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My rating: 5 stars
Book summary:
"No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.
Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.
But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.
Their real vice may be each other."
I am not a stubborn person. *crickets* Well, sometimes I am not. *more crickets* Okay, I am always subborn. But also I know when to admit that I was wrong. *cri..* Shut up! I admit it - I. Was. Wrong. Can we move on, please?
Okay, where was I? Loren Hale and Lily Calloway. That twin sisters who started off as bloggers and turned into brilliant authors. My new adult addiction. Siiri from Little Pieces of Imagination made me read this. But seriously, I cannot believe that Tanja read Addicted to You before me - she is not new adult fan. And she read it before me.
It took only a little bit over a year for our Estonian friend Siiri to finally persuade me to read Addicted series. Main reason for my reluctance was all the hype and the the fact that I had really bad experiences in the past with new adult recommendations. Only thing that I can say is that I am glad that I have waited until now because I can binge-read and not go crazy while waiting for a new sequel.
Glass has officially turned into one of those shippers or OTP fangirls.
(however it's called)
Why I loved Addicted to You?
- Original idea. The most usual stereotype of NA novels is a good, overly naive, girl (who is usually a virgin), and I am not fan of those. So imagine my surprise when I realized that main female character is a sex addict. Yes, I know - addiction is a bad thing, but lets focus here on the part where female sexuality is something that Addicted to You is mostly about. Not the million times seen "I have no luck when it comes to sex, but this one special, alpha male makes me act like a porn star" scenario. Lily is like any other human being - male or female - with sexual and other primal urges we all share. Yes, she has a problem, but her sexual identity is not determined trough her relationship status.
- Angst. Oh, sweet, sweet Aphrodite, this was torture to read sometimes. Not the bad thing - Krista and Becca Ritchie managed to pull you into the roller-coaster called Lo & Lily without all I-love-him-but-I-hate-her issues. (Am I the only one who noticed how we usually hate female characters, but love all the guys in NA novels?)
- Writing. Just perfect.
- Lily, Lo, Ryke, Connor, Rose... With every new chapter, I change my answer to the question: Who is your favorite character? This is one of those rare books where I love them all.
Final judgement? Darker read, but still pretty tame considering a topic. Perfect for fans of new adult who want something a little bit different. Definitely only for those over 18. Yes, it has drama and modern fairy tale feel, but that is something that works perfectly when it comes to Addicted to You.
Happy reading,
NO WE CANNOT MOVE ON I WILL FRAME THIS ON MY WALL AND SAY THAT I WAS RIGHT HAAAAAAA (see?? I am Rose. I don't sometimes even notice this until I say these kind of things. What even, seriously?!) Anyhow mwhahaha. THIS "OVER A YEAR OF PERSUASION" HAS PAID OFF BIG TIME BECAUSE YOU'RE AN ADDICT AND A NEW OTP FANGIRL AND OTPS ARE JUST EVERYTHING IN THIS SERIES AS IS EVERYTHING ELSE (I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT SORRY FOR ALL CAPS BECAUSE DUHHH) AND YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE BEWITCHED BY THIS WIZARDLY MAGIC THAT ARE KRISTA AND BECCA AND LILO AND COBALLOWAY AND RAISY AND JUST YES YES YESSSSS!!! OTPS FOR LIFE, MAN! I LOVE HOW MUCH THIS (OK I'M GOING TO CRY, I ALWAYS DO) SERIES IS ABOUT WOMEN EMBRACING THEIR SEXUALITY (THOUGH IN LILY'S CASE IT'S NOT HEALTHY AND HER SIUATION NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH TOO AND THIS SERIES SHOWS THAT YOU NEED TO EMBRACE YOURSELF AS A HUMAN BEING--WITH FLAWS, STRUGGLES AND DREAMS--AND THAT HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS IS WHAT A PERSON SHOULD REACH FOR) OH GOSH, OK MY CAPS ARE ENOUGH ON THEIR OWN, I DON'T NEED TO TRUN THIS INTO AN ESSAY OF HOW THIS SERIES IS THE BEST THING EVER. ANYWAY, LILY AND LO ARE SO PERFECT! THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, THEIR FRIENDSHIP, THE WAY THEIR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN SLOWLY BUILDING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIMES BASICALLY (IT MIGHT AS WELL COULD HAVE SINCE THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SINCE THEY WERE KIDS,SO THIS ARGUMENT IS VALID!) AND AND ANNNNNND YES! I HAVE NOTICED TOO HOW WE USUALLY HAT THE FEMALE CHARACTERS, BUT IN THIS SERIES, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT ROOT FOR LILY ON THIS JOURNEY AND I LOVE HER JUST AS MUCH AS I LOVE LOREN. AND THE CHARACTERS. NOOOOOOPE SIIRI, DO NOT CRY!!! *SHAKES FIST AT HERSELF* I LOVE ROSE AND CONNOR MORE THAN THE WORLD ITSELF BUT LILY, DAISY, LO AND RYKE ARE SUCH SWEETHEARTS OF MINE. OH MY GOD. THIS COMMENT IS LONG, WRAP IT UP, SIIRI! *SHAKES FIST AGAIN* I LOVE THIS SERIES, THESE CHARACTERS, THESE AUTHORS, I LOVE YOU FOR TAKING THAT CHANCE ON THEM AND I CAN'T WAIT TO DISCUSS ALL THE BOOKS WITH YOU! *HEART EYES* (oh and it's almost 2am here so excuse me if this comment makes very little sense; sweet dreams, love!)
