BOOK OF THE MONTH REVIEW: 99 Percent Mine

February 2019 Book of the Month: 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
Published: January 29, 2019

Episode Six: 99 Percent Mine

[WORDS ABOUT WORDS THEME]

ANNOUNCER: This review is brought to you by Words About Words.

BREE: Thank you for tuning in! Today we will be discussing our second book of 2019, 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne.

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TREE: So before we begin discussing 99 Percent Mine, I think we need to briefly mention The Hating Game, which is one of our favorite books.

BREE: Yeah, I knew not to go into 99 Percent Mine expecting the same type of experience as when I read The Hating Game.

TREE: I saw Sally Thorne say beforehand that they were two very different novels, so I went into it with high hopes, but trying to manage my expectations.

BREE: Now, on to the good stuff. What were your initial thoughts on the book?

TREE: For once, I actually read this book a little while ago, so I have had time to reflect on my thoughts. Initially, I enjoyed it. I had a fun time reading it, but it wasn’t the best romance book I’ve ever read. I guess I would just say that it was an okay novel.

BREE: I feel about the same. I’d say in comparison to the romance genre at large it was pretty good, but in comparison to my favorite romances it was just okay. Like, I enjoyed reading it, but will it be a re-readable favorite? Unlikely.

TREE: I will say that I really enjoyed Sally’s writing. Even though her style isn’t the best, she is really witty and funny. I also enjoyed Darcy as a character. She is an “unlikeable” character, but a unique and funny protagonist.

BREE: Yes! Darcy is one of my favorite characters that I’ve read recently. She is very bold, stubborn, and self-assured. It was very enjoyable to read from her perspective.

TREE: The side characters were a mixed bag. Some, like her friend Truly, were great. But the Barrett parents are weirdly nonexistent and the construction guys are a weird, but not unpleasant, addition.

BREE: Also, Truly was a unique character in that she was one of the only non-main character’s to have a fully flushed out backstory and personality. I think her underwear company, UnderSwears, was a really interesting addition to the plot, and made my laugh out loud.

TREE: Yeah it is a good example of Sally’s humor. Before moving on, is there anything else you liked you want to discuss?

BREE: Yeah, one thing I wanted to mention was that I liked the settling of the book. It takes place on the site of a house renovation, so there’s always a little air of chaos and constant flux, which adds to the emotional indecisiveness of the plot. Is there anything else you want to add?

TREE: I did want to mention that if you spend to much time thinking about the various plots and what is actually happening in this story, things start to not make sense and just unravel in general. I think if we wrote this review right after we finished reading the book, it would be a different review.

BREE: Yes, I have to agree with you on that. And adding to things that didn’t quite make sense, I wanted to mention Jamie (Darcy’s twin brother). I didn’t understand any of his actions or motivations the entire book. He is dead set against Darcy and Tom getting together and will do anything to stop it, even if it is to his sisters personal detriment.

TREE: The last thing I want to mention is that the whole concept of being “99 percent someone’s” doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t want to go into the whole thing, but one, it’s not how people really are and two, it is possessive.

BREE: In that case, I’ll wrap it up by saying this. I initially gave 99 Percent Mine 4/5 stars, but the longer I waited to write this review, the more the rating dropped. After the euphoria of reading Sally’s new book wore off, the plot issues became too apparent, and this book dropped into the 3/5 star range for me.

TREE: Same here. I would say that if you typically like romance I would recommend picking this up, if the only romance novel you have ever enjoyed is The Hating Game then it is not the book to pick up. I guess my final rating is 3/5.

BREE: That’s all the time we have for this episode. I hope you enjoyed our review, and we’ll see you next time!

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ANNOUNCER: Thanks for tuning in for this review of 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne.

TREE: Make sure to tune in next month when we review On the Come Up by Angie Thomas!

BREE: I must be the only person left who still hasn’t read The Hate U Give.

TREE: You still have time to catch up…

 

xoxo, Bree & Tree