4.25 ⭐️ I read this book in February, and I still think about the confessional booth scene. 😏🤭

While Lights Out was funnier and lighter, Caught Up was much more emotional and had more depth because of the second chance romance. Now, the spicy scenes... Prepare yourself, because wow! I WAS EATING IT UP!

I already can't wait to re-read this on audio!

- dark romance
- "i remember everything about you"
- mmc has mafia ties
- fmc has an "onlyfans"
- possessive mmc
- second chance
- stalker romance

I went into Caught Up hoping for the same chaotic, sharp-edged fun that made Lights Out such a blast—parodying dark romance tropes, delivering snark, and giving us main characters who could hold their own. Instead, this felt like it took every single thing Lights Out made fun of… and played it straight.

Lauren and Nico (or Junior, depending on the POV) just didn’t have the spark. The “second chance” premise doesn’t land when their first go-round was barely a two-week fling over a decade ago. Why has he been obsessed with her for ten years? Flashbacks, shared history, something to make it believable would’ve gone a long way. Instead, we just get insta-rekindled lust and a whole lot of sex scenes—many of which felt wedged in for the sake of spice rather than story. The heat was there, sure, but without emotional weight it got repetitive fast.

The humor that carried Lights Out is mostly MIA here. The comedic relief comes entirely from side characters (Aly and Josh’s cameo was the highlight, which tells you something) while the leads stay painfully unfunny. Lauren is anti-violence in a dark romance, which makes her reactions to basic genre beats awkward at best (“Why are you mad he stopped a drunk creep from attacking someone?!”). Nico wants to go legit and open a shop, which is fine, but it strips away the tension of the mafia setup. Even the biker aesthetic teased in the premise? Barely there. My delusional biker fantasy remains un-pandered to.

The plot does technically exist—a mystery around Lauren’s attacker and Nico’s brothers—but it’s basic, predictable, and takes a backseat to the endless hookup scenes. The awkward slang, contradictions in character behavior, and the general absence of charm made this a slog. I kept waiting for the book to wink at me the way Lights Out did, but it never did.

One extra star solely for the side characters, because they at least reminded me why I liked this series in the first place. Otherwise, this was all revved up with nowhere to go.

When the book was announced and the MMC was junior I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, mainly because I wanted Tyler (and I’m so glad he’s going to get his moment!) but also because he had zero sex appeal to me in book 1, but booooy was I wrong and I am happy to apologize to Navessa for ever doubting her!!! This book had so much spice, it was delicious. It also was very sex positive and had amazing queer representation. And of course since I love Tyler I cannot wait for book 3

Junior is a sweet precious baby and I will hear NO CRITICISM of him. He has spent years trying to make up for his mistakes when it comes to Lauren and he finally believes he has the chance to be with her for real. Lauren is an absolutely badass Sex positive QUEEN and is also not here for Junior’s bullshit. She has been hurt and is not here to let this man hurt her again. I adored their dynamic and seeing Junior not only get out from under his father’s thumb, but also discover the things he wants thanks to Lauren’s guidance. I loved getting to see little snippets of Josh and Aly as well as all the new side characters like Lauren’s roommates. I loved how this was a slower burn than book 1 in some ways and the tension between Junior and Lauren was off the charts. I cannot wait to read Tyler’s book!

This was the kind of book that makes you forget about everything else. The characters feel real and their connection is so believable it hurts a little in the best way. The dialogue is sharp, the tension builds naturally, and the emotional moments hit hard without being overdone. I wasn’t ready for it to end and can’t wait for more in the series.

Thank you so much to Zando Publishing for this gifted eARC! 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

🖤Caught Up
🔥by Navessa Allen
🖤out NOW!

I loved Lights Out so much and could not wait to get my hands on Caught Up! I was so beyond excited when I was graciously sent the eARC for this one and I didn’t have to wait to read it hehe!

Navessa Allen is the queen of comedic dark romance and combining a great mix of elements into her stories! While this one is different than the first installment, it was still so entertaining! Junior and Lauren have an interesting history, think second chance romance but make it dark! (iykyk) 🤭 who doesn’t love a morally gray MMC?

Filled with drama, tension, fast paced action and all the SPICE, this book will have you deeply invested from the first page!!! I loved reading this one and can’t wait to pick up what Navessa releases yet!!

