Slam dunk on the narration. Duet narration was perfect for this style book and automatically made me love it even more.

This book is perfect for fans of Leather & Lark. It's a good combo of dark romance, dark comedy, and a small mob subplot. It was like if L&L and Haunting Adeline had a baby. The dark stalker masked man vibes were so hot. My favorite spicy scenes I've read in a long time. Excuse me maam - did not need to add knife handle to my list of "well mayyyybe".

Idk what it is about masked men and hackers/stalkers but I freaking love that in a book. Josh nailed it. He can break into my house any day.

I'm not a huge fan generally of back door action but it was very well executed. There's a little bit of everything in this book. Level 4 spice for sure.

A little bit lacking in the plot department at some spots because I couldn't figure out really what the conflict was but I was having such a good time that I didn't even really care.

2x speed was perfect for both narrators. It flowed seamlessly. Highly recomend the audio and I will for sure be snagging more. books by this author.

Thank you to Dreamscape for the audio and Zando/Slowburn for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

“If I’m the cat, what does that make you? The Mouse?”
“I’m s mother {bleeping} wolf”

This was a wild ride of a story and I loved every second of it! So many laugh-out-loud moments that made the more serious events humorous and light-hearted and just so fun to read.

Amy is such a badass FMC and I loved her outspokenness and vibes right from the get-go. As a trauma nurse, she’s seen some crazy stuff in her life and uses MaskTok as her escapism, commenting and watching her favourite page: The Faceless Man. One drunken night she sends a text that turns her fantasy into a reality.

Josh is an Uber-talented hacker with a dark past. As the son of a notorious serial killer, he’s used to living a reclusive life and lives out his fantasies and societal interactions via his MaskTok account. When he learns of Aly’s obsession, he decides to see just how serious her comments are.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with stalker vibes and un-aliving. It is very humourous (if you like dark humour) and an easy read. highly recommend.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: August 06, 2024
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I had the book AS WELL as the audiobook for this one and let me tell you that the experience was elevated with the narration. This book was a like if Butcher and Blackbird and Haunting Adeline had a spooky little baby. This book will have you hooked by the first page and take you through a fast paced ride until the very end. I loved our two great main characters : Aly and Josh. Aly is a trauma nurse and Josh is a hacker && the man who is going to bring Aly’s fantasy alive and she doesn’t even know it yet (ahem and neither does his roommate (her ex haha). The banter and chemistry in this book is uncharted, stalkers hiring stalkers to stalk themselves was a HOOT and the sp!cy of this book was certainly smokin’. I just have to say that I think even though I love our two main characters here, I absolutely adore FRED the cat. This ending is going to have you reeling for MORE! There are a lot of TW’s that I think you should of course as usual investigate before jumping into this read.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Primal, Secret Identity, Bratty Heroine, Slow Burn, Rom Com, Ex’s Roommate, Masked Men, Dark Romance, Stalker, Cat Parent, Possessive, Morally Grey Cinna-Roll, Kn!fe Play etc…

5⭐️ | 4🌶

What to expect:
~ Stalker romance
~ Mask and kn*fe play
~ Morally grey MMC x Feisty FMC
~ He falls first and hard
~ Top tier banter and spice
~ Cat parents
~ Un*living as a couple

Review:
Let’s just start by saying that I am absolutely stunned (and a little worried) seeing how much I enjoyed this book!

This is the first dark stalker romance that left giggling and laughing out loud! I got approved for both the ARC and ALC on NetGalley. Even though dark romance isn't usually my thing, this blend of fluffy, dark, funny, and witty elements made it irresistible.

The story features two very loveable characters- Josh and Aly, who share a quirky interest in ‘masked men" thirst traps. Josh creates them, and Aly drools over them. Their chemistry and banter are off the charts, making this possibly the best romcom, stalker romance, and thriller of the year.

This story is packed with plot twists, tough topics, and dark themes, but the humor and heartwarming moments overshadow the darker elements. Despite the occasional intensity, it remains an enjoyable and hilarious ride.

If you’re a fan of ‘Butcher and Blackbird’, you’ll love ‘Lights Out’. The stalker romance trope is turned on its head in the most delightful way! The spice, banter, and unique love story make this a standout listen.

Okay I loved this so much but not in the way I was expecting to love it!!

A dark-ish romance where the love interest is a sexy masked man from the internet and also… her ex’s best friend. SIGN ME UP.

