Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Caught Up: Into Darkness, Book 2 by Navessa Allen

29 reviews

jehansen127's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

spaghettii's review against another edition

1.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

mrs_bear1230's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Stalking

Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

carielynne82's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny fast-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

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I really enjoyed Caught Up! The story was engaging, the romance felt real, and the characters had great chemistry. The only downside for me was the audiobook narration—it didn’t always hit the right tone. Still, a solid and heartfelt read I’d recommend to romance fans.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Stalking, Abandonment

inaroselano's review against another edition

3.75

dark funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I went into it with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Junior and Lauren were adorable together, and their chemistry really carried the story.

One small thing that threw me off at first was the use of they/them pronouns for one of Lauren’s roommates—it took a moment to figure out who was being referenced, but I caught on quickly.

The only thing that bothered me was the inconsistency with Walter, Lauren’s dog. Walter was introduced as a girl, but in the second half of the book, the narration started referring to her as “he,” which was a little distracting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse

frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I want to start off by saying the three narrators, ESPECIALLY KACI, did a phenomenal job.  They poured so much emotion into this book and even when I wanted to throw the book (metaphorically speaking, since I had the audio), they drew me back into the story.

This book handled sex work SO beautifully.  Sure, they’re faced with discrimination and stigma, but there are the truly beautiful sides and support from their community.  Lauren’s roommates were two beautiful souls and I am grateful Ryan, the nonbinary character, received their own voice.

My one main issue with this book is how Junior felt unoriginal.  Josh from book one was funny and supportive and I couldn’t help but love him.  Junior gave  me a headache at times.  But I still really enjoyed the book and I loved the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Vomit, Cannibalism

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

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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)

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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

chronic_listener's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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this gets so much shit for being different from Lights Out but that doesn't mean it's bad? chill, people
I found this super entertaining and bingeable and really enjoyed the sex positivity + character development. we love a mmc down bad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

2.0

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

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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

jessicaeevee's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny 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

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I read and listened to the audiobook together for an immersive experience. It is not Lights Out but I enjoyed the story, the different character personalities, spice, and  cameos from Aly and Josh. Can not wait for the next book with Tyler

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence