5 stars for Aly and Josh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Zando/Zando-Slowburn for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Lights Out by Navessa Allen!

This book was such a ride! And I enjoyed every single bit of it. I'm devastated that it's over and I'm hoping and praying that Navessa Allen will write more for Aly and Josh!

Please read the trigger warnings! I can honestly sit here and write poems and sonnets and haikus and allll that jazz about this book. The comedy, the thrill, the romance, the masked man?! Navessa Allen did us well. And let's be real, the best character in this book is Fred. Hands down. Surprisingly, Tyler wasn't as much of a jerk as I thought he'd be and he was a very good best friend.

I loved how Aly and her masked man met. It was something different and original to me. Also the way that these two came together and actually talked their problems out? That was appreciated. I enjoyed reading about the reality of Aly's personal life as a trauma nurse and seeing Josh take care of her after her long nights at the hospital were so sweet. I mean this man cooks her bacon, it was so sweet *wipes away happy tear*. They both grew from their past trauma and that lead to them building a beautiful relationship!

If you are a fan of romance with mystery and spicy spice and of course masked MMCs then this book is just for you! In the words of Josh, "The couple who slays together, [indeed] stays together." Now, excuse me while I wait for the official paperback to release!

Working the day after a holiday should be illegal. Thank goodness I had a great book to keep me company this morning.

Thank you @zandoprojects and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Lights Out” by Navessa Allen. I saw the blurb for it, and since I’m leaning into my dark romance era, I felt like now was the perfect time to read it… and when I say read it, I mean binge it. Couldn’t put it down.

The themes are dark and heavy. There’s mask kinks, knife play, stalking, voyeurism, and unaliving. However, this book was also surprisingly warm, caring, and laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed every second of it. There were a few scenes I would have liked more of (the spicy ones for sure), and some that I could have done with less of (family business), but overall I thought it was really well done and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Book Review
Lights Out by Nevessa Allen

⚠️Triggers⚠️
Theres a slew of them…. Read the warnings at the start of the book

Tropes
🔪Murder and the mob
😇Good girl meets bad guy😈
❤️‍🩹Childhood trauma
👀Sexual kinks and quirks
No door- the door does not exist 🍆🔥

Thoughts
✅New to me author
✅Dark romance- its my guilty pleasure
✅Sarcastic witty banter was on point- humour as a coping strategy is always relatable
✅Both MCs have a healthy knowledge of their own Mental health and access to supports and therapy are openly discussed

Quote
“I didn't want him morally grey. I wanted someone with a soul as black as night.
Someone who would burn the world down for me and not lose a single minute of sleep over it.”

Overall
If you like vanilla (in either sex or your murder mystery) then this book is not for you- scroll on by
If you like taking risks, spontaneity, trying new things, and have a healthy sexual appetite- read this book

Thanks to @zando and the author for my digital copy in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for sending me an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

BESTIES. I requested this book while my hyper-focus was Call of Duty (still is a hyper fixation but shhhhh) and, more specifically, I was hyper focused on the excellent Simon 'Ghost' Riley and Captain Price. So, a book based around a cosplayer who is similar to Ghost. Sign me UP.

And boy did I have fun reading this. It was a great pallet cleanser that kept me interested the whole way through. I was reading this on the train, on my lunch breaks.....all the time. This was cute, a little dark, and absolutely wonderful for a dark romance beginner, (which I am not...).

The writing style was really smooth and well thought out, the characters were adorable and I loved seeing them go from cosplayer and fan to toxic buddies to falling in love (even though she was already kind of in love with him from the beginning). If you are looking for a dark romance that is good for beginners and based around the one and only Simon 'Ghost' Riley.....this is the book for you.

4 stars.

✨ Spicy
✨ Touch her and die
✨ Bad ass FMC
✨ Masked MMC
✨ Exboyfriends best friend
✨ Cat and Mouse
✨ Dual POV
✨ Mafia Family

STOP IT RIGHT NOW. This book was wonderful. Imo the perfect cat and mouse duet. There was spice, there was chase, there was a reason to be on the edge of your seat. I loved everything about it. Aly is a trauma nurse and a total badass with a fondness for masked thirst traps she sees on her FYP. Josh is her ex boy-toys best friend who is 100% my newest book boyfriend and I am not ashamed to admit it, who just so happens to also be a masked thirst trap maker. Also, there is a cat named Fred and he is by far my favorite supporting character of the year.

