JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

REVIEW AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

Crush (n.): a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…

Darcy Barrett found her dream man at age eight – ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough. Having conducted a global survey of men, she can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that he’s her twin brother’s best friend – oh, and that 99 percent of the time, he hasn’t seemed interested in her.

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 – just to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts. But sparks start to fly – and not just because of the faulty wiring. Soon, a one percent chance with Tom is no longer enough. This time around, Darcy’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne is a heartfelt romance novel about two friends who grew up together and who might finally have their chance to start a relationship.

The timing never quite worked out for Darcy and Tom, and so Darcy buried her feelings about Tom and learnt to never get attached to anyone or any place. Tom has been in a relationship with another woman for almost ten years and so Darcy always assumed her love for Tom was unrequited and it was never going to happen between the two of them. But when Tom comes back into Darcy’s life and is now single, there’s a chance that her and Tom can finally be together. There’s a chance he feels the same way about her too.

Darcy Barrett is an interesting protagonist, a witty, self-deprecating woman who is bold, brash and very herself. She makes no apologies for who she is, and she doesn’t let other people’s opinions of her affect how she acts. She’s quite a unique main character for a romance novel, and a breath of fresh air to the genre.

The romance in the book is a slow-burn, building tension and anticipation for the climax of the story. This book will satisfy any reader looking for a good love story.

“I haven’t seen the colours of sunrise in a long, long time. In my old life, I’d be loading my car with photography gear even earlier than this and heading off to a shoot, a slave to this buttercream light. Everyone looks beautiful in this glow. It airbrushes in a way that my software package never could. It puts a flush in everything it touches.”

Darcy, Tom and Darcy’s brother Jamie have been friends since they were all kids. When they were eight years old, Tom got locked out of his house and turned up on their doorstep. It’s been eighteen years and Darcy has had a crush on him ever since.

Darcy and Tom have a lot of sexual chemistry that leaps off the page, and Sally Thorne has nailed the dialogue between them. It’s funny but also emotional, and one of the main strengths of the book.

There are many times in the book where it feels like Darcy is playing games with Tom, toying with him and making him suffer around her. I think this shows Darcy’s character — she’s confident and outgoing, but I think this masks her inner pain and confusion around Tom, and she is playing games with Tom so she can avoid really thinking about their friendship and where it’s possibly going.

Darcy’s best friend Truly is a fun addition to the novel, bringing humour and heart into Darcy’s life. Darcy may move around a lot and she doesn’t commit to guys or relationships, but her friendship with Truly seems to be one of the more stable parts of her life.

“Truly Nicholson is the queen of a cult indie underwear label called Underswears, and no, her name is not a nickname. Well, it was initially. She was called Truly in utero when she finally made her appearance on an ultrasound screen. That little baby was truly a miracle.”

I didn’t always like Darcy and I found her a bit mean, especially to Tom. Also, Jamie’s presence in the novel felt a little underwhelming. He’s mentioned a lot, and Darcy and Tom talk about him all the time and he’s heavily involved in the remodelling of the home, but he only appears at the very end of the novel? It felt a little jarring.

I wasn’t overly interested in the remodelling storyline because I don’t really care about construction/renovating/building etc, but that doesn’t matter. That plot just forms the skeleton of the story – the real plot is the development of Darcy and Tom’s relationship and the two of them navigating their feelings for the other person.

I’d recommend this to lovers of romance and contemporary fiction, and anyone who read and loved Sally’s previous novel The Hating Game.

99 Percent Mine is available now, Hachette Book Publishers Australia, RRP $29.99.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH SALLY THORNE

How did you find writing 99 Percent Mine compared with The Hating Game?
I’ve never intentionally written a book before. The Hating Game was written as a gift for a friend’s birthday and I had no plans to publish it. However, that book wanted to get published very much, and it turned out to be a smash hit. 

Writing the second book was very hard. I’ve never experienced success before, and I haven’t had to follow anything up. The Hating Game felt like a fluke to me. I got writer’s block for a very long time. People would ask me how I was dealing with the pressure. I wasn’t dealing well at all. A successful book on sale in 25+ countries didn’t feel so great when I could barely write a single new word.

But, like anyone who’s written a book knows, you just have to ignore the voice in your head that says you’re a fraud. I nearly gave up many times, kept on going, and got out the other side. I was helped by my wonderful agent, who always told me that I’m talented and I can do it. I also had support from many established authors who sent emails to check in and helped me through it.

What’s important to your writing process?
I need a blank day on my calendar. If I have an appointment later in the day, I don’t write as well. But if I know I have all the time in the world, I can just gradually relax into that creative zone and just see what happens. It’s not a terribly practical way to get work done, but I do my best work when I have nowhere to be except my computer.

