Review: 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

99 PERCENT MINE
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Sally Thorne
Release Date: January 29, 2019

Crush: 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.

AMAZON

If I can just get Tom Valeska to lose his mind over me, I can die happy.

Alright. I have a confession to make before I dive into the review for this book.
*whispers*
I haven’t read The Hating Game yet.
*hides*
*pokes head back up*
Are you still judging me? Because quit it! I bought it immediately when I started this book, ok?! From this author’s magical writing style, I can clearly see what I’ve been missing. But I digress here. What I’m going to be doing, is reviewing my very first Sally Thorne book. And spoiler alert, I adored it!

I’m a scary bitch. He’s a bashful sweetheart with pink cheeks.

Now here’s the thing. Nice guys aren’t usually my thing. And there you go, judging me again. What did I tell you about that? Back to my review, though. So while the bad boy alphas are typically my thing, I couldn’t get enough of Tom Valeska, the alpha male with the beautifully wolfish eyes, sweet tenderness, and understated sexiness. I fell in love with this man through Grace’s eyes. The entire book is in the heroine’s POV, and yet you get such wonderfully developed characters through her eyes.

The first touch of his tongue loosens my knees and I’m grateful that he’s holding me up. I shudder a breath out. He breathes it, changes our angle, exhales it back to me. Air is better from his lungs. Life is better with his kiss. The word mine is now something I need to make him understand.

Darcy is spunky and enigmatic. This is a girl that doesn’t stay in any one place for long. She craves adventure and hasn’t dated any guy seriously. Admittedly, she can come across as brash at times. The way that she almost rabidly lusts after Tom was a touch much at times. She’s loved Tom since they were kids, but the one time she could have had him, her teenage thoughtlessness cost her that chance. And while he’s been as strong a staple in her life as her twin brother, he’s also been engaged to another woman. But now the renovation of her recently passed grandmother’s house that her and her twin inherited bring them together again, she’s not about to waste another opportunity with Tom. Especially since he’s now surprisingly single.

This was a deliciously character driven slow burn of a romance. I loved learning about Tom and seeing him through Darcy’s experience. He’s such a sweetheart that you can’t help but fall completely head over heels for him.

No one else is kissing you anymore,” he tells me in a conversational hush, not breaking our contact. “Your mouth is mine.”

I have to say that only being in Darcy’s head did get a bit exhausting at times. This is a girl that’s always at a ten, and I wanted her to bring it down to an 8 or 7 at times. But there’s also something oddly endearing about her. She loves her friends and she’s completely in love with Tom. I also loved the way that Tom cares for her. I struggled a bit with the relationship she had with her twin brother, but they did win me over in the end.

But one thing is for sure, I fell so hard for this wonderfully quirky and sweet romance. I adored Tom and Darcy together. I adored the friends to lovers trope. I loved their love and couldn’t get enough of it. 99 Percent Mine was a perfectly paced, feel good and lighthearted romance. It was endearingly sassy and swoony. A definite rec for any slow burn lovers out there that love their alphas sweet and their heroines edgy.