Long Way Down (Calloway Sisters Book 4)

I got into this series when the store was offering was offering the first book for free. From there, I just kept going. Before I write this review I was to say that I absolutely loved the other books, I would rate them a 4 or a 5. Now on to this review.

I really struggled reading this book. I mean to the point that I was just going to stop reading it altogether multiple times along the way. But I told myself that I needed to finish the series, because I like finishing what I begin. I love Ryke. Something about his brooding character, need to push himself, and his love for his family made him a really appealing and interesting character. But Daisy? Sigh... honestly, she was the most awful of all of them. To say she is immature is an understatement. She reads as someone who didn't mentally develop as fast as she should've. Now there would be nothing wrong with that if she hadn't been paired with Ryke, which made him seem extremely creepy...to a disturbing degree. All she seemed to do was smile broadly, talk about her "theories", say the most random of things, and want to have sex with Ryke. That's all. I felt she was lacking in depth. This made for a very slow and uninteresting book. The good thing is that when the other characters came into the scene, it became a lot more bearable. All in all, this was my absolute least favorite book in the series, but the rest of the books were a joy to read.

Ryke and Daisy! They are perfect! The story is perfect! Ryke and Daisy have struggles but together they are so strong.
I love every book in this series. The story is very well written. The characters are strong. The authors are so gifted! This is another 5 star book! I strongly recommend every book in this series! Rrr

Ryke and Daisy! They are perfect! The story is perfect! Ryke and Daisy have struggles but together they are so strong.
I love every book in this series. The story is very well written. The characters are strong. The authors are so gifted! This is another 5 star book! I strongly recommend every book in this series! Rrr

I have enjoyed this entire series, having first discovered Addicted to You only a few weeks after it came out. It's been a long journey with this crazy family and unfortunately, the ending fell flat. It was somewhat due to Daisy being my least favorite character. She definitely had the least character growth of the main six. She needed to get over being scared of her own shadow and everything in her past to a greater degree than she did. Centering the book around fertility was a bit boring as well. I like that as part of the plot line, but there needed to be more to it than flour bombs (unrealistic and left unresolved) and old high school relationships (also unresolved). Lily and Lo and Connor and Rose are more complex relationships and their stories reflected that. Although I love Rike, being paired with Daisy dulled him down and his main job was asking her how she felt and climbing rocks and it became tiresome.

I'm not sure if I will continue reading about all of the offspring. I'm hesitant to read stories taking place in 2030 and beyond. I like the reality of present time and there's no way the Ritchies will accurately portray the future regarding technology and world events. Speculative future isn't an appealing genre to me.

However, I do want to congratulate them on a series that overall has been interesting, funny, touching and well written. Thanks for the hours of entertainment!

4 Power Rush Stars

I’ve read every single Krista and Becca Ritchie book. I’ve re-read a lot of them via audio. There’s something about the Addicted and the Calloway Sisters series that just gives you such a crazy experience. I feel very connected to the characters. I love how all of the characters are unique and each couple has a unique love story.

Long Way down is Ryke and Daisy’s story.

I will admit, out of all of the characters, Ryke and Daisy are probably the couple I relate least to. I’m not silly, I’m not adventurous and I’m the least physical person out there, however what I love about Ryke and Daisy is their love for each other.

And Long Way Down is an epic love story.

Daisy is battling with how non-fertile she is and Ryke is her rock to help her through this. I, myself have battle through some fertility issues and you can’t help, but FEEL for the girl. That’s the thing with Krista and Becca Ritchie, they know how to write a book with feelings, emotions and they know how to get you to cry.

I did the audio version of this book because I wanted to feel all of these emotions and yes, I did, by ten-fold. Of course you still have the gang and I LOVE having all the sisters in the book. I love reading about the husbands, the kids and all the dynamics each couple is going through.

The major plot issue in the book, besides Daisy and her personal issues is the public opinion of the sisters. Not everyone is happy with them and they run into some sticky situations. This creates crazy drama and again it’s hard to read, but you feel for them.

I love Ryke’s non-filter mouth, but being the rock for Daisy isn’t an easy job. He’s outlet is rock climbing, but the more he climbs the more negative comments he gets from his brother in laws. Not everyone agrees with Ryke’s life style (including myself, but I’m not really fun).

