Maybe a little closer to 3.5 than 4, but I really did like it, so I want to be generous. Will and Leah were both interesting NA characters. Of course, being that it's NA, you'd expect them to have typical, college-age problems. But Will is a Scottish transplant whose parents think of him as nothing more than someone to send money every month. He's working as a research assistant to one of his psych professors to make ends meet and barely has enough money to survive, yet he sends money home anyway.Leah, while not an only child nor a teen mother, might as well have been both. Her parents were pretty neglectful and when her mother got pregnant when Leah was 12, she didn't want another child. Leah basically begged her to keep the baby with the agreement that she'd take care of it. Yeah, that's pretty awful. What's worse is that, now that she's an adult, her parents won't let her take her little brother, even though they only give him minimal parenting. It's a pride thing, you see; they used to be rich and used to be the life of the party, and they still pretend to be everything they are really not. Leah's need to connect with someone, anyone, on any level is what keeps her sleeping around, and one night, she picks the wrong guy, one who robs her and her roommate in the middle of the night. As penance, her roommate and best friend insists that she attend a sex addicts group.This is where she meets Will. He's not really and addict, he's pretending so that he can do research for his professor boss. But Leah doesn't know that. Soon, they're connecting and there are all sorts of reasons it could blow up in Will's face. You'll have to read until the end to find out what really happens, but I was happy with the results.I definitely enjoyed this one and I can't wait to read some more from this author. I think the next story focuses on Will's best friend, a bisexual guy who dabbles in theater for fun and who is gaga for the one girl who won't give him the time of day. I'm also anticipating a story about Leah's roommate at some point. I read this as part of the Heat Up the Fall NA boxed set, and what a great investment that was! Lots of new authors and I think I liked all of the stories (some more than others). Short, spicy and sweet. What more can I say? This is a simple, to the point, drama free novel that still keeps your entertained and snickering occasionally.We get a back story within this novel, as we traverse the present. We get to see as Leah winds down sex addicts anonymous, and Will begin his study of this strangely composed group of addicts. I loved all the characters as well as the sessions. The group was not what you expect and that made it much more fun trying to figure out their sexual preferences. I am glad that regardless of the amount of sessions visited, that each session was different, and held a little more piece of this puzzle, for not just the major, but the minor characters.Will is ... different. Initially, I thought he might be a nerd. He seemed rather shy, reserved and c'mon ... dude owns a cat -_- (No offence guy cat lovers out there!) ... but mix that all together, and I have to say, I was a little suspicious. Anyway, he proved himself to be awesome and quite the Adonis! He was patient, funny, witty and intriguing at times. I loved his relationship with Finn, as well as, their conversations and comrade.Speaking of Finn, I adored his character and honestly can't wait to read his book. He is the artsy type, but I think I can manage. He has spunk, wit, talent, and to top it all off, he's bisexual! Doesn't get any better than that! ... totally digging this dude! He brings drama and humor of his own kind, and is definitely the life of this party.Leah is not your usual shy, bad, or indifferent chick. She is all of the above. Maybe with exception to the shy part. She is an ice queen, but god do we love her! She brings fire to this novel, and keeps us laughing with her facial expressions, indifference and all out death glare. I'd want to be this girl friend, but I don't know if she'd go for that.This story was more than the sex, and actually possessed literally ONE sex scene! If you are reading just for the sex, then you will be sorely disappointed. Though I must say, that even without a mass amount of foreplay, the one and only sex scene was passionate and got me stirring a little ;)Even little Elijah played his nine year old role well. If anything, I would have loved to spend more time with these characters, and see Leah get some form of challenge with regards to her Scot. Which might I say, had a totally hot accent!!! You might not be able to hear it, but the tidbits of lingo gave me the warm and fuzzes all over! In all honesty, this novel made you feel sexed without having any. It was sensual, deep and light all at the same time. We were never too serious, but we still got a good story without having really bad writing.To sum it all up, I loved this story. I might have wanted some more drama or a challenge that lasted longer than a mediocre week, but I was kept interested and enjoyed going through the paces with these characters. There was banter, wit, excitement, surprise ... truth be told ... even disgust. But it was all in great fun and humor. I loved the integration of all the characters and I have to say that we got a great novel from it.If your looking for a chill, laid back read, then this is it. You don't get too deep, but you aren't in the shallow end either. Can't wait for book 2, because I expect a whole lot of drama from Finn and Kat!
What do You think about Addicted To You (2000)?
Light read. Finished it in less than 9 hours.
—sumi
