99% Mine

by Sally Thorne

[stacey_is_sassy]

Being perfect isn’t everything…

***4.5 Stars***

I met Sally Thorne at a book signing a couple of years back and if I hadn’t loved her before then I would have loved her after meeting her. She’s the cutest little thing and she was FREAKING OUT in a *strangers want to TALK TO ME* kind of way. I think we as readers forget that authors are just like us and may or may not love to be the centre of attention. I gave her a hug and tried to convince her that it would all be OK, just take it one fan at a time. She gave me that deer in the headlights look, took a deep breath and returned to her side of the table. I love book signings.

While I was talking to Sally, I was doing my own version of fangirling and congratulating her on The Hating Game. I asked her how her second book was going, and she admitted that she was struggling with the amount of pressure she was under to produce something different but as good as her first. I gave her all the peppy speeches that I thought any new author would want to hear and told her…she’ll be right, mate. And, guess what, she was right, mate.

I admit to starting 99 Percent Mine a little hesitantly. I didn’t want to set my expectations too high. Maybe, in the back of my mind, I was remembering her worries, and I was hoping she had worried for nothing. But, when you’re reading a new author’s second book, especially when it’s not part of a series, you kind of expect it to not be as good.

OMG!! I’m such a horrible person!! I can’t believe I just admitted ^^^that^^^ to you.

Hello, my name is Stacey (who thinks she’s Sassy, but I’m pretty sure it’s all in her head), and I admit to having low expectations when it comes to reading the second book by a new author…

Now, I have that off my chest, let me tell you how I felt about Sally Thorne’s second book.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! There were highs and lows that sent my emotions crazy. I was so frustrated with Darcy for a lot of the book. She’s a self-destructive, scaredy cat who does a runner whenever things go dodgy. So, I was frustrated but could completely relate to her. I even started dreaming of doing a runner myself. How cool would it be to just pack your bags and leave your troubles behind? Obviously, I’d need to pack my hubby and kids bags too, sell the house, try and learn how to home-school my kids…stuff it…too much like hard work.

Anyways, Darcy was a very interesting character. She has been in love with Tom since she was a kid but said the wrong thing to him when she was 18, and nearly ruined their friendship. Time moves along and she runs, runs, runs and runs some more, and Tom moves on with his life. Luckily, they’ve stayed friends because the other most important person in her life, her twin brother Jamie, is Tom’s best friend.

There is absolutely no way I can go further into this storyline because it would take a ten-part-exposition to explain it all. I will tell you this, I loved 99 Percent Mine especially because it wasn’t perfect. The characters are not perfect, the love between the characters broke my heart, and they all made so many mistakes. Secrets, fibs, manipulations and trust are all things that made my emotions boil. It was so bloody realistic. Sometimes you make a bad choice, take a runner instead of standing your ground, and manipulate to get the best outcome. In the end, I was extremely happy with how it all played out and completely convinced that Tom and Darcy would struggle through together for the rest of their lives.

Sally, you so got it right. 99 Percent Mine was perfect in an imperfect kind of way. Who wants to be perfect when it’s so good to be bad.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.