Review of 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
I listened to the audiobook and followed along in the physical book.
DESCRIPTION
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.
REVIEW
Alright, this one got off to a really shaky start and I am disappointed that I didn’t love it as much as The Hating Game. That said, it did pick up in the second half and I enjoyed the tension between the main characters.
My main issue is the heroine, Darcy. She’s abrasive. She’s judgmental. She’s self centered. And I’m pretty sure some homewrecking would have happened on her part if Tom hadn’t ended up single, in fact she was so unabashedly obvious and forward at times that it made me dislike her more.
Furthermore, the writing was jarring and repetitive. I listened to the audiobook and there were not near enough dialogue tags or smooth transitions for this book to translate well into audio. I had to follow along in the book for much of it because Darcy’s POV jumped around so much, it was hard to follow what was even happening.
As far as the repetitiveness goes – I cannot tell you how many times we are reminded that Darcy cut her hair off, got a nipple piercing, has a heart condition and hates the way men look at her. She fixates on how Tom is large and imposing and constantly, constantly compares herself to her twin brother and Tom’s ex-fiancée. The premise and setting of this worked and were interesting but Darcy as a character is not likable in the least.
All of that said, fingers crossed Sally’s next read is an improvement upon this!
Order 99 Percent Mine from these booksellers
Library in the Country 
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