Remember When? //An Addicted Series Love Fest//

It's hard to fathom that in just a few days -- no, hours -- the Addicted Series will officially be over.  After nearly 3 years since Addicted to You was first published on June 13, 2013 and graced us all with it's epic-ness, the final book, Some Kind of Perfect, will be releasing on May 20, 2016.  *hear the collective sigh*

In this post, I am going to reminisce about the past. The journey from then until now and remembering when we all first came to love this series. When I look back at when I first read Addicted to You, I remember feeling so overwhelmed with emotion.  I couldn't get over Lil and Lo's unconditional love for one another and it really goes beyond that, if that makes sense.  They care so much for each other there's not even a word good enough to describe it.  Addicted to You became my #1 favorite book, trumping *gasp* Pride and Prejudice!

The evolution of Addicted to You covers

At this time 3 years ago, I was brand new to Goodreads.  I was following a few suggested accounts and reviews, but had no friends on GR yet and I was still getting to know my way around it.   I was so excited about these books but really had no one to share my enthusiasm with (insert sad face here).

In my effort to find more about this series, I started stalking all of Krista & Becca's social media accounts.  I soon found out that I could send private messages to authors on GR.  So, I did what any normal person would do in my situation.  I sent a friend request to Krista and Becca Ritchie and sent them a message letting them know how much I love their books.  I was ecstatic when hours later, I got a response from Becca!  Finally, I had someone to talk to about my excitement over these books and who better to understand my feelings than the creators themselves, right?!  Right off the bat, Becca was so easy to talk to.  I realized early on that Becca was the one on social media the most while Krista sort of stayed "behind the scenes" for the most part.

The story that started it all

Out of curiosity, I asked a few others (who have been fans of the series from very early on) what their earliest memory is of as they think back in time to when they first started reading the Addicted Series.  Here's what some had to say...

Lisa (@mackees_) recalls: "My earliest memory related to this series is definitely befriending Sue [@rykemeadows].  I followed her [Tumblr] looong before but never really spoken to her until one day I saw her [reblog] something and tagged it with RYKE MEADOWS and I was like RYKE MEADOWS??? Then I attacked her inbox screaming 'OH MY GOD YOU READ ADDICTED TO YOU?!' and she screamed back and we became friends ever since. She's the first person I befriended in the fandom so that's nice :D"

Sil (@THENIGHTWING) recalls: "I remember Sue [@rykemeadows] talking about a 'Daisy and Ryke' [and] 'Raisy' I was like what is thiiiiis. I Googled it/Goodread it, but I didn't find anything because obviously I didn't know what I was looking [for]. Of course, Sue told me all about this series and I decided on Christmas holidays a few years ago to start it, I think I finished Addicted to You, Ricochet, Addicted for Now and Kiss the Sky really fast and Hothouse Flower hadn't come out yet!  It's one of my first NA books to read tbh! I really liked it a lot and these books made me love the NA genre"

Jae (@lilycalloway) recalls: "My first impression of a book starts with its cover; the image, the font and overall feel.  I'm a huge cover judger ['tis a terrible feat]. It was during the time Kiss the Sky was published that I started becoming interested in the series. You know how Addicted to You's original cover had a young woman lying down in the front? I was not a fan. And because of that I actually started reading a couple of chapters of Kiss the Sky before figuring out Lily and Lo are the cutest and I needed to know their story! So I read Addicted to You. Then Ricochet and Addicted for Now. I was the Flash when it came to reading those books. I fell in love and was inspired by the story and characters. And realized how perfect Addicted to You's original cover really was. Don't get me wrong, I'm all heart eyes over the newer editions! Grayscale coloring to reflect the tone of the story (I'm glad Krista and Becca kept it as such). The young woman on the original was incredibly thin though. To the point, I felt she was unhealthy and wanted to look away. THIS was essentially Lily Calloway to a new reader's eyes. Addiction is a dark spiral and avoiding the problem or turning your back to it isn't the right answer. Looking back, I can't believe I ever thought not to read Addicted to You! I'm still mentally kicking myself in the shins for not purchasing the original pb back then though."