What’s not important to your writing process?
I personally don’t plot out my book beforehand, I just write the relationship between the characters and make things up spontaneously. I love the moments where my hands type out something I’ve never even thought of, and when characters just say things that seem perfect. I tried plotting once, but I got bored and never even started that book.

What do you think readers are looking for in a romance novel?


Intensity of emotion. It’s what I put the most effort into in my books. Every single moment that those two characters are together should feel electric. Readers want that delicious slow burn as the characters tease and back away, building up to something that should be beautiful and life changing when they finally give in to love. I want the reader of my book to feel like they’re in that character’s shoes, standing opposite that man, feeling every single heartbeat.

What do you like to read?


I like reading genres different to my own (rom com), so I do like reading Alice Hoffman’s beautiful magical-realism, Annie Proulx’s Wyoming short stories and also sexy intense dark romances. I can always count on Christina Lauren books to make me feel and laugh. I also have a penchant for Harlequin novels from the 1980s and 1990s. They’re great.
I should own up to the fact that in 2018 I was so stressed out writing 99 Percent Mine that I probably only read four or five books.

I read in an interview that you used to write fanfiction. How did that prepare you for writing your novels?
Fanfiction is something that I’d recommend to anyone who wants to try writing. It’s an in-built community who already likes a similar thing, and within that space you can really work on creating something with a point of difference. I was writing around 2008-9 and there’s an astonishing number of writers from that period who are now bestselling authors of original fiction. 

I think fanfiction prepared me for writing original fiction because it was uploaded like a serial, one chapter at a time. You learn to get good at ending chapters on a little cliffhanger or leave the reader wanting more- ‘Update soon’ is a very common request in reviews. You work on your pacing and heightening the will-they won’t-they aspects of romantic relationships to play your readers like a fiddle. Back then, all we wanted was reviews. We’d actually ask total strangers for feedback. How brave! Nowadays I don’t read my reviews at all.

What’s left on your bucket list?
I want to go to Korea, I would love to have the words New York Times Bestseller after my name and I’d love to sit in the cinema one day to watch The Hating Game movie.

And lastly, what are you working on next?
On the Hating Game movie front, the option was sold and is now in the development stage- David Mirkin (The Simpsons Movie, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion) is attached to direct it, a fabulous funny screenplay was written by Christina Menghert (I had input- how fun) and I’m hoping to have some meetings when I go over to the US in April for my book tour. I also signed another two-book contract for HarperCollins in December, and am drafting my third book.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

99 Percent Mine
Sally Thorne
February 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

In his much-anticipated debut novel, Hank Green – co-creator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers and SciShow – spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she’s part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.

If you came across AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING at 3 a.m. in New York City . . . Would you keep walking? Or do the one thing that would change your life forever? 

The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship – like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armour – April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world – everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires – and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the centre of an intense international media spotlight.

Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a debut novel by American author Hank Green, a quirky and strange tale about fame, social media, obsession and radicalisation.

After April discovers a giant metal statue in New York City, she films it and uploads the video online. What she doesn’t know is that these strange statues have appeared all over the world at exactly the same time, with no footage available showing how they got there and who erected them.

April becomes famous; everyone is fascinated by these statues and what they mean, and they feel like April has the answers to all their questions.

April is a very self-centred person, and at times she’s actually awful. And she knows it. She says horrible things to her girlfriend and treats her terribly, but then uses her girlfriend and her intelligence when she needs help solving some of the alien puzzles throughout the book. I kept reading this book because of the plot, not because of the characters.

“There was a bit of silence then. Her emotions — oh, they were everywhere. Anger, pain, disappointment. Disappointment in me, specifically, no in the situation. I got the impression that she was unsurprised that I had turned out to be exactly what she expected me to be.”

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with the unpredictability of social media and viral fame, and how that can change a person or simply highlight their true personality.

The book also — in a light-hearted, bizarre way — highlights many of society’s flaws. People react badly when they fear something, or when they don’t understand something, and that can harm others or have a domino effect on the rest of civilisation.

“After that, I lowered myself into the news storm. The president hadn’t mentioned me by name in her speech, but there was reference to my work. I was now inextricably linked to this story. Not because I discovered Carl, and not because I was the first person with a following to come out and say he was an alien, and not because I seemed to be the reason his hand fell off and ran across Hollywood, but because I was all three of those things.”

This is a very weird book, but in a way, I enjoyed it. I kept reading. I found myself interested in the Carls and the puzzles and quizzes that filled the book, and I wanted to know what the Dreams meant.