I loved this book. I would say if you liked Butcher & Blackbird and can get past the trigger warnings this is 100% down your Aly (ha, get it, Aly... ill see myself out)

I had been wanting to read this book for quite some time and was so excited that I got to review it. Going into it I knew this book would be interesting and quite the story, dabbling in some questionable territory.

Aly is a trauma nurse and in her spare time has quite the obsession with a mysterious masked tik toker. When he turns out to be someone she knows he starts to find ways to be around her, by stalking her. She likes it and he likes it. The end, not so fast!

Now, what I thought would be a spicy romantic story turns into a bit of a suspense in the middle. It threw me off a bit and while I enjoyed the majority of the book I felt like that portion was a storyline wasn't necessary and could have been told differently. I just didn't care for that part of the book and wish it had taken a different turn. That is just my opinion. The beginning of the book was amazing though!

Overall this book was enjoyable and didn't lack spice for sure. I would recommend and I'm glad I got to read it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Navessa Allen and Zando for allowing me to review this ARC!

Have you found yourself scrolling for hours on Booktok with masked men thirst traps? Then this may be exactly what you are looking for! The chaos of borderline hysterical stalking in this novel made for a fun read that had me thinking same, girl, same to Aly's inner monologue. Josh was unmatched in his reaction to Aly, who doesn't love a hacker watching your every move to make sure you're safe, *swoon*. Josh may be smart but Aly keeps him on his toes and they both compliment each others crazy - like a match made in dark romance heaven. Full of spice and story to keep you wanting more this was a great read, get ready for it's publishing re-release on August 6th!

Lights Out is a dark, spicy romance. Aly is a trauma nurse who has a particular interest in tattooed, shirtless guys in Scream masks on TikTok. Little does she know, she has a connection to her favorite TikToker.

Pick this up if you like:
- Butcher & Blackbird
- dark romance
- spice
- protective trope

TRAD ARC review. This book was the book that got me into dark romance as this is also a read with a ton of humour. I absolutely love Aly and Fred (who by the way should win an award for best cat). Josh knows no boundaries but he can’t help it! It’s not his fault he is a tad different! My man can’t cook for the life of him. But he’s funny! One SUPER important thing to mention. He did nothing wrong. I will happily become his defence lawyer free of charge. Well. I’d love to pet Fred. He needs his own book. Aside from that the spice was spicing and just *chefs kiss* I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

I should have anticipated that with the ghost face tiktoks goin’ around, that a book would be born out of that demand - and it delivered!!!

lights out is easily my new fav read of the year. navessa manages to take us through 101 emotions (sometimes on a single page) in the best way possible. it’s hilarious, emotional, tender, morally questionable, and all around a fantastic book.

aly is a strongly written character, and i adored her wit and her sarcasm and her obsession over our masked mmc was hilarious. the comments she’d leave on his videos had me crying laughing (seriously!)

our masked man (name redacted for spoiler reasons) is one of the best written mmcs i’ve read. his moral compass is so skewed and his inner monologue is so so funny. he’s fiery hot, posessive, but so kind and treats aly with such a tender love that you can’t help but fall in love with him yourself.

i am so so happy to have read this and will be buying everything navessa writes ever again!!!!!

Yes! Yes, please!

Lights Out is absolutely amazing and sets the standard!

The way the story unfolded between Aly and Josh is beautiful and unexpected. Fred is, of course, the star!

Aly is fierce and confident, I loved that about her. She is a seasoned nurse and the way it is tied into the plot of the story felt so authentic to me.

Josh, oof, where to begin. First, *add to cart*! Second, he is so layered in his thoughts and personality. He's hot, he's a masked man, he has this online thirst trap persona... but he is so much more than that. Josh is emotional, deep, navigating insecurities and very real to him fears... while also being obsessed with Aly and wanting to make her his in every way.

I know this book will be a comfort read (and soon to be listen) to me as I have already read it three times straight through, and some chapters more than that.

Navessa, should you read this, YOU are absolutely amazing! You've gained a loyal obsessive reader. I cannot wait for the rest of the series and to see where the characters take us! I hope that we can get a movie of my babies!!

Thank you! and an extra thank you to Zando. <3

This was so so good! I was made aware that this has already been removed from print and KU on Amazon, but it will be getting traditionally published in August, and I know this is going to be BookToks and Bookstagrams next dark romance obsession ❤️‍🔥

I would recommend this to people that loved Butcher & Blackbird and The Mindf*ck series… it just gives the same ✨vibe✨

<b> For more bookish content and reviews, please follow my bookstagram💕

www.instagram.com/lovinmyshelf </b>