I was debating whether I should review this book or not, since I zipped through this in order to read Addicted for Now, but what the hell, I loved this book, so I want to gush! It was so much fun to read, and there’s so much going on in this book. It’s actually a full-length sized novel, even though it’s book 1.5, but I was totally fine with that! Because I whole-heartedly adore this series! It’s become my new favorite series. I really can’t believe I didn’t start it the second Addicted to You came out. Actually, no–I’d rather the entire series already be out for me to read… because it’s killing me to wait for Connor and Rose’s story (Kiss the Sky), Ryke and Daisy’s (Hothouse Flower), and the rest of Lily and Lo’s. So if you haven’t read this series, please, please do. It’s incredibly well written, the characters are imperfectly perfect, and you’ll fall in love with every single one of them, like I did (with Connor and Ryke especially).

And I don’t think… I don’t think many people can really understand what it’s like to be so invested in someone–to share every single moment and then to have them ripped from you. We have an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship.
I know this.
And I’m trying to change, to grow beyond him, but why does that have to be a stipulation?
I want to grow with him.
I want to be with him.
I want to love Lo without people telling me that our love is too much.
One day, I hope we’ll get there. Hope, that’s all I have to go on right now. It’s my driving force. It’s literally what keeps me standing.

This quote basically sums up what Lily is going through in Ricochet. After the mess they were in during Addicted to You, Lily and Lo finally found the help Lo needed to fight his alcoholism and he’s off the rehab now, leaving Lily alone to battle her own addiction. Which is, ahem, to sex. And she can’t have sex during the three months Lo is in rehab, not only for Lo and their relationship, but also for herself. She has to fight her addiction just as Lo is fighting his own.

The authors are so freaking gooood at wringing out the emotions, the pain and desperation Lily feels. She’s terrified that she’ll fall to temptation without Lo there to help her, but she’ll fight through it for him, because the only thing she wants more than sex is Lo. And even though Lo doesn’t show up much in the book, we know that he’d give Lily the world if she wanted it. It’s this kind of intensity, this kind of connection, that I love about Lily and Lo and their relationship. They make me love them and feel so much for them, hurt so much for them, and in the end, cheer for them.

“I love you,” he says again, “and no other man will ever say those words and mean them the way I do.”

But I have to admit, a large part of why I loved Ricochet (and this series)? The fantastic secondary characters. We have more of Connor, Rose, Ryke, and a new addition, Daisy, all of whom are Lily and Lo’s closest friends and family. Don’t you just love books where the secondary characters are just as invigorating to read about as the main characters? I love it when authors can make me care and love the them just as much as the main characters. And Krista and Becca Ritchie do an excellent job at that. I fell in love even more with Connor, Rose, Ryke, and Daisy. Each of them have such distinctive personalities, strengths, and faults that I love to read about.

In Ricochet, we get bunches more of Ryke, the flaming asshole, and Daisy, the model and sixteen-year-old. I had to mention Daisy’s age, because in this book, Daisy and Ryke have something going on. They’re not together or sleeping with each other or anythign like that (because that’d be a hello to jail-time for Ryke), but they have something forming, and oh my god, I can’t wait for Daisy to turn eighteen! *evil, giddy laugh* Daisy and Ryke’s story is seriously going to rock my socks off. But anyway, the three of them plus Daisy’s friends have gone on a yacht to Mexico for Daisy’s birthday, and this was seriously the funniest part of the book. Lily is already a hilarious narrator, but with Ryke, the abrasive, rude, no-words-held-back guy, on vacation with her? Best thing ever. But I loved that even with the hysterics, Ryke truly does have a positive influence on Lily, and supports her throughout her abstinence.

“One,” I say in a small voice. “I will not look at porn.”
“I thought this was supposed to be a proclamation.” Ryke rocks on the balls of his feet. He leans forward and says, “I can’t even hear you.”
“Say it like you mean it,” Rose agrees with a supportive nod.
“Scream it,” Connor adds.
“I will not look at porn!” …
“Two. I will not masturbate!” …
“Three. I will not be compulsive about sex!” …
“And four,” I pause as I look at these final words. They mean the absolute most to me. “I will not cheat on Loren Hale!”

And so month by month, Lily tries her hardest to not have sex. She has the unwavering support of Rose, Connor, and Ryke, and she’s even started seeing a therapist. We also get to see various flashbacks of when Lily and Lo were younger, and they are so freaking adorable together. But with these flashbacks, we also see vaguely how Lily became addicted to sex. There are uphills and downhills for Lily and Lo in the past and the present, but at least now they’re choosing to fight their addictions and fight for each other.

No guy touched me. I didn’t touch them. Sex was the last thing on my mind tonight.
Each day feels like an obstacle.
And a victory.

Ricochet is more of a companion book to the series, but I’d still highly recommend reading it. There are things in Ricochet that are mentioned in Addicted for Now (book 2), and the storylines for Rose and Connor, and Daisy and Ryke build up more in this book. Ricochet takes place during those three months Lily and Lo are apart because of rehab, and we get to see how Lily copes without her lifeline. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed with Ricochet.

This book – and series – is the bomb. Seriously.

Reading Order: Addicted series

#1 ~ Addicted to You: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Ricochet: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Addicted for Now: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2.1 (Calloway Sisters #1) ~ Kiss the Sky: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2.2 (Calloway Sisters #2) ~ Hothouse Flower: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Thrive: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Addicted After All: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.1 (Calloway Sisters #3) ~ Fuel the Fire: My Review •˜ Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.2 (Calloway Sisters #4) ~ Long Way Down: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.5 (Calloway Sisters #4.5) ~ Some Kind of Perfect: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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