Addicted For Now

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Addicted For Now

Addicted for Now

by: Krista and Becca Ritchie
My Rating: five-stars



Published by: K.B. Ritchie on December 18th 2013
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Social Issues, Coming of Age, College Life

ISBN: 0989339246

Pages: 500
Also by this author: Ricochet, Kiss the Sky, Hothouse Flower
Content Warning: sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence make this title appropriate for readers 18 and over.



Synopsis

He's addicted to booze. She's addicted to sex...staying sober is only half the battle.

No. More. Sex.

Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.

Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.

They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.

And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.
No. More. Us.

New Adult Romance recommended for readers 18+ for mature content






AmazonB&NBook DepositoryIndieBoundBAM





Poignant.

Gripping.

Raw.

Clear your schedule; you’re in for a ride.

 

The twin dynamic-duo Krista and Becca Ritchie don’t believe in doing things half way. In Addicted To You they wrote a down and dirty account of two people—one addicted to sex and the other to booze. They didn’t pretty it up. It was gritty and showed the nastier side of addiction…the side the most people want to ignore. And it made Addicted To You a great book, in my opinion.

 

Well, we’re back with Loren (Lo) and Lily. It’s been three months and Lo has just returned from rehab. Lily’s been working with a therapist to overcome her sex addiction. And we, the readers, get an inside look at what happens AFTER the recovery…and it isn’t always pretty.

 

I’m not one to give away the story when I write reviews. I hate that. It’s like giving away the ending to a good mystery novel. Remember the movie “The Sixth Sense” with Bruce Willis? Remember the huge surprise ending? Yeah, well, telling someone everything that happens in the book in my review is like spoiling a huge surprise ending. But I will say, the ending doesn’t disappoint. For once we’re not left with a huge cliffhanger…but I was left wanting more.  And, thankfully, I found out there are a few more books in the series. Another companion (Thrive), two spin-offs (Kiss the Sky and Hothouse Flower…one I know has Lo and Lily in it), and the final Addicted installment: “Addicted After All.”

 

So even though I’m not going to tell you the whole plot of the book, I am going to tell you what I liked. The “Mysterious Texter” and the “outing” of Lily. I cried. Literally. Not just a few tears. Nope. Like, give me the box of tissues, snot nosed, fat tears, crying. I felt her pain, embarrassment and the feeling that she’d let everyone down. I could feel the weight of the world crashing on her shoulders—her inability to do or say anything to take it back, make it better, make it go away. I felt all that and more. It was an emotional, gut punch. Lily is so likeable and, at least to me, so fragile, I wanted to reach into the book and scoop her out so she’d be free of the crappiness of the world. The entire scene, and the first few scenes after she found out, were so well written it was like I was right there with the characters, living what they were living, feeling what they felt, breathing the same air.

 

I love Loren Hale. Even when he’s being…well, Loren Hale. He’s a jerk sometimes. He can be sarcastic and rash. He’s calmed down some since rehab, but he’s still Lo. And the thing I love most about Lo? He loves Lily and he’d do anything…anything for her. When she was hurting, he was hurting just as much. Lo isn’t your typical “dreamboat” male “book boyfriend” but I have to say…I just love Loren Hale. I do. And when he was shunned in the book…I won’t say more because it’s a scene you should read yourself…I cried again. He saw what he could have had, but was denied. He heard what she had planned to do, but was saved from by his father. And when he said those words, “I wish you went through with it.” It choked me up. Because he didn’t say it to be selfish—he said it because he realized if he hadn’t been there to enable Lily, her life would have been so much different…I love Loren Hale.

 

There’s a scene in the book that involves Ryke. Up until that scene I wasn’t sure if I liked him or not. I was on the fence. He’s mouthy, sarcastic, brash, hard edged and he doesn’t care if you like him or not. But he’s also caring, which seems at odds with some of his actions and words. So I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about him…until THAT scene. And then I knew. And I cried again.  So if you’re counting I’ve now cried three times. I’ve run out of tissues and have had to get a new box. My heart broke for him. I’m looking forward to reading his story in Hothouse Flower. I’m sure he’ll be just as mouthy and sarcastic as before, but I know a little more about him…and he’s a good guy. And that scene? So well written. I could picture myself in the same room as the characters. That’s how lost in the story I was. Incredibly well done!

 

So here’s my not so interesting breakdown of the writing. The pace was outstanding. I never had a second where I felt it slowed, but it wasn’t so fast that I felt the characters were constantly running around doing useless things, either. The writing was superb. That’s it. ‘nuf said. I loved that there wasn’t a huge cliffhanger. That was a pleasant change from most series. I thought all the major plot strings were tied up well, but there are areas where the authors can branch out nicely with their companion novels and I’m looking forward (not so patiently) to reading them. I’m in for all of them…Becca and Krista, if you’re reading my review, can I review for you again? I mean, like I’m totally free for all of the books!! Ha-Ha (no, really. I’m serious.)…The characters are flawed, likeable, and somewhat relatable. I say somewhat relatable because I don’t think many of us have the problems they do…I certainly don’t have to worry about having my billion dollar trust fund taken away, but, hey, maybe that’s something you deal with. 🙂  But even with the characters as wealthy as they are (and I don’t think the story would have worked if they weren’t high society) they are well-written and very likeable.

 

I didn’t mention anything about the secondary characters, which anyone who reads my blog knows I love secondary characters and the Addicted Series has the BEST secondary characters. Connor Cobalt I freakin’ love you! Rose, Daisy, even Jonathan Hale (don’t like him, but he’s a great character). My review is too long to go into detail about them so I’ll just say the secondary characters are great and add a lot to the story. They aren’t just “there.” They have purpose.

 

Bottom Line: Run…I mean Run…to your computer and download your copy of Addicted to You if you haven’t already read it and then dash back and down load your copy of Addicted for Now. Really, why are you still reading this? My blog isn’t all that interesting… I know, I wrote it. Go get your copies of the Addicted Series. If you haven’t read the first book… Start there. If you’ve read the first book… the second is just as good or even better, if that’s possible.

 

Five Freakin’ Stars all the way

And Loren Hale gets my ten book boyfriend stars.

 

 

About Krista and Becca Ritchie

NYT & USA Today Bestselling Authors Krista & Becca Ritchie are identical twins—one a science nerd, the other a comic book geek—but with their shared passion for writing, they combined their mental powers as kids and have never stopped telling stories. Now in their early twenties, they write about other twenty-somethings navigating through life, college, and romance. They love superheroes, flawed characters, and soul mate love.

They are the New Adult authors of the Addicted series and Calloway Sisters spin-off series, and you can find them on almost every social media, frolicking around like wannabe unicorns.

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