Hothouse Flower: Calloway Sisters, Book 2

By: Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

Narrated by: Stephen Dexter, Jessica Almasy

Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ryke Meadows, meet Daisy Calloway... she's all grown up.

Twenty-five-year-old Ryke Meadows knows he's hard to love. With a billion-dollar inheritance, a track-star resume, and an alpha-male personality - he redefines the term likable asshole. But he's not living to make friends. Or enemies. He just wants to free climb three of the toughest mountains in Yosemite without drama or interruption.

And then he receives a distressed call from a girl in Paris - a girl that he has never been allowed to have.

Daisy Calloway is 18. Finally. With her newfound independence, she can say goodbye to her overbearing mother and continue her modeling career. Next stop, Paris. Fashion Week begins with a bang, and Daisy uncovers the ugly reality of the industry. She wants to prove to her family that she can live on her own, but when everything spirals out of control, she turns to Ryke to keep her secrets.

As Daisy struggles to make sense of this new world and her freedom, she pushes the limits and fearlessly rides the edge. Ryke knows there's deep hurt beneath every impulsive action. He must keep up with Daisy, and if he lets her go, her favorite motto - "live as if you'll die today" - may just come true.

For the most fulfilling listening experience, the Calloway Sisters series should be listened to along with the Addicted series.

Listening order as recommended by the authors:

Addicted to You
Ricochet
Addicted for Now
Kiss the Sky
Hothouse Flower
Thrive
Addicted After All
Fuel the Fire
Long Way Down
Some Kind of Perfect

©2014 K.B. Ritchie (P)2014 Audible Inc.

So intense, So Sexy, So oh Ryke!

If you could sum up Hothouse Flower: Calloway Sisters, Book 2 in three words, what would they be?

Intense, Emotional, Beautiful

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hothouse Flower: Calloway Sisters, Book 2?

I can’t give everything away, but I think the most memorable moment in the story is the changing point within Daisy’s character. There’s a part where I completely felt for Daisy. While I was listening, I just felt like all those emotions, excitements and nervousness just burst out. It was so dynamic, but also touching.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Dexter and Jessica Almasy ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first audio narration by Stephen Dexter and it will not be the last! I tried looking at other books he has narrated and this is the only romance audio I could find. Stephen’s voice isn’t deep, but it’s very youthful. He speaks clearly and his voice is very sexy. I’m a major fan.

This is my first audio narration by Jessica Almasy. She does great voice transitions, when she changes her voice to other characters. Her voice is very unique. If I listened to another book with her narration, I would know it’s hers. She has a slightly high-pitched voice and it applied to Daisy’s character really well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I most definitely had a strong reaction towards this book. It’s very emotional and there are some heart-filled moments. You will be thoroughly entertained. I’ve read every single book in this series, the spin-off series and it just amazes me how wonderful each book is. The authors are super talented and Hothouse Flower never disappointed me.

Any additional comments?

Full Book review:

4.5 (Ryke and that Mouth) STARS

“You’re a hothouse flower… You can’t grow under natural conditions. You need adventure. And security and love in order to stay alive.”

I LOVE RYKE AND DAISY SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hothouse flower is the second book in the Calloway Sisters series. This is a spin-off from the Addicted series. I highly recommend you read the Addicted series, books one and two prior to reading Hothouse flower.

Daisy is all grown up! Daisy is eighteen and Ryke is twenty-five. There’s a slight age gap, but now that Daisy is legal, the gap doesn’t seem that big.

I’m a major fan of this series and Ryke has always been one of my top favorite characters, I think it’s because he’s so sexy and swears like a sailor. Ever since Daisy was attacked in the previous books, she has been kind of scared. She has night terrors and is really paranoid. It doesn’t help that the paparazzi are everywhere. Daisy doesn’t want to be a burden to her sisters so Daisy sticks to herself, except for Ryke.

Ryke is the only one that knows Daisy’s secrets. He is also there for her, every day.
I love the Daisy and Ryke dynamics. The relationship is so intense. No, Ryke is just so intense. I would describe the tone of the book as “serious”. A lot of issues are going to come to light and even though both don’t want to do it, the issues will be addressed.

Ryke cares for Daisy deeply. He has noticed her since she was fourteen and even though she’s legal now, he can’t cross the line he created years ago. Also, Lo doesn’t want Ryke to date Daisy because Ryke’s of reputation.

Two words to describe Hothouse Flower is - > SEXUAL TENSION!

Ryke is so sexy. He’s a sexy mountain climber with a BUNCH of Daddy issues. He adventurous, sexy and has a crazy dirty mouth. As much as he doesn’t want Daisy, he can’t help but be there for her. Daisy and Ryke’s chemistry is off the charts!

