Addicted to You (Addicted #1) by Krista and Becca Ritchie | Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

“The deeper we sink, the harder it is to crawl out. I fear the moment where neither of us can breathe again–when someone discovers our secrets. At any moment, everything can crumble beneath us. The dangerous game both excites and terrifies me.”

In all honesty, New Adult is not my typical genre. Not because it’s filled with bad selections but because I often feel as though I am reading the same book, the same plot, the same relationships every time. Addicted to You is not one of those books–there’s something far more interesting and authentic to it than the rest of its genre.

Krista and Becca Ritchie provide us with so much heart in one tiny story. This isn’t your typical love story and I don’t mean that in the cliche sort of way. For a lot of people, it won’t be the same way but the vast majority agree that there’s just something about this novel that is so captivating.

Addicted to You is a great introduction to a series because we see the flaws and addictions right away in Lily and Lo. Both have been best friends for years. As far as family knows, the two are in a relationship with each other and have been for three years; they live with one another.

They have an arrangement two so they can keep up appearances and seem like good, upstanding people. Lily and Lo are the picture perfect couple on the exterior and behind closed doors, they struggle.


Enabling each other isn’t how they view it, but by pretending to be a couple and embracing their addictions in the way that they do and covering for each other as opposed to helping, they are ultimately leading to their own downfall (as a pair and as individuals): Lo, alcohol. Lily, sex.

Things grow more complicated when their darkest sides reach an all time high–for Lily, it’s waking up in a strange room with two strange men. Something in this event startles her for quite a while and she once again faces the fact that she has a serious problem. Sex addiction isn’t something that can be approached easily, as so many people are gross and don’t want to believe it is a real thing, but Lily has such a hard time focusing on such mundane tasks without fantasies it’s hard to see why people can’t understand it.

Lily Calloway has a serious problem and you can’t help but to hope she gets the help she deserves.

Soon after our story begins, Lily and Lo embrace their feelings for each other without giving up their vices. Along the way, they cruise through their struggles and family life and school and forming friendships with others mid-novel.

They start a relationship–real this time–and things could be better but they could be worse. It’s obvious they love each other, but at the end of the day, like I said, they are enablers to each other and need help.

Back to the all time high for Loren Hale.

For Lo, it’s one fateful night (his 21st birthday) where he steals liquor at a party, nearly gets his ass kicked, and has to be carried up the stairs by a new addition to their lives, Ryke Meadows. He doesn’t let up even after this event but in some ways it really wakes him up to his problem and opens himself up to Ryke, who genuinely cares about him.

It was unexpectedly nice to see the additions of Conner and Ryke to Lily and Lo’s life. They kind of blended in so naturally with the two and the plots and seemed like they were in place all along. Conner and Ryke care a great deal for Lo and it is nice to see them wanting to help the man in spite of how little they seem to know him. And eventually, how much they show an interest in helping Lily as her addictions come to light.

I also enjoyed seeing one of Lily’s sisters, Rose Calloway.

“In the end, it was not a boy who helped me. It was my sister.”

Rose is very… oh, I can’t actually describe her. I loved her first scene, the way she is described as she enters the room. She has a cold exterior, no bullshit attitude, but she has a really solid heart and this much you can see when Lily finally confides in her after a disastrous night out at the club.

Their relationship is beautiful. I mean that. It’s not a very common thing to see a sibling bond like theirs in literature, let alone New Adult. You see, Rose and Lily are sisters in every way. They fight. They get snippy. They don’t always do the right thing. But at the end of the day, they support and love each other in every way that you would want.

I’m interested to see more of Rose and her interactions with Lily. And the other Calloway girls. I’m interested to see more of Rose’s interactions with Lo, now that she understands him better and respects him for seeking help for his addiction.

I’m also very interested in seeing her relationship with Connor explored. There’s something about the two that just seems… well, right. And I can’t wait to explore that more heavily as we get to know the characters. That, and her fashion line and everything really. I just want to know everything about Rose Calloway--who doesn't?

Addicted to You is a wonderful read. A true standout in the NA genre that will surely continue to establish itself in the masses. I thought the ending was lovely: Lily and Lo getting help for their addictions, gaining a support system (and in Lo’s case gaining a brother in Ryke) and thought the entire novel was a fresh, important take on the tough topics it tackles.

I'm excited to see their relationship grow and flurish as they embrace help and try to conquer their demons. It's going to be a battle but there's something about these two that is redeemable and that they are up for the challenge. Especially since they have something to truly fight for: each other.

The topics aren't something you should overlook. Addiction, love, family, seeking help. Strong female leads, strong male leads--all good people, with flaws, worthy of good things. All those things that make life. It is also something that is so raw at times your heart will race or break and you really begin to root for these characters, understand them in a way you didn’t know possible. Krista and Becca are on fire with this standout.

Don’t ignore the hype. I can’t wait to continue binge reading the entire series and already am regretting not buying the physical copies. I can already tell this series is going to be one of my favorites of all time and I hope you enjoy it, too.

But wait! There’s more!

(Yes, I did that television advertisement voice.)

Addicted to You, the first book of the series, is free on Amazon. Give it a try, won’t you?