Fast paced & fun - this book took me on a ride that I wasn’t expecting and I had the best time.

I really wanted to like this book. The story had so much potential but it just was not executed. I wanted more fear, more chase, more sinister masked man vibes and really what we got was a sexy man in a mask that was sweet and a golden retriever. There was no great transition through the plot points. And Aly went from holy crap I’m being stalked to just like “oh hey masked man what are we doing today.”

This book was so much fun. Excellent for fans of the Ruinous Love series by Brynn Weaver (Butcher & Blackbird, Leather & Lark). The banter between the MMC and FMC was genuinely laugh out loud. I wasn't just gently amused, I was kicking my feet and laughing. Josh, the MMC, had a traumatic childhood with a serial killer father, and he's become a bit of a recluse after a Netflix documentary, with the exception of his posts on his #masktok account. He's also deliciously tortured and always afraid he's going to turn out like his father.

Aly, an ER nurse who also has a bit of trauma in her past, falls down his thirst trap rabbit hole. Through an unknown (to Aly) personal connection, Josh and Aly begin a game of cat and mouse with some light st*lking. I love how smart, strong, and funny Aly was. She was so self aware in a way you just don't seen in ~dark~ romance books. Again, I really hesitate to call this dark romance though, because although there is primal play and a masked man, the overall tone is light and downright adorable. Watching Aly and Josh fall equally in love with each other was a blast and I really want to read more from this author. Also -- spice was spicing!

Did someone say... masked stalker? 👀
I don't know why I didn't pick this up sooner, because honestly? I loved every second of it 👏🏻
Aly is an ER nurse, who spends her free time scrolling through the infamous "masktok". One masked man in particular holds her attention though. Who knew he'd share any interest in her?
Josh, the masked man in question, is determined to see if Aly's interest is real, and spends some time stalking around 😈
My favorite thing about this book though?
The fact that Josh is a golden retriever boyfriend who's slightly unethical in his methods. He is obsessed with Aly but he's so sweet to her.
The spice was on point too 😉
if you have a mask smink, this book is a must.
"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."

She's an ER trauma nurse with a special interest in guys in masks and he's the son of a killer who is the very same guy she's obsessed with... who just happens to be obsessed with her too. Aly has seen it all, blood, guts, and gore and sometimes she just needs to take a break... and by break she means scrolling through her FYP filled with shirtless men wearing ghosts-masks, especially the ones who are heavily tattooed, wiedling knives, and covered in blood. There's just something about them that really does it for her... so when she drunk texts the guy she's been hooking up with to ask him to play out a scene for her... she gets more than she bargained for when the very same guy she's obsessed with online plays out her fantasies in real life. Josh is the son of a famous serial killer and has had a hard time separating himself from his father, especially since his face is a carbon copy of his dad's. He works from home, is an introvert, and has found that the only way to get a bit of release is through making masked guy thirst traps online.... until he meets his roommates hookup, Aly... and ever since then he's been obsessed with her. So when his roommate/best friend shows him the drunken text from Aly with his own photo saying she's into masked guys... Josh is all too happy to make Aly's fantasies a reality... that is if he doesn't scare her off first. So begins a game of cat and mouse as Josh makes all of Aly's dreams come true and Aly embraces her fantasies. This was a fun dark romance and definitely sweeter than I thought it was going to be. Josh and Aly just so perfectly fit one another and are made for each other. They so perfectly know what the other wants and needs, and their romance was really cute. I had so much fun reading this and will definitely be reading more from this author!

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Zando | Slowburn for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Dark romance with some good laughs, spicy and stalking. Loved the banter between them! Amy was a great character, Josh was also a great complex character and past trauma worming through. Found him enjoyable and not creepy at all for a stalker book. Can we take a minute to appreciate Fred the cat?! I’m not even a cat person but I’d love to meet Fred and his friend at the end of the book! 4.5 stars and would recommend to my dark romance friends! Thank you to netgalley and publishers for an early ready and my honest review.

This one shocked me how good it was. I did not expect to love this one the way I did. WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK MORE??!!! Omg its so good!

This is a page turning Dark Romance. The romance in this book is a mysterious slower burn, with an obsessive stalker side. The book is very spicy. The spicy scenes are descriptive, and fun taking in some of the fantasies of the thirst traps of social media. The book moves at a quick pace following Aly as she has her comments on a social media mask thirst trap account become reality. Josh has hidden away from the world due to who is father is, and Aly brings out a side of him he didnt know existed. Aly and Josh have some amazing banter throughout the entire book. The book is hot, and funny. It is a book you wont want to put down!

