I loved lights out, it was funny and spicy. A good mix. Lights out and Caught up are not what I would class as dark romance. More contemporary spicy romance.
Caught up just didn’t reach that level. I felt like the whole ‘I am what a I am and I’m proud’ was constantly mentioned and pushed. Like we get it, cool. The second half was definitely much better but overall felt rushed. 3.5 stars.

Omg this was such a fun (horny) time. I really enjoyed Lauren and Junior’s story and every single spicy scene (of which there are MANY) was phenomenal. I think my favourite scene was probably the confessional booth…hehe

Navessa gave us another hot as f*ck MMC with Junior! Dark haired, tattoos, morally grey and a BIKER. I really loved Lauren too and what her character represented for the sex work industry. We also get reunited with our loves Aly and Josh.

I loved how this book was a second chance in a couple of ways - a second chance at love for Lauren and Junior, but also Junior’s second chance at life and living a life that he wants for himself. I loved how these things intertwined and enjoyed every second of this.

Thank you to Quercus Books, Navessa Allen & NetGallery for the eARC.

3.5 ⭐️
The tropes, the trigger warnings and description got me really excited for this and I squealed when it landed in my inbox.

This was a fun read, I devoured it quickly and the characters were likeable. I loved that we met an unashamed FMC, bold and brazen who fought a bottle between head and heart over a conflicted, motorbike rising mob FMC.
The tension and yearning in the spicy scenes was perfect (the confession booth 🥵) and the play club was such a fun location and tied in well with the plot.

Having said that I had hoped for more of the feet kicking banter from Lights Out which this book didn’t have. And that’s okay, it was still enjoyable and a good read in its own right
I can definitely see Tyler & Stella’s story coming next!

4.25⭐️
Thank you to Quercus Books, NetGalley and Navessa Allen for this highly requested eARC of Caught Up. This is not an easy eARC to get your hands on and I am one of the lucky ones who got it!

Much like the majority of readers in 2024 I was swept up in the story of Lights Out and was obsessed with Josh & Aly’s story. The moment Caught Up was announced as a follow up sequel focused on Aly’s cousin Junior, I was so excited, it instantly went on my TBR.

The one thing I will say from the get go, is do not go in expecting this to be exactly like Lights Out. Because of how exciting, funny, exhilarating and just bonkers Lights Out was it was always going to be tough act to follow. I spent the first 20% a little annoyed because I was waiting for it to give me the humour that Lights Out did and be like Lights Out. Once I let go of that expectation and the story started to get it’s pace I sat back and started to really enjoy it. This is not Josh & Aly, this is about Junior & Lauren.

The MCs had previous history in this so we spend a good time of the story understanding their past and what led them to be where they are. We are introduced to a lot more side characters in this book who help elevate the story. Caught Up has a slightly darker tone and not as much humour as Lights Out.

If you thought Lights Up was spicy, brace yourselves because Caught Up said “Hey hold my beer”. There is one particular scene that I think will have people talking for a while. This was me…
🫢😮‍💨

I had a fun time reading this. I liked how different the spice/kink was in Caught Up. There was a whole underground world that was explored in this story and it made for an interesting read and what I think is going to set it apart from Lights Out. I still haven’t listened to the Lights Out audio so I think once this comes out I’ll do both of them after the other. 😂😂

1.5⭐️ I missed all the silliness of the first book and I’m thinking maybe the audiobook really made the first book?

There was no plot, like 3 things happened the entire book. I don’t understand why he chose now to come back into her life (the threats made 10 years ago could have still happened..). No stakes or urgency involved.

The characters were fine but so boring with nothing to do in the story. Lauren’s character development, was just ‘maybe I shouldn’t push people away’, when she had a VERY valid reason to do this! It felt so forced and practically none existent.

Just insta-lust, it was immediate. Straight away I knew more about how turned on Lauren was to both their actual characters. It was just paragraphs and paragraphs. And I like books with smut/spice, but this was SO much to the point it didn’t feel normal.
It felt the lust was there to detract was the fact they had no chemistry apart from that. One of their few actual conversations, ends in him shouting at her and saying something that she should have cut him out her life completely.

Maybe the audiobook will make it more enjoyable? But this just wasn’t for me at all which is such a shame because I really enjoyed the first book.

