Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Caught Up: Into Darkness, Book 2 by Navessa Allen

15 reviews

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I heard about this novel online and was curious to read it.
"Caught Up" is a dark romance that follows Nico and Lauren. Nico knows that he should stay away from Lauren because their fathers do not get along, but he has always had a soft spot for her. Now that they are adults, Nico has discovered that the once timid girl he knew has a highly popular online platform of the adult variety. Lauren has never forgiven Nico for what he did to her in high school, but she also cannot deny the attraction she feels for him all these years later.
I enjoyed this story far more than I thought I would. One of my favorite aspects of this novel was that it was a second chance romance. Nico and Lauren knew each other from when they were younger, and they did date when they were in high school. I loved seeing them find their way back to one another in their adult years.
This book was very spicy, but it still managed to balance a pretty great plotline. I enjoy my romances with a little bit of spice, but I appreciate all the more when it is not pure smut. I want a storyline and to see the characters grow and evolve as people.
Despite being a dark romance, there was great care and consent in this novel. Both Nico and Lauren had a lot of respect for one another despite that both had jobs that a lot of people would judge them for. They were the perfect blend of supportive while not being afraid to call each other out when they were in the wrong.
If you like smut with a shadow of darkness, I recommend this story. 

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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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fast-paced

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kefeldman's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 35%

I wanted to love this one cause I really enjoyed Lights Out. But it just was not hitting the same. 

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dark emotional funny tense 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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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. πŸ˜‰ 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! πŸ˜‚ 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. πŸ˜‰

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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

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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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

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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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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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