Hothouse Flower (Calloway Sisters)

Hothouse Flower is book 5 in the Addicted series by Krista and Becca Ritchie. I know the authors say to read Kiss the Sky before reading this book. While that is good advice, I say start with the first book, Addicted to You, and work your way up to Hothouse Flower. While the first three books talk about Lily, Daisy's older sister, and Lo, Ryke's younger brother, it also incorporates Rose, Daisy and Lily's older sister, and Conner, Rose's boyfriend turned husband, as well as Ryke and Daisy. In my opinion, if you don't read the series from the beginning, you'll miss all the backstory of why the characters act like they do. It's also in book 2, Ricochet, that Ryke and Daisy first interact with each other. Ryke meets Daisy when she's 15 years old, three years before Hothouse Flower. He saves her at a New Year's Eve party she's attending with Lily when someone spikes her drink. He also plays chaperone, with Lily, to Daisy's sweet 16 birthday in Mexico. He also tries to convince her to eat chocolate cake at a family event. There's lots of bantering between the two that's really fun to read. Yes, Ryke is seven years older than Daisy. And she was only 15 years old when they first met, so their interaction has always been Ryke being friendly to her in a platonic way, whereas Daisy pushes the limit with Ryke with her flirting. These two really become friends in book 3 of the series, Addicted for Now. Even though Ryke had a pseudo-girlfriend in the book, you can tell how attentive he is to Daisy and how concerned he is by her impulsive actions. In Kiss the Sky, we see more interaction between these two characters as well as a little jealousy on Ryke's part when Daisy introduces her boyfriend, Julian, to the group. Which leads us to Hothouse Flower. This book is probably my most anticipated book of the series. I loved Lily and Lo, the two characters that started it all. And Rose and Connor, the stars of Kiss the Sky, are okay. But Daisy and Ryke! The sexual tension between these two has been brewing for three years! They couldn't do anything about it, and neither has acted upon it because of Daisy's age. But now Daisy is 18 years old and living on her own. How convenient that she's living in Ryke's apartment building only two floors down from him! Of course, Ryke spends most of his time in Daisy's apartment, as a very platonic friend, because she has night terrors. It's because of their siblings' addicted personalities as well as being in a reality show that these two have been put in the national spotlight. It has catapulted Daisy into supermodel mode. Now everyone wants to take pictures of them everywhere they go. And rumors are cropping up that Daisy is just like Lily and is addicted to sex. Ryke is the only one that's there for her. Daisy's sisters are older than she is and live an hour away in Princeton. Daisy's mom is too controlling and suffocates her life. So there's Ryke. He's empathetic, understanding, patient and truly cares about her. We find out that he takes her to numerous doctors' appointment for her inomnia. He's the only that knows about her night terrors and the reasons for them. He's slept in her bed platonically for four months reassuring her that she's safe at night. He's become her best friend, closer than anyone she's ever been with. He's her wolf, always protecting her, as well as her body pillow at night:) They've both fought their attraction for each other, but it's not until Daisy calls Ryke from Paris in distress that they're relationship changes. Throughout the book we can see how Ryke is protective of her. He guards all her secrets, all her fears. We see how Daisy is lost and trying to navigate her way through life as she tries to carve a future for herself with Ryke in it. We also see how hurt she is is when she's inadvertently pushed aside by her sisters, always forgotten because of her age. We also see how Ryke is the outsider sometimes between Lo and Connor. These two are best-friends. Lo allows Connor to get away with a lot of things that Ryke is not allowed to say or do. It's the feeling of being outsiders that helps Daisy and Ryke gravitate towards one another. This was a long story. Over 400 pages. But there was so much to say! There were so many twists and turns that happen to the characters. Two of the major suprises occur to two characters, but I guessed right away what it was! Samantha, Daisy's mom, proves once again how evil she is. And Jonathan, Ryke and Lo's Dad, has redeemed himself in my eyes. The sexy times in this book were really steamy. But there were times I had to roll my eyes and say: "Really?? Is that physically possible??" But it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. This story felt like it could have been the end of the series. It seemed like all the characters' stories had an ending, but I know there are two books to go! I can't wait to read it! In the meantime, I'll just re-read Hothouse Flower again!

Hothouse Flower by Krista & Becca Ritchie 4 stars Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 /5 I should have counted the number of times Ryke said the F word in this book. I’m sure it was noted somewhere. It was obscene LOL it fit his character thus far and kept that going. Daisy and Ryke’s relationship delivered. We have been teased with their friendship and potential feelings towards each other since the beginning. I was not as invested as I was waiting for Rose and Conner’s book but simply because it was an age gap. Daisy just turned 18 and Ryke was 25. I normally struggle with this trope because I am no longer close to 18 so it’s hard to put myself in 18 year’s old shoes. Plus, they are normally pretty immature. Luckily, Daisy is mature for her age. So, it didn’t keep me turned off like I normally am when the main character is that young. Their connection was good, although, I still don’t see what really brought them together in the beginning besides attraction. Which is kind of icky since Ryke met her when she was fifteen. “You’re a hothouse flower,” I tell her. “You can’t grow under natural conditions. You need adventure. And security and love in order to stay alive.” This is like reading a soap opera or watching a show every week. I can’t imagine what else this group of friends / family will continue to get up to. #avidreaderbookblog #readingislife #bookblogger #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #series #agegap #agegapromance #triggers #romance #romancebookstagram #romancebookstagrammer #romancebookblogger #kristabeccaritchie