This was a good book that many will probably really like!
Right of the bat this one is completely different to Lights Out and i must say I did not like Caught Up as much.
I enjoyed Nic and Laurens chemistry and the way they worked through the past and their emotions and hardships.
However;
For me, this one lacked the humor the first one had and the middle was a little drawn out and the ending was a bit rushed for me.
Overall, there was something this book lacked and I cannot pinpoint what and it fell a little flat for me. I didn't get the amazing feeling with this one like I do so many romance and dark romance books that I have loved.

Caught Up is a powerful, emotional second-chance romance that completely hooked me. Navessa Allen delivers a story full of tension, vulnerability, and growth, with characters who feel raw and real.

Nic and Lauren’s dynamic was intense and unforgettable. Their chemistry jumped off the page, but what stood out most was the emotional depth and the way they worked through pain, trust, and redemption. I loved how Allen balanced the darker themes with tenderness and hope, all while keeping the pacing tight and the romance compelling.

This book is gripping, honest, and full of heart. A fantastic follow-up to Lights Out and a standout on its own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books, and Navessa Allen for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

LOVED IT!


This time we follow Junior, Aly’s cousin as he navigates escaping the world of crime he’s grown up in and that’s slowly tearing him apart while also reconnecting with the girl he’s been obsessing over for a decade, Lauren.

Lauren is a cam girl, s*x worker advocate and general all around badass. I loved how her character was written with so much depth. She’s strong in her convictions and self worth while also battling with her confusion over the hurt junior left her with and being insatiably drawn to him still.

The tension between them was SO good, the spice was top tier. The confessional 🥵🥵🥵🥵 but also the way they dealt with their hard feelings with compassion and openness. Chefs kiss.

Plus the added bonus of more Aly, Josh, Fred and Maud really was the cherry on the cake. I can’t wait to read the final book between the bro and the beauty.

Well when this unexpected ARC made its way into my inbox I immediately cancelled everything and have spent the best part of the day devouring this book. My goodness it delivered. Nico and Lauren’s story is filled with turmoil, desire and a whole lot of romance and being a sucker for a good romance this ticked all the boxes. The spice through the book was from unexpected sources but enables the reader to delve into the minds of the FMC & MMC.

Nice to have Aly & Josh in the book as supporting characters sometimes in series previous characters can be easily forgotten but keeping them part of the story was a really great touch.

5 stars and 5 spicy chilli’s from this happy smut reader. Thank you @navessa.allen for another riveting instalment!

Not sure how I’m going to human for the rest of the day now.

“…them demonizing my fantasies, making me feel like I was bad or broken or disturbed just for having them.”

I’m so appreciative of this book’s existence and I can’t wait for people to read it. For me, this one topped Lights Out. It’s as entertaining as it is insightful. I loved the diversity and complexity of these characters, especially how their cultural backgrounds were weaved into this story.
You have to go into it with a blank slate though, and try not to compare this couple to Aly and Josh… but we do get bits of them in this one!

The FMC in this story is so strong and sure of herself. Her little found family brings all the humor while they collectively settle into their independence and freedom from their oppressive upbringings.

The MMC is a man who has never been able to want anything for himself, his entire life. But that changes now. Finally out of the shadows, and out from under his father’s thumb, he’s determined to find his place in the world and discover who he is and what he desires.

If only it were that easy though.

Rating - 4.5⭐️

Convincing you to read this book with only one quote…
“I was in a confessional booth, near a packed banquet hall, a group of people just outside, speared on the head of a c**k, with a man’s hand stroking my c**t.”

This is the follow up to Lights out, in this one we follow Nico Junior. Son of Nico the mobster, junior is fed up of being in the mob and the danger that comes with it. He has been obsessed with Lauren ever since school but to keep her safe he has had to keep his distance (in the shadows..). Lauren is a sexual goddess who works in sex, both online and in the play club velvet. That is where junior finds her, in velvet…in the voyeurism room.. Junior would do anything and everything for Lauren but can they forgive the past, and can junior get out of the hold of his father.

Controversial, this was better than lights out. This was HOT, smoking hot. Navessa really stepped it up a gear and your girl was not complaining. I loved our MMCs and the snippets of Josh and Ally. Highly recommend getting this one preordered!

I am SO grateful to be given the opportunity to read this book, I dropped everything to read it and I loved it!! It definitely lived up to the expectations!

