Ratings37
Average rating3.1
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game, soon to be a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, 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 favorites Lucy Hutton and Josh Templeman from The Hating Game!
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Well this wasn't The Hating Game but I still thought it was an enjoyable read. Darcy is a character that you'll either love or hate. She's got a tough girl mentality, she says whatever is on her mind, and she's kind of an overall mess. Tom was sweet and he balanced her out well. The same playful banter was present in this book as was in THG so as long as your expectations aren't too high going into this, it should be a pleasant experience.
DNF at 13%.
That's because pizza is a precious natural resource. It can heal tiredness, bad mood, falling morale, and a fading will to live. Pizza realigns the heart chakras.
I have to be upfront with the fact that I am not one of those huge fans of The Hating Game and this might be an equally unpopular opinion. I really just wanted to give Sally Thorne's writing another chance, especially because this one has my favorite friends to lovers trope, and I was very excited to get approved for the ARC. Now, I'm just not sure what to make of my feelings.
First off, no one is an endearing character here. Darcy comes across as emotionally closed off, selfish, self-pitying, jealous while also being confident enough to stand up for herself and not take s*it from anybody. It was refreshing to see a character with a chronic heart problem, dealing with the affects and managing her life accordingly, but the problem is that she doesn't manage her health issues properly, is very neglectful to the point of being reckless with her life and I kept wishing that she wouldn't end up in a hospital. However, despite not liking her initially, I warmed up to her as the story progressed and I feel she grew as a person and also understood what she wanted from life.
Tom is Darcy and Jaime's best friend and he is quite a shy person despite his imposing figure. It is quite evident from the beginning that he loves Darcy and she him but each have their own insecurities preventing from fessing up their feelings. Tom is especially scared that once the renovation is done, she would leave again like usual. He is not exactly a pushover but he does tend to do everything the twins want, and tries too hard to live up to their expectations of perfection from him. He is too scared of losing them and ends up making mistakes in the process. I liked that he and Darcy were able to communicate more honestly in the latter half of the book but there was just something missing for me.
Jaime is a very disagreeable person and if not for the last 10% , I would have downright hated him. He comes across as rude and uncaring and completely disrespectful of his sister - but the truth is we mostly know him through Darcy's perspective. So, his redemption towards the end felt too quick and unnatural to me. I actually enjoyed the other side characters more. Darcy's best friend Truly is a supportive one to have in her corner and I especially found the idea of her underwear business very amusing. The construction crew is also an interesting group of guys and I really enjoyed Darcy's fun banter with them. I just wish there was a little more story featuring any of them.
One thing I have to commend the author is her knack for writing an entertaining story - one you don't want to put down even if you are not completely invested in it. I also liked the character development arc that we got Darcy. But I guess it's time I admit that probably this writing style is not for me - it was too flowery and metaphorical for my tastes. There is also no actual “falling in love” that I could feel happening here. It was obvious that they were in love and just needed some courage to declare their feelings. But I never actually understood the why. There was never any reason for their intense feelings that I could fathom and that really disappointed me.
Finally, I just want to say that the book was an entertaining read but not really a memorable one. However, if you are a fan of the author, please take my review with a grain of salt and definitely give this one a chance.