Spicy contemporary dark mf dual pov rom com. Fun read with fantastic banter. I'm so glad I was able to read this book via NetGalley. I'm adding the author's other works to my tbr now.

Thanks again to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this gem!

Where to begin? I can't decide if this book was dark romance or a funny rom-com with adorable banter. In the end -- it was clearly both (I swear).

Aly has a thing for masked men (if you're on MaskTok, then you know) and when her ex's roommate discovers that she's a fan of his masked account...all bets are off. Josh is this unhinged gooey cinnamon roll who is IMPOSSIBLE not to fall for.

I don't want to get too deep into the book and spoil their adventures but let's say they both get themselves into a bit of a pickle and that still doesn't stop these two from ultimately realizing each other is their missing half.

Special shoutout to Fred, the real star of the show!

OMG!! This book is just the best! I was sold at masked stalker.

This is a dual POV with golden retriever cinnamon roll masked MMC stalker, Fred who is a great judge of character, really good spice🥵, and witty banter.

The way Josh’s uses his stalker tendencies to take care of Aly is just so sweet. I loved everything about this. Their banter had me giggling. This is the perfect masked stalker rom-com. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

What do you do when you find out your darkest fantasy has come to life?!?!

Where are my dark romcom lovers at? I see you raising your hands, and I’m here to say...this book is for you! It was such a wild ride and has the perfect balance of humor and dark vibes. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book except it had to do with a trauma nurse and a masked man, but it ended up being so much more than that. The banter, the heat, the humor, the characters, the story....I am totally blown away.

What to expect:
•Dark RomCom
•St@lker Romance
•Morally Gray MMC
•He Falls First & Hard
•Knife Play
•Banter

I love these characters. Aly and her masked man...they are seriously the best and are so perfect for each other. I was legit chuckling and swooning so much while reading…as well as fanning myself because whew does this book bring the HEAT. There were so many unexpected little elements and twists thrown in that elevated this book to an entirely new level.

There was captivating suspense, oh so delicious tension, top notch banter, and combustible chemistry. This was such an amazing read that I just want to shove at everyone to read.

Yeah, @navessa.allen, you had me at ghost masks and heavily tattooed. I, like Aly, am obsessed with the fiiiiiiiner thing in life 😉

What I liked about the book:
1. I loved that both of them had tragic backstories, rather than just one of them.

Josh got good with tech to hide him, his mom, and his stepdad from his killer father. He was also so concerned with not ending up like his dad, that he was such a freaking sweetie! Let’s forget about the cameras on her 24/7, the breaking into her house, and the overall obsessed/stalker status (this is dark romance, we can forgive most things 😉), this man did and was willing to do everything he could in his power to keep her safe and happy. He bought her better security systems, gave her rides home after exhausting shifts (complete with snacks!), and “adopted” her cat as though he was his own. He was, literally, the total package.

Aly became an ER trauma nurse because she couldn’t save her mom when she was a teenager. She was also incredibly smart and resilient after having closed herself off from others for years because of the fear of letting them down like she thought she let her mom down. She did not come off as naïve or unable to keep herself out of trouble. In fact, she came off as having a great “gut” and being calm under stress. This was so important because she was the “prey” in this situation, but it never felt like there was a power imbalance because of how strong and smart she was.

An additional thing I want to note about both of these characters is they each had an astounding grasp on their shortcomings and why they felt and did the things they did.

Josh: Why did it feel so good to care for her, even on such a micro level? Was it because I’d never had anyone to call my own before?

--

Aly: Why did I think I didn’t get to have good things? Was it because so much had been taken from me at too young an age…? Was that when I’d stopped letting people in and started pushing them away, only proving to myself that everyone would eventually leave me?

--

Despite some questionable choices at times, they were both good people who had bad luck and dirty minds.

2. Masked Man = good. Praise kink = good. Bondage = good. Edging = good. Breath play = good. So much good… 🤤

Also, kink normalization for the win!!!

“The fact that there were so many others into my specific kinks also normalized my desires. I didn’t feel wrong for liking mask play…”

3. Despite having a lot of heavy topics, trauma, and a super spicy subplot, this thing was chalked full of humor! I loved how funny Josh was, especially with Aly’s cat and the whole trail mix/car ride situation where he didn’t want her to hear his voice but he wanted to drive her home. Aly’s comments on his videos were hilarious as well! I can’t say I haven’t thought similar things and then giggled and talked myself out of typing them.

