Addicted to You

Addicted to You (2013) is a new adult romance novel written by Krista and Becca Ritchie. It is the first installment in the Addicted series, which focuses on Lily Calloway and Lo Hale as they navigate their experiences with addiction, co-dependency, and their complex relationship. The series expands into a shared universe with the Calloway Sisters spinoffs, creating a 10-book interconnected saga. The Ritchies are identical twin sisters who have co-written since childhood, and their novels, of which there are 29, often become New York Times Best Sellers. Addicted to You primarily focuses on Lily and Lo’s bond as they discover The Precarious Nature of Addiction and The Truths and Lies of Love. Because of their loving families, they also experience The Role of Family in Self-Healing. Lily’s sex addiction and the experiences she has surrounding it demonstrate The Relationship Between Sex and Misogyny.

This guide refers to the 2022 Penguin Random House paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of substance use, addiction, sexual violence and harassment, sexual content, gender discrimination, emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, and cursing. 

Language Note: This guide uses the term “sex addiction” (as per the novel) to refer to compulsive sexual behavior.

Plot Summary

Lily Calloway wakes up in a fraternity house after sleeping with a man the previous night. Lily hates waking up after a one-night stand, particularly when she has to encounter people on her way out the door. Lily’s best friend and roommate, Loren “Lo” Hale, shows up to take Lily home in Lily’s family car. Both Lily and Lo come from wealthy corporate families, using drivers whenever they need to get around. They have been friends since childhood, and their relationship briefly turned romantic when they were 14, but they’ve never addressed it. Lily and Lo pretend to be in a relationship so that they can help one another hide their addictions from their families. Lily experiences sex addiction, and Lo experiences alcohol dependency. Lo often flirts with and touches Lily, knowing that she is always in the mood for sex, but Lily isn’t sure how to interpret Lo’s advances since he has never stated that he wants to be with her. Lily and Lo’s relationship sometimes becomes sexual, but they haven’t had intercourse since they were 14. At their apartment, Lily takes a shower and has an encounter with Lo, and then Lily’s older sister, Rose, checks on her. Rose insists that Lo and Lily attend the family lunch the following day to welcome Rose and Lily’s younger sister, Daisy, home from Paris. That night, Lily and Lo go to a new club, and Lily sleeps with a man there. When he approaches her afterward, Lily is unable to tell him to leave her alone, so Lo tells the man to go away. The next morning, Lo is hungover, and Lily drags him into the shower and gets his clothes ready for the family lunch. Lily’s three sisters (Poppy, Rose, Daisy), her parents, and Lo’s father are all at the lunch. Rose mentions seeing Lily at the pregnancy clinic a few weeks ago, which mortifies Lily, who doesn’t want her family to know about her sexual habits. Lily and Lo attend some of the same business classes at the University of Pennsylvania, and during one class, Lily accidentally turns the volume up on some pornography she is watching. Her teacher lectures her after class about being responsible with her technology.

Lily goes dress shopping for an upcoming Christmas gala with her sisters. She spends the afternoon lost in thought and daydreaming about sex. She wakes up the next day feeling groggy and sees that Lo is with the same girl he had over the night before. Lily becomes jealous and leaves to meet up with a guy, but she is distracted by thoughts of Lo. When Lily wakes up after a hazy night, she is in bed with two men. Lo tells them to leave and takes Lily to the clinic to get tested for sexually transmitted infections, lecturing her about safety. Lily comes out of her testing healthy and is grateful for Lo’s support. She decides to stop advertising on Craigslist and deletes random numbers off her phone. When Daisy comes over to spend the night, Lily has to sleep in Lo’s room, and he teases her all evening before suggesting that she drink to forget about sex. The alcohol makes Lily sick, and Lo regrets encouraging her. The next morning, Lily’s parents arrive unannounced to take Lily and Lo on a family cruise to the Bahamas. On the yacht, Lily has time to bond with her sisters, and she makes her relationship with Lo official. She and Lo have sex and spend the night talking about how they’ve always loved one another.

Lily and Lo’s relationship remains confusing. Lily doesn’t know how to approach Lo and worries that he won’t be able to meet her sexual needs. Lo’s drinking grows worse and threatens to damage the relationship. Lily gets a tutor named Connor Cobalt who also turns out to be a good friend. Connor helps Lily look for Lo when he’s missing one night and later invites Lo and Lily to a local Halloween party. Lo insists that he and Lily dress up in their old X-Men costumes, which Lily begrudgingly agrees to. Connor picks them up in a limousine and takes them to the party. Inside, Lo immediately breaks into the liquor cabinet and steals thousands of dollars’ worth of liquor. When he is discovered by the host, he is confronted by a group of guys who hit him and demand that he pay for the liquor. Connor and Lily try to defend Lo, but it doesn’t help. A man named Ryke Meadows shows up to distract the crowd long enough for everyone to get away. In the limousine, Ryke notices how inebriated Lo is and becomes concerned about his well-being. He carries Lo into the apartment and tells Lily that her boyfriend is an “alcoholic.” Lily becomes upset and asks Ryke and Connor to leave but reflects on what Ryke said. She realizes that both of their addictions are getting worse. The next day, Connor comes to take Lo to the gym, already acting as a positive influence in his life. Lily accompanies them, and she and Lo have sex in the locker room.

Ryke approaches Lily in the library and makes up a story to get Lily to let him come over. He is secretly Lo’s half-brother and wants to get to know and help him, a fact that he keeps hidden. Ryke instead claims to be writing a story about children of corporate tycoons, and it gives him a reason to talk to Lo in depth about his life. Lo is resistant at first, but he and Ryke soon become close, and Lily begins to wonder if Lo will lose interest in her. Connor begins dating Rose, which inevitably connects Lily’s college life with her family. When Lily is assaulted in a club one night while Lo is off drinking, Ryke and Connor intervene. Connor tells Rose about it, and Lily admits to her sister that she has a sex addiction. Lo feels guilty for not protecting Lily and decides that he needs professional help to quit drinking. Rose becomes a supportive force in Lily’s life, and Connor and Ryke help Lo in his journey toward sobriety. Lo learns that Ryke is his brother at the Christmas gala, and the realization is a shock, as he realizes that his mother isn’t who he thought she was. Lo decides to go to a rehabilitation facility, which means that Lily will be left to navigate life without him. Lily decides to move in with Rose and attempt to deal with her sex addiction. She hopes that she and Lo can be together when they are both mentally healthy.