Take a photo of a barcode or cover
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
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Cannibalism, Death of parent
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
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Let’s be honest—I would give it more if I could.)
Confession time: I’m new to the dark romance world. Like, still figuring out where the spicy scenes start and the jaw-drops begin 👀. But y’all… Caught Up by Navessa Allen? Baptized me in fire. 🔥
I didn’t read this one—I listened to the audiobook 🎧, and baby, that experience was EVERYTHING. The dual narration pulled me in, but that male narrator? Whew. Sir, who gave you permission to sound like that?! I was locked in. 🫠💀
And listen—Chapter 19 deserves its own warning label.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
I had so many “what did he just say?!” and “wait, am I into this now??” moments that I was blushing in public. No regrets. 😅
This book gave me everything I didn’t know I needed in a romance:
💋 All the spice
🖤 A deep, moody storyline
🎭 Just the right sprinkle of banter
For someone new to the genre, it was the perfect introduction. It didn’t overwhelm, but it definitely woke me up 😏
I’m getting the physical book now so I can go back and tab those scenes. Yes, including Chapter 19. For research purposes… obviously. 📚💅🏽
So to Navessa Allen? BRAVO
You absolutely slayed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Grief, Cannibalism
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
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:
No
Lights Out caught my attention more for the plot than anything else, this time round with Caught Up Navessa definitely wanted her audience to focus more on the kinks and 🌶️🌶️🌶️!! This book is definitely not for the faint hearted!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence
Minor: Medical content, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Stalking, Abandonment
Dark humor filled story about 2 individuals who have a shared complicated past. Most of the dark content is leaning towards friendly banter- if you do not care for dark humor, explicit sexual romance details, voyerism etc. this isnt the fun book for you.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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
It was fun and dark and spicy, all the things you'd expect from Navessa. It just needed it to push the boundaries a little more to make it a five star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Abandonment
Check all kink content warnings at front of book.
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
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Stalking, Murder