I don’t think this book is for everyone. At the end, there isn’t much of a resolution and so I think a lot of people will find themselves disappointed. But I think seasoned readers, particularly readers who like the quirkiness of some fiction, will find this book quite fun.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Hank Green
September 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew

This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself.

But no one can say why.

The question is one that cries out to be answered – by Ryan’s mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families’ secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame… the truth seems to vanish.

A stunningly moving novel from an exciting new voice in crime, ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS will cause you to question your assumptions about the people you love, and reconsider how the world reacts to tragedy.

All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew is a debut crime novel about a horrific college shooting in Edinburgh. Thirteen women are killed, and the gunman — Ryan — commits suicide before the cops can arrest him.

The shooting shatters the local community, but it also ruins many families — the families of the victims, mostly. But also Ryan’s mum. She was his only family, and after Ryan’s death, Moira is demonised by society for what her son has done. She is threatened, abused and tormented.

Novels that are centred around public shootings are always tough to read, because they feel so real. Shootings happen so often, particularly in the US, and Claire Askew focuses on the aftermath and what a shooting does to the people left behind.

Claire builds suspense and tension and she causes the reader to question many things — are the parents responsible when their child murders another? Can they really say they didn’t know what their child was capable of? And if the child uses their parent’s weapon, is the parent at fault as well?

All the Hidden Truths forces the reader to really second guess their moral compass and rethink where the blame lies in a situation like this.

“She couldn’t quite believe that there were people out there who might want to kill her…but then, she could also believe it just fine She tried to imagine what she’d have felt if the roles were reversed — if someone had walked into Three Rivers College that say, and killed Ryan.”

The most heart-wrenching account is that of Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim of the shooting. Ishbel is an incredibly relatable character, and I imagine a lot of mothers would read this and see themselves in her. She cared about her daughter, who at times was reckless and rude and stubborn, and she struggles to move forward after Abigail’s death. Isabel’s chapters are very haunting for the reader.

“Ishbel wasn’t sure how she’d got there herself. She had no memory of the short drive over, though she knew she had done it: right now she was leaning against the back corner of the car to cover up the shaking in her legs. This was the first time she’d changed her clothes in two days, and she’d taken them from the drawer and put them on without really looking at them.”

I felt that a key element missing from the novel was any sense of who Ryan really was. I expected the reader to — through the lens of the other characters — find out more about him and what events really drove him to do what he did. At the very least, I wanted to understand him as a person a little better. But, we’re offered very little. Not even that much about his personality or his manner or his personal life.

Even his mother’s POV chapters don’t provide any insight, and as a result Ryan seems like a cardboard cut-out character, the stereotypical college shooter. The blurb implies that you’ll find out why Ryan shot all those women, but I don’t think you do. And it’s a bit of a letdown.

“They cut to a picture of Ryan’s face. His last school photo, a few years old now: Ryan in his navy school sweater, the stiff white collar of his shirt sitting wonky in its pilled V-neck. He was smiling, but he didn’t look happy — a handful of years back he’d decided he hated having his photograph taken.”

This is a character driven story, not the plot driven narrative you think you’re going to get. All the Hidden Truths explores family, love and the trauma and heartache of lives interrupted.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

All the Hidden Truths
Claire Askew
August 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Clean by Juno Dawson

When socialite Lexi Volkov almost overdoses, she thinks she’s hit rock bottom. She’s wrong. Because rock bottom is when she’s forced into an exclusive rehab facility.

From there, the only way is up for Lexi and her fellow inmates, including the mysterious Brady. As she faces her demons, Lexi realises love is the most powerful drug of all …

It’s a dirty business getting clean.

Clean by Juno Dawson is a young adult novel set inside an expensive rehab facility on a secluded island.

Clean is a really honest representation of recovering from addiction. There are setbacks. There are complications. There are relapses. Recovery is not a linear process.

I think it’s really important for teenagers to read about addiction and how it can affect your life, but I also think it’s really important for them to see what recovery looks like. It isn’t pretty.

“I check the other messages. Mummy asks how I am and is then sniffy when I haven’t replied. I do so now and tell her my phone was stolen by Muslim immigrants outside Clapham Junction. This plays gloriously into about nine of her prejudices.”

Lexi Volkov is a pretty horrible person — self-centred, cynical, judgemental, rude and incredibly privileged. She does grow over the course of the novel, but she is still incredibly flawed by the conclusion of the book.

She’s from a wealthy family and is adored and can get away with pretty much anything. Her brother Nikolai is the only person who wants her to take responsibility for her actions. She enters the exclusive rehab centre Clarity with a heroin addiction and meets other addicts who are all filthy rich and in need of recovery.

