Reviewed by KitsuneBae on
This post first appeared on: Thoughts and Pens.
Howdy, my bloggy friends? We have 2 more hours to go and it’s jingle bells already. Since most of you are spending a White Christmas, I decided to post a steamy review to make things warmer.
Guys…guys…this book…this book is nothing like I’ve encountered before. It’s disturbing… it’s thought provoking and definitely an eye-opener. I admit that I got this because of the hype and the curious premise. A story about sex addiction is not something I encounter every day. And I intend to know if the authors were be able to portray the addiction in a convincing manner.
Highly orgasmic, Addicted To You follows the story of two bestfriends whose lives are screwed because of their addiction. Lily Calloway is a slave to her sexual needs. She pro-actively seeks the company of men just to satisfy her carnal hunger. On the other hand, Loren Hale is already contented with his liquor bottles to warm his bed at night. His motto: I live to drink. Determined to hide their hideous secrets from their families, they come to an arrangement of pretending to be a couple so that they’ll have an excuse to live together and cover up their addictions.
Sex addiction is a new subject for me. Call me naïve but it has never occurred to me that sex could be as destructive as alcoholism. Lily’s struggle with her sexual needs was painfully real and it’s a sickness I would never wish on anyone, male or female. And with the way the authors depicted the sickness was so natural that I 100% felt Lily’s inner turmoil. All throughout the story, all I felt for her is sympathy even if she’s acting like a selfish bitch sometimes. Understandable because who wouldn’t be if your daily life is controlled by an unhealthy need? And you have no one to turn to but your screwed up bestfried who just tolerates your crutch.
Speaking of Lily’s bestfriend, Loren, as an alcoholic is very convincing. I should know because let’s just say that I do have an experience about the said addiction… an addiction that I fear because sadly, it runs in our family. I completely understood his mood swings, his need to get wasted and how everything goes fucked up if he’s not able to drink his regular fix of liquor. While I am sometimes disgusted with how he treats Lily, my compassionate side is hellbent on understanding him. What he does is realistic and I’ve seen for real how alcohol addiction could transform a person into someone different. Alcohol addiction is not something to trifle with and I’ve seen men and women succumbed to the alcohol’s intoxicating powers without hope of recovering. Despite Lo’s flaws, I couldn’t help rooting for him. He accepted and desired Lily with no qualms, with no questions even if he had seen the number of men she had been with.
Addicted To You, with its character and relationship driven plot offered something fresh to the table of New Adult stories. Lo and Lily’s friendship is impressive albeit disconcerting. They really had each other’s back, sticking to each other through thick and thin no matter how twisted it is. They enable each other’s destruction to the point that you start questioning yourself, “What does friendship really means?” Things became more challenging when the two mofos decided to breach the friendship boundary and be a real couple. Seeing them together gave me a lot of feelings: 1. giddiness because they’re perfect for each other, 2. nervousness because d—mmit, they’re struggling to feed each other’s needs without hindering the other’s capability to satisfy his/her hunger, 3. Sadness because, left to their own devices, they’ll just destroy each other in the end. Their romance, though with a hint of cliché, perfectly blends the steamy aspect with the delicate subject of sex addiction and alcoholism. Aside from the romance, the dynamic familial relationships shared by our MCs with the secondary characters are also worth reading.
And that ending, friends…that ending… I just want to give Lo a hug for finally stepping up and braving the uncertain.
For me, the only drawback of Addicted To You was its pacing and the twist that was not done well. Sure, I didn’t see it coming but I wasn’t that mindblown. I guess, it has something to do with the insufficient tension building and the timing being somewhat off.
Seriously, if you are looking for a New Adult read that is not mindless porn under the guise of a contemporary romance story, then pick this up. It is explosive and very addictive. If you’re scared about reading hardcore sex scenes, no worries, this one has none. All the steamy scenes are light but hot enough to make your legs turn into jelly.
**A free ARC was provided to me by the authors/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 23 December, 2013: Finished reading
- 23 December, 2013: Reviewed