This was a fun one - the vibe is different to Lights Out but more what I anticipated from a dark romance. Lights Out left me craving a little more weight to the plot and this one delivered! Handling themes around sex workers is delicate and I appreciate the author for seeking their advice beforehand - and it truly shows. The pacing wobbled a little as the romance was dotted amongst the more serious mafia plot but was still entertaining enough to keep me going. Navessa is a talented author with some room for growth and I can't wait to see how the last book in the trilogy turns out ❤

After reading the first book in the series which I enjoyed a lot I had very high hopes for this book. Unfortunately they were not met. I was missing the lightheartedness and humor that distinguished the first book. This one was rather run-on not very fun and rather more a story advocating for sex workers rights. I would still recommend the book to our customers depending on what kind of dark romance they ask for and whether this book fulfills their descriptions.

Ok Lights Out would always be a tough act to follow and I like this but LO is still my favourite! I like how the world is expanding though and am intrigued what will come next… 👀

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Premise:
Junior (Aly’s cousin, and 2nd in command to his mobster father) has just made a man ‘disappear’. And his first course of action, is to reconnect with the man’s daughter, Lauren, his first love who he hasn’t seen in 10 years.

But Lauren hasn’t forgiven him for destroying her life all those years ago. But little does she know, Junior has been stalking her through her cam work, and his obsession is strong.

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Themes / Tropes: Trust issues ; Second Chance Romance ; Stalker ; Kink club ; Camgirl FMC ; Mobster MMC ; Voyeurism.

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Lights Out was a hands down 5 star read for me and whilst I like that this one went in a different direction, and didn’t just copy and paste, it didn’t have me obsessed in the same way. I really missed the humour in Lights Out (mainly Josh’s ridiculous mind), and whilst Junior and Lauren had some fun banter, it wasn’t the same.

But looking at separately to LO, what I liked:

📸 Lauren is a fab FMC! She’s very empowered when it comes to sex and her life! And I love that in a female character, especially in a mafia romance, as sometimes the characters can be weaker. If you liked Aly, I think you’ll like Lauren!

📸 The dynamic of the two! They are both fun and freaky from the outset, especially with their first experience in the voyeur room 👀 and I love that they both don’t kink shame and allow each other to explore what they want. Plus how supportive Junior is of Lauren’s career 🫶

📸 The wider world and characters! Firstly obvs Aly and Josh make cameos and it fills my heart 🥰🥰 I love seeing them post THAT epilogue in the last book! Also Josh has new friends and I feel so proud 🫶 But also I love the potential for new books! Firstly, I knew Tyler would have potential from book 1, and I love what we saw of him this book 👀 plus I’m intrigued if anything will come of Junior’s brothers. Alec was very entertaining and Stefan is a dark horse… let’s see how far this series goes!!

📸 The spice. There’s no ride the handle moments but the kink club does not disappoint! And given Lauren’s job it’s pretty hot from the outset! I would say it’s perhaps less plot driven than the first book, but still fun! My only disappointment was the lack of the utilisation of the bike for some fun…

But bring on book 3!!

A very anticipated sequel to Lights Out!

The spice was spicing and the story had humour and excitement. Maybe it was that Lights Out was something new and interesting and the hype that surrounded it just didn’t transfer to this book. I enjoyed it but it will never beat its predecessor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn't imagine the pressure to follow up after such a banger like Lights Out, but Navessa Allen absolutely slayed with Caught Up!

Nico and Lauren were kinda not really one-time childhood sweethearts, until Nico does her dirty, lies, and basically ruins her teenage life. They don't cross paths again until years later, when Lauren's dad dissapears, and Nico'sdark obsession can't be lived through a screen anymore.

Lauren is the epitomy of a confident, badass queen who knows who she is and what she wants. Nico on the otherhand gives off a bit of a slimey grunt vibe, despite Allen's attempts to position him as a saucy bad bo. It took me a while to warm up to him, but once I did the chemisty between the two was frothy!
For the lights out fans, we get to interact with our besties Ally & Josh again, and we meet a whole new found family to fall in love with, and despite all the darker elements, this story doesn't lack and vulneraility or deeper, heartfelt moments.

“He’s ruthless; a walking red flag. Good thing red is my favorite color.”

Comparing Caught Up to Lights Out I think is a bit of a disservice, introducing a new F&MMC is going to change the dynamic, the story and introduce a whole new chemisty, and I think Allen does a great job at recreating the same magic in a new story.

Side note: Personally, I felt a bit icky everytime we referred to Nico as Junior.

I read this as an e-arc, and I cannot wait to listen to this in audio 🔥🔥

#bookreview #arcreview #lightsout #caughtup #intodarkness #darkromance #romance #bookrecommendation #booklover

Holy moly! I LOVED this book!!!
Nic is everything!! He takes touch her and d*e to a new level and I’m here for it!
I didn’t think I would prefer this over lights out, but I really, really do!
It was SO good!!!
The supporting cast especially nonna bianchi is a hoot! I love Taylor and Ryan as well.

first off, screaming that I got the chance to read this before it was released. lights out was one of my all time favourites and caught up did NOT disappoint !!! sometimes when the MMC is infatuated from the start it annoys me, but Navessa just writes so beautifully and it added to the storyline nicely. the spice in this book is next level but I also just love Lo and Junior’s characters and personalities. a 10/10 dark romance book x

⭐️⭐️

After feeling like I wasn’t sure what my feelings were after Lights Out, I’m sure glad this book cleared them up for me. This series just isn’t for me unfortunately. The lightheartedness (if you can even call it that) from Lights Out wasn’t really here in this one, and at some points felt a bit too wordy? One thing I am certain of - the main fella has a motorbike and we are for sure made aware of this fact.

