Lights Out (Into Darkness Series)

I went into Lights Out expecting a dark romance, but I honestly didn’t expect to have this much fun reading it. The banter was probably my favorite part. The chemistry between the characters felt natural, the dialogue actually made me laugh, and the story kept moving without those long stretches where you’re just waiting for something interesting to happen. It’s definitely dark and spicy, but somehow it also manages to be funny and genuinely entertaining at the same time. I also really liked that the male lead wasn’t just the typical brooding, controlling dark-romance guy with absolutely no personality beyond being obsessed with the FMC. He’s unhinged, absolutely, but he’s also funny, likable, and weirdly endearing. Their dynamic is what really sold the book for me. If you like dark romance, morally questionable characters, good banter, plenty of spice, and a story that doesn’t take itself TOO seriously, this is definitely worth reading. One of those books where I kept telling myself “one more chapter” and then realized I’d been reading way longer than I intended. I’d absolutely recommend it and would read it again.

I can't even fully explain why I loved this book as much as I did. Obviously, the spice is TOP-TIER. But it was so much more than that. I was so ridiculously invested in Josh and Aly that I couldn't even bring myself to critique the plot, the characters, or any of the completely unhinged things happening. I was too busy rooting for these two! Aly is a trauma nurse with a very specific fantasy involving masked men. Josh happens to be a masked man who posts thirst traps online, and when their worlds collide, things escalate from internet obsession to actual stalking, breaking and entering, and a relationship that should probably have me questioning my judgment. But nope. I was ALL IN. Josh is somehow a walking red flag and completely lovable at the same time. He's obsessive, possessive, and absolutely crosses boundaries that should send any reasonable woman running. But he's also funny, surprisingly sweet, and so completely gone for Aly that I found myself cheering him on. And Aly? She's no helpless victim. She gives as good as she gets, and the chemistry between these two is ridiculous. THE BANTER. My God, the banter. It was hot, hilarious, and sometimes so absurd that I was laughing out loud. I honestly think that's what made this book work so well for me. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither do Josh and Aly. And then there's the suspense storyline that takes things beyond their very unconventional romance. Between the danger, the secrets, and the increasingly ridiculous situations these two find themselves in, I just kept turning pages. I've said before that I have to be in a very specific mood for dark romance. Otherwise, I start picking apart the writing, the shallow plots, and the questionable character development. But Lights Out? I didn't care about any of that. Not because the book is beyond criticism, but because I was having too damn much fun to look for anything wrong with it. The kinks, the stalking, the obsession, the questionable decisions...none of it should work as a romance in the real world. But in this completely fictional, wonderfully messed-up world? I could not get enough of Josh and Aly.

I am completely obsessed with Lights Out by Navessa Allen! It completely lived up to the hype and delivered everything I could possibly want in a dark rom-com. The Cutest, Most Wholesome Relationship: I never thought a story starting with a masked stalker could feel so incredibly sweet, but Aly and Josh are absolute couple goals. Their dynamic is built on mutual respect, enthusiastic consent, and an adorable "who slays together, stays together" energy. The way Josh cherishes her (and her cat Fred!) will give you full-blown cavities. The Spice is Next-Level: If you are looking for high heat, this book delivers. The chemistry is palpable right from the start. The spice is kinky, intense, and wonderfully creative (definitely a solid four-chili-pepper read! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️), but it always feels deeply organic to their emotional connection. Laugh-Out-Loud Humor: What truly makes this a 5-star read is the brilliant dark humor. The witty dialogue and hilarious internal monologues caught me completely off guard. Aly’s unhinged hypothetical questions and Josh's inner reactions had me literally laughing out loud. If you want a fast-paced book that flawlessly balances a thrilling plot, crazy high stakes, emotional depth, and a goldmine of laughs, buy this immediately!

This was a different kind of read, but in a good way. 3.5 We’ve got a spicy masked man, medical drama, a serial-killer parent background, mob ties, tragic loss, and a stalker all mixed together. It’s somehow light while still being dark, which was an interesting combination. The pacing was a little all over the place for me, but I did enjoy the dual POV. As a Booktok sensation, I wouldn’t say this is as amazing as everyone claims, but I definitely wouldn’t call it a bomb either. For me, it landed somewhere right in the middle. I personally feel like it gets much better towards the middle and end.

