Addicted To You ~ Krista & Becca Ritchie

Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars




This is a perfect example of a how everyone and their uncle recommends a series of books to me, but I keep putting off reading them for various reasons. And then when i finally do pick up the first book and dive into it...i want to kick my own ass for waiting so long.

I honestly don't know what say that hasn't already been said about these books and these incredible authors. Simply put, this is my new favorite series. Period.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when i began the series. Something angst filled and over the top dramatic, maybe? And while there is more than their fair share of both drama and angst here, the Addicted series is just
  SO

much more than that. The world that K&B have created here is just absolutely beautiful. And passionate. And emotional. And so many other adjectives that have probably been used repeatedly by other reviews in a much better way. All i can tell anyone reading this is that this story, and these characters touched me in a way that hasn't happened in far too long.



Lily and Lo are such damaged souls, and both are suffering from addictions that are spiraling out of control (she is addicted to sex, and he is addicted to alcohol). They have been best friends since they were small children, and all they know is each other. While they both come from wealthy, dysfunctional families, their family dynamic differs in that while Lily has 3 loving sisters (who she continually shuts out of her life), the only kind of love and support (co-depented and enabling as it may be) that Lo receives is from Lily. His father is a "functioning" alcoholic and emotionally abusive, and his mother has never been in the picture. Lily and Lo cling to each other like a mutual life support system and while I absolutely adore the devotion the two have for each other...the fact that they shut everyone else out of their lives, can't help but feed into their addictions.



I'm not going to lie. As i got deeper into Lily and Lo's story, it was hard to see them in so much pain, and being so destructive. But, I love the fact that K&B didn't sugarcoat their struggles at all. Did they make mistakes? Hell yeah, and often. Did they push and pull each other to the breaking point and beyond? Absolutely. But in the end, it only served to make their bond even stronger and prove that soul mates really do exist (at least in fiction).

Probably my favorite aspect of this entire series is that  the focus is not just on one or two characters. This series truly is an ensemble piece. While this book is definitely Lily & Lo's story, the series has six main characters and all of them are equally important and fully brought to life.

Probably my favorite scene in the entire book, was the ending. That scene between Lily & Lo....broke my heart in a million pieces, but also filled me with such love and understanding for these characters that have come to feel like living, breathing people to me. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking scene....done impeccably well. And while bittersweet, was the perfect way to end the first chapter of LiLo's story.

As corny as this will probably sound, it's very fitting that this series is called Addicted. Because these books have taken over my life over the last month. I am currently reading (and loving)  Hothouse Flower, and while i keep telling myself i need to try and space out the books to make them last longer, i am finding it impossible to read anything else. I will pick up something else, and find myself thinking about these characters, and wanting to get back into their world. In the space of a couple weeks I have turned into a massively unapologetic K&B fangirl. And i have no plans on looking back now.