Readers and critics alike raved over USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne's smash hit debut novel, The Hating Game-which sold in over 20 countries. Now she's back with an unforgettable romantic comedy about a twin sister and brother struggling over an inheritance-and the sexy best friend who comes between them.
Crush (n.): 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.
- ISBN10 0062439626
- ISBN13 9780062439628
- Publish Date 29 January 2019
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Collins
- Format eBook
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
Rowena
Sam@WLABB
Many of the things, which made me love Thorne's previous book, The Hating Game, were present in this book. Great chemistry, snappy banter, some serious heat - it was all there, but what I really adored was the history the couple shared.
Darcy and Tom were childhood friends. I mean, Tom was practically her family's third child, and he remained close to Darcy's parents and her twin brother, who was considered Tom's best friend. It was love at first sight for Darcy, but she always felt that Tom belonged to her brother, and he was only about 1% her's. When Tom finally became a possibility, Darcy fled. She led this vagabond life, never letting herself love someone, because that "someone" would never be Tom. And THEN, fate intervened. Once again, Tom was a possibility, and this time, Darcy was determined to make him 99% her's, and I know I was rooting for her to make it happen.
I think my heart physically hurt, when I learned Darcy's thoughts regarding her unrequited love for Tom. Her feelings of longing and loss, when it came to him, were palpable. Imagine having to maintain contact with the one you will forever long for, the one you think you could never have. It was heartbreaking, and because of that and the fact that I grew to love both Darcy and Tom, I NEEDED them to finally act upon their feelings for one another.
I won't lie. It wasn't insta-love for me when it came to Darcy. She was quite hard and brash, and I was sort of buying into the picture her family painted of her. However, as the story played out, I learned a lot about her and started to understand why she was the way she was. She was sort of wild with many, many quirks, but, I will admit, her impulsiveness and lack of filter created some of the most hilarious moments in the book.
Now, Tom I loved from page one. Remember, I was seeing him through the eyes of a women, who has adored him for decades, so he definitely came across as a unicorn-man via Darcy. But, his actions backed up what Darcy was seeing, and let me tell you, he was all sorts of wonderful.
Why 4 instead of 5 stars? Once again, I would have loved to have the hero's point of view. I did feel like there was a lot of honest discussions between the two, so we weren't totally in the dark about how Tom felt, but his POV would have help present a clearer picture, when it came to certain things. I also felt like some of the side drama was detracting from the central focus, which was the push-and-pull romance between Darcy and Tom. However, I had the opportunity to share enough really special moments with those two, that more than made up for any wee thing that bothered me.
And, the ENDING! I was crying and smiling and I loved it so much. In fact, I have a huge grin on my face and some tears in my eyes, right now, as I relate this to you (see picture above). It was a good ending, and it has me wondering if maybe we will revisit this world. It seemed like there could be a story brewing for Darcy's brother, Jamie. Pssst, Sally Thorne, I would love to read that story.
Overall: Another solid romance from Thorne, which made me laugh, cry, swoon, and smile.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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