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A review by emjm
Long Way Down by Krista Ritchie
4.0
I devoured this one in one sitting. Ryke and Daisy are hardly my favorites, but this time in the group's life, told through their eyes and experiences, was one of my favorites to read about. All of the characters have grown up so much, which makes sense... I mean, most of them are nearing 30 years old in this book. It's just trippy to feel such real emotions and sentiments over fictional characters, but when you've spent "years" with these people, and the writing, with regard to relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, etc.) is particularly well done, it's hard not to, and that is one thing the authors have been pretty consistently good at doing. If you'd told me I'd feel this way while reading the first two Addicted novels I quite literally would not have believed you. I didn't even think I would finish that series.
These characters have gone through some tough stuff, but at the end of the day, they're all very much what I like to call "God's favorites." You know the type of person; no matter what "bad" stuff they have going on, you'd still trade their problems for yours because, in the end, the important stuff always works out for them. That's not an unrealistic concept; I know plenty of these kinds of people in real life (this doesn't discredit these people's problems, or even my perception of them from the outside, it's just a fact that some people have better outcomes than others in all facets of life, plain and simple). That's pretty much this gang, and while that may be a turn-off for some, that's what I come here for... to see everything work out just right in the end. All the right people meet when they're supposed to, the right apologies are made at the right time, and the right person escapes when they need to. I think there's some realism in their seemingly unrealistic "perfect" outcomes... the circumstances are rarely ideal or without some loss/sacrifice, but the end result is still enviable, and I think that happens to some people all the time.
That's what these characters are: extremely beautiful, fortunate people with quirks and traits, like all humans, that endear us to them, that go through some tough shit, like all humans, and ultimately come out on top, relatively unscathed (not like all humans). It's just what I, personally, wanted to read at this point (read: what I want and what I need hardly ever coincide, so I'm aware these books probably play right into some issue or insecurity I have, but I simply do not care). The sibling relationships, both old and new (yes, new), the friendships, and the absolute devotion these people have for each other are like... interpersonal relationship porn? Idk... there's probably a term for it (in the vain of wealth porn, which this also is).
Anyway, that epilogue was everything I could've asked for. Sweeter than molasses, and tied up with a bow. The fact that we get a whole full-length epilogue novel to continue showing us these imperfect people with pretty perfect lives and, more importantly, how they interact with each other? Take my money.
These characters have gone through some tough stuff, but at the end of the day, they're all very much what I like to call "God's favorites." You know the type of person; no matter what "bad" stuff they have going on, you'd still trade their problems for yours because, in the end, the important stuff always works out for them. That's not an unrealistic concept; I know plenty of these kinds of people in real life (this doesn't discredit these people's problems, or even my perception of them from the outside, it's just a fact that some people have better outcomes than others in all facets of life, plain and simple). That's pretty much this gang, and while that may be a turn-off for some, that's what I come here for... to see everything work out just right in the end. All the right people meet when they're supposed to, the right apologies are made at the right time, and the right person escapes when they need to. I think there's some realism in their seemingly unrealistic "perfect" outcomes... the circumstances are rarely ideal or without some loss/sacrifice, but the end result is still enviable, and I think that happens to some people all the time.
That's what these characters are: extremely beautiful, fortunate people with quirks and traits, like all humans, that endear us to them, that go through some tough shit, like all humans, and ultimately come out on top, relatively unscathed (not like all humans). It's just what I, personally, wanted to read at this point (read: what I want and what I need hardly ever coincide, so I'm aware these books probably play right into some issue or insecurity I have, but I simply do not care). The sibling relationships, both old and new (yes, new), the friendships, and the absolute devotion these people have for each other are like... interpersonal relationship porn? Idk... there's probably a term for it (in the vain of wealth porn, which this also is).
Anyway, that epilogue was everything I could've asked for. Sweeter than molasses, and tied up with a bow. The fact that we get a whole full-length epilogue novel to continue showing us these imperfect people with pretty perfect lives and, more importantly, how they interact with each other? Take my money.