Novella Serial Review: Addicted to You by Lucy Covington

Serial Saturdays: On the occasional Saturday, I review a serialized series (a series that is released in parts that would normally make up a whole novel) to see if the series is worth keeping up with or worth buying all its parts. Here is this week’s offering:

Synopsis for Dangerously Damaged (from Goodreads):
Dangerous. Sexy. Damaged.

These are the words used to describe Justin Brown.

Intelligent. Capable. Responsible.

These are the words used to describe Lindsay Cramer.

Irresistible. Addicting. Passionate.

These are the words used to describe their relationship.

Good girl Lindsay Cramer has her life completely in order, and she keeps her goals on a checklist — obtain scholarship to Ivy League University, finish undergrad, and move on to med school. She’s worked hard to get where she is, and she’s determined not to let anything – or anyone — get in her way.

Until she meets Justin Brown. JB is gorgeous, and the kind of guy who is all wrong for Lindsay — the kind of guy who is all wrong for anyone . He drinks, he fights, and he has a secret past Lindsay’s not so sure she wants to know about.

But when the two of them are together, Lindsay can’t help but lose herself in him. It’s the way his eyes burn when he looks at her. The way his smile makes her dizzy. The way his hands feel on her body.

Soon, Lindsay and Justin are completely addicted to each other. But when their dangerous game culminates with Lindsay having to make a shocking choice, will she be able to keep JB in her life? And if so, will she lose everything in the process?

Series: Addicted to You
Author: Lucy Covington
# of Parts: 9+ (See full reading order here)
Complete?: Unknown Series Status
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Drama
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Date: April 25, 2013 – unknown
Source & Format: eBook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I feel like Kobo recommended this too me when it first came out. I waited a bit for the rest of the parts to be published before I start–because reading 50 pages at a time sucks.

Only, I didn’t read this until 2016 when I pulled it from my TBR jar for my Rock My TBR challenge.

Series Status?

I've been reading this serial I've had on my Kobo for 3 years for #rockmytbr only to find out that the finale was never written…😠😡💢

— Lauren (@SERIESousBooks) August 7, 2016

Ok, I didn’t realize this series wasn’t finished when I started to read it. If I had known that I wouldn’t be getting a conclusion, I probably wouldn’t have started this.

I have no idea if the ending will ever be published or revealed. According to Twitter, 2013 was a hard year for the author so maybe she had to abandon it?

The Plot:

This is your typical “first year of college” story. You have good girl Lindsay trying to navigate the waters of being a little fish in a big pond when she meets a bad boy (Justin) she is inexplicably drawn to. Of course, unbeknownst to Lindsay, every guys she comes across wants her and they would be “better choices”. And Justin doesn’t do so bad with female attention either.

Cue the slow burn, jealousy and adolescent love story if you please.

Add to that mix Justin’s BFF friend dealing with a drug addiction (which I wish took more precedence because that was an interesting battle) and Justin’s fighting career and gym drama.

I like a lot of things happening in my novels, but in a serial, it almost becomes overwhelming. Especially if you have to wait a week or more for each instalment. Sure, it adds to dramatics but I feel like it prevents the other plotlines from developing at a stronger pace.

The Characters:

Lindsay wasn’t anything new or exciting. For a bright girl, she didn’t have that many shinning moments. I get it though, she’s growing up and has lots of hurdles thrown her way. But she kinda let’s everything happen around her and whines when it doesn’t go that great.

Justin was much more interesting to me. His life is more complicated and complex. I wish more was done with his story but it gets overshadowed a bit with the romance.

The Romance:

This is one of the most drawn out slow burn romances I’ve ever read. It takes a ridiculous amount of time for these two to even kiss! Which is fine, but it got tiring listening to each of them moan on about how much they wish they had kissed during their last encounter.

Like I said earlier, this romance was more “insta”, based on a connection that doesn’t really get expanded upon besides a physical connection.

Series Rating: 3/5

Besides the fact that this series will likely never be concluded, it’s a little all over the place. Not the best serial I’ve ever read. It would have been a great standalone novel I think instead.

Read if You Like: slow burn romance
Avoid if You: hate not knowing how it ends