“To me, he’s worth every loud moment, every peaceful silence, the crazy and the sad, the restless and the quiet.”

“He’s like my wolf—dangerous, alluring and protective—but I can never get close enough or else he’ll bite me.”

I love how much Ryke cares for Daisy. It’s the can’t-eat-can’t-sleep type of love. It’s just melts your heart and makes you gasp for air. Ryke has a lot of problems, but despite all of that, he puts Daisy number one in his life. I loved reading his inner monologues. You can feel his struggles, his pain and how he tries very hard to do the right thing. He just wants everyone to get along.

I kind of like the whole damsel in distress story line. Daisy is so scared to sleep that Ryke sleeps with her. There is no funny business but no one in the family knows. It works out fine until Daisy goes to Paris for fashion week and Ryke goes mountain climbing.

I feel like I got to know Daisy so much more. I connected with her character and I understood her. I felt her fears and paranoia and it just breaks your heart. Nothing was better than reading Ryke being there for her.

The one thing I love about this series is how each character stands out on it’s own. I know who I am reading within the first sentence. I love the unique personalities, the complex problems and inner struggles each characters faces.

“Beginnings are the hardest because they’re the parts that pull people in, that make them want the ends. And endings are the most painful, the parts that can leave you bleeding out.”
I.love.every.single.thing.

There’s plenty of interaction with the rest of the gang, Connor, Rose, Lily and Lo, so that worked out perfectly for me! There’s a lot of adventure though with bike rides, road trips and camp sites, oh my!

Like I said previously, a lot of issues will surface, Ryke will have to deal with his father, Daisy will have to come to terms with her fears and both will have to work on pleasing everyone, including themselves.

It’s a beautiful story.

An Audio copy was kindly provided.

4 people found this helpful

Astonishing!

I truly truly enjoyed this audiobook, Hothouse Flower is my favorite book from the series and now to have it on audio and at my disposal to listen to any time I want is amazing. I fell in love with Ryke and Daisy ' s story a long time ago and now I have fallen in love with their voices! The narrative is superb both narrators did an outstanding job in capturing Ryke and Daisy, the way they tell the story is compelling and the way they narrate the scenes full of love and desire are perfect, also the scenes where the characters break down . . . wow! amazing job!

3 people found this helpful

5 Raisy Stars!!!

5 F@cking STARS!!!!!!!

I love this series. Beyond words. I've become so attached to these characters and all they've been through. It's finally Daisy and Ryke's turn. Hells yea. This book couldn't come out fast enough!!!!

Krista & Becca give us alternating POV - this is my favorite style to read. I love being in both of their heads.

Ryke starts off with a warning:

"If you're easily offended by crude language and inappropriate talks, you've taken a wrong fucking turn somewhere......
I'm raw.
I'm hard.
I'm the thing you shy away from.
So I'm warning you now. Back away.
Because once you enter my life, I won't ever let you leave. "

Ok, Ryke, how do I sign up for more????? I love this character. He comes across as an arrogant asshole. And he is. But he's so much more. He's hot. He's athletic. He speaks at least 2 foreign languages fluently. But he's also caring, protective and so effing sexy! And he cares a lot about Daisy.

Daisy has a wild, carefree spirit. But she, too, is more than meets the eye. She's beautiful and she models. But she is scared and tormented. And no one knows this side of her...except for Ryke. He's been there for her when she needed someone. He makes her feel...safe.

"What are you doing?" he asks roughly. His hands return to my head, making me realize that I'm smaller tan him. It's hard finding guys taller than me, which is why I've gravitated towards models in the past.

"Sleeping," I say with a smile.

"When did I become your f@cking pillow?" he asks lightly.

"Shhh," I whisper, "it's safe here."

And Ryke is drawn to Daisy. He's drawn to her light.

Despite them being drawn to each other, and pretty much a perfect match in every way, everyone has a problem with them being together. They face so many obstacles: age, family, media attention. But seriously, I wanted to reach into the book and smack them and say, "come on, D@MMIT!!! You guys belong together!!!" Gaaahhhh! So frustrating.

When Daisy needs him the most, Ryke is there for her. And pretty soon, they just can't fight it any more.

Suffice it to say, I LOVE Ryke and Daisy as a couple. But, I ALSO love catching up with all the other characters. The guys' banter is hilarous.

"F@ck you," I tell him easiy.

He grins. "You love me."

"You say that to everyone," I tell him. "And I highly f@cking doubt the entire world loves you, Cobalt."

"The entire world doesn't have to love me," he says, picking up his water again. "Only the ones that matter."

"That's cute. Did you write that in your diary this morning?"

"No, I read it from yours," he banters.