Are you looking for a super 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ read! I have the book for you. This book is fire and it had me spinning!

Yes, I went down to my garden just to get a few peppers so I could make this post and these peppers (banana peppers) aren’t nearly as spicy as this gem!

😘Thank you @zandoprojects and @slowburn.reads for this delicious book!

Refer to my IG post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DML98-aAtC-/?igsh=NWF6ZXJhbWdlMmg4

I enjoyed this one! I loved lights out so much and was excited to read caught up! I didn’t know what to expect going into it but I really enjoyed the story! This book was definitely more emotional than lights out which I think fit well for the characters and overall story. They both had past trauma and it was nice seeing them work through that together. There were definitely fun and spicy moments too which I loved! But I think overall the tone of this book was heavier than lights out and it worked well for the characters! Thank you so much Navessa, Zando, and Slowburn Reads for an ARC! ♥️

The narration was fantastic! Duet style narration from Teddy Hamilton, Kasi Hollowell, and Jason June. I always love Teddy’s narration and he was so perfect for Junior! Loved Kasi and Jason’s narration too!

What to expect in Caught Up:
🔪 Dark RomCom
♥️ Second Chance
🔪 Masked Stalker
♥️ He Falls First
🔪 Morally Grey MMC
♥️ Found Family
🔪 Touch Her and D!e
♥️ Cam Girl FMC
🔪 Obsessed & Possessive MMC
♥️ K!nk Friendly
🔪 Emotional
♥️ Groveling
🔪 Online to IRL
♥️ Play Club K!nk
🔪 Dual POV
♥️ Duet Narration
✨ Check content warnings if you have any triggers

Did I like it? Sure. I just didn't love it.

Lights Out was a top favorite of mine and I tried to manage my expectations for this book. I didn't want to compare it to the first one and allow it to stand on its own. Which it did. I liked the story. I liked the characters. But it was also missing that special sauce that book one seemed to bring. I can't quite put my finger on what it was exactly, but it just didn't pull me in like the first book.

I enjoyed Lauren. I always love a sex positive FMC and I loved her sass and the way she made Junior work to get back into her good graces. I liked Junior too, but it wasn't the intense obsession I had with Josh. Maybe I'm just a bit over the TikTok reference? We had masktok in book one and bikertok in this one. It's cute, sure, but also couldn't help feeling like the story just relied on that schtick too much. It worked for book one, but I suppose this one just felt like it needed more.

The humor was there and so was the steam, but again it just didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped.

I do love a good second chance romance so the dynamic between Lauren and Junior was fun. I almost wish we got to see them a bit more in the past rather than seeing that unfold off the pages.

If you're looking for a fun and steamy read, this one will fit the bill. And while I didn't love it, I did still enjoy it and can't wait for the next one.

Navessa brings the heat again with Caught Up!

Lauren is an absolute queen in every sense of the word. She’s fierce, independent, and completely in tune with who she is. Especially when it comes to her sexuality. Honestly, I aspire to her level of confidence and self-awareness! Despite her sharp wit and hilarious nature, Lauren is also deeply grounded. She’s Nico’s anchor through his struggles with the mob and his complicated relationship with his father. A woman who can keep her man steady deserves to be worshipped and let’s just say Nico definitely gets that memo (wink wink). However, Nico fell flat for me and didn’t give me the good ol’ ✨razzle dazzle✨ that Josh gave us. I understand they are two completely different characters, but Nico lacked emotional depth and that signature humor we all know and love.

I was, however, thrilled to see cameos from Josh and Aly! I miss them constantly, so catching up with them felt like a breath of fresh air and brought a ton of happy giggles too. The supporting characters in this story are nothing short of hilarious. Every single one (main or side) adds something special, and in my opinion overshadows Nico’s bland demeanor.

A HUGE thanks to Navessa, the amazing team at Zando/Slowburn, and the NG crew for giving me early access to Caught Up.

🅲🅰🆄🅶🅷🆃 🆄🅿

I gobbled and swallowed this one up 🔥 Let's get right to it.

Junior- “Instead of spending my birthday out on the town, like I'd planned, I spent it down at the dock creating more nightmares for myself.”

Lauren- “I have learned the hard way that if you give people second chances, they'll only use them to hurt you more.”

Junior about Lauren - “She found her footing and made something of herself, grown into someone who didn't take shit from anyone. Her attempting to knee me in the balls and then threatening to face-tase my brother proved that.”

