Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Caught Up: Into Darkness, Book 2 by Navessa Allen

180 reviews

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

stephb91's review against another edition

3.75

dark 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: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking

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

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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

michmichbaby's review against another edition

4.0

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Liked the first in the series better but yep it’s a wild ride. Stalker mafia romance, violence implied and on page. Read the CWs before cracking this open

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Stalking, Murder

zzaranazz's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny lighthearted relaxing 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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IVE OFFICIALLY BECOME A NAVESSA ALLEN DEVOTE (my poor, poor dear boyfriend got real time updates of my thoughts while listening). this was phenomenal in many ways and i love how it actually builds upon the first one in a way that so many “series” in the mafia smut space have forgotten to. side note; i think that some of the fmc’s though processes were kind of base level and childish n i realize it was a trauma response i do wish that maybe we had more of a focus on therapy in that aspect.
also, teddy hamilton was a great choice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking

lindsayvale's review against another edition

4.25

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol

sassyfitncurvy's review against another edition

5.0

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

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Alcohol

perfumedpossum's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny 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

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This was a highly anticipated read (or listen, I guess) for me! I want to give Nico and Lauren the credit they deserve while saying if you expect them to be Aly and Josh 2.0, you will be disappointed. Caught Up feels a little darker, despite touching on less heavy subject matter and still having its funny moments. I’m usually not a mafia girly and was surprised at how much I enjoyed that aspect. I loved all the supporting characters, especially Junior’s family. Fingers crossed Junior’s brothers get their own books in the future. I thought Lauren and Nico’s chemistry was good…but not great. Nico’s chapters held my attention but I found myself wanting to rush through Lauren’s and becoming irritated with her for getting upset when her mob boyfriend did, I dunno, mob shit? The character felt underdeveloped, and besides being a cam girl and having a bad dad, I doubt I could tell you anything I just read about her. Nevertheless, still a four star read and Navessa remains the reigning queen of morally grey MMCs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

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