Lanie (@LiLoX23Hellion) recalls when we first started the (now) Fizzle Force group on Facebook: "so I saw Aestas' review on Goodreads. That was last quarter of 2013. When I finished Addicted for Now  w/c was released [November] if I remember it right, I started stalking KB on FB. They [posted] a lot of fun facts back then and I would always leave a question. They always [replied] to my questions. The next book they [were] releasing back then [was] Kiss the Sky. I asked them why Kiss the Sky is the title of the book. They said it's kind of spoiler. Then you [as in me, Jenn] saw my question. You asked if I have more questions like that and [would] like to give you some since you're doing an interview that time. That's the start that we [got] to [talking]. It so happens we're both Filipina. So come January [2014], I asked you if KB has a group on FB where fans [can] congregate. Then you created one, but you created another page not a group. So I created the group then transferred the admin rights to you and Krista and Becca. Then [you said] why not the 2 of us manage the group for KB. And the rest is history."

Siiri (@rosecoballoway), who has known Krista & Becca ever since they were bloggers, before they ever published Addicted to You, recalls that she had to start pushing this book on people because not a lot of people were reading it at the time.  She had no one to discuss them with and felt like the books deserved more.  She also remembers being the only one who freaked out over Connor and Coballoway (<--- Siiri was the one who coined this term, btw) and doesn't remember anyone else being that obsessed with them at that time.  If there were others just as obsessed with Coballoway as Siiri was, then she sadly missed their excited state.  Siiri has been a supporter of the series right from the very very start and I'm truly glad to have her as one of my dearest friends.  Mind you, I was very intimidated by Siiri at first because everything she said just exudes intelligence and I felt way out of my league to be talking to her at the time.  SO glad I got over the nerve and finally spoke to her :D.   

It's kinda crazy to think that at the time when I first read Addicted to You, it was only supposed to be a 5-book series, not including Kiss the Sky and Hothouse Flower as spinoffs.  Now, they will be releasing book #10 in the series!  I still remember trying to get so many people to read the series so I could have my wish come true and have these babies on paperback to admire on my shelf.  3 years ago, Krista & Becca agreed that the only way they would publish all the books in paperback is if they got enough demand to do it because it took a lot of work to format the paperback editions and they do all the work, EVERYTHING, themselves.

Krista & Becca shelfie

 
It's also crazy to look back and see that when this all started, Krista & Becca's Tumblr blog, Fizz Life (where people can ask questions and get some answers), started out with just 30 posts in November 2013.  In December 2013, they had only 16 posts. In January 2014 only 31 posts.  Then, soon after Kiss the Sky was released on January 22, 2014, Krista & Becca's Tumblr posts went up to 93 in February 2014!  In March 2014, it went up to a whopping 231 posts!  It was like news spread like wildfire and more and more people started reading and getting into the series.  After that, I just couldn't keep up anymore and I used to stalk their Tumblr page religiously!

In December 2013, they reached 1,000 Likes on Facebook among other milestones (see their post HERE).  At present, they have over 13,000 Likes.

Do you remember when Krista & Becca had their very first live stream video on YouTube?  Gosh, that feels like ages ago!

Or, how about the time when they were visiting their brother, Alex, and got him to join their Fizz Live chat?  (Hottie alert!)

Fun times!

Honestly, I don't think Krista & Becca could've started their career any more perfectly than with publishing Addicted to You.  This book has touched so many people and the messages within the pages connected so many lives until we became this powerful entity known as the Fizzle Force.  In Fizzle Force, I've met some of the most amazing, talented, caring, intelligent, generous, and loving people in the world.

Established: August 19, 2014

 
The Addicted Series has forever changed my life.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure of reading this wonderful series, I can't say or explain it any better than this super cool Tumblr post with detailed infographics created by the supergirls of Fizzle Reads (read entire post HERE), why you should read the Addicted Series:

This is such a bittersweet moment. But it's not goodbye. Not really. The beauty of books is that you can always come back to them and re-read the chapters, re-live the moments, and go back to those feelings.  So,  until then...