Elle Kennedy

"Signet Eclipse contemporary romance"--Spine.

Addicted

Bethany Lacey

Link to Blog: http://laceysloveofliterature.blogspo...

As soon as I finished Claimed, I went on to read Addicted straight away. We were first introduced to Lennox and Jamie in Claimed; they owned a brothel-like house, where sexuality and booze is free-for-all. Hudson picked up on the unrequited feelings of both Jamie and Lennox and so going into this book I was cautious. I hate, hate, love triangles, so I was wary starting this book that I'd be faced with this possibility. 
But Elle Kennedy did not let me down. 
No love triangles. 
Whatsoever.
Praise the Lord.

This book begins one month after the events of the last book; Lennox and Jamie have been living with Connor's group for a month since their house was destroyed. Connor is sending Lennox to Foxsworth, the only civilian outlaw town in the world ran by the mysterious Reese, to teach them how to fight and defend themselves.

I loved Lennox and Jamie's friendship. This bestfriends-to-lovers story was simply amazing. These two cared so deeply about each other, but were scared to take it further or ruin it by sex, so they're determined to keep this friendship platonic. The transition from friends to lovers in this book was so smooth; no angst or unnecessary drama. I adored these two. 

I also loved the extra sideline story we got with Reese and Rylan. I love Reese. She's one badass chick! I love how she was immune to Rylan's charms but still found him slightly irresistible. I've always loved Rylan and I'm slightly excited to find out his story is next with Reese, (fist pump!) I literally cannot wait for this book as I know it's going to be soooo good!

This series is just amazing! It's a must-read! If you're after a futuristic, slightly sexual, overall romance series, then this is for you. It combines different tropes and genres flawlessly. Get reading guys, seriously.

☽ jess ☾

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


You guys. Let's be real here for a minute... I have absolutely no idea how to review this book and do it justice. I read it two months ago and thumbed through it again more recently looking for quotes and every time I sit down to write my review, pretty much all that comes out is incoherent babble. So, I'm just gonna go with it. I don't want to spoil any of the MAJOR HAPPENINGS for you anyhow. And believe me, there are plenty of them.

It's quite possible I loved this book even more than the first in the series. (Which, you know, is saying a whole lot because I had huge, major love for Claimed.) Addicted fit in so nicely with the storyline already established in that book, but this time it was a friends to lovers book and those are, like, my book crack. I can't get enough of them. It was wildly sexy, HOT AF and kept me, quite frankly, totally addicted from the first page. Lennox and Jamie's story was so good and it pushed all of my buttons – in a good way. From the "we want each other, but we can't cross that line because we'll lose each other" in the beginning to the "we can't hold back anymore and what does this mean for our friendship" in the middle and the eventual understanding that they could never go back and nor would they want to, I was in it with them. I wanted to see them find a way to make it work in this seriously messed up world in which they live.

I expected this book to be sexy. No, strike that. I expected this book to be HOT AF because the first one was that and then some. This series "goes there." In a society where orgasms are a form of trade, power and, honestly, one of the only rewards, there are no lines. You can expect threesomes, M/M, F/F and more. It will leave you fanning yourself, but you've got to be open-minded enough to read it first. What I didn't expect from this book, but got in spades was FEELS. Freaking feels. Feels for days. I cried. Like, legit sobbed. And it was so so so good – even if I was left a little devastated by some of the turn of events. (But I won't say any more about that. Just read it.)

Long story short: Elle did it again. She continues to blow my mind with this Outlaws series. I might be terrified to see what happens next in this series, because it is a dystopian after all, but I am waiting with grabby hands for Ruled. (I *need* Reese's story.) All I can do is hope that the majority of the characters I have really come to love will make it out in one piece when this series is over. I think I'll stock up on wine and ice cream just in case though.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

  She was really the only thing that mattered, if he was being honest. He could be living in a volcano inhaling ash and bathing in hot lava, and he'd be perfectly content with it as long as Jamie was by his side. 

She was one of the rare people who got to experience the gentle Lennox. The sweet Lennox. She would've missed out on that if the two of them had gotten sexually involved, because going to bed with Lennox would've come with a choice: sex or friendship. Times like these, when he ran a tender hand over her cheek and gazed at her as though she meant the world to him, she was glad she'd never been forced to make that choice.

Orgasms were one of the few rewards in this dangerous, fucked-up world. Made living in it a bit more tolerable.

"That's what men do. They yell and grumble and pound their fists against their chests and do whatever they can to protect their women. And we protect them. Trust me, they know that. They know they need us, even if they don't always say it."

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

Friends-to-lovers is one of my FAVORITE tropes, though I don’t read it as often as I’d like. I’m picky because there just aren’t very many well-written ones, but Addicted is definitely on the better end of the spectrum. This is book two in the Outlaws series and features Lennox and Jamie, who we met in Claimed. These are two best friends who wholeheartedly believe their relationship is platonic, so I was eager to see how Elle Kennedy would turn that around, and she didn’t disappoint. It takes them a little while to get there, but these two are so meant to be together – their romance is emotional, intense, and surprisingly sweet! Addicted is a fantastic follow-up to this world of Outlaws – if you enjoyed Claimed, you’re more than likely to like Addicted as well.

Jamie and Lennox have been best friends since they were children – there’s no Jamie without Lennox, and vice versa. They’re now shackled up with their friend Connor at his camp, and this change of scenery leads to a change in their relationship. The repressed feelings they’ve had on both sides for years are slowly, finally coming out, especially since Lennox isn’t liking the fact that Rylan, Jamie’s crush, is in close proximity in the camp. Will Lennox finally make his move on the one person he loves in this dangerous, desolate world? Or will he stay cautious to protect their friendship, and miss out on something more?

“You’re my home, Jamie. It doesn’t matter where we go or what happens. As long as you’re with me, I’m home.”

I loved the fact that I got to read a friends-to-lovers romance in a different setting than the usual contemporary world. Not only do Jamie and Lennox have to navigate their way through their newfound and fragile relationship, they also have to keep looking over their shoulders to make sure that Enforcers aren’t out to get them and the people they’re with. The ups and downs of their romance mixed in with the suspense had me on the edge of my seat – the author did a wonderful job balancing those two aspects of the story!

And of course, I can’t write this review without mentioning how damn HOT it is! Tensions have been brewing between Lennox and Jamie for YEARS, so one can only imagine how explosive the chemistry is once they finally get together. And guys, it’s seriously smokin’ in this book. Elle Kennedy know how to write erotica!

One thing that bothered me about Addicted though (even though it’s so dumb), is how all the heroines have masculine names – I honestly couldn’t keep track of who was who. I got Lennox and Jamie mixed up ALL THE TIME, thinking Lennox was the heroine and Jamie the hero. It wouldn’t take me long to realize I’d be reading it wrong, but it was slightly annoying that I had to make the effort to realize who was who.

Overall, Addicted was an addictive read. The dystopian world sucked me in much more than it did in the previous book, and I can only hope it’ll get better throughout the rest of the series. Right now, I’m dying for the next book, Ruled – we’re finally getting Rylan’s story, and it just so happens to be a menage… and I can’t WAIT!

Thanks to the author for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1O6zi46
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1WgZ1ex
Audible: http://amzn.to/296P2qx

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