28.2.17

BOOK REVIEW: Girl 99 by Andy Jones

When Tom’s girlfriend walks out on him the day  before Christmas, he feels humiliated but not necessarily heartbroken. Sadie, wasn’t after all, The One. If we’re being precise, she was number eighty-five.
And so, for reasons that are only mostly wrong, Tom embarks on a mission to bring his number of encounters up to a nice neat one hundred.
Over the course of his quest he sleeps with a colleague, a colleague of a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a friend’s wife, the estate agent selling his flat and several more besides.
Everything is going, if not well, then at least according to plan…and then Tom meets Verity. Whether she’s The One remains to be seen, but she’s certainly more than just another number.
Publisher: Lake Union
Pages: 318

Andy Jones has done it again, Girl 99 is a great read full of humour and truth. Tom had been looking forward to spending the festive season with his girlfriend Sadie but she leaves him the day before Christmas. He’s more annoyed than upset, he knew she wasn’t The One; when he looks back through his conquests he realises that she was actually number eighty-five. He tells his best friend El about this which may be a mistake as he then agrees to a £1000 bet that he can’t make his number up to a 100 in the next few weeks. He certainly gives it a good try but then he meets Verity and he doesn’t want to count anymore as he knows she is The One but now he has to face up to the reality of how he has been behaving and that may not be that simple.
Andy Jones has a knack of creating a great main character that you can’t help but like. Tom does some things in the book that should paint him in a very negative light but I was still rooting for him and hoping he’d find his way. I loved the relationships he had with those around him. He is incredibly close to his Dad and Sister and after his mother’s death it is obvious that he has had to take on a bigger role in the family. One of my favourite parts of the book was his friendship with Doug, his elderly neighbour. Doug’s almost a father-figure to him, offering him wise words and trying to steer him back on to the right path. Their interactions really made me smile and they showed a very caring side to Tom’s character.
Andy Jones writes with much humour and wit; Girl 99 had me laughing out loud several times. Tom finds himself in a few interesting situations while trying to get to his 100. I think the best was his estate agent who definitely has an air of Fatal Attraction about her.
I have enjoyed all of the books by this author; his writing is funny, relevant and heart-warming, don’t miss Girl 99. 

3 comments:

Kim said...

Definitely looking forward to this one! Looked at it today in Waterstones and dilly-dallied about it, but I shall go back tomorrow and make a purchase!
Thank you for another great review, lovely xx

Nadia said...

This sounds like such a fun read. I'd heard of it and requested a copy, but had yet to read it. Now I see that I am missing out. I need to add it to my current TBR pile ASAP.

Dot said...

Thanks both, I don't read many books by male authors but I really enjoy Andy Jones' writing!

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