📖 ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 📖 "Lɪɢʜᴛs Oᴜᴛ" ʙʏ Nᴀᴠᴇssᴀ Aʟʟᴇɴ sᴛᴏʀʏ: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ sᴘɪᴄᴇ: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ I have to start with this was my first read from this author and I went in blind. I knew it was a masked/stalker romance and, being a 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊 girlie, I was definitely down to give it a shot and dove right in...and I'm glad I finally did! I went in with absolutely no expectations...turns out, there was some delicious spice and hilarious banter from the black cat x chaotic hilarious golden retriever in this story and I'm so here for it! Overall, this was a really fun, fast-paced read with a twisty storyline that kept me entertained while laughing out loud. Not even 10% in and I was laughing out loud at both main characters’ inner (and outer) dialog! 🤣 Aly is a trauma ER nurse with a secret mask kink, social media stalking various online masked man accounts to blow off steam from her constant work schedule. Her favorite is the Faceless Man, who posts online thirst traps religiously three times a week for thousands of feral, fellow masked man fans. Then she drunk texts her on again/off again friend with benefits a screenshot of the Faceless Man asking for some masked fun…getting an instant denial (bummer). Little does she know, her FWB shows his roommate, Josh…not realizing his roommate IS the Faceless Man who is all too willing to give Aly what she wants! Talk about a lucky girl 😂 Insert instalust, online stalking, breaking and entering, delightfully funny, filthy, dominant unhinged shenanigans and you have yourself a fun little stalker romcom. I'm a new Navessa Allen fan! 😏😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 It’s worth mentioning some of the reviews posted about the second half of the story surrounding Aly's estranged cousins/uncle where the plot seems to go on a little tangent. Personally, I didn't really have any issue with it as it actually made sense in the context of the story in my opinion. It introduces several more characters and (I'm guessing) sets up potential subsequent books in the series while tying up this plot in a neat little bow. Is it 💯% factual, no of course not, but that’s the beauty of fiction: it doesn’t have to be! I followed along just fine, enjoyed the plot twists, and laugh out loud moments 🤣 so I didn't have any problem with it and just went along for the ride! Was this book as dark as I expect my 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘 to be? Absolutely not. Are there dark themes and descriptions of dark acts? Yep. Did it have spicy, spicy scenes involving a masked, hot, tattooed, morally gray, filthy dominant man taking control and giving us all what we want? 💯%! Did I enjoy it? 𝒀𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒓, 𝑰 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕! And the fantastically hilarious banter and fun development of the main characters was worth the read in my opinion (I really love them!) This book is the "lite" edition of dark romance, a dark romcom if that’s such a thing, with a delightfully funny, chaotically sexy, unhinged and morally gray 𝓰𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 MMC crossed with 𝖇𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖈𝖆𝖙, boss lady FMC energy. If you're a hardcore dark romance girl and all the details that entails? You might not like this book. However, if you like funny, rom-coms with a dark theme, light BDSM with questionable toys, filthy talking, hot masked men with random plot twists and a strong FMC? You definitely want to read this one! I loved it and I'll definitely be back for book #2, whenever that one comes out 😊 I haven't read B&BB but I'm told this is similar FYI. Bottomline: It's a spicy, fun read that will have you simultaneously laughing out loud and falling in love with the main characters and their fur baby, Fred the cat. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 🔪😉 Let that marinate for a minute... Read it, you're welcome lol! 😜 OH! And PS the audio version of this book is 𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵! I don't usually listen to audio books BUT the male narrator deserves a medal and an award! Literally the BEST! ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇs: 💙sᴛᴀʟᴋᴇʀ/ᴍᴀsᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴀɴ ᴘʟᴀʏ ☠️ᴅᴀʀᴋ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ("ʟɪᴛᴇ" ᴇᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ) 🖤ᴅᴀʀᴋ ʀᴏᴍᴄᴏᴍ 💙ʜᴇ ꜰᴀʟʟs ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʀᴅ ☠️sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ 🖤sᴏꜰᴛ ᴅᴏᴍ/BDSM sᴄᴇɴᴇs 💙ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ ᴅᴇsᴄʀɪʙᴇᴅ ☠️ʀᴇᴅ ꜰʟᴀɢs 🚩 🖤ᴍᴀꜰɪᴀ ᴛɪᴇs 💙ᴘʀɪᴍᴀʟ ᴘʟᴀʏ ☠️ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠ 🖤ᴍᴏʀᴀʟʟʏ ɢʀᴀʏ ᴍᴍᴄ 💙 🔪 ᴘʟᴀʏ (ɪʏᴋʏᴋ) ☠️ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴄᴀᴛ x ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ ʀᴇᴛʀɪᴇᴠᴇʀ

4.5⭐️ This book was so much fun! I love the main characters, Josh and Aly. Josh was honestly hilarious and adorable which I didn’t expect from a stalker romance. Aly is a bad b and I certainly wouldn’t want to be on her bad side. They are quite perfect together. The banter is the best and I was absolutely smiling to myself and giggling. The plot was fun and fast paced. The mob part seemed a tad bit cringy so that’s why I took off a .5⭐️. Overall, this book was a really fun read!

