Navessa Allen

“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?

Caught Up

Spice: 4/5 - as with book 1, there is a main plot, but there are scenes/discussions in basically every chapter.

Loving the vibes of this series. Sexual freedom in social media type careers is such a fun exploration for a series. Nico and Lauren have such a deep history with each other, bringing them together as adults makes for a deeper love story in a single installment.

Getting a glimpse of Nico's family in book 1 was the perfect set up for the sprawling mafia life that is rolled out in this book. Seeing the family from the eyes of a member gives a different perspective on the 'day in the life of'.

The sex positive, lgbtqia+ aspects of this book are swoon. So much acceptance, and 'you do you' type mentality, it really shows that, yes the world really can get over themselves and just let people be happy and life their best, authentic life.

There were a lot of moments where I felt Lauren's character was being . . . a whiny child? for lack of a better term. For a girl that grew up in the area, she really acted like she learned about the mafia happenings from TV. Her lack of trust, and straight to assumptions behavior didn't really have the back story to support it at times. Sometimes you just have to yell at the characters of a books for not communicating with each other.

Tyler coming back into play was a fun surprise, his arc is feeling like it's about to get a whole more exciting, as I assume book 3 is about him.

Great ending, nice mystery through out, characters being stalker-ish, and deep love and affection.

Sabetha Danes

Spice: 4/5 - as with book 1, there is a main plot, but there are scenes/discussions in basically every chapter.

Loving the vibes of this series. Sexual freedom in social media type careers is such a fun exploration for a series. Nico and Lauren have such a deep history with each other, bringing them together as adults makes for a deeper love story in a single installment.

Getting a glimpse of Nico's family in book 1 was the perfect set up for the sprawling mafia life that is rolled out in this book. Seeing the family from the eyes of a member gives a different perspective on the 'day in the life of'.

The sex positive, lgbtqia+ aspects of this book are swoon. So much acceptance, and 'you do you' type mentality, it really shows that, yes the world really can get over themselves and just let people be happy and life their best, authentic life.

There were a lot of moments where I felt Lauren's character was being . . . a whiny child? for lack of a better term. For a girl that grew up in the area, she really acted like she learned about the mafia happenings from TV. Her lack of trust, and straight to assumptions behavior didn't really have the back story to support it at times. Sometimes you just have to yell at the characters of a books for not communicating with each other.

Tyler coming back into play was a fun surprise, his arc is feeling like it's about to get a whole more exciting, as I assume book 3 is about him.

Great ending, nice mystery through out, characters being stalker-ish, and deep love and affection.

I was really intrigued about this whole story because, honestly, this is my first mafia romance in a long time (I feel like I have read ones before but probably just skimmed them because it isn't really my thing) and also having Lauren being a cam-girl made me even more interested.

I listened to the audiobook, and even though it wasn't like lights out, this was also pretty good. Both narrators kept me on hold with their pace and voice, and the sex scenes were wow and so wild.

I gotta say the MVP, even though we kinda lost her towards the end, was Nonna Biacchi love her, hilarious the only relative I would acknowledge from Lauren's fam. I get why, so people don't like it because the miscommunication trope is a bit overused. However, I kinda get it for the characters. 

Lauren spent a whole decade believing that Nic just used her and dropped her as soon as things got difficult. Her mom basically abandoned her. Her father is literally a death plant in her life. Her sister is the least sister I have ever seen and straight up another person who judges her. She just basically relied on her grandma and her friends, most of her life and after the whole fallout with Nic and a line of bad partners who didn't really get her, it is kind of hard to get serious and trust people again. She already knows the pain that awaits.

Nico is in the mafia, and he knows that spilling secrets to someone is basically putting a target on them, so he had to watch out and zip it in some truths. Of course, he also spent the whole book trying to get out of it because he knows he can not have a life inside of it.

I do agree that the fight they got towards the end was a bit anticlimactic because it didn't last that much, so probably would have been better to have it before the 80% so it didn't feel rushed but it is what it is.

I'm kinda curious, though, whether the epilogue it is after the 3rd book Game On or during... because Stella and Tyler looked pretty cozy. 

I was really intrigued about this whole story because, honestly, this is my first mafia romance in a long time (I feel like I have read ones before but probably just skimmed them because it isn't really my thing) and also having Lauren being a cam-girl made me even more interested.

I listened to the audiobook, and even though it wasn't like lights out, this was also pretty good. Both narrators kept me on hold with their pace and voice, and the sex scenes were wow and so wild.

I gotta say the MVP, even though we kinda lost her towards the end, was Nonna Biacchi love her, hilarious the only relative I would acknowledge from Lauren's fam. I get why, so people don't like it because the miscommunication trope is a bit overused. However, I kinda get it for the characters. 