The other thing about Daisy that needed to be resolved is her lack of being able to .....find an O. I knew that Ryke was going to rectify this situation. Their chemistry is off the hooks. Add that to the fact that they've wanted each other for years but they haven't been able to do anything just makes it all the more explosive.

"I don't understand how I can go from never having an orgasm to that," I whisper. He must be a god. A sex god. And he's been sent to me from the heavens.

Ooooohhh yes. Ryke finds Daisy's O. Many, many times. And I almost found mine just reading about it - hot, hot, HOT!!!!!

I love Ryke's use of the word F@CK. Every time I hear that word, I think of him.

There are so many twists and turns in this book. And I was completely sucked in from the start. I remain addicted to this series and can't say enough good things about it.

You have to READ THIS BOOK!!!!! It's a stand alone, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you start here. You have to start at the beginning.

The narration is AWESOME - they really bring the characters to life!! Highly recommend all of the audiobooks in this series!!!

2 people found this helpful

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SERIES

I love this whole series. Please start from book 1 in the Addicted Series. You can’t help but to love the whole gang: Lo and Lily, Connor and Rose and of course Ryke and Daisy. They all have not just a special friendship but they became each other family. Ryke and Daisy are perfect together. They are both daredevils and so hot.

1 person found this helpful

- 4.25 stars -

For this book, I kind of feel like I don't have as much to say about it compared to the previous books. I don't know if it's because it took me a couple tries to read and listen to it due to skimming, life/school, and falling asleep during the audio book (as I ended up having to listen to it pretty late). But because of that it also took me a while to finish it.


*Spoilers*

From my first impression and even after a couple listens starting from the very beginning of the book, I was honestly shocked, saddened, and surprised by how deeply Ryke hated Lo when he was younger and before he met Lo at the Halloween party. He has mentioned hating Lo before and regretting it, but being in his head during that first chapter and throughout the book was a completely different experience than what I was expecting. It is one thing to say "I hated you for years" but it is another thing entirely to experience it through that person's point of view. I think I also understand a lot better now why Ryke had such a deep hatred for his father as it wasn't just about Lo and his abusive behavior, it was the fact that he felt pushed aside, unloved, and used by his father. I am glad towards the end Ryke is getting to a better place with both of his parents, even if he will probably never see eye to eye with either of them. I also didn't truly understand until this final re-read (probably because I skimmed through some of this book) that Ryke was actually acting like his mother, even if it was unintentional and hurt Lo and other people in the process by his behavior towards his father.
I will admit that Lo kind of rubbed me the wrong way with some of his comments as he was rather hypocritical and hurtful in multiple parts throughout this book. I thought he took things a bit too far during certain moments with his comments, even though I know for a fact that he doesn't mean or want to hurt people with the things he says. During the Paris bar scene when Connor called Ryke about Lo and Ryke got mad at him for not stopping Lo, I honestly could understand where Connor was coming from. Connor even mentions this or a very similar topic in book 1 of the Callaway Sisters series about how Lo needs someone in his corner or about if you keep repeating the same thing over and over, it will do the opposite of what they want for Lo. It will push him into a corner and make him think he has no one to trust, make him question who is on his side, and would have probably made things worse with everyone saying the same thing. I can just imagine Lo getting seriously mad and hurt by Connor if he had reprimanded him for drinking and probably would have yelled and drank even more. It also wouldn't have had the same effect or meaning on Lo if Connor had reprimanded him instead of Ryke as Connor stated. They have different levels of a relationship with Lo and Ryke has more experience with this than Connor does. Connor probably also felt like it wasn't his place to say or do something (directly) even if he had wanted to, which from Kiss The Sky, he cares a lot for Lo and hates the possibility of Lo relapsing. I would think if Ryke had been unable to get there in time, I'm thinking Connor would have stepped in or dragged Lo away if it looked like it was going down hill really quickly, to the point he would be hospitalized. But then again I can't help thinking about how he hasn't really physically stepped in and stopped Lo when it involves his drinking problem since he usually leaves it to Ryke, so I'm not exactly sure what he would do.
The argument between Lo and Ryke was something I wasn't exactly expecting. I keep thinking they get along better than they actually are, but it's not until the end that they truly are on better terms with each other. There were a lot of emotions flying around during that scene, and I'm glad because of it, they are on better terms with each other. It was interesting that because Ryke tried to protect Lo (and in extension himself and Daisy) by keeping things to himself, lying, and replying with half truths, it ended up hurting Lo in the process and creating a wedge between them. All Lo really wanted was the truth. To know that his brother loved him more than his grudge against their father. To understand what his intentions were with Daisy and that he wouldn't hurt Daisy in the process with leading her on a non-serious relationship like he's done in the past with other women. And he was hurt and frustrated by Ryke not opening up to him and telling him the truth.
I did find a few parts of the book funny that had me laughing and smiling. I will also admit that I wasn't expecting so many sex scenes and with how vocal it was compared to the previous books. They were a little hard for me to get through. Same goes with some of the sex scenes in the previous books with having a hard time getting through them, so it's not just this book. I think I'm still not entirely used to reading and listening to M/F type relationship stories. I'm not exactly sure.
Besides that, I am very happy for Ryke and Daisy finally getting together. I think I was also a bit surprised by just how much Ryke actually swears.


