also refreshing to see characters who have things of their own that they might share with the other. One final thing I liked was that it was lots of tiny things that made Darcy, Tom and Jamie work as characters and friends, and family, not just one – they were who they were individually and together, giving each reader something different to connect to.

An enjoyable second novel from Sally Thorne.