I’m really glad the authors were able to get the original narrators for Long Way Down. I couldn’t imagine any other voice than Jessica Almasy and Stephen Dexter. I’ll admit that I have a voice crush on Stephen, I just love it! Both narrators are so good. They convey emotions really well and voice transition into the other characters flawlessly. I’m a major fan.

Long Way Down was a heart-wrenching read, but also heart-warming and beautiful. The soul reason why I read is because I love romance and the authors delivered. I simply love this series and I can’t wait to dive into Some Kind of Perfect.

Reading this book took a lot longer than I expected. And it has nothing to do with the quality because good heavens, Krista & Becca Ritchie sure know how to pull on my heartstrings! It has more to do with the fact that it was just so heart-wrenching that I had to take a breather after almost every single chapter! I just could not believe how much Ryke and Daisy were suffering and it seemed like one bad thing after another just kept piling up on top of them. For every good day or good moment, they were given a moment twice as bad and my heart just ached so much for the both of them. It sucks for me because I'm going through a very tough and emotional time in my personal life as I'm reading this book, so I was literally crying after every other chapter. I almost couldn't bear seeing Ryke or Daisy go through any more crap and the whole time I kept wondering if it would ever end! I wanted so badly to just reach out and hold them both and tell them that everything will be alright! I kept hoping against all odds that they would finally get their happily ever after.

I've loved Daisy and Ryke from the beginning but this book made me love Daisy even more. Her strength, perseverance, and selfless attitude is truly amazing even in the face of adversity!! She gives hope even when it feels like all hope is lost and I think Daisy's mom, Samantha, truly nailed it in her "public apology" (one of my favorite parts and absolute highlights in this book) about why Daisy and Ryke just fit together. They are made for each other. I don't believe anyone else can understand Ryke more than Daisy and vice versa.

And I just love, love, LOVE how Daisy keeps on going! After finding out how traumatized she was in Hothouse Flower and how it affected her everyday life, I can't help but feel angry that she never seems to catch a break. She's been treated like an object instead of a person since she was 14 years old, the people she considered her best friends betrayed her, the actions of complete strangers towards her completely screwed up her sense of security, and her whole life she's always felt left out because of the age gap between her and her older sisters. She was completely and utterly alone until she met Ryke! Then we're hit with more bad news towards the end of Fuel the Fire, and midway through Long Way Down I seriously wanted to just scream out loud!!! For Daisy. For Ryke. For everything that just keeps going wrong, I wanted to make right. Without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn't read the story, I can say that I am completely satisfied with how the book ended. My heart still hurts, but I'm left happy and excited, and definitely looking forward to the epilogue book, Some Kind of Perfect, and the Like Us series. And holy crap the epilogue in Long Way Down! WOW.

With Long Way Down being the last (er, next to the last) book in the Addicted series, it feels like it's marking the end of an era. I've been following this series ever since before Addicted for Now was released and the core six characters feel like my lifelong friends. Now, we also have Willow and Garrison added to the mix and I can't wait to read more about them in Krista & Becca's web series, Whatever It Takes!

I love that Krista & Becca tackled the issue of addiction with Lily and Lo's story, then gender equality and media bias (among lots of other issues) with Rose and Connor, and now depression and PTSD with Ryke and Daisy. Krista & Becca Ritchie will forever be my heroes for being true to themselves, being down to earth and such a pleasure to talk to, and for always, always writing what's in their heart. They will remain my #1 favorites and I will read anything and everything they write!

5+ "#RaisyIsAlive" stars

This entire series is the BEST series i've ever read. I've never connected with any characters as much as i have with the addicted gang. Never have i ever read 9 books about the same characters and STILL wanted more! This group will stay in my hearts forever. I never want it to end. Rake and Daisy have had one of the toughest roads to follow throughout the series. I laughed, I cried and i laughed again throughout this entire book. I constantly had the biggest Daisy grin on my face throughout everything. I've savored every moment of the book. Of this entire series. So many ups and downs. SOOOOOO much character growth. To see how far everyone has come in this book has put the biggest smile on my face and brings a tear to my eyes. And the epilogue was the BEST! I honestly can't even express in words how much this book, this entire series has touched me. I'll just say that this series will hold a place in my heart forever. I can't wait for Some kind of Perfect and then Damaged Like Us. I NEED more of my favorite characters ever and their kids. As always #LiLoForever #RCCThisIsLove #RaisyIsAlive <3

