Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Caught Up

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Caught Up by Navessa Allen

21 reviews

aewisu's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If Josh is the golden retriever then Nic is the black cat. The plot of this book was quite interesting and I found that I enjoyed it a bit more than Lights Out. Wished there was more character development from the FMC

Content Warnings

fanboyriot's review against another edition

5.0

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hilarious and filled with all the dark romance vibes a person could ask for. I really enjoyed Lauren’s friends and all their banter not to mention Taylor’s choice of a weapon when she thought someone was breaking in, iconic 😂. There were so many moments of comfort with this book and at times it felt like being apart of their found family and I was all the way here for it.

Nico (Junior) was just as amazing as Lauren. They were really such a well balanced couple and seeing their history it was an entertaining read to see how things progressed when the odds weren’t in their favor.

Also Lauren’s grandmother was a total icon and I loved her comments so much. And of course, I loved the mentions of Aly and Josh and their children (the cats). Josh being a friend to Junior was hilarious and oddly wholesome.

This book definitely lived up to the high hype I had for it! I even got the audiobook on Libby to follow along as I annotated the paperback. The narrators did an amazing job!!

Read For

✓ Found Family

✓ Amazing Friends

✓ Stalker Romance

✓ Sex Work (Positive)

✓ Childhood Crush to Lovers

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Sad Level: 💧

Plot: 10/10

Pace: 10/10

Ending: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Enjoyability: 10/10

Writing Style: 10/10

Would I Recommend? Yes

Favorite Character: Nico and Lauren

Favorite Quote: ❝ "You can't hit on your employee, you ho bag. It's unethical." ❞

POV: Duel, First Person

Pages: 342

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Release Date: 10, June 2025

Rep/Extras: Sex work (positive), Non-binary (side character)

Content Warnings

coco78337's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

cedar_salt_citrine's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

atsy6's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Navessa Allen warned us it was going to be dirtier than Lights Out and she delivered. It was a smut fest lol. Junior was an intense red flagger and absolute perfection. Lauren had a lot more insecurities and faults than I really wanted. Maybe I missed most of Junior's faults because they didn't really seem like imperfections, and Lauren carried the bulk of the issues which made her feel like a more flawed character who was the main reason for any issues they had. I loved the brief drop ins from past characters. The audiobook was excellent duet narration! I absolutely loved the narrators.

Content Warnings

smutloverdelight's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Navessa Allen knows how to write her characters. I think I loved this one more than Lights Out! Much more spicier in this story and more intriguing with Lauren’s line of work. I love the confidence she portrays in herself. Also the banter between all the characters was superb! I think Taylor had to be my favorite character! I think it left on a cliffhanger so I’m excited to see what’s next!!!

Content Warnings

riddikulyssreads's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Nico “Junior” Trocci is a man who gets what he wants. This time, what he wants is Lauren Marchetti. She’s off limits. They have history and he broke her heart ten years ago. She’s sweet & vibrant - a stark difference from his violent life working for his father in the mob. It’s become too much for him and he wants out. He looks Lauren up online and finds that she’s no longer the shy girl he knew from high school but a beautiful and successful cam girl. He’s obsessed and he needs to see her in person. Once they run into each other old feelings are rekindled. But Lauren can’t stop thinking about her favorite subscriber or the masked man that comes into the local kink club. As the pieces fall together, will the truth lead them to their ultimate desires? Only time will tell which door they choose to enter. Watch & find out for yourself. 🔥

This book was so much fun! I loved the audiobook narration. The main characters and side characters were equally enjoyable to me. Lauren’s roommates are the type of supportive besties you want to have in real life. The LGBTQ+ representation was evenly spread throughout the book in the FMC, side characters and other club members. The sex work representation was well written overall, but I wish Lauren’s advocacy work for sex workers’ rights had gotten a little more attention/elaboration. The possessive obsession Nico has with Lauren is full of yearning and desire. GET ME IN THAT CONFESSIONAL ASAP. 🥵 Josh & Aly do make appearances and I have to say they’re still my favorites. 🫶🏼 Josh’s golden retriever friendship with grumpy Nico was fun to read. I was a little disappointed that this book is marketed as having bike content but other than Nico having one as his ride, there isn’t the bike content I think people are hoping for. For fans of Fred (Lights Out) - there is a dog in this book! Heads up, this book is a darker vibe and is not as funny and full of banter like Lights Out. I loved this one but I think it rekindled my love and appreciation for the first book. I’m a little nervous for book three (because I think Tyler is a douchebag) but I know Navessa will kill it again!

⚠️ Please research all trigger warnings before reading this book! ⚠️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Content Warnings

rdaacvhiesl's review against another edition

3.0

funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The best thing about this book was Navessa's writing style. She does a great job at infusing every character and relationship with unique qualities. I didn't particularly love the plot of this book though. It absolutely revolves around Junior and Lauren's relationship, but the sprinkling in of all the side characters and side quests made it hard for me to be invested. It was easy to see the conflict coming from a mile off and had this been by any other author, I would have DNF (I really, really hate the miscommunication trope). The celebration of and respect for sex work was a pretty cool theme throughout.

Story moral: let people find their own happiness and consider yourself lucky if you're along for the ride.

Content Warnings