Lauren spent a whole decade believing that Nic just used her and dropped her as soon as things got difficult. Her mom basically abandoned her. Her father is literally a death plant in her life. Her sister is the least sister I have ever seen and straight up another person who judges her. She just basically relied on her grandma and her friends, most of her life and after the whole fallout with Nic and a line of bad partners who didn't really get her, it is kind of hard to get serious and trust people again. She already knows the pain that awaits.

Nico is in the mafia, and he knows that spilling secrets to someone is basically putting a target on them, so he had to watch out and zip it in some truths. Of course, he also spent the whole book trying to get out of it because he knows he can not have a life inside of it.

I do agree that the fight they got towards the end was a bit anticlimactic because it didn't last that much, so probably would have been better to have it before the 80% so it didn't feel rushed but it is what it is.

I'm kinda curious, though, whether the epilogue it is after the 3rd book Game On or during... because Stella and Tyler looked pretty cozy. 



Oh I hated this ….. I miss Josh and ally 

Victoria Moreno

Ehh it was okay. Book 1 was way better. 0 plot, just a whole lot of s*x 

Lexi Vazquez

hmmm not my fave. it was okay and enjoyable, i just found some of it repetitive and predictable. lights out was better (i enjoyed the aly & josh cameos)

i also think she forgave some of his actions very very easily!

Lucy Williams

hmmm not my fave. it was okay and enjoyable, i just found some of it repetitive and predictable. lights out was better (i enjoyed the aly & josh cameos)

i also think she forgave some of his actions very very easily!

Sexy dive into fetish club romance. I love how the female lead was confident in her job as a SW.

Amanda 

I loved Junior, and I really liked Lauren.

I actually liked this a lot better then the first one, but don't @ me.

However, I thought she was kind of a hypocrite when she freaked out and stopped talking to him once he made a comment about her future career path, but his career was non-negotiable. Like, I'm glad that he was ready to leave that career, because she wasn't willing to budge.

She also wasn't willing to budge regarding her open intimacy and he had to get into her open lifestyle, but "thankfully" he was into it as well? Hard to believe, but I'm glad that worked for them. If I'm remembering correctly, she told him that she needs this, and that a relationship wouldn't work between them if he doesn't do it, too? Like I'm glad that you know what you want, but dang, give the dude a break.

I would've preferred more one-on-one intimacy, but I guess that's a me thing. I get that this book was about voyeurism, so just because that is a personal fear of mine doesn't mean it's a negative for this book.

Nonetheless, I found this an entertaining second-chance spicy read, and I adored Nico "Junior".

Sarah Campbell

I do love a good second chance romance.
I loved Junior, and I really liked Lauren.
I actually liked this a lot better then the first one, but don't @ me.
However, I thought she was kind of a hypocrite when she freaked out and stopped talking to him once he made a comment about her future career path, but his career was non-negotiable. Like, I'm glad that he was ready to leave that career, because she wasn't willing to budge.
She also wasn't willing to budge regarding her open intimacy and he had to get into her open lifestyle, but "thankfully" he was into it as well? Hard to believe, but I'm glad that worked for them. If I'm remembering correctly, she told him that she needs this, and that a relationship wouldn't work between them if he doesn't do it, too? Like I'm glad that you know what you want, but dang, give the dude a break.
I would've preferred more one-on-one intimacy, but I guess that's a me thing. I get that this book was about voyeurism, so just because that is a personal fear of mine doesn't mean it's a negative for this book.
Nonetheless, I found this an entertaining second-chance spicy read, and I adored Nico "Junior".

Okay, so not as good as Josh’s story. What made Lights Out goo was how funny Josh was and his unhinged inner monologue. Nico is literally just a brooding man who doesn’t what to be in the family business. Like if that’s your type pop off queen, but he is very repetitive. Lauren? Laura? Laurie? Whatever her forgettable name was she has no arc in my opinion. She is meh. She is the same at the start, middle, and end. Has no development, a potato could have done her job.

Bushra Yenice

Cute, but not as funny and witty as the previous Lights Out. 

Rabia Sitabi

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this, it was enabling soooo many of my kinks that I needed to take a break for a while before I ascended to the heavens. It was so good! A bit more serious than Lights Out but I'll take it.

Tsu 💙

Well, I’m not entirely sure how to review this, might end up being a short one today: I was entertained, but mildly? Close to bored? Almost indifferent, I’d say.

