99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

I wanted to read a contemporary, fun romance in between my historical fiction reads this month. I picked this up at B&N and thought it looked like fun, but after starting enthusiastically, I had some struggles with all 100 percent of it. 

The plot: twins Darcy and Jamie Barrett have inherited their grandmother's cottage with directions to have it fixed up and sold, splitting the profits between them. Jamie isn't talking to Darcy because she turned down a developer and his boatload of cash, and now Tom, their childhood friend is the contractor Jamie has hired to give the cottage a facelift. 

Tom is the only man Darcy has ever loved. And I mean LOVED. She's been in love with him since they were kids, but never felt she could do anything about it because Jamie claimed him as his best friend. And Tom has been dating (and is now engaged) to a stunner of a women. To cope with her feelings, Darcy has been traveling the world, has the potential to be a top photographer, and now works in a bar. She's a bit of a mess. She's had plenty of sex, but it never means anything because it's not Tom. Now Tom's back, and Darcy is going to stay and help with the cottage renovation. Oh, did I mention Darcy has a heart condition that pops up randomly?

Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Well it all is a bit of a mess. I found myself floundering around trying to understand just what the heck was going on. Lots of lust, for sure. Darcy is ready to jump Tom pretty much 24/7. Tom, a big, handsome, kind man, seems to waffle back and forth between being possessive and lusting after Darcy, and standoffish. Talk about mixed signals. It was kind of exhausting trying to follow their conversations and get a handle on what exactly was going on. I also thought it was a bit extreme that anyone would travel the world non-stop and never come home just to avoid the one person they love. I can't say Darcy was a favorite character of mine. She was a mess. Yes, there is a happy ending, but I felt like that could have happened a long time ago, if only they both had been honest with each other early on, and Darcy had told her brother Jamie to stuff it, she was in love with their childhood friend. Sheesh. So much time wasted!

There's some spice for sure--Darcy raises the temperature high with her constant (well hell, I'll just say it) horniness and imaginings of being in bed (or against a wall) with Tom. When Tom turns up the heat, he's pretty hot, I'll say that. 

Apparently Sally Thorne's first novel, The Hating Game, is fantastic, and I think I'll read it. Reviews of 99 Percent Mine compared the two, and by far her first novel is the favorite. Reviewers were on the fence with 99 Percent Mine. Some loved it, some had issues with it like I did, but haven't fallen off the Sally Thorne fan wagon. I'll certainly give her another chance. 

Rating: 3/6 for a contemporary romance that had potential, but seemed to be a bit of a muddle. The characters seem to have trouble with communication, Darcy is permanently horny, and Tom is a bit wishy-washy. 

Available in paperback and ebook.