Reviews

Girl 99 by Andy Jones

emmascr's review against another edition

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4.0

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Thank you to Andy for sending me  a copy of this book via Netgalley. I've previously read The Two of Us and when Andy asked if I wanted to read Girl 99 I jumped at the chance. As a side note this story is set before The Two of Us.

Tom stupidly cheats on his girlfriend Sadie at the Christmas work party, when he decides that honesty is the best policy she doesn't exactly thank him.

When Tom's friend El (yes the same El from The Two of Us) hears of this latest development he makes a bet with Tom. To reach 100 sexual partners. With some coaxing from El, Tom reluctantly agrees to the bet.

When I was reading this book I felt like I had read parts of this story before. I'm not sure if this was because I knew El's story or because Tom's job was in the same field as Fishers, in The Two of Us and seemed to have some similar themes regarding the work aspect. Nevertheless I really enjoyed the story.

The story is mainly about Tom but I really liked Tom's sister Bianca. She's feisty and funny.

Tom manages to get himself into such ridiculous situations you can't help but laugh. This book will have you going from laughing to covering your eyes in embarrassment at the situations that Tom gets himself into.

I guessed how this story was going to end before we quite got there but I didn't quite guess the journey to get there. Verity is a little bit different. She's not afraid to be who she really is and there's something about her that makes Tom want to know more.

The thing I really like about Andy's books is seeing the story from the male perspective and I look forward to reading more from him in the future.

ameserole's review against another edition

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3.0

Girl 99 was a cute and quick audio book to listen to while at work today. Yes, TODAY. However, I feel like Verity was kind of meh to me.

This book follows Tom's love life. His girlfriend just broke up with him and he's now taking the time to sit and ponder about all the girls he has slept with. Now I'm not saying he's a man-whore but, hot damn! 85 women seems to be a lot. It could just be me though..

Of course no book is good without a sex bet. El, Tom's best friend, has bet him to shag enough women to reach the number 100. Again, the number seems to be way too freaking high. So Tom goes out on the prowl to get more notches on his bed post. He's on a pretty good roll until someone sweeps him off his feet. Okay, no - that didn't happen. She just kind of stopped his world and made him forget about the bet.

Speaking of the devil, one day he meets Verity. She basically flips his world upside down. They were working on a project together and instantly takes a liking to her. At the point, the number 100 went out the window. Actually anything and everything went with it too.

They were a cute couple and had some funny moments but I still kind of thought Verity was kind of plain and boring in my eyes. His other dates were a bit more fun or at least made me laugh. Again, I don't really know how I feel about these two being together but then again - it's not my love life.

Overall, it was a pretty cute book that had some fun moments. The ending was a bit underwhelming but I still enjoyed it.

laurazdavidson's review against another edition

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4.0

Sweet... but still a little icky

99 girls is rather a lot, right? But the story was sweet, and the characters were fully realized. It reminded me of a British Jonathan Trooper novel... a young(ish) man realizes the folly of his selfish, immature lifestyle and sets himself on a new path. I very much enjoyed this novel and will probably read more by Andy Jones. (Thanks to the publisher, as well as Goodreads and Amazon for a free ARC of the novel.)

oldnic's review against another edition

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4.0

An entertaining read. Good characterisation.

carrieat's review against another edition

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4.0

*Spoiler Alert*

I read The Two of Us about this time last year and really enjoyed the characters so went on the hunt for more by Andy Jones and found 99 Girls.

I spent the whole of this book thinking ‘This guy has a formula’ but hey it works. He characters are lovable and I could wait to read a bit more. I had no idea at all until I read the end. I totally thought I was reading a book about different people but with a similar thread. I’m actually glad I didn’t twig until the end as I thought it was great to revisit people I really enjoyed the first time round.

Thought it was a great story.

sharondblk's review against another edition

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4.0

I'd probably give this 3.5 stars if I could. It is well written, and I enjoyed the minor characters, which were quite well developed. The main characters journey was a bit too neat, but it was also very nice and redemptive, so what's not to like.

balise's review against another edition

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2.0

Read it, didn't hate it, forgot it almost immediately. Dispensable.

balise's review against another edition

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2.0

Read it, didn't hate it, forgot it almost immediately. Dispensable.

sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition

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4.0

I’m getting to be a big fan of this author. My first introduction to his books was The Two of Us which I totally loved. If you’re a fan also, you will actually recognise a couple of characters from that book that appear in Girl 99 also.

Tom is a typical bloke and one that I took to straight away. His mum is no longer around and in a way he is a bit of a surrogate mother to his younger sister, Bianca. The relationship between brother and sister was an especially lovely and realistic one and one that I very much enjoyed reading about. Bianca represents youth and will very much remind readers of what it was like to be a sixteen year old again.

Even though overall Tom is a really nice guy, he is a bit of a player. He already has quite a few conquests under his belt already and when best friend El has a bet with him that he can’t sleep with a hundred women by a certain date, Tom reluctantly agrees. Tom obviously has a few commitment issues and is well within reaching the goal until he falls for Verity.

It’s hard to know what genre this authors books fall into. They feel like a mixture of chick/lad lit as well as contemporary fiction. There is some humour in there but there is always an underlying more serious note in all of the books also.

Girl 99 felt very much like a story of someone who finally grows up. Even though Tom is grown up in his family and work life, his love life has always been quite childish and selfish. In a way the bet takes him on a road of self discovery and it was one that I was more than happy to be a part of.

Yet another highly enjoyable read by an author who is vastly becoming one of my favourites.

My thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

sarahoretsev's review against another edition

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2.0

I almost gave up on this book halfway through, and I'm very glad I didn't - because the second half of the story turned out to be exactly what I felt was missing from the first. The issue I had at the beginning of this story was that I just didn't like Tom, at all. I found him selfish, vain, cold, and utterly inconsiderate. And so strongly disliking the narrator made it difficult to persevere. HOWEVER. The end of the novel summarises it all to me - Tom went on this emotional journey and it made him realise he was those things. It made him realise he had to change. The fact he didn't make it to 100, he stopped at 99, because he realised she was the love of his life, and he didn't want to continue this vapid, pointless existence... It was clever, sweet, and emotional.
Side note - El and Phil are everything and I love them so much.