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dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I’ve seen a lot of people’s thoughts about this book and many of them seem to be split right down the middle of “I hated it” to “I loved it”.
Personally, I really enjoyed it. I’d seen some people say that they thought it would be funnier and wittier given how the first book went, and they were right because this wasn’t as funny as Lights Out. But I think knowing that going into it helped me enjoy it that much more. There were some funny moments, but Junior isn’t Josh so i also kind of anticipated a different vibe.
The spice?? Super. Fricken. Spicy. Lauren is a camgirl and spends a lot of time at a play club so the spicy scenes were sweltering, so to speak.
This book included LGBTQ+ representation, which didn’t bother me, especially given how many of the scenes took place in the play club. I will say, one of the characters used they/them pronouns though, which was kind of confusing from a reading standpoint.
Overall, this was so entertaining and I didn’t expect to read it as quickly as I had. The LGBTQ+ representation got a little confusing and there was some politics put into play that I didn’t feel were necessary. I also think the plot to smut ratio was a solid 30:70 because there was a general plot but the smut was definitely a majority of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, Stalking
Minor: Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
I love how sex positive this book was! And how pro-sex worker it is. Also, the storyline is sort of minimal with with a whole lotta spice. Definite PWP. 😉 But if you're looking for story that's similar to Lights Out, this is not it. It's much darker, as it partly follows Nico's journey to escape the mob.
Lauren and Nico are a couple of dummies. Their big fight just made me wanna bang my head on my desk, lol. Okay, they're obviously wrapped up in the heat of the moment, but COME ON! 😂 Like, she knew he was dangerous and still decided to try to get the drop on him.... And then Nico just letting those words tumble out of his mouth in anger. But the make-up sex was definitely good. 😏
Kasi Hollowell and Teddy Hamilton did a great job on the narration.
I'm hoping we get Tyler's story next, and then the rest of the Trocci brothers' stories. And maybe even a lil flashback novella for Moira and Nico Sr. 😉
Lauren and Nico are a couple of dummies. Their big fight just made me wanna bang my head on my desk, lol. Okay, they're obviously wrapped up in the heat of the moment, but COME ON! 😂 Like, she knew he was dangerous and still decided to try to get the drop on him.... And then Nico just letting those words tumble out of his mouth in anger. But the make-up sex was definitely good. 😏
Kasi Hollowell and Teddy Hamilton did a great job on the narration.
I'm hoping we get Tyler's story next, and then the rest of the Trocci brothers' stories. And maybe even a lil flashback novella for Moira and Nico Sr. 😉
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Stalking, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence
Minor: Vomit
dark
medium-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: Sexual content, Violence, Stalking
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What was this book even about? First one was way better even if it was absolutely absurd. This one felt like it was written by a different author.
Someone why the sex scenes with the secondary characters were hotter than the ones for the main characters?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Stalking
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Soooo... I liked it. I liked it more than the previous one, but it was different.
Lights Out was very obviously a dark comedy, and I enjoyed that. Caught Up was more like a dark romance, which I also enjoyed, but the change gave me whiplash.
I liked the characters, especially the roomates, and I loved the cameos from Josh and Aly.
The broader LGBTQ+ representation was amazing too.
The main characters though? They fell a little short. Junior was okay, I guess. But he kept going on and on about his darkness and then proceded to prove there wasn't that much of it anyway (he didn't even really kill Lauren's dad!
I don't know if the dark romance I read from time to time has desensitized me, but it felt like this book was trying to be a dark romance but was afraid to pull through, and then came back to the previous formula of trying for comedy, while not commiting to doing either.
Lauren... I had a weird relationship with her. I loved the representation for sex workers. I pretty much liked her. But I felt like sex and the related topics were 90% of her personality and the rest was her repeating how she would stand up for herself, and how she couldn't let go of the hurt Junior had caused her only to then get back together with him, have sex with him (very hot sex, might I add), and then everything was fine. As if nothing had happened.
Even Junior kept saying how they should have a serious conversation about their past and what they wanted from this second shot at their relationship, and she just wanted to fuck.
I get it, you're into him and sex is a big thing for you, but don't go down that road and then act like a ridiculous child who can't be made responsible for her own decisions because #hormones or, better yet, #possession from a horny nun. Wow.
So, I think this one was better written than Lights Out, and the serious topics that were touched here made it more interesting, but I enjoyed the other one better (at least it made me laugh).
So, I'm just gonna give it the same score and hop on to the next one when it's out because Tyler's story intrigues me.
PS: The unthinkable has happened, the narrators failed me this time. I adore Teddy Hamilton, and his work is usually pretty reliable, but I think I've heard so so soooo much from him that I just overdosed this time. Or maybe his heart wasn't on this one. Or maybe it was just too hard to voice so many male characters (he sounded weird when voicing Josh and a little forced the rest of the time). Or maybe it was the lack of accent (I've realized I've never heard him try an Italian accent or a British one, where some of his peers excell at). I don't know, maybe I should take a little break from his beautiful voice and see how he fairs the next time.
Lights Out was very obviously a dark comedy, and I enjoyed that. Caught Up was more like a dark romance, which I also enjoyed, but the change gave me whiplash.
I liked the characters, especially the roomates, and I loved the cameos from Josh and Aly.
The broader LGBTQ+ representation was amazing too.
The main characters though? They fell a little short. Junior was okay, I guess. But he kept going on and on about his darkness and then proceded to prove there wasn't that much of it anyway (
I don't know if the dark romance I read from time to time has desensitized me, but it felt like this book was trying to be a dark romance but was afraid to pull through, and then came back to the previous formula of trying for comedy, while not commiting to doing either.
Lauren... I had a weird relationship with her. I loved the representation for sex workers. I pretty much liked her. But I felt like sex and the related topics were 90% of her personality and the rest was her repeating how she would stand up for herself, and how she couldn't let go of the hurt Junior had caused her only to then get back together with him, have sex with him (very hot sex, might I add), and then everything was fine. As if nothing had happened.
Even Junior kept saying how they should have a serious conversation about their past and what they wanted from this second shot at their relationship, and she just wanted to fuck.
I get it, you're into him and sex is a big thing for you, but don't go down that road and then act like a ridiculous child who can't be made responsible for her own decisions because #hormones or, better yet, #possession from a horny nun. Wow.
So, I think this one was better written than Lights Out, and the serious topics that were touched here made it more interesting, but I enjoyed the other one better (at least it made me laugh).
So, I'm just gonna give it the same score and hop on to the next one when it's out because Tyler's story intrigues me.
PS: The unthinkable has happened, the narrators failed me this time. I adore Teddy Hamilton, and his work is usually pretty reliable, but I think I've heard so so soooo much from him that I just overdosed this time. Or maybe his heart wasn't on this one. Or maybe it was just too hard to voice so many male characters (he sounded weird when voicing Josh and a little forced the rest of the time). Or maybe it was the lack of accent (I've realized I've never heard him try an Italian accent or a British one, where some of his peers excell at). I don't know, maybe I should take a little break from his beautiful voice and see how he fairs the next time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Stalking
Minor: Death of parent
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Alcohol