Review: Lily and Lo are BAAAACK!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2014
Thrive is yet another fabulous, intense, and thrilling installment in the Addicted series, a series that I’m so utterly and ridiculously in love with. Each book in the series (and the spinoffs) is so exceptionally well written, and I really just can’t get enough of the characters. And Thrive is just as brilliant as the previous books, if not more so. I loved every single part of this book–I could totally gush all day about Thrive! It’s made me fall even more in love with all of the characters (who knew that was even possible?) and left me with such a warm, gooey feeling in my heart. So for all you Addicted series fans, Thrive should not be missed!!“We’re going to have our happy ending. It just may take us awhile to get there.”First off, Thrive takes place a little before Kiss the Sky all the way through a little after Hothouse Flower, so for those who haven’t read the spinoffs but plan to, you shouldn’t read Thrive just yet, because it WILL spoil the plots for KTS and HF. And if you’re worried that Thrive will be just a retelling of KTS and HF, let me assure you that it’s NOT! There’s so much new material and nothing felt repetitive.Thrive is split into three parts, and in each part there are different events (some we have seen, but most we haven’t seen before) that shape Lily and Lo’s progression. There are the high days where we get to laugh with the characters and get warm, fuzzy feelings from how much Lily and Lo, Rose and Connor, and Daisy and Ryke have become so important to each other. You just know how much everyone loves each other, despite how much they make fun of each other. The Addicted series has one of the best cast of characters I’ve ever read–each relationship is distinct and unique, each character is an integral part of the group, and each character is unforgettable. (And I just have to say, I love Lo, but omg CONNOR!!! Connor is fantastic in Thrive!)But even with all the laughs and giggles, there are still the low, low days where every minute of every day is a struggle for Lo and Lily. This couple has been through so much that it seems like a never-ending battle for them. They have to battle their addictions, battle the media that won’t give them any privacy after Lily’s sex addiction was revealed, and they even have to battle their family and friends. And no, they don’t end up winning all of their battles, but at the end of the day, no matter how much they’ve been tested, no matter how much they’ve been poked and prodded, Lily and Lo still have each other. They will always have each other.“The world is never going to understand us,” he tells me, his eyes so impassioned that I can’t look away. “But it doesn’t matter, Lil. We have each other, and I get your pain, I understand how badly it hurst, so I need you to block out the other people today, okay? They don’t exist in our world.”Thrive is one beautifully told story that is both gut-wrenching and heartwarming. You will laugh with the characters, you’ll cry with the characters, and most of all, you’ll fall in love with them all over again. It’s a phenomenal book that had me hooked from start to finish. I’m seriously addicted to this series ;).