*Narration*
I thought the narrators suited both of the characters, especially Daisy's narrator. I thought they did a good job with expressing the characters. I did notice one or two words weren't pronounced correctly or was skipped over, but I didn't mind a whole lot.


Overall, it was a good book with a lot of emotional and meaningful moments. I truly feel bad that Daisy and Ryke went through so much pain and hardship, but I think they are heading in the right direction now, and I am so happy that they were able to meet because they changed each other's life for the better.

Surprisingly, the age gap didn't bother me.

I think I laughed more listening to this book than the others. But I guess that's to be expected, considering most of the previous books dealt with Lily and Lo's addictions, other than Rose and Connor's. There were a few laughs with those 2, but otherwise they are so serious and stoic! But that in and of itself was entertaining as well!
Don't get me wrong, there were some serious subjects dealt with in this book as well, but overall I felt it was a much "lighter/light-hearted" book.
I'm guessing because I was already familiar with Daisy and Ryke from the Like Us series, the age gap didn't bother me so much. Generally I would have had major issues with an 18yo and a 25yo, especially considering Ryke's known Daisy since she was 15. But I think the way K&B handled their friendship from the beginning made it easier for me to accept them as a couple once Daisy hit 18.
I loved how Ryke was always there for Daisy, as a friend right from the beginning. I liked how free-spirited Daisy was, and felt sad for her when it came to how stifled she was by her mother. I'm glad she finally took a stand, although I know it must have been hard. But after what her mother did to Ryke I'd have written that woman off in a heartbeat.
I'm so glad we get to see a lot of the other couples in these books, not just the main characters. I liked seeing them all grow as a family and work out their differences. I was so happy to see Ryke and Lo reach a point where they finally bonded as brothers.
I may have teared up when LiLo found out they were pregnant- baby Maximoff!

Stephen Dexter's voice is just so soothing to me! I really enjoy listening to him and thought he was great as Ryke! I'm only giving 3* for the narration though, because of the female narrator. While I thought she did a good job with everyone else's voices, there was just something about the way she narrated Daisy that didn't work for me. Which is sad, considering Daisy's the main female character. A lot of the time it sounded like she was speaking with a lisp, and I don't know if it was because she was trying to sound young, but, and I feel bad saying this, it just kind of irritated me. It wasn't bad enough that I couldn't get through the book, but it's just something that really stood out to me. It might not bother anyone else, and it appears from other reviews it really didn't, so take this with a grain of salt!

Favorite of the series!

I love Jessica’s reading much more than Erin from the other books. She reads Daisy’s character so well. Favorite part: of he had more time he would go beneath my shorts ... when she says “I think he woulddddd” loved her inflection haha. Great listen!

Epic

Conquering fears is brings the best and worst feelings. Turmoil doesn’t just exist in the world, it exists in our mind. The struggle within is where it begins and it’s the toughest part of all.

Hot!!!

So hot!!! Loved it !!!!!! So very hot!!love the series!!!
So hot good !! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did

The Ritchie’s best book

I have obsessively read/listened to all of Krista and Becca’s books this year and this is their best book by far. Ryke and Daisy are not my favorite of their 5 couples (so far) they rank second for me, but this book is perfection.

It balances perfectly the main couple falling in love with the whole group dynamics. You know exactly why Daisy and Ryke are together. You can feel their place within the group and everyone’s reactions are spot on without being over the top. I love the authors but sometimes they can get a little wordy with their grandiose paragraphs after paragraphs of saying the same things over and over again (ie Tangled like Us... I get it. He wants to protect her) and this book doesn’t do that. Ryke and Daisy feel so damn real and I’m not clamoring for an editor.

Stephen Dexter is so raw and real he forever will be Ryke Meadows to me. Whenever I hear him narrate something else I’m like.... Ryke? Takes me 5-10 min to get over it. And Jessica Almasy is perfection at showing Daisy’s vulnerable sides.

This book also has my favorite group scenes. Lo’s birthday is quite possibly my favorite scene they have ever done. It is funny and so emotional at the same time. That follows up Ryke and Lo’s fight that still makes me cry every time. This book is perfection.

becoming more adicted

as I listen more and more to these guys, I am wanting to hear more and more!