Mafia romance fans this might be for you, but alas not for me.

Thank you to Quercus books for the eARC of this book. I leave this review honestly and voluntarily

First of all, I want to start this off by thanking quercusbooks for approving me for the ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed the mob aspect in this book. It was so interesting to get a bit of background surrounding Junior and his ties to the mob, especially having a father like Nico Trocci.

Junior’s temper was unmatched, and I adored how he was so protective of Lauren, and tried to make life better for her, unbeknownst to her.

And LAUREN! What an absolute brilliant character. She was so confident, and fiery, and I loved her bite. Definitely a good match for Junior.

The spice wasn’t entirely for me, but that’s simply down to personal preference. So, if you like a VERY spicy read, perhaps involving some public stuff, then you might just love this!

Overall, a very good, quick read for me. Can’t wait for the next instalment!

I had such mixed feelings as I read this book but, ultimately, it ended on a high for me pushing the 3.5 to be a 4 rather than a 3. I am a SUCKER for a mafia romance so thie premise fit the bill for me. While there were some inconsistencies and confusions throughout (perhaps on my part as much as the authors) specifically in the sheer amount of characters that kept me on my toes (though I loved them all) The writing style was simplistic yet palatable and a quick read once I got into it (around halfway ish through). I enjoyed the presentation and advocacy of topics mentioned within the book, although they may have been hammered home a bit much. It was very much a case of liking the side characters more than the main characters a lot of the time but I really appreciated that they were so well written..like where are my bffs from my book now? Overall a fun read, not the best, not the worst but highly anticipated and fairly worth the hype!

I personally didn’t find it as funny as Lights Out, which actually suited the characters more in this book, but this book still made me chuckle and I really enjoyed it. It did take me a little while to get back into this world, mainly remembering who the characters were and how the two main characters, Nic aka “Junior” and Lauren, were connected with the first book, but once I was in, I loved it. It did a great job at mixing a little bit of comedy with dark romance and spicy scenes, without it feeling too forced.

There were a load of Easter eggs in this book about the storyline and characters from the first book, Lights Out, so I would recommend reading that one first, just to get a better understanding of the characters and what happened to them, making for a more enjoyable read. Although on saying that, you can read this one as a standalone, but you would miss those snippets.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is a relief as I was worried that this one wouldn’t hold up well in comparison, but I’m glad that I was wrong. I liked the two main characters in this book so much for different reasons, diving more into their backgrounds and getting to know them and their friends and family more. I liked how they merged the characters well from the previous book, while also making this its own book. I especially liked how the “stalker” element was used in this book, with the whole cam girl aspect.

The ending gave a massive clue as to which character the next book could be about, and even though I’m not a big fan of that character, which I don’t think we’re meant to be initially, I’m still excited for the possibility of a new book.

Let's get straight to it: was Caught Up as good a read as Lights Out? No. Nope, no siree, it was not. Don't try and compare them or you'll be disappointed. That said, it was still an enjoyable read.

Junior was absolutely delicious. A walking red-flag of over protectiveness that I adored.
Lauren was uninhibited and unapologetic and I loved that... But she was also bitchy, distrustful and a bit annoying. However, they worked and I liked them together.

The secondary characters - namely Lauren's roommates, Lauren's Nonna, and Junior's brothers - were fantastic and I loved Josh and Ali's appearances.
What I didn't like was that there wasn't a whole lot to the story beyond Junior stepping back into Lauren's life and making his move for a life outside the family biz.

So, all in all, it was good but it wasn't great. I liked it, I enjoyed it, but I'm unlikely to ever want to read it again or think about it... And I have exactly zero enthusiasm for book three. I couldn't give a rat's ass about Tyler. Now, Junior's brothers? Heck yes! But not Tyler.

Omg such a fun book!! A great follow up to lights out. Loved the spice and the relationship between Junior and Lo.

Wow I will never stop thinking about this

Dark romance written with humour. Nic is a walking red flag with the biggest heart. Navessa Allen is a genius managing to make me fall in love with this man through her humorous and heartfelt words. I love how sex positive this book was. I feel Lauren’s character was written sensitively and gave an insight into a world I know very little about. Lauren was strong in the best ways. The humour in this book works well to balance out the darkness. The tension was built well throughout the book both between Lauren and Nic and Nic and his dad. There was lots of spice in this book but I liked how much of it was driven from a deep love the characters have for one another.

Book two and boy did we get straight into it!

Caught up is dark, spicy and chaotic and I was immersed right from the beginning. It was so much more than just a dark romance. The emotional depth was a surprise, balanced out with humour and spice to keep pages turning.