I really liked this book. I didn’t like it as much as I liked Lights Out but it was an incredible read. The formatting on this copy was weird and that’s why it took me a while to read. I loved it though. I loved how positive it was about certain topics and how there was never any intention to shame anyone for those things. I loved the story development, and watching the relationship unfold. It felt natural and realistic as it could for something so outlandish. I loved that we also saw more of Josh and Ali too, they were so cute. I’m guessing that book 3 is Tyler’s story, which I’m definitely excited for. I would also love a story on how Nico Senior and Moira got together, I think that would be cool. Favourite part of the book was Lauren’s work and how Junior got to explore something new! Will be buying a physical copy asap.

Actual rating is 3.5 stars

I loved the mafia elements and the insights to Italian families and ‘little Italy’
I loved Lauren’s character and her passion for her work and the people she is surrounded by. She is amazing. I did find her a little wingey and judgy of Nic’s life at times but minor annoyances with her for that.

The plot was ok but it felt like mostly it was just Lauren and Nic learning about each other again and there wasn’t really too much going on other than the odd bit of Nic’s work until the end and he wants to speak to his Dad.

I massively missed the humour from Lights out, this book just didn’t hit the same for me as book 1 and mostly that’s the lack of humour throughout.
Lauren’s Grandmother practically kept the humour afloat single-handedly and I wish she was in this book more as she was utterly hilarious and I loved her!

This has got to be one of my most anticipated reads this year and I wasn’t disappointed by it at all! It delivered on every front and I am so freaking happy that we got to see more of Aly and Josh in this one too!!! That was such a nice surprise and made everything that much more enjoyable 🖤

The only thing that I’ll say, is that it is completely different to Lights Out. Has a little bit of overlap trope wise, but other than that they are two completely different stories which I really appreciated. It seemed like the author really put a lot of thought into this one and wanted to make it as different to Lights Out as possible, exploring a very different kind of story line and making the characters almost completely different to Aly and Josh.

This review will be complexly SPOILER FREE because I think it's best to go into it blind ☺️

I really think that this one was more emotional than Lights Out, seemed like there was less of a shock factor and more emphasis on the characters reconnecting and growing together, as well as dealing with a lot of trauma individually from their parents and professions, and it focused a lot more on connections and relationships than anything else, with so much weight being put on how important platonic relationships are and how important it is to have the right people around you. Honestly it had me nearly tearing up multiple times.

Obviously Nico and Lauren already know each other, they have a shared past that is filled with a lot of tension, hate and sadness. They are most definitely a perfect fit for each other, and I couldn’t have been happier that they were endgame. There was A LOT of miscommunication between them, and Nico was messing up so often that it got kinda repetitive, BUT, Lauren always made him grovel and beg and explain himself before forgiving him WHICH I WAS SO HERE FOR!!!

I feel like this one might have focused more on the sexual aspect than Lights Out did too? I don’t know if that’s quite true, but it did seem like every other chapter they were getting their freak on and doing some rather questionable stuff in public spaces (the confessional in the church 👀)
Each of these scenes were super different from the last, so even though it seemed like they were always being kinky, they weren’t overly repetitive either.
Maybe there were more because it’s literally Laurens job? Being a cam girl and all that, and then frequenting a sex club too?

I also really liked that we got to see more of Nico’s family and we saw more of their interactions at the family dinners. It added a whole new layer to everything that Nico was going through mentally, and helped make things feel real, especially with everything that his father constantly does to him throughout the book, and then the HUGE altercation that everyone gets into right at the end.
I also LOVED the fact that we got to see Nico and Lauren kind of make their own family full of their friends, Aly and Josh, and all of their pets. It was super sweet and endearing, and all the banter that they have was just making me roar with laughter.

There is so much emphasis on the mob/mafia side of the story too, but it’s by no means the darkest mafia book out there. I think it would actually be the perfect one to read if you were thinking about starting on the genre because its so tame in comparison to others, while still delivering enough to be super interesting and darker than traditional romances.

Overall, a really great follow on to Lights Out, with a very different feel and completely different main characters who ultimately get to have their kinky happily ever after 🖤

4.75 Stars

Okay so this is one of my most anticipated reads this year. I fell head over heals for Lights Out and still to this day rave about it as I honestly love it so much. To be given access to Caught Up as an ARC reader is just insane and I cant thank Netgalley / Quercus enough.