OdgovoriIzbrišiI don't really read any NA, but I think I might have to check this one out
OdgovoriIzbrišiMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Enter my blog birthday giveaway!
I read this as well not to long ago and it was a harder read than I thought it would be (but in a good way). I still haven't prepared myself for the second book but I know I will get to it eventually.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI'm not sure this is for me but I'm definitely pleasantly surprised by the lack of angst and typical plot lines. Wonderful review, Glass! :)
OdgovoriIzbrišiI LOVED this one! I also liked that it didn't follow too much of the usual New Adult stereo types. I also hate when the female is all shy and then some alpha male makes her into a porn star! LOL You worded that perfectly.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI'm usually not one for NA, but this one sounds great, and I've seen it around the blogosphere a lot. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and that it wasn't pumped full of stereotypes and cliches like so many others. Great review, Glass!
OdgovoriIzbrišiYAY GLASS I am glad you finally gave in to Siiri's book pushing! This series is truly one of the best NA's I've ever read and I'm so glad you enjoyed it despite being skeptical. How wonderful are Lily and Lo? Fantastic review, I can't wait to hear what you think of the rest of it!
OdgovoriIzbrišiGlass I've definitely been in the same place with NA books too, so I guess that's one of the reasons that I've not given this book a go yet. But I do love books which offer something different, I shall have to try and squeeze this over the Christmas break!
OdgovoriIzbrišiIt's always interesting to have something different in NA. I didn't know about this one I confess but it's true that I haven't read a lot of NA either. I should try more of them.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI never thought I'd see the day when "Original" and "New Adult" were used in the same sentence. You HAVE MY ATTENTION! As does Siiri's comment. LMAO!!
OdgovoriIzbrišiCarmel @ Rabid Reads
Omg. Siiri's comment though. I am dying right now , Glass. YOU WERE WRONG. EVEN I READ THIS ONE BEFORE YOU DID! Although it was only indirectly a result of Siiri pushing me to read it :P
OdgovoriIzbrišiI usually avoid certain types of NA but there was just something about this one, like you mentioned, it isn't really based on the usual NA stereotypes. Lily isn't some meek virgin waiting for the right guy to come along and blow her mind. She is Lily. She is super awesome! :D
I love how Becca and Krista craft this novel though. It may be NA but it's so real with the way it deals with certain issues and I love how everything isn't neat or fluffy. There is drama and angst but it's real.. it's not there for no reason.
Anyway, I am REALLY glad to see you enjoyed this one, Glass! :)
Fantastic review, hon! :)
Rashika @ The Social Potato
Between your new found love and Siiri's comment, I'm excited to take a look myself! Glad this NA made all the right connections for you : )
OdgovoriIzbrišiI am so happy you're enjoying this series. I adore these characters so much and having to say goodbye to them next year will be terribly painful. Beautiful review, Glass!
OdgovoriIzbrišiAnd LOL at Siiri's over-hyper comment! So typical! :P
Huh - I think Blogger ate my comment. In any case, I said that I am also extremely stubborn but in the case of books I will admit I was wrong. Glad you tried these since you enjoyed them so much!
OdgovoriIzbrišiJen @ YA Romantics
OMG Sirri, I have tears streaming down my face from laughing at your comment! :D
OdgovoriIzbrišiWelcome to Team Siiri! *winks* I'm so happy you finally started this series, Glass. It's super addictive, and I seriously need to catch up with it. And I KNOW!!! It's so difficult to pick a favourite character! Amazing review!
OdgovoriIzbrišiSarika @ The Readdicts