Caught Up (Into Darkness, #2) by Navessa Allen Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Lights Out on my blog, now!

In the interconnected sequel to Lights Out, Navessa Allen returns to deliver a mob stalker romcom in this story following Nick "Junior" Trocci and Lauren Marchetti as they reconnect and explore the possibility of second chances. I had mixed feelings after finishing Lights Out, more so with the fact that it was not to the "dark romance" level that I was expecting - going into Caught Up, my expectations were set accordingly and I had a lot of fun reading this book. Nick was an enjoyable mobster that wanted out of that lifestyle, and Lauren is an online sex worker and club member advocating for sex worker rights. With their past hindering a relationship, Nick began following her online to be as close to her as possible.

The plot was a touch all over the place, to be quite honest. Nick was on this internal journey to leave the mob life that his father was insistent he continue, and Lauren was figuring out if she could ever trust Nick again. It felt as though Nick's journey was much more prominent in this book, and while Lauren's own journey was not as intriguing. With Nick's perspective chapters, we see his conflicted feelings as he continues his mobster ways while actively works to remove himself from that activity. He was very focused on bettering himself and getting Lauren to trust him again without blowing up their relationship/friendship like all those years ago.

Lauren's journey with her two roommates was more lighthearted in the sense that I was never truly worried about her safety - in the sense that this is marketed as a stalker romcom, but I would not even consider Nick to be a stalker. There were definite romcom elements to this book, but I still would have loved for this to lean more heavily on the stalker aspect - yes, they knew each other when they were younger, but I felt as though once she found out about Nick, she was not even that fazed by the discovery. Lauren's moral compass is pretty solid and she is a great advocate - her character was easy to like, and she was enjoyable to follow as the story went on, I just wished I was as intrigued by her story as I was with Nick's story.

The side characters definitely made Lauren's journey feel more stable, as well as the presence of Nick's brothers making his own journey have a solid foundation. Honestly, the side characters were the true comedic relief in this installment, and while Lauren and Nick certainly had their moments, it seemed to fall on these secondary characters to lighten the mood. The smut in this book was actually unreal at points, and I will say that Allen has that aspect of her books locked and loaded - no notes from me. My jaw dropped several times, and she wasted no time at all diving right into the smut and romance of this book. Given the fact that Lauren makes online videos as a sex worker, the smut did play a more important role in this book compared to the role it played in Lights Out.

This interconnected series is a fun time that keeps the reader entertained, and yet I seems to always yearn for something more in these stories. It often feels as though conflict is resolved relatively quickly and that there seems to be no true consequences to those that have either wronged the main characters, or if they do reap their punishment, it is not to the extent that I would have expected. If you are looking for a quick, steamy read, the Into Darkness series my very well be your next journey in dark romcoms.

You can add Caught Up on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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Merciless Heir (Kozlov Empire, #1) by Monica Kayne Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Merciless Heir is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

I told myself that I would read more classic literature and then immediately went to the pile of mafia romance books sitting in my TBR pile -- I have no regrets. Georgia is put in an unfortunate circumstance and Andrei has found himself a unique opportunity in her when he raids a rival's mansion. Training Georgia as a spy, Andrei uses her to his advantage in order to settle a score, but he did not expect his new pawn to cause him so much confusion.

The plot moves pretty fast and is accompanied by a lot of action scenes, but I wish we spent more time on character development, especially when it came to Andrei. While we do get perspectives from both of the leads, I felt as though Georgia's development took the main focus, with Andrei's taking a backseat. That being said, I do believe his character development was present, especially toward the second half of the book.

Realistically, I would have preferred this book as more of a slow burn compared the quick development in Georgia and Andrei's development. As a big fan of mafia romances, I know readers always say that they would fold in two seconds if they were put in that position, but it just did not feel ready to move that quickly in this instance. However, the banter between Georgia and Andrei was enjoyable, and being in both of their heads gave a lot more value to their relationship, considering neither one of them wanted to be in the situation they were in. Well, maybe not Andrei, he seemed to be having a blast.

A decent amount of the book is Georgia and Andrei going at it like it is their last day on the planet, so much so that I actually forgot what the plot of the book was. This is definitely a fun palate cleanser if you are looking for something fun and suspenseful in between heavy reads. The plot twists are easy to spot a mile away, but when reading for a light read, that is more than welcome. Sometimes Andrei did some questionable things that I was not a fan of, and he had me teetering on the edge of if I actually liked him or not. Georgia, ever the persistent captive, was not making his life easier, and she really was set on pushing back every chance she got.

I do not understand how she was able to train and master so many skills in such a short amount of time. It takes months if not years to be able to acquire all of the skills they trained her in, and yet she was suddenly a pro after a week of working out, complaining, and getting freaky with the man who captured her. She did seem to be having a relatively pretty good time in that library, so maybe she channeled that into her training. I certainly would not be complaining.

If you are looking to introduce yourself into the genre, an interconnected standalone series is great as a low commitment step into mafia romance. You get the convenience of a closed ending for the main couple of that installment, with the option of moving forward if another character catches your attention, but you are not chained down to the series if you did not clique with the story. With two other brothers, I can imagine they are just as wild if not more intense than Andrei, considering the way they acted in this book.

You can add Merciless Heir on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!