“I grab a rock and hurl it at the sliding doors. It pings off without even making a scratch. I try again, pelting stone after stone at the window. How sodding thick is the glass? By the time the nurses come running in, I’ve crumpled to the floor, my energy sapped. As they try to restrain me, I start to lash out with the now empty bowl.”

Juno Dawson tackles addiction with brutal honesty. There are many unpleasant moments in the novel. Each character in rehab is struggling with some sort of addiction, and their road to recovery is not going to be easy.

But at the same time, the book has heart. There are moments of humour and self-realisation. This book is as addictive as the drugs in the story, and I devoured the novel. I found myself really invested in the storylines and the character journeys. I wanted to know how each character was going to progress through the novel.

“I bristle at the quasi-religious flavour of that word. You don’t face temptation, you face life. Life is full of nice things that are bad for us. Temptation is just a fancy word for wanting them. It’s the same as ‘demons’. The first time someone says I have ‘demons’ I’m out of here. I don’t need an exorcist. I need a drink.”

The writing is incredibly compelling, enticing the reader with flawless dialogue, prose and pacing. The chapters are short and the cast intriguing. I wanted to know more about all of these characters, and they have been brought to life so vividly.

Juno has captured their voices so well — they’re all incredibly unique, and therefore you sympathise and empathise with them and you keep reading because you want to find out what happens.

I appreciate that Juno doesn’t romanticise illness or addiction. It’s important for these characters to recover, and not just mask their problems with a relationship. It’s rare to see that in young adult fiction, and it’s one of the things I loved about this novel.

Clean is described as Gossip Girl meets Girl, Interrupted and will appeal to fiction lovers and readers of contemporary young adult fiction. It’s hard-hitting, unapologetic, bold, ugly and compulsive.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Clean
Juno Dawson
April 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester

1940. Parisian seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee France as the Germans advance. She is bound for Manhattan with a few francs, one suitcase, her sewing machine and a dream: to have her own atelier.

2015. Australian curator Fabienne Bissette journeys to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her beloved grandmother’s work – one of the world’s leading designers of ready-to-wear clothing. But as Fabienne learns more about her grandmother’s past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and secrets – and the sacrifices made for love.

Crossing generations, society’s boundaries and international turmoil, The Paris Seamstress is the beguiling, transporting story of the special relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter as they attempt to heal the heartache of the past.

The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester is a novel about two women — separated by a generation — and how their lives and their creative passions intertwine. A thrilling mystery envelopes this sweeping saga, taking the reader on a journey through multiple countries and generations.

Natasha Lester is a bestselling Australian historical fiction writer, and I’ve been a huge fan of her work ever since I read Her Mother’s Secret last year. She weaves these wonderful stories together, featuring brave women at key historical moments. Her books are full of warmth, heart and emotion. You find yourself completely absorbed in the story and the characters, rooting for these women as they chase their dreams and overcome hurdles in order to achieve what they’ve set out to do.

The Paris Seamstress is no different.

Estella and her granddaughter Fabienne are both heavily invested in the fashion world. Estella is a well-known fashion designer and her granddaughter Fabienne has the opportunity to take over her grandmother’s line. Both women have to overcome hardships and judgement in order to succeed, particularly Estella because she was trying to forge a career in the male-dominated world of 1940s New York fashion.

“The woman stalked off and Estella couldn’t help feeling as if she’d just made a huge mistake. That, once again, she should have buttoned her mouth one sentence earlier. She reached for another drink — gin this time — and Janie spun back out onto the dance floor.”

After Estella escapes France, she arrives in New York where she only knows one person — Sam. She met Sam on the boat to America, and he has experience as a fashion cutter. Sam helps Estella find her feet in New York, and the two end up working together for many years building Estella’s ready-to-wear line. It isn’t until Estella meets Lena, her doppelgänger, that her story really begins.

The Paris Seamstress is written with eloquent, flowing prose and rich description — the imagery in the book is unique and beautiful.

The reader connects with the characters in The Paris Seamstress because of how relatable they are — they are confident and determined, but they also don’t give up when things don’t go well for them. Estella has a dark past that she knows nothing about, and as she starts to unravel the mystery of her heritage, it threatens to ruin everything that she’s built so far. And yet, she pushes on, more determined than ever.

“Spirit. It had forsaken her. All Estella could think right now was that this was her one and only chance and everything rested on it. If the showing was a failure, then Janie would marry Nate and move out of the city. Sam would never have the job he wanted and would be so disappointed in her he would take his friendship elsewhere, to someone more deserving.”

Adults will love this even if they’re not regular readers of historical fiction. The majority of the story may take place in the 1940s, but at its core, this is about two women who are following their dreams and who are just trying to make their way in the world.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Paris Seamstress
Natasha Lester
April 2018
Hachette Book Publishers