Blog Tour (Review) & Giveaway: Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie

Welcome to my stop on the Addicted to You blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

 

Title: Addicted to You

 

Author: Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie

 

Series: Addicted #1

 

Publication Date: June 13, 2013

 

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

 

Source: Arc was provided by author for Blog Tour

 

Description from Goodreads:

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 when they go on a family boat trip, surrounded by open seas and limited male bodies in sight, Lily’s confronted with a big fear. Only one guy onboard can fill her addiction, and she’s sworn off going there with Loren Hale ever again.

Now the only person who can truly help her can barely help himself.

**This is a New Adult book recommended for readers 18 and up**

 

Available from:

   

My Thoughts:

  

I don't want to be fixed. I just want to live and feed my appetite. It just so happens that my appetite is a sexual one.

His vice is a bottle of whiskey.

Addicted to You was a refreshing read, and something completely different from all the New Adult books I've read this year. When I first heard about this book I thought it was going to be a great read. I was completely wrong. This is an AMAZING book! Krista and Becca Ritchie did an incredible job in writing a story in which two characters, Lily and Lo, suffer through their addictions together. I will admit that when Addicted to You reminded me of Ellen Hopkins. If you love reading Ellen Hopkins books-Crank, Glass, Fallout, etc- then you will definitely love Krista and Becca Ritchie's Addicted to You. The only difference is that Addicted to You is a New Adult book, and the situations Lily experiences with her addiction are raw and very out there.

I guess the only way to be close to me is to inject yourself in my world because I won't make the move to enter yours.

The water washes away the smell and grime, but my sins are here to stay. The memories don't vanish...

I never thought that I would love a character like Lily's- a sex addict with family issues. Once again I was completely wrong. As I read Addicted to You, I started to learn about Lily's sex addiction and I started to know her character in a whole different level. She is not just a shy, sex addict. She is a caring, loving, and broken girl that just needs the right person to stand by her side and understand what she is going through. I understand why she keeps her sex addiction a secret from her family, and why she shy's away from others. If I were in her shoes I would do the same thing, because people would not understand this sort of addiction. Heck, I've heard about sex addicts but after reading Addicted to You I learned a lot more. I know that all of this (what happens in the story) is not true, but at some point all addicts, in real life, will cross their own boundaries to get a high of their addiction. I seriously felt everything Lily had to go through in the book. I cried with her when she just felt lost and confused with all that was going on, and I felt her strong love towards Lo. By the end of Addicted to You, I felt a connection with Lily's character.

Loren Hale is an alcoholic beverage and he doesn't even know it.

Lo's face darkens in contempt. "Watch it, Lily." He picks up the bottle, unbroken, and reacts as though I hit his child.

What can I say about Loren (Lo) Hale? Just as Lily, Lo suffers from his own addiction to alcohol. He is totally bad news, but a total swoon worthy guy. I will admit that I don't like alcoholics, but his thoughtfulness towards Lily and the way he cares for her made me love him. He is even more emotionally broken than Lily. I believe that Lo needs Lily more, then Lily needs Lo. I will admit that there are times he is a total jerk to Lily, and at these moments I just felt like slapping or punching him in the face. I already knew more about alcohol addicts and what happens to them, because this is what health teachers teach in all of their health classes. Like I said before I don't like alcoholic addicts, but I just had to make that exception with Lo. Who can resist a protective, caring, thoughtful hottie like Lo? NOT ME :D! His character does develop (matures) by the end of this book, and I can't wait to find out what happens to him in the second book :).

We're pretending, aren't we? I'm so confused. What is he to me right now? Friend, boyfriends, something else entirely?

The deeper we sink, the harder it is to crawl out.

At the beginning I really had no clue what was going on between Lily and Lo. He tells a guy that she is his girlfriend, but as I kept reading I find out that they are in a fake relationship. I seriously felt sorry for Lily, because she was so confused with Lo's loving affections and actions- this of course would only happen when their relatives, or known people would be watching them. Who would agree to be in a fake relationship? This is just torture for both Lily and Lo, because they are both confused with what the other one feels. The longer they stay in their fake the relationship the longer they hurt (not intentionally) one another. But the loving affections and actions between these two are both sweet and hot :D!

Our relationship is dangling on thin strings that threaten to break. I feel it. I'm sure he feels it as well.

When they start a serious relationship, it all starts off well. Lily is getting her sex fix and Lo is still getting his alcohol fix. The sad thing about their relationship is that they are just not that good for each other, but at the same time so right for each other?!?. Does that make any sense? Let me try to explain this :). Their addictions just get in the way of their love towards each other. It just doesn't let them love each other, and care for each other the way it is truly meant to be. But at the same time Lo and Lily are always there for each others breakdowns, and they are two broken people who can actually fix each other with each others presence. Lily's and Lo's relationship is just as broken as they are, but at the same time it is also kept together because of their need to be close to each other. I really hope this works out at the end for these two, because they are the perfect match for each other :).

We've been friends, allies, for so long that I don't know who I am without him. Our lives intersect at every possible junction...

 

Krista and Becca Ritchie delivered an incredibly fresh debut in the New Adult genre. This is a book that you will not want to miss, trust me when I tell you that this is a MUST READ! There is romance, heartache, sorrow, real life problems (addiction & family), believable characters, and there is a twist that no one will expect (I didn't even see it coming). I will say this once again, if you love reading about true life problems, raw characters, and love reading Ellen Hopkins books, then Addicted to You by Krista and Becca Ritchie is the book for you :D!

Final Verdict: 5 Stars

 

 

Here are some Pic Quotes I've been posted on Twitter :).

 

About the Authors:

Becca Ritchie is a carnivore of pop culture, television, film and of course YA and NA books. While in college, she worked at The CW television network and put her vampiric knowledge to good use, blogging about hit series and swooning over actors’ abs. When she’s not blogging, she writes novels and has teamed up with her twin sister for their New Adult novel ADDICTED TO YOU. Available July of 2013.
Krista Ritchie is the mind behind popular trading website YA Book Exchange and created Nawanda Files, a book blog that also features books into movies news. When not pouring over entertainment news and the newest releases, she spends her time conducting research in a genetics lab. She’s happy to join forces with her sister, harnessing their twin powers to produce the first in a New Adult series.

Author Website│Nawanda Files│YA Book Exchange

Becca’s Links:
Goodreads│Twitter

Krista’s Links:
Goodreads│Twitter

 

***GIVEAWAY*** 

$25 Amazon Gift Card and Signed Paperback of Addicted to You. Open Internationally!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway