Addicted to You (Addicted #1)

Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

Age: Adult
Category: Contemporary, romance
Rating: 3 stars

“The fear of losing each other is always stronger than the pain we cause.”

Marta Thinks: Addicted to You is set in Pennsylvania which is where its two main characters, Lily Calloway and Loren Hale, go to university. They are rich and immensely privileged (it is thanks to their parents, after all, that they attend such a prestigious school) and their lives would be easier than everyone else’s if it weren’t for one thing…they’re both addicts. Loren is an alcoholic, who jealously guards his bottles and drinks himself into oblivion every night, due to the influence of a father who encouraged him to drink ever since he was young. Lily, instead, is a sex addict who medicates her insecurities and anxieties by hooking up with strangers. They both crave for a release: just in different ways.

This is an extremely interesting book, in that it does not sensationalise either of the addictions but rather, confronts the gritty nature of it, most especially in Lily’s case. Lily, despite continuous contact with people, is lonely and insecure, loses track of days and classes, and often faces blackouts and rape attempts. The authors acknowledge that society would have a cruel interpretation of this addiction – and that a male sex addict would be considered a hero, but a female sex addict would be considered, to put it crudely, a slut. It doesn’t shy away from this awful reality to which much credit must be due.

The pacing was occasionally uneven in the book and in some parts, the plot dragged but considering that this is the authors’ debut novel, I think it can be largely overlooked. This is the first book in a series and it allows you to have a glimpse of what is to come for. This book is free on Amazon, so I would encourage you to give it a try even if it’s not exactly what you usually read.