Let me start by admitting that I did not heed the suggestion to start at the beginning of the series or even with the book before. That being said, I had no problem following the story or the characters (I did read the description on the previous book to know what went down so that might have helped). Hothouse Flower (title explained towards the end of the book) is over 400 pages, and some have commented that it’s a long book. Personally I don’t think that’s a long book; I think that’s how books should be and a lot used to be. There are far too many wannabe writers out there trying to make money by spinning short books for the buck. This is not one of them. There are also some longer books out there that are simply full of repetition and need a good editor. This is most definitely not one of them either. It’s clear the authors put their time and effort into this story that is well written, well developed (both plot and characterization) as well as free of grammatical errors. The story has a great balance of adventure plot (loved the road trip) and couple time (some very hot and creative love scenes that fit the pair well). The dialogue and inner monologues are also well balanced and flow well. There is no insta-love or insta-lust. Even having not read the previous books that Ryke and Daisy appeared in, I could feel their history and their strong feelings for each other. Their personalities make it completely believable that they would be attracted to and fall in love with each other. Plus, there was so much sexual tension long before they ever even kissed. Ryke and Daisy are perfectly flawed—as in their flaws make them endearing and who they are, not annoying characters. They are definitely ones to root for, and I’m glad they faced their problems and their families together. They trusted in what they knew about each other and believed in each other. They didn’t let circumstances stand in their way. I wish more writers would develop couples that do this. That is not to say the book didn’t have drama, but it was a well developed and well balanced drama that fit the storyline and did not feel over the top. Ryke is the guy you want in your corner. He is fiercely loyal and well…pretty hot. I loved how he handled Daisy’s ADD personality. Ryke is deep and complex. He has boundaries, yet he cares and doesn’t care what people think about him at the same time. Daisy is adorable. She is a unique mix of innocence and experience that fit her age and lifestyle. I loved her free spirit and banter/flirting with Ryke from the very beginning. I felt bad for Daisy the way her older sisters excluded her at times (whether intentional or not), and at how she had to suffer because of their mistakes and poor choices. Frankly, I’m not sure I could get into reading the other stories if Daisy and Ryke aren’t the main characters. The rest worked great as supporting characters, but I couldn’t relate with any of them enough to get into their own stories. I’d love to see more of Ryke and Daisy and their adventures. Daisy and Ryke compliment each other so perfectly, and their story captures all the elements of being young and free. I was continually torn between wanting to see them have their own little “crazy babies” or let their free spirits adventure longer—perhaps a second book (set a few years down the road) with a mix of both (hint, hint to the authors!)

Holy freaking Hothouse Flower....Ryke Meadows = Daisy Calloway...Ever since we first read about these two characters..we routed for them..even if she was 15..he was her other half..she turned 16 and he was there protecting...in kiss the sky we were hoping that something would happen..a little kiss..something to prove that they knew they were for each other.but they still played the cat and mouse game..but who was chasing who...we waited with baited breath...for that moment that they open their eyes and accept that they are to be as one...their story was twist and turns..heartbreak..laughs..joy..pain.secrets..family..love...and finally finally their hea...what a great way to end their story..actually i'm hoping for more and more books about this family..I would read every single one..

Autoras maravilhosas, personagens maravilhosos, plots intrigantes, casais sensacionais. simplesmente amei!! O livro faz parte da série addicted/calloway sister. Recomendo muito para pessoas que gostam de NA e de romance <3

It's hard for me to describe how much I loved this book- mostly because I am currently sleep deprived due to reading all night! Ryke and Daisy's story was brilliant in the way we have come to expect from Krista and Becca Ritchie, a heartfelt story built around characters we have come to know and love. Similarly to Kiss the Sky, HF brought a deeper understanding to secondary characters we already knew from the previous books in the series, building on the characterisation previously established. Through reading their perspectives, HF not only provided backstory and motivations to enhance previous events, but propelled the story forward in a main plotline that was unique to these characters, staying fresh and exciting while sharing elements of the high stakes, emotionally raw and a delicate balance between dark and light stories of the previous Addicted and Colloway books. Reading HF was a wonderful experience, it is rare that book that is so highly anticipated for fans of a series is neither anticlimatic and disappointing nor read like fan servicing wish fulfillment. I truly loved HF just as much as the previous books in the series, it is a joy to discover how K&B continue to grow as authors as the writing is only improving with stories that manage to avoid falling into the New Adult common tropes that can overwhelm the genre. My only criticism is the belief that readers could start with KTS, skipping the Addicted books just means missing out on a great foundation and wonderful reads that cannot be fully captured by the minimal backstory given (a positive- nothing is worse than waiting for book 5 to find it filled with exposition!). While not strictly essential, I doubt those who hadn't gone on the full journey with the character would feel the same appreciation for this story, as well as how well it has been developed. I would recommend K & B Ritchie's Addicted series and companion novels as an example of what New Adult can be at it's best- strong, well developed characters growing and evolving, with riveting stories (and of course some HOT sexy times).

I’ve read this series years ago, so happy I finally bought the newest versions. The bonus chapters are amazing