This will of course be SPOILER FREE

Navessa Allen has a way of writing such moving stories - stories that on the surface people will think are just about smut and sex but there is so much more there. How things can have a lasting effect on us without realising, how trauma can feed into our lives in such surprising ways - especially intimately. Family is more than blood and again this is so strong in this book.

This isnt just your standard Mafia / biker romance. Its more and its healing and its non judgemental and its respectful and this is why I love Navessa and this is why I loved Lights Out and why I now love Caught up.

The only reason for dropping a 0.25 star is that I am a sucker for banter and would have liked a little more but this is the most picky reason ever and I apologise for this.

I dont want to say much more as I do not want to spoil it for anyone but I loved every minute.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book because I indifferent towards Lights Out, I liked it, it was okay, but Caught Up? Hollllllly Shit. I devoured it. 😮‍💨🔥

This sequel is one of those rare times where book two completely outshines book one in every single way. I gave Lights Out 3.5 stars, but this one? Solid 5.

This was also my first mafia romance and you know what I think I get it. It wasn’t too dark I don't think so if you're dipping a toe into the dark romance world, this is the perfect place to start.

We follow Nico “Junior” Trocci, cousin of Aly from Lights Out. He’s trying to leave the Mafia world behind and live a legit life but he’s still haunted by the girl he loved and lost as a teenager: Lauren Marchetti. Lo is now thriving, running an exclusive play club called Velvet with her chaotic, hilarious roommates Ryan and Taylor, and working as a successful camgirl. Not the innocent, quiet girl he used to know!

Lauren is everything I love in an FMC. She's feminist, independent, sex positive, and unapologetically herself. Navessa clearly did her research too and it shows. Lo’s confidence in her job, the way she advocates for others in the sex work industry, the lack of judgement etc it was all written with care and nuance and made her feel like a really well rounded character.

Also obsessed with the roommate dynamic in this book. Its not often that side characters add this much to the story but they added so much comic relief I just loved them. Ryan (who I read as non-binary) was written so naturally and respectfully, no over explaining or turning gender identity into a plot point. Just vibes and hilarious banter which I loved.

Nico is your typical posessive, bad boy FMC who wears leather and rides a motorbike, has tattoos etc etc. A mafia man who is feral, obsessed, and on his knees for Lo.

But number #1 character award goes to Nonna. The absolute queen. Her “one penis for fifty years” line lives rent free in my brain I was actually howling.

Lo owns a club called Velvet and these scenes were some of my favourite parts of the whole book. They were sexy, fun, full of tension and so much chemistry. I’m crossing everything that we get more Velvet content in book three because I never wanted to leave.

THE CONFESSION BOOTH SCENE?? Forgive me father for I have sinned and I do not regret it.

This book was such a huge step up from Lights Out for me. The plot was more cohesive and well thought out, the pacing kept me hooked, and the writing felt more polished and confident. I cannot wait for the third instalment in this trilogy. I'm assuming we’re being set up for a Stefan book… or maybe Tyler & Stella?? Either way, I’m ready.

Huge thank you to Navessa Allen & Quercus Books for this Arc. What a lucky duck I am. 🐥✨

I absolutely loved Junior’s POV!
This book was incredibly steamy from early on. It was amazing to read such a variety of spice on page, simply as we normally only see couples up close, but the details about other people in Velvet was great.
I was so happy to see a little cameo of Aly/Josh, I was laughing out loud the minute they were on page.
I enjoyed the underlying plot as well regarding Juniors hopes for his future and the way things fell into place with other elements of the story.
I’m so excited for what else might be to come in the future!

I think I enjoyed Lights Out quite a bit more than this one and I can’t quite put my finger on why. This didn’t feel very “dark romance” to me despite having the required red flags for characters. I thinks it’s a weird mix of Sara Cate’s kink club series mixed with Sophie Lark’s mafia romance books. It wasn’t bad but it seemed unsure of itself and I didn’t feel particularly attached to the main characters at any point in the story. I wanted to love it more.

I tried to like this book where the amount of violence - and it certainly wasn't little - equaled the amount of sex, but when she was convinced, that he had come to kill her, I realized it's just not my thing.

Ci ho provato a farmi piacere un libro dove la quantitá di violenza - e non era certo poca - eguagliava quella del sesso, ma quando lei era convinta, che lui fosse venuto per ucciderla, ho capito che proprio non é roba per me.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.