99 Percent Mine

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.

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.

Hmm.

Good slow burn, and I continue to enjoy the heck out of Thorne's writing style.

But honestly...three stars was a stretch. By the time it ended, I didn't really care. Possibly because I was so confused by the events before the ending that I had to read the same several pages three times over. And I'm STILL not 100% sure on the details. And if things did go down the way I think they did, then those things made absolutely no sense in the context of the story and the characters, and I'm quite baffled.

I tried to keep my expectations normal, because I connected with The Hating Game in a rare and special way, and I knew that it was unlikely that the next book would hit me at the same level. So while I'm sure it wound up influencing my expectations a little, objectively, this book was a bit of a mess. The pacing, the characters, the story...It had potential and a lot of good elements. I even enjoyed a lot of it. But it just didn't come together as a cohesive whole.

That said, though, I will still absolutely pick up anything Thorne writes in the future! Second books are a tricky business (especially when your first one was such a big hit), and I still think she's super talented.

And now for a few words about the Extra Content because...that Hating Game epilogue, though. I could not. stop. smiling. (except for that one line about hate-love between [redacted] and [redacted] because what the ACTUAL heck - has it been so long since Thorne wrote THG that she forgot how much of a disgusting pig ** is? But I digress). But overall, though, IT WAS SO CUTE I COULD DIE. It was everything I wanted.

Is it too soon to reread THG again?

EDIT 2/2:

Okay, after thinking and discussion (and cooling down from the THG epilogue which left me too giddy to be 100% objective in rating this book alone), I have decided to drop the third star. While there were the bones of a good book under here, it read very much like a first draft to me. The pacing was a wreck, the characters were inconsistent, and the romance not compelling at all once it didn't have UST to drive it.

Another round or two of edits/rewriting would have made a world of difference, I feel. But as it stands, I was definitely disappointed. Not only because I know the author is capable of more but because this book itself could have been more, but it ultimately wasn't.

I will keep my fingers crossed for another by Thorne, though. It would take worse than this to take her off my autobuy list.

After the Hating Game this was a big disappointment. I'm not really convinced the two main characters were really in love.They spend most of the book hurting each other and while this premise works for an enemies-to-lovers story like the Hating Game, it falls flat in what is supposed to be a friends-to-lovers book. Even in the Hating Game by about 50% of the book the main characters are being nice to each other but here, under the guise of friendship they hurt each other mercilessly.

This still gets 3 stars because Sally Thorne can write.

I'm going to have to read the Hating Game again just to reassure myself that I really did like it

4 Stars.

Darcy is unpredictable, funny, and inlove with her twin brothers best friend Tom. Darcy has been distancing herself for years from Tom, until 8 years later he is single and ready to mingle.

I really liked it, her twin brother, Jamie, kind of annoyed me. He was so rude at times. I felt like alot of books have the miscommunication and back and forth drama. This book had it, slightly all over the place, but enjoyable.

Who does that 1% belong to?


Thank the lord for SNOW! I am so behind on all my other obligations today I have even ignored friends. Sorry but thank you Sally Thorne. If you get a chance to listen to this do it was even better. Anyone who knows me knows that I go through phases where I just need romance this for me was, I need a break for mysteries because that's all I've been reading. This checks all the boxes for me it was cute it was quick and it was really unexpected. Tom Valeska the Hero was such a joy to read hi Darcy forget it Oh my God I thought she was a complete powerful pixie. That is not exactly a forbidden romance, but putting that aside for a moment, this is a sweet, heart-warming and sexy romance that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren. I have not picked up the Hating Game (shame me if you will but it's on my list I promise) This was cute and corky and every % that she fell in love with Tom I fell in love with Tom. I do not want to ruin this book for anyone but if you don't love the back and forth banter between these two then you read this book all wrong. Go try it again. I promise you won't regret it.

2.5/5

Better than The Hating Game, but it still lacks quite a bit elements to it. The mc is a heart patient, but her twin brother is rude to her and says the most hurtful things to her that made my heart ache. There was little to no chemistry between the mc and her love interest. Everything felt too vague.

Initially gave it 5 stars, but was left empty with the lack of love in the story. Being childhood friends you'd expect that trope to be filled with the usual gooey softness you're looking for but the main character seems to mainly lust after the leading man. The will-they-won't-they was extremely rushed. Was hopeful for the side characters but they fell flat where they could've really shined and added more to the story.

Went in looking for a rom-com and ended up with more of a smutty fanfiction that fell weak at the plot.

A fun, entertaining read. Love how Sally Thorne reverses gender roles. Characters were unusual, distinct but still likeable. Plot familiar, but unique enough to keep my interest. Not sure I really bought into the feasibility of their attraction, but hey, it's for fun. Did grow a little tired of Darcy's barrage of sarcasm... But most of it was very witty, so I suppose it all evened out ;)

I'm still thinking this book over. I didn't like it as much as The Hating Game (5 stars), but The Hating Game really hit all my favorite tropes. With 99 Percent Mine, I just really felt sorry for Darcy and mad she kept making bad-ish choices. I also kind of hated her brother and how he treated her. Despite that, I could not put the book down. Ms. Thorne is definitely a must-read author for me.

I'm so disappointed in this book. Hundreds of pages of nothing but the same conversation over and over again, round and round in circles. Basically nothing happens. I couldn't warm to the MC at all.

If I'd read this book as my first Sally Thorne, I wouldn't bother picking up another one. Thank goodness I read the wonderful “The Hating Game” first!