This book got me back into reading (and I am eternally grateful to Navessa Allen for that). Describing this book at random has gotten me some weird looks and awkward pauses. It is hard to explain why a stalker romance is funny, sexy, and heartwarming. It is extra difficult to convey exactly what makes this particular story so unique. I think a part of that is that this book is LITERALLY about the line between fantasy and reality (at least, in part). Some of the appeal is that we can thirst over Josh alongside Ali, and vice versa, and experience their chaotic, kinky, questionable choices through them (this is fantasy. Maybe a kink or two is unlocked though for you.) Meanwhile, their actual relationship is more dorky and healthy than it initially seems and, critically, all of these experiences are trapped in fiction. This is also quite easy to do because the characters are highly relatable. You don't need to have a serial killer Father to feel like a kindred spirit to Josh's anxiety and zealous nature. You don't need to be a trauma nurse in an inner city ER with buckets of trauma to understand the feeling of being overworked and lonely like Ali. So, I think when some of these elements come together you get a genuinely wild and vivid experience. Plus, of course, Josh and Ali are a genuine joy to read about with laugh out loud humor, incredible banter, and a compelling romantic plotline. If I had any criticism, it would be the external stakes/plot weren't very complex and, as a result, slightly jarring when they ramp up. HOWEVER, that really bares no effect on my rating because I think the story might actually be worse if it tried to balance that more. It's not really about all that. So 5 stars. Easily. Note: please read the content warnings on this one. I've skipped a lot of summary because it's well known, but if you've managed to escape any sort of knowledge of this book be warned the TW includes "Accidental Cannibalism" (which is somehow not unusual in my library?) and detailed explicit scenes. And on the note of spicy scenes: I read the hard copy version first, but it was the audio book that made me want to read this so I gave it a listen. I....could not. The voice actors are AMAZING and this is a great audiobook, but listening to Josh describe his solo time thinking about Ali makes for a really awkward car ride.

**Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Spice:** 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 💀 MaskTok 💀 Stalker Rom-Com 💀 He Falls First 💀 Morally Grey MMC 💀 Cat Lover (Fred... IFKYK 🐈) ### My Thoughts I loved this book when I first read it, but listening to the audiobook made me love it even more! The narrators absolutely brought these characters to life. Their performances had me laughing out loud—even while I was out on hot, sweaty walks. Needless to say, I got a few strange looks! 😂 The humor, the chemistry, and Josh's obsession with Aly were perfectly balanced. It's equal parts hilarious, sweet, and just the right amount of unhinged. I already know this is an audiobook I'll be listening to again. ### Summary Aly is a nurse with a not-so-secret obsession with MaskTok. One masked creator in particular has completely captured her attention... along with the attention of countless other women. Hoping to bring one of her fantasies to life, she asks her friends-with-benefits to wear a mask. He quickly shuts the idea down—but not before mentioning it to his roommate, Josh. The only problem? Josh *is* the mysterious masked man Aly has been fantasizing about. Josh has been interested in Aly ever since the first time they met while she was hooking up with his roommate. Because of his difficult past, he's spent years keeping everyone at arm's length. But now that he knows she's been dreaming about someone exactly like him, everything changes. As a hacker, finding every comment she's ever left online is the easy part. The real challenge is making all of Aly's fantasies come true... without completely scaring her away. But Josh isn't the only one watching her. Someone else has Aly in their sights, and their intentions are anything but innocent. Josh will do whatever it takes to protect her—and their adorable four-legged child, Fred. The only question is... when Aly learns the truth about Josh's past, will she still choose him?