I have to admit that I procrastinated on reading this book for a few weeks because I wasn't reading for the series to come to end. Even though I knew an extended epilogue book was coming, it still felt incredibly bittersweet to say goodbye to Daisy, Ryke, and the rest of the Addicted crew. Simply put, Krista and Becca Ritchie knocked it out the park with Long Way Down. Just when I though I couldn't love Daisy and Ryke more, they proved me wrong. This book was the whole package. There were moments of intense emotion and vulnerability, plenty of sexiness, and of course the fantastic humor and entertaining dynamics between all three couples. And that epilogue? Perfection! I am impressed with the way the twins have kept the quality of their writing strong throughout this series. It will forever stay in my heart and on my bookshelves as a top favorite.

As like the books before in this series, the flow is kinda of episodic, taking us through the drama these famous, filthy rich, fabulous friends and siblings face over the course of a few years. Being the last(ish) book it had a bitter sweet feel and I genuinely didnt know where it was going to go. I ended up having to skim sections,white knuckling my kindle fearing what was next! Fitting to Ryke and Daisy it was a 150mph no breaks kind of story.

Krista and Becca outdid themselves with this fiting conclusion to an ambitious and incredible series.

This book will be followed up by an epilogue book [Some Kind of Perfect] for all 6 characters from the series and a fresh new series following their children reaching adulthood [Damaged Like Us]. I was a bit dubious about the epilogue book in particular, would there be anything left to say after so many full length novels? But the epilogue of LWD has me deseperate to ehar more about these characters I've spent so much time with. BRING IT On!

Now that I have finished Long Way Down, subsequently completing the Addicted and Calloway Sisters series, I can confidently say one thing: Coballoway was a third wheel ship. It felt like they were just tagging along in the LiLo & Raisy show, more often than not. Like the person that gets picked last to be on a team in middle school P.E., or the friend that has to walk behind others when the sidewalk doesn’t fit a group of three.

I have to agree with a couple other reviews on here. I thought, and wished, we’d see more Coballoway in this book. LiLo had 5 books (which is great because they’re the ones that started it all and I love them so dearly), and with the spinoff series, Coballoway got 2 books and Raisy got 2 books. Sounds even, right? Well, not really.

With Kiss the Sky, despite Rose and Connor being the narrators, the storyline was more focused on the family as a whole because of the reality TV show. Then with Fuel the Fire, the plot of faking headlines was to protect LiLo’s child - but Daisy also held a significant part of Rose & Connor’s story because of her PTSD, fertility condition and Scott issues (yes, all in Fuel the Fire). Raisy also had the longest accumulated page time. KTS was the shortest book in the Calloway Sisters series, and FTF was barely longer than HF. Raisy wins by a long shot in terms in length. So in actuality, the Calloway Sisters series is composed of 1 Addicted family book, 2 long Raisy books, and 1 Coballoway book with heavy LiLo and Raisy plot influences.

When I found out Long Way Down would be the longest book, I figured it was because Coballoway and LiLo would get good page time, like Raisy did in FTF, so I was pretty excited. However, I was incredibly disappointed to find out that wasn’t the case. Long Way Down was a Raisy book in the purest form, and I mean plot wise; something I wished for Coballoway in Fuel the Fire and Kiss the Sky. Despite stealing so much show time in FTF, there weren’t many Coballoway scenes in LWD. Thus I came to the conclusion: if you step back and look at both series in its entirety, it’s apparent that Rose and Connor were the third wheel couple. A part of me wishes they had more book time, but you can’t make authors care more about characters that aren’t their bias. Krista’s favorite is LiLo and Becca’s favorite is Raisy, so it made sense that Coballoway got the least attention in the series. Not to mention how difficult it must’ve been to write in Connor’s perspective. I’m predicting that Connor and Rose will also get the smallest part in Some Kind of Perfect.

Overall, Long Way Down wasn’t what I expected, and I’d probably pass on this book if I knew beforehand there wasn’t much LiLo and Coballoway. LWD was way too long and slow paced for just Raisy. I ended up skimming many parts because I simply lost interest. The writing was good as usual, though a step down from the previous book, understandably. There were some really memorable lines and favorite part was the epilogue featuring all the kids.

Characters (Daisy and Ryke) 2/5
Plot 2/5
Writing 4/5
Overall 2.5/5