Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Caught Up: Into Darkness, Book 2 by Navessa Allen

19 reviews

karengobragh's review against another edition

3.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting

caitlinastrid's review against another edition

3.5

dark 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

Minor: Cannibalism

vicky_g12's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

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: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Gaslighting

maggieparedesauthor's review against another edition

4.5

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

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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

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

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

budderfly_reads28's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark emotional fast-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

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The first book needed to end at the first book. I am not sure if the TikTok demand was high for this book, but I don’t feel like the author wrote a well thought out plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment

kcheck's review against another edition

5.0

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: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

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

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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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

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