Where I lived for Josh and Aly’s banter (yeah, I know, comparing couples suck, but still), this instalment fell quite flat for me. Lo, while being a fun character on her own, seemed to lose any braincells and/or character traits as soon as she was in the same room as Nic, which is fine for a scene or two but way too much over the span of a whole book. She was interesting on her own, as Nic should have been, but he even had less character traits than she did once he entered the scene.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book, it’s just not terribly convincing or memorable. Writing another cute pet and some quirky “I love these assholes”-friends/roommates into the equation unfortunately does not take away the lack of plot or character development. As I said, in the first book, I had the banter helping me look past it but I’m afraid I still don’t know why these two even like each other.

Hm. As it wasn’t horrible and I did read it quite fast, I don’t really feel like bashing the book, but I can’t say I recommend reading this. 1 Star for Josh and Aly, 1 star for Walter and 1 star for Nonna Bianchi, maybe a quarter to half star for not being riddled with grammatical and spelling errors.

I’m not mad, my expectations just weren’t met.

Leonie

Well, I’m not entirely sure how to review this, might end up being a short one today: I was entertained, but mildly? Close to bored? Almost indifferent, I’d say.

Where I lived for Josh and Aly’s banter (yeah, I know, comparing couples suck, but still), this instalment fell quite flat for me. Lo, while being a fun character on her own, seemed to lose any braincells and/or character traits as soon as she was in the same room as Nic, which is fine for a scene or two but way too much over the span of a whole book. She was interesting on her own, as Nic should have been, but he even had less character traits than she did once he entered the scene.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book, it’s just not terribly convincing or memorable. Writing another cute pet and some quirky “I love these assholes”-friends/roommates into the equation unfortunately does not take away the lack of plot or character development. As I said, in the first book, I had the banter helping me look past it but I’m afraid I still don’t know why these two even like each other.

Hm. As it wasn’t horrible and I did read it quite fast, I don’t really feel like bashing the book, but I can’t say I recommend reading this. 1 Star for Josh and Aly, 1 star for Walter and 1 star for Nonna Bianchi, maybe a quarter to half star for not being riddled with grammatical and spelling errors.

 

I’m not mad, my expectations just weren’t met.

౨ৎ | ‘being with lauren was the last time i’d let myself feel anything other than dead inside, and part of me wanted to remember what it was like to be alive.’

yall….. this was bad. there was no plot, the fmc was all “i’ll make him grovel” only to give in 0.5 seconds later when he made her orgasm. lord get a GRIP. 

junior was embarrassing, i literally had to stop myself from groaning in the first few scenes because he actually made ME want to die from embarrassment. 

the ending was eh, like it was there and then over in five pages. also this relationship just felt fake? like i just know they break up in a year, maybe two. 

don’t get me wrong, i did like lauren and what she was advocating for but girl needs more therapy on how she navigates relationships because what the fuck man. 

౨ৎ | ‘being with lauren was the last time i’d let myself feel anything other than dead inside, and part of me wanted to remember what it was like to be alive.’

— ★ 2/5

yall….. this was bad. there was no plot, the fmc was all “i’ll make him grovel” only to give in 0.5 seconds later when he made her orgasm. lord get a GRIP. 

junior was embarrassing, i literally had to stop myself from groaning in the first few scenes because he actually made ME want to die from embarrassment. 

the ending was eh, like it was there and then over in five pages. also this relationship just felt fake? like i just know they break up in a year, maybe two. 

don’t get me wrong, i did like lauren and what she was advocating for but girl needs more therapy on how she navigates relationships because what the fuck man. 

taylor, ryan, aly and josh ♡ 

ps. i still hate tyler xxxx

I loved this book - the club, the mob ties were chefs kiss! 

If your looking for a book exactly like lights out your gonna be mad or disappointed but this book stood on its own!!! I throughly enjoyed it and it was laugh out loud funny at times 

I can’t wait for this series to continue honestly!!! 

Navessa is amazing at character development and really making you fall into the scenes and fall in love with her characters. 

Brittany Peterson

I loved this book - the club, the mob ties were chefs kiss! 

If your looking for a book exactly like lights out your gonna be mad or disappointed but this book stood on its own!!! I throughly enjoyed it and it was laugh out loud funny at times 

I can’t wait for this series to continue honestly!!! 

Navessa is amazing at character development and really making you fall into the scenes and fall in love with her characters. 

in terms of mafia romances, this is low on my list. this is low on plot, high on smut and i went into this book with adequate expectations. it delivered on some promises, it was very hot. the plot fell flat (which i knew it would, so i was not surprised). but what makes this a 3 star and not a 4 star is that i did not feel the tension and yearning enough that i prefer in second chance romances. did we see him yearn? sure. but there were not nearly enough flashbacks, or remembering her favorite ice cream flavor, or surprising her by calling her her full name (confirmation name included). it was just “i look after her from afar. and now i want to be with her now”. if you’re into this type of stalking/smut, i do recommend “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping” by Alta Hensley… you’re welcome.