📹 Cam girl 
✝️ Church sex
📹 Mob MMC
✝️ Sex club 
📹 Second chance romance 
✝️ Hidden identity 
📹 Stalker 
✝️ “Run" 
📹 Masked man 
✝️ Banter
📹 Wealth
✝️ Praise
📹 Voyeurism 
✝️ Exhibitionism
📹 Tortured MMC

“Run, Lauren. Make it good for both of us." 

🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

I never thought book two could be better than book one but OMG was I ever surprised!! This author continues to blow me away and ill eat up anything she puts out

This book was AMAZING! I thought there was so way to top the first one but I loved everything about it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Dark romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I really liked the first book but this one just didn’t live up to the hype for me compared to Lights Out.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Second chance romance
Mafia family drama
Sex positivity
Touch her and die
Found family
Kick clubs
Opposites attract
Morally grey MMC

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
How well they communicated
The photo booth and confessional scenes were fire
Lauren’s confidence
The roommates
Josh and Aly appearances

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The romance felt a little rushed after 10 years
Wasn’t as funny as Lights Out
Overall it was kind of boring- I wanted more tension

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ "She made me want to fight to keep living, to not let the monsters and the darkness win, because it was so much better being surrounded by her light."
★ "I don't want to clip your wings, Lo. I want to see you fly. "
★ He's ruthless; a walking red flag. Good thing red is my favorite color.”

I enjoyed this read! It was darker than lights out, and was missing the humor of Josh.
But it was a hot and spicy mafia romance!
Super enjoyable!

In early 2020 was when I first jumped from a pure fantasy/sci-fi reader to dark romance and into mafia. Since then, I seem to go through phases of wandering to it and coming back to my roots, but Navessa Allen ALWAYS brings me right back into it.

First, I just have to get it out, stop going into books hoping it's a copy/paste of book one. This book was fantastic on it's own. Second, Navessa Allen picks the BEST narrators where I will never in my life bad mouth audiobooks again.

'Caught Up' was hot, it was dangerous, and it had me enthralled. Navessa Allen has me in a chokehold with the obsession that these men have. Junior is walking, talking danger, but can communicate better than 98% of men I have ever interacted with, which should be illegal because how is a man supposed to be that unhinged AND that emotionally available? I can't be looking towards dangerous men like this. Lauren is iconic. She's the mature adult I always say I want to be when I grow up (even though I am an adult, obviously). The chemistry between these two is so electric it could power a small city, and their relationship progression feels both inevitable and completely earned.

This book delivers the perfect cocktail of angst, steam, and character development without drowning in unnecessary drama or miscommunication tropes that make you want to throw your Kindle. And, of course, Navessa Allen knew exactly what to do when she brought the spice and put new "ideas" into my head and on my list that have no right being there.

I said it with Lights Out and I'll say it again, if you have an audible credit or are looking for an audiobook, this. I read it with my eyes and then my ears and it just hits different in my ears.

This was such a good second chance romance. I loved seeing glimpses of Josh and Allie from the first book, Lights Out. Nico and Lauren had such undeniable chemistry. They met in high school– she loved him but he disappeared. He has been keeping track of Lauren for years but never made a move until now. I loved the mafia storyline. It added more drama in this book and really pulled me in. The angst was off the charts between these two!

I was super excited to read this after loving Lights Out. I had really high hopes for this one and I am sad to say it didn't hit the way that Lights Out did for me. I laughed hysterically in that one and absolutely loved the characters. I hate comparing a book to something else, but when you set those expectations you can be disappointed when they don't live up. I still enjoyed the book and loved parts of the book, but didn't feel like I was absolutely in shambles over this one.

Did not love this one like Lights Out. Felt like it was part of a whole different series.
I didn’t connect with the characters like I did In book one, I thought it would have more substance and I was also expecting to have a more light hearted vibe mixed with dark romance and I didn’t get that at all. Loved that Josh and Aly made an appearance but that was about it.

I couldn’t get enough of Junior & Lauren. Their “second chance” romance was fire and I loved the overall story line. The advocacy and de stigmatizing of SW was done incredibly well.

The audiobook was done incredibly well - I did a tandem read.

If you wanted the same story as Lights Out, this won’t be for you - but if you wanted a new story, set in the same world - you won’t be disappointed.