I enjoyed Lights Out so I knew I had to read Caught Up. With cameos from our faves, Caught Up was an enjoyable read I absolutely ate up. Keep reading this book review of Caught Up for my full thoughts.
Summary
“I wanted this woman, and I was a man who always got what he wanted.”
Nico “Junior” Trocci knows Lauren Marchetti is off limits. She is sweetness and laughter, whereas Junior exists in a world of violence and depravity. Men like him don’t get to have women like her. It’s why he pushed her away back in high school and kept his distance ever since.
But when Junior looks Lauren up online, he discovers the shy, bookish girl he remembers is gone. In her place is a strikingly beautiful woman whose social media is filled with scantily clad pictures of herself and a connection to a nearby play club. Junior’s innocent curiosity quickly turns into a dark obsession. Watching Lauren from a distance isn’t enough; he needs to make her his.
“He’s ruthless; a walking red flag. Good thing red is my favorite color.”
Lauren is intrigued by the mystery man who keeps showing up at her club, who tempts her white-hot desires. But as their flirty online messages stir up a deeper form of connection, Lauren worries she’s developing real feelings for this brooding stranger. As their combined desire ratchets up to a breaking point, who will seduce who?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
It was so fun to be back in the world of Lights Up and to see more about the mafia lifestyle Aly was involved in. This time we’re with Junior, aka Nico, who desperately wants out and can’t help but still be obsessed with his first love. For Lauren, Nico is the guy who ruined her life by pretending they weren’t hanging out, but she has no clue what Nico thinks he saved her from. Caught Up is full of tension, chemistry, and stalking. I’m glad both Nico and Lauren talk about their limitations, boundaries, and past mistakes in this aspect. For Nico, he takes his actions as ways to make sure Lauren is safe, to enact justice, and to help her out behind the scenes.
But, understandably so, there are some major red flags which do need to be addressed. With the past haunting both Nico and Lauren, how can they move past what happened to make any sort of future together? I loved how Lauren is an open advocate for sex work. This dual POV story felt a bit more devoted to Nico’s character arc. Maybe it’s just that his character has a TON to unpack with his family and his past, but I felt like Lauren’s own development fell on the back burner sometimes.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
Caught Up has plenty of spice and should appease fans of a ‘begging for forgiveness’ trope. The ending felt a bit hasty considering the lead up, but I enjoyed Caught Up. The side characters are amazing mostly because half of them are cameos from book one and the other half appease my friend groups are the best desires! There’s a small element of not wanting to repeat our parents mistakes and I loved the depth this gave to the characters. Overall, this was such a fun read about the line between protection and love. Find Caught Up on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.