Book Review: Addicted to You

 Addicted to You (Addicted #1) by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

5 stars
Lily Calloway and Loren "Lo" Hale have a lot in common: They both come from wealthy, influential families, they both are loners, and they both suffer from addiction.Best friends since middle school, Lily and Lo discovered some things about themselves-she is a sex addict and he is an alcoholic. Three years ago, they decided to make a pact, and cover their addictions by entering in a false relationship. However, more recently their feelings have moved from platonic best friends to romantic. What will this mean for their arrangement and their addictions?

The book is told from Lily's POV, and the layers peeled back on each page were tender and sometimes heart-wrenching. Lily is a sex addict who goes to parties and clubs for the sole purpose of hooking up with random guys. When she gets her fix, she is Lo's designated driver, or they get car service, so that Lo won't drive drunk. When she has company over, he kicks them out for her in the morning. When he passes out, or binges and vomits, she makes sure he is laying on his side or that he doesn't need to be hospitalized. When she needs to watch porn or masturbate, Lo covers for her. When he wants to cover up smell of alcohol, she helps him find cologne.

Eventually Lily and Lo somehow pick up real friends Connor and Ryke (to replace the fake ones they made up for their families). Between them and familial obligations, reality starts intruding on their bubble until it bursts.

Addicted to You was absolutely amazing. This could have been done badly, but instead I felt the authors did a beautiful job of taking the reader through the journey of pain, shame, and co-dependence of Lily and Lo. The really exciting news is that there is more story to tell-it looks like there will be a lot more from Lily, Lo, and the rest of their crew!

ARC Book Review: The Virgin:Revenge

 Revenge (Revenge #1) by J. Dallas
4 stars, Release date November 4, 2013

This appears to be a first novel(ette) for author J. Dallas, and it is a fine start. The reviews so far have been hot and cold, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the book a lot!

10 years ago, Shannon was naive 17-year-old Shan, and had a great summer romance with 7 years older Drake. Their fathers were in business together, and subsequently, the couple spent a lot of time together at the beach. Just when it looked like they were going to go all the way, Drake broke Shan's heart with one cold statement, and walked away. A few short days later, her father was murdered in front of her, and between those two events, she turned into a harder woman - and a woman who never found the opportunity to go all the way.

10 years later, Shannon wants to get her life back, and thinks exacting revenge on the man who broke her heart is the way to go about it. She wants to make him want her the way she still wants him. An CEO in his father's company, he is powerful and in the market for a new administrative assistant. When the opportunity arises to interview as his assistant, Shannon sets out for the job and gets it. What happens next is a page-turner.

I liked Shannon-she was a little unhinged, a lot confident but managed to display so many vulnerabilities. Drake was of course hot and passionate, but it was nice to see him have moments of insecurity. Shannon was a handful, and we haven't seen the last of these two. I find that exciting! I'm in for the next in this series.

Book Review: Selling Out

 Selling Out (The Lost Girls #2) by Amber Lin

4.5 stars
This is the second of The Lost Girls series, and a fantastic read. Shelly is an old, tired soul who has been groomed for the world's oldest profession since practically childhood, thanks to her sick father. She had a good gig with Philip, a powerful and mean underground boss, as his moll. However, she turned informant when she started falling for undercover detective Luke Cameron. He had feelings for her too, but he never once acted on them, never once touched her. Now, Shelly is ready for a fresh start, but Henri, her pimp, is not going to let her. He and his muscle force Shelly to attend a party, and instead of working, she sees the young Ella and decides to save her - and this brings down the wrath of not only Henri but the Chicago Police Department when the wealthy clients at the party end up dead. 

The world that Amber Lin's characters live in isn't nice-it's gritty and real and sometimes plain sad. However, there are these glimpses of love and friendship that fill the grey street life with bright sunshine. Shelly is only 24 but her life experience makes her about 60. She is world weary and has been a prostitute so long that she doesn't even know how to turn it off. She has some of the best laugh out loud lines, and her wit is part of her coping mechanism. Luke is the stoic cop, but we learn much more about him, and how personal his mission as a detective is. He can see right through Shelly's bravado, and he has just one requirement for them to be together-keep it real.

I loved this book, and I love this series. There are so many rich characters, and I can't wait to see what happens with Philip- it looks like we have a long wait, unfortunately.  Even still, Shelly and Luke, the star crossed lovers, will keep you satisfied in the meantime.

Book Review: The Edge of Never

 The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never #1)
by J.A. Redmerski

Camryn Bennett and Andrew Parrish are two souls bumping along in life. They have both seen their share of tragedy, and yearn for the open world and all of its possibilities.

After a disappointing incident with her best friend since 2nd grade, Camryn packs a small bag and heads to the bus depot, with no particular destination in mind. On a fluke, she decides on Idaho as a general direction and leaves the rest of her life behind. In Kansas, she meets the hot and equally restless Andrew Parrish. He is a couple of years older and a bit more worldly, and they have a tentative friendship that begins to blossom into something more. He watches out for her on the road, and reveals that he is on the trip to visit his dying father in the hospital. Camryn is escaping a dead first love, a cheating ex, and a shitty best friend.

When it is time for them to part ways, neither of them wants to admit how quickly they became attached to each other. They decide that Cam should travel with Andrew to see his father, and then take on the open road.

This book was beautifully written, wonderfully paced, and heart wrenching! So many New Adult novels have crazy drama for drama's sake, but there is no real emotion underneath. This was a marvelous departure from trend. JA Redmerski's writing was so smooth and genuine, and elicited a real emotional response from even me (which is a challenge.)  Camryn and Andrew fell in love - hard - and decided to live life on their terms. If only we could all be so brave! I can't wait to see what happens next.

Recap: Scandal Season 3, Episode 4

I'm at Heroes and Heartbreakers this week with my Scandal recap! Check me out there!