Junior is caught in a cross roads, wanting to escape the mafia and do something more purposeful with his life. He has spent a decade obsessing over the girl that got away but does everything in his power to protect her whilst living in the shadows.
Lauren is a cam girl and not afraid to flaunt it. When discovering Juniors ploy she is willing to give him a second chance, but determined to stay true to herself and not change for anyone.

The spicy between the two hot. The scenes are intense and I loved how Lauren took the lead to open Juniors eyes to explore his hidden desires. He is so supportive of her connection to velvet club and is willing to sacrifice everything to make her see this.

“I don’t want to clip your wings Lo. I want to see you fly”

I enjoyed how much Ally and Josh were included within this book, continuing on from Lights out. Shout out to Nonna who was hands down my favourite character. She had me laughing throughout with her give no shits attitude.

A great second book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus books for the ARC.

I absolutely loved Light up, and whilst I enjoyed this one, it didn’t blew me away in the same way. I missed a deeper plot, I loved the mused stalker mystery of the first book and wished to have a bit more conflict in this one. I did really enjoy the characters and Allen’s writing style, the spice was spicing and I’m excited for the third book!

Summary

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

Spicy rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4.5/5

Am I surprised I loved this book? Not in the slightest 😅 I adored Lights Out so I was both nervous and quietly optimistic for this one. It was dark, dirty, funny, full of heart and as totally addictive like book 1. Full of all our dark romance favourites: Stalker, Mafia, Possessive MMC, hand necklaces and even spicy time in a confessional 🫠

All the characters felt really organic and well fleshed out and it was really interesting to read the sex worker POV and social undertones that come with it. In particular Lauren and her friends dynamic was so freaking heartwarming I couldn’t cope at times not to mention they were freaking hilarious.

We all know I love a possessive MMC but I also loved Junior’s character development and how everything he did was for Lauren but in the end to better his own life too my sweet stabby baby 🥹 and I am sucker for a book boyfriend who’s not afraid to grovel.

We do get a cute reunion with Ally and Josh which I loved as well as the budding bromance between Junior and Josh (I’m so here for it!) and I’m not ready for this series to end honestly. I just want to live in this dark rom com world forever please 🙏

It wasn’t quite as heavy on the comedy as lights out which is fine because it’s a different vibe but I did miss that a little. I think I would’ve really liked to have a bit more of the back story of Junior and Lauren when they were teenagers (not in a creepy sexy way) I just love reading about the build up to the first time characters fall in love with a second chance book. I feel like it makes it hit harder when they come back together but that’s just my personal preference and the book was still thoroughly enjoyable.

Funny. Hot. Spicy. But also sweet? Caring. And charming. I have looooved it. The kind of book who's dark but light enough to devour it so quickly.

Navessa Allen’s Caught Up is a second-chance romance that hits like a gut punch and soothes like a slow-burning fire. With razor-sharp dialogue, irresistible chemistry, and a deep emotional core, this novel is a standout in the genre—gritty, seductive, and unflinchingly real.

At its heart are Nico “Junior” Trocci and Lauren “Lo” Marchetti, two people who should have moved on from each other years ago but never really did. Junior is a textbook antihero—brooding, brutal, emotionally armored—but Allen never lets him fall into cliché. He’s complex, self-aware, and painfully human. And Lauren? She’s the perfect match: whip-smart, vulnerable without being naïve, and unwilling to let Junior (or anyone else) dictate her worth. Watching her step into her power while still navigating the messy terrain of old wounds is one of the most rewarding aspects of the book.

Their chemistry is magnetic—tension simmers in every glance, every near-miss, every sharp word. But Caught Up is more than just heat and angst. Allen writes with nuance about trauma, loyalty, family expectations, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive. Junior and Lauren’s relationship is a battlefield, but it’s also a place of reckoning, where both must choose whether love is worth the risk of exposure and vulnerability.

Allen’s writing is vivid and emotionally rich, effortlessly balancing grit with tenderness. The inner monologues are sharp and believable, the pacing never drags, and the supporting cast—especially the Marchetti family—is layered and memorable, adding both heart and weight to the story.

This isn’t a fluffy romance. Caught Up is messy and raw, exploring what it means to love someone who’s hurt you, and whether people truly change. But for readers who crave depth with their steam, and characters who bleed on the page, it delivers in every way.

Not sure what’s wrong with me, but I went into Caught Up expecting it to be a bit more unhinged than it actually was. That said, there were definitely parts I enjoyed.

I really loved the FMC. She was strong, knew exactly who she was, and had a brilliant sense of emotional intelligence. Nico was ok. He didn’t quite land for me but he wasn’t bad either.

It was an enjoyable read overall, I just found myself wanting a bit more from it. I really missed the banter that was such a highlight in Lights Out. That back and forth between the main characters made a big difference for me, and I was hoping for a bit of that spark here too.

I did appreciate that Caught Up wasn’t trying to be a replica of Lights Out. It had its own feel and direction, which I liked. Some of the side characters stood out and there were a few scenes that will definitely stick with me.

All in all, a solid three stars from me. Worth a read, but didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for.