Caught Up by Navessa Allen is the hotly anticipated sequel to last summer’s viral TikTok sensation, Lights Out. While Caught Up is the second book in the Into Darkness trilogy, it follows new main characters in the same world with all the same toxic, obsessive, and undeniably sexy dangers.
Lauren Marchetti is a sex worker, using her time between filming videos for subscribers on an Only Fans-esque site to campaign with politicians for sex worker rights. From the day she first started posting videos, she’s had one loyal subscriber, NT95, who not only pays well but seems to really care for her.
What she doesn’t know is that NT95 is Nico “Junior” Trocci, the oldest brother in a powerful mob family, and her star-crossed high school sweetheart. Junior has been watching her for years, scheming, waiting for the right time to make his move.
Junior orchestrates a serendipitous meeting at a Catholic mass of all places, and the attraction between them burns bright immediately. Despite the instant chemistry, Junior has a long road ahead of him to win back Lauren’s trust, and his mobster lifestyle might prove too much for him to overcome. But his obsession — and her desire — won’t let them go, even if it’s dangerous.
Junior is a mobster, but unlike some mafia romance heroes, he’s got serious depth. He’s decidedly human, with a range of emotions and deep insecurities, but with all the fun mafia accouterments.
Lauren, on the other hand, is so confident and self-assured, despite all the brutal bullying she’s experienced. She is proud of her work and does not let the conservative society around her shame her for it.
Lauren has a non-binary roommate, who is just casually existing as part of their friend group, and I love the representation that shows non-binary folks just joyfully present in a story. Their non-binary identity is not some huge discussion, it’s just accepted as normal, as it should be in an ideal world.
I love a second-chance romance, and Caught Up certainly does a great job with the trope. Junior fucked up and broke Lauren’s heart right before her senior year of high school. Second-chance romances will always have a special place in my heart because I’m living in the happily ever after of one, but also they’re just so sweet, even when they’re obsessive and spicy.
This story does a great job of humanizing sex work. The sex workers portrayed in this story are just a normal group of roommates with a rambunctious dog who just happen to film videos for a community of subscribers to bring them joy.
The spice in this book is very sex-positive, kink-positive, and thoughtful. It’s an advocacy-based portrayal of sex work and kink that I really enjoyed. That’s not to say that Junior and Lauren’s relationship isn’t a little toxic, but it’s toxic in all the right ways.
Caught Up has a humorous, light-hearted writing style, even with the sometimes dark and intense material. It makes for a clever, fun, and exciting read. It’s a definite page-turner.
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