4.5 OMG. This book is the perfect mix of Haunting Adeline and Butcher & Blackbird. And if you know me, you know that Butcher & Blackbird is one of my all-time favorite books . The dark side of the story is balanced out with so much humor that I was literally laughing out loud. To sum it up: Aly is a trauma nurse who's a huge fan of The Faceless Man, a guy who posts thirst trap videos of himself wearing a mask so no one knows who he is. Josh is a bit of an introverted hacker because of personal stuff, but he’s got this golden retriever vibe (yeah, hard to picture, I know). And guess what else he does? Yep, he posts videos of himself wearing a mask on the internet. You see where this is going, right? Anyway, I LOVED this book (even though I thought it was a bit long at times, with lots of monologues or scenes that weren’t really needed). I also have the audiobook, and I think listening to it will be even better and way funnier with Josh’s reactions and all the voice changes!

It checks every box of dark romance and the comedy was the cherry on top. I was hooked! Hooked from the first few pages. The twist was sooooo good, I did not see it coming and I usually do. It was that well written. The smut was 5/5, 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 A book with great banter, quirky humour and such a good build up is so rare to find. This book was everything and more. The comedy was 🤌🤌 This story delivered everything it promised. And the best part? A FMC with brains that she actually uses!!! My favourite book of the year. Yes, it's only March but this one is going to be my favourite. Give this a read.

Let me start by saying this: Lights Out by Navessa Allen is not Dostoevsky. It is not Tolstoy. It will probably not be discussed in 200 years by academics stroking their chins and debating the existential symbolism of the mask. And thank God for that. 😂 I picked up this book while thinking quite a lot about Jung, the Shadow, the parts of ourselves we keep nicely dressed, socially acceptable and under adult supervision. Apparently mine escaped. And she has questionable taste in men. Because somewhere between “this is completely ridiculous,” “this man needs therapy,” and “under no circumstances would I tolerate any of this in real life,” I became thoroughly, shamelessly entertained. That is the magic of Lights Out. It understands the difference between what a woman may want in reality and what her imagination occasionally wants to play with when nobody is looking. The fantasy is dark, obsessive, inappropriate, funny, sexy and gloriously unburdened by the requirement to make sensible life choices. Would I want this man anywhere near my actual house? Absolutely not. Did I want him to stay inside the book? Sir, please continue. 😇 And beneath all the darkness and kink, what surprised me most was the humour. The book doesn't take its own madness too seriously. It knows exactly what game it is playing with the reader, occasionally winks at you, and then happily pushes you back down the rabbit hole. There is also something strangely interesting underneath all the masks, obsession and morally questionable behaviour: the fantasy of being completely, unmistakably, inconveniently wanted. Not politely liked. Not sensibly compatible. Wanted. My feminist brain had several objections. My inner psychologist took notes. My Shadow confiscated the Kindle. Five stars. No regrets. Please don't psychoanalyse my reading history. I already did. 😈📚

Il libro mi è piaciuto molto, interessante, accattivante, originale. Mi sono innamorata anche io di Josh! Non credo sia indicato a un pubblico adolescente, per via dei contenuti e della scene esplicite. Tuttavia, da adulta, l'ho decisamente apprezzato e non vedo l'ora di leggere gli altri due libri.

Lights Out by Navessa Allen Genre: Dark Stalker Romcom, 18+ My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ • TW: Sexually explicit scenes, stalking, mention of (off-page) rp3, child abuse (remembered), medical content, blood and gore, discussion of mental health, limited description of mass shooting, mention of serial killers and their crimes, invasion of privacy, home invasion, death, death of a parent, breath play, knife play, gun play, fear play, primal play, mask play, consensual dubious consent. See book for full list. • Here it is at last—my first five star read of the year. Lights Out by Vanessa Allen was truly a delightful read that had me from the start. It is the most fun I’ve had with a contemporary dark romance in a long time. It was funny, engaging and entertaining. Both the FMC and MMC, Aly and Josh, were a delight to get to know. I genuinely enjoyed watching their relationship blossom into something more than just an obsession. I also want to mention the true crime aspect of the story. It tied so well into not only the plot, but the characters themselves. It offered unique challenges, and allowed the reader to see a new side to the characters that we might not have gotten otherwise. The true crime really helped to round out the story as whole, and it’s something I wouldn’t mind seeing other dark romances do. Now the spice. THE SPICE! I said it before, but I’m going to say it again, Navessa Allen writes smut of the highest calibre. You know the book is going to be spicy, but boy does it deliver! There is nothing vanilla about what goes on between Aly and Josh, and I am here for it. If dark romance is your jam, DO NOT WAIT to read this book. Get your hands on it ASAP! You won’t be disappointed. Thanks again to @navessa.allen for letting me be an ARC reader. It was an absolute pleasure. 🖤