Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Caught Up: Into Darkness, Book 2 by Navessa Allen

10 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

2.0

dark medium-paced

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

---

What I liked about this book was how sex work positive it was. Everything else was meh.
The characters were pretty bland and lacked sexual tension which I think is a general problem with the Second Chance trope. The plot was boring. 

Audiobook:
Well narrated overall but the female narrator's "Irish" accent was atrocious. Thankfully this was only used for a minor character but I can't for the life of me understand how this was allowed into the final cut.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Stalking, Abandonment

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Cannibalism, Murder

magicsilas's review against another edition

2.25

dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent

trylena's review against another edition

4.25

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

friendly_delay's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark 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

---

The book had a significant amount less of comedy in it compared to the first one. That is really my only gripe with it. And while I understand why, because the characters do not use humor as a coping mechanism like the first does, that was one of the reasons I loved the first so much. The dark romance with amazing one liners thrown in when you least expect. But the story of this book was a lot more impactful. Healing and freedom were large themes and I loved it for the characters we got to know in this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, Cannibalism

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

---

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse

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

---

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)

---

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

gelinbean224's review against another edition

3.5

dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

---

If the first half was condensed down to like 2-3 chapters it would have been a bit better. Very slow start, and not as good as Lights Out so I was a bit disappointed but the ending saved it. The moments where is was more than just Nick and Lauren were the best parts of the book. LOVE LOVE LOVE the sex and sex worker positivity!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Torture, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Vomit

smutloverdelight's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

---

Navessa Allen knows how to write her characters. I think I loved this one more than Lights Out! Much more spicier in this story and more intriguing with Lauren’s line of work. I love the confidence she portrays in herself. Also the banter between all the characters was superb! I think Taylor had to be my favorite character! I think it left on a cliffhanger so I’m excited to see what’s next!!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing

chelsealistens2books's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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 really liked this book. It’s different characters, different tropes - a second chance romance, different kinks (also the FMC Lo didn’t like the stalking in this book whereas it was a fun kink in the first book), but the vibe - especially the ending was so different from the first book. I enjoyed the humor from the friends but since the first book’s humor came from the MMC I think the second book just needed a little more. I love the sex positivity, loved the church scene (iykyk), I wish there was more impact in the ending because the first half was so good. I loved the audio narrators! Also Lo frustrated me in chapter 29 and I was upset what she blamed Nic for.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Sexism, Murder, Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Trafficking, Cannibalism

viy0's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail