There were moments while devouring Sally Thorne's newest book, 99 Percent Mine, where I would have been like Sheldon in the GIF above if only there were a paper bag handy.
OMG, did I love this book! It literally took every ounce of self-control I had (plus the recognition I had a few conference calls this morning) not to stay up late last night and finish the entire book in one sitting.
For as long as she can remember, life for Darcy Barrett has involved two people—her twin brother, Jamie, and their best friend, Tom Valeska, whom her brother and family essentially adopted when they were younger. Darcy fell in love with Tom when she was eight, but he always seemed more loyal to Jamie than her. But when a moment of vulnerability left Darcy scared of the consequences, she took off running and never quite settled down again.
Now Darcy is back, living in her grandmother's dilapidated cottage, which was bequeathed to her and Jamie with the understanding that it would be refurbished and then sold. She keeps everyone at arm's length, including Jamie, as they have differing ideas of profiting from the cottage's sale. Her once-successful photography career has been shelved in favor of photographing objects for commercial websites, and she's ready to take off again for parts unknown.
"I've been working on this jet-black disguise for many years now, and it's bulletproof. But some people can tell that I'm a weakling, and they try to baby and help me. It must be a survival-of-the-fittest thing. But they're all wrong. I'm not a lame gazelle; I'll be the one chasing the lion."
She's unprepared when Tom, a master house-flipper, arrives at the cottage with his brand-new construction crew, ready to tackle the renovations. Seeing Tom triggers all of the same feelings of lust and love and jealousy and loneliness he always seems to, as he's engaged to his long-time girlfriend, a woman whose luck Darcy covets wholeheartedly. When she finds out that the engagement is over, Darcy wants to finally act on her feelings for Tom, changing their relationship from a brother-sister bond to one that feels like forever.
Are the risks too great? Does he feel the same way for Darcy that she does about him, and even if he does, is he willing to risk everything, including his friendship with Jamie? If Tom gives Darcy his heart (and everything else), will she just take off running again?
"A guy like that is strong in a way that's deeper than muscle and bones, because he wears his softness on the outside. I think I met my ideal man when I was eight, and no one else has ever measured up."
Like many of the romances I've read lately—great books by Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, Josie Spencer, and Thorne herself—there isn't a lot that is surprising in 99 Percent Mine, but I couldn't tear myself away from it. I absolutely loved the complex relationships between Jamie and Darcy, Jamie and Tom, and Darcy and Tom—the intensity of childhood relationships and how they change, and don't change, in adulthood.
This book is hot, too. There is a lot of desire in this book, and Thorne doesn't spare a detail in raising your temperature along with her characters. The sex scenes are pretty unbelievable, too. I mean, how can you not love a line like, "I would have sex with him on a pencil sketch of this bed"?
I read Thorne's first book, The Hating Game (see my review), last month, and I was eagerly anticipating the release of 99 Percent Mine. (At least the Kindle version of this book came with epilogues for both this book and The Hating Game, which was an unexpected bonus.)
I think I enjoyed this book even more than Thorne's first because of the complexity of the relationships. While the plot is relatively predictable, not everything I was expecting to happen did, which made me happy, actually. If you're a fan of this genre, don't miss this one—a really great read when you need a good rom-com.
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