4. I liked that Tyler, Josh’s childhood best friend and roommate and Aly’s past hookup, showed up when it mattered. He stuck by Josh’s side since they were kids, he never brought girls home who were into true crime so they wouldn’t recognize Josh, and he explained Josh’s backstory to Aly when she was freaking out and ready to commit the miscommunication trope. Overall, he was a tool, but a useful one.

5. I loved Nico and Co 😂 I have a feeling their stories are going to be some of the trilogy. Please tell me Vern and Greg are next!!!

6. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THAT THEY BROUGHT UP STDS BEFORE EVEN GIVING ORAL!!! Y’all, the OCD in my head tells me that if I get anything from you I will automatically die, so this very realistic situation to me was fantastic to see represented. I feel we get a lot of books that the question is asked after oral but before penetration, and I’m like, “Friend, his/her cum was on your tongue. If they ain’t clean, you ain’t either now.”

7. There were so many good lines, both dirty and thought provoking.

Josh: “If I’m the cat, what does that make you? The mouse?”
Aly: “I’m a mother f*cking wolf.”

- QUEEN!

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.

- Is this too much to ask?

“Relax, baby,” I told her, brushing her hair from her neck. “You can take it.”

- I. Am. Goo.

What I wasn’t a fan of:
1. I really wish his name wasn’t Josh. That is my brother’s name. And to make it worse, he is my brothers height, build, and general stature, so that’s fantastic. So, yeah, his name got filled in with Jace, Jason, Jacob, Jack, Joe, J, etc. really fast in my head. I ain’t never read a story about a man named Joe who I wanted to bang, but at least it was better than Josh.

Please note, this didn’t change my rating overall of the story, but did impact my experience 😂

2. The book read so fast, but it definitely hit a slow point towards the 60% mark or so. It did pick up again though.

Thank you to NetGalley, Zando, and Navessa Allen for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

I ended up listening to the audio and reading along. This was deliciously dark and spicy! The narrators were perfection. The voice simulator for the male was everything. This is an audio I can see myself going back and listening too because I enjoyed so much. I need every paperback version and special edition that comes out of this book. It will be owned in all the self trophies possible.

This is a great book for any dark romance and mafia lovers! I very much enjoyed the dynamic between Aly & Josh; there were some very sweet moments, unhinged moments, smutty moments (of course), and laugh out loud moments. One of my favorite parts of this book was Aly’s cat, Fred, which was an unexpected but very much welcome surprise! Fred played a surprisingly important role in their relationship and who doesn’t absolutely love an animal companion?!

In all honesty this book could have been 5 stars for me but the random dive into mafia territory about halfway through was very jarring. I don’t mind the mafia influence, it was just so unexpected in a way that it felt like this book was two different stories in one. I also felt that there was A LOT of internal dialogue. I do enjoy reading our main characters though processes, however, there was a lot that I felt simply wasn’t needed.

All in all, I would still highly recommend this book to dark romance lovers and even to those who may be new to the genre looking for a good amount of thrill & spice!

Absolutely loved this!

I've been dipping my toe into dark romance and this was the perfect book for that. It's dark but also hilarious. Allen did a wonderful job blending dark romance and humor. It reminded me a lot of the book Butcher & Blackbird.

Aly & Josh were incredible characters. I thought their dynamic was a lot of fun. Josh was morally grey but not psycho which I appreciated. Aly was kind but also had a dark side. They were both fascinating characters that I wanted to learn more about. Both were the right kind of wrong for each other. They matched each other's freak if you will (lol).

The spice was fantastic and hot! Phew! Melted my kindle it was so hot!

100% recommend! Would say this is a good book for dark romance beginners like myself.

I really liked this book and had so much fun reading it. I was super invested in the first half but the second half dragged for some reason. This book gave butcher & blackbird vibes and I was here for it! Josh and Aly were so funny. Josh was such a sweetheart even though he was a little unhinged! I loved how they both were so protective of each other. They were perfect for each other. Overall I enjoyed this book but wish it took longer for Aly to find out who the stalker was. If you are looking for a dark masked man/ stalker romance this book is for you!
Thank you so much to Zando for letting me read this ARC 🫶🏻