After listening to Lights Out a few weeks ago, I knew I was hooked on this author and series. On June 10th, I woke up, grabbed Caught Up by Navessa Allen on Hoopla and began listening to Kasi Hollowell, Teddy Hamilton, and special guest Jason June. And I loved every single second I had listening to this book.
Caught Up by Navessa Allen
Caught Up by Navessa Allen is the second book in the Into Darkness series. It is a dark romantic comedy published on June 10th, 2025 and is 352 pages long. You can find the book wherever books are sold, Amazon, and on the author’s website here.
Premise
Lauren’s life is her own, after a terrible experience in her teenage years, she made the decision she would control the narrative of her own life, and anyone who tried to change or control it no longer mattered in her life. So when she runs into Nico “Junior” Trocci again, after he’d destroyed her heart so badly she needed to switch schools, she sure as hell wasn’t going to give him another chance to control the narrative she was setting over her own live. Except, first loves are often the hardest to get over.
Triggers
Triggers found in Caught Up by Navessa Allen include:
- Sexually Explicit Scenes (including multi-partner, voyeurism, exhibitionism, bondage, breath play, primal play, fear play, light BDSM)
- Cam Work, sex work
- Blackmail
- Religion
- Coersion
- Child Abuse
- Slut shaming
- Domestic Abuse
- Bullying
- Blood, Violence
- Gore
- Stalking
- Mention of serial killer, crimes, and unintentional cannibalism
My Thoughts
Unfortunately for me, I’m not a great audiobook and get stuff done type of person. I’m more of a play a cozy game I’ve played a hundred times and listen to an audiobook person. Like I’m sure I could crochet or knit and listen but it’s summer and my yarn stock is a bit low these days.
So for the last two days, I had to schedule in some relax and listen time because there was no way I could wait until the weekend or sometime next week to go get Caught Up by Navessa Allen at Barnes and Noble. And I’m so glad I did.
I loved Lauren so much, and Nico’s care for her was swoon worthy. Well, in the he causes physical harm and ruins the lives of anyone who causes Lauren any amount of distress kind of way.
“Just once, I wished someone else would make a goddamn decision so I didn’t have to think so fucking much all the time.” – Caught Up by Navessa Allen
That’s right babes, we have a high school sweetheart turned stalker situation in which our stalker was forced to stay away from Lauren to protect her from his father and their organized crime family.
“Run, Lauren,” I said, unable to stop myself. “Make it good for both of us.” – Caught Up by Navessa Allen
Lauren is a cam worker, one who has worked hard to make sex work safe for others. And she’s proud of the work she does, she enjoys it, immensely. This is not a story about a woman who had no other choice, but of one who found something she liked and is doing the work she genuinely loves.
Naturally, we have a lot of spice in the book, both in scenes that take place in a sex club that don’t include our MC’s. So while our MC’s take a little bit of time before we get to their own spicy scenes, there is plenty of tension between them and other spice related scenes that will keep you flipping pages.
However, the spice is not the only thing that will keep you enthralled. While Nico is working to escape organized crime and get out from under his father’s thumb, we are also watching as Lauren learns that maybe keeping everyone (besides her bffs) at arms length isn’t the best way to protect herself.
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” It had become my mantra because I had learned the hard way that if you give people second chances, they’ll only use them to hurt you more.” – Caught Up by Navessa Allen
Like with Lights Out, we get a mixture of funny scenes, violence, and spice that blends perfectly to keep you interested until the very last scene, while also sad that it’s over.
The cast of side characters in this book is fantastic. First off we have Ryan , an amazing best friend and the person behind the camera of Lauren and Taylor – who is another best friend and roommate of Lauren’s.
The dynamic between these three are fantastic. They know each other well, respect each other, but are also fiercely protective. They have Lauren’s back and she has theirs.
Josh and Ally, along with Maude and Fred, also show up in the book, and as expected they hit it off right away with Lauren. Josh immediately becomes a protective older brother type to Lauren, and is also protective of Nico.
And finally we have Walter, let’s just say his whip work scene was fantastic.
The overall vibes of this book are dark romantic comedy with a whole lot of found family closeness that I always love to see in the books I read. If you loved Lights Out, you will also love Caught Up.
Who Would Like Caught Up by Navessa Allen?
Tropes in Caught up by Navessa Allen include:
- Second Chance
- Biker MMC
- Stalking
- Found Family
Make sure you check out my recommendations for other books in the Into Darkness series below:
If you liked Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver, Such a Good Guy by Kate Raven, or Nero by SJ Tilly you will likely love Caught Up by Navessa Allen.
Have you read Caught Up by Navessa Allen, or have you added it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments. I love interacting with other readers over books I loved.