This was wildly different from what I expected, in the best way. Read this for a stalker romance with a golden retriever MMC and black cat FMC!

Aly is a trauma nurse who’s getting burned out. She blows off steam watching masked man thirst traps— especially her favorite TikToker. She texts a screenshot of this anonymous TikTok star to an ex-hookup after a particularly hard, lonely few weeks, and his roommate sees the text.

The roommate, Josh, who’s the masked man in those videos. And who’s had a crush on Aly since they met months ago. Does the masked man persona really work for her? Would a little light stalking freak her out?

Throw in suspense, the mob, major touch-her-and-die, soo much spice, and all things consent— you have this fun read! Yes, I said it, fun! Because while Josh is 100% a stalker in every sense of the word, he does offer to stop if Aly wants him to.

And she doesn’t. After reading, I totally get why.

Also, the humor in this was so much fun! I have no clue how this author made the book work so well, but does it ever work! I’ll be reading anything else she writes, folks! <3 I highly recommend for a dark romance that’s not dark enough to send me running!

I am absolutely obsessed with this book!! It is one that I honestly think anyone over the age of 18 would enjoy. The banter and the way the relationship develops between the FMC and MMC is 2nd to none. This book will have you both laughing and swooning!

I picked up Lights Out by Navessa Allen on vibes alone, if I'm being honest. I thought the cover was gorgeous and hearing this was a dark, stalker romance, with folks comparing this to Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver had me very excited. Well, it is not like Butcher and Blackbird at all. This was, at its core, simply a dark erotic romance with little plot, and there's nothing wrong with that!

The little tag line of the couple who slays together, stays together, and the comparison to another serial killer romance, had me going into this thinking we were getting murder along with stalking. That was really not the case. This entire novel is held together only by kinky smut with the barest plot that honestly wasn't needed. It gets 3.5 stars because the spice and kink was well written and once I realized that's what this book was about, I simply accepted it and enjoyed the ride. Female main character Aly is a trauma nurse and loves going home to watch thirst traps on tiktok of masked men. Fairly normal. Male main character Josh is one of those masked men thirst traps. Small world, they both live in the same town and he tracks her down, installs some surveillance, and hacks into cameras. This is pretty much the extent of the stalking. I guess one of the things I hate about "stalker" romances is that they're over in a second. I think Josh stalks Aly for approximately 1-2 days and then they meet and are pretty much together 24/7. That isn't a stalker romance. I had this same problem with Haunting Adeline. Stalking should be about the build-up, almost like a slow-burn romance. But, whatever, that's a me issue, a technicality.

What really dragged this book down was simply the attempt at having plot and lack of tension. There wasn't any tension between the main characters, despite Aly saying she was scared because Josh's POV would come right afterward and we'd hear how he'd never do anything to harm her, how he messed up by not thinking things through, how he would be making up for it. I liked it, but it didn't give any tension because we knew Aly was okay with it too. There's no tension in Aly trying to figure out her masked man's identity and there's no tension when the ONE ACCIDENTAL MURDER takes place (again, despite making this sound like a serial killer romance.) Everything was always going to be okay and you could feel it as you read, which left me wondering what the point of the story was other than an excuse for stringing sex scenes together. If the stakes were higher for the murder, this would've gotten a higher rating. And if they got rid of the murder and just had it be sex scenes with Aly trying to figure out what is happening for the entire story, I would've given this a higher rating. Ultimately, it attempted to do two things at once and did not do either well.

If you like Haunting Adeline but thought that was 'too dark', you'll definitely love Lights Out by Navessa Allen. If you're used to reading something darker that can keep tension fraught and plot interesting, this might leave you unfulfilled. I think I'd recommend this to anyone that wants to read smut featuring their preferred kinks and don't care about much else. This feels better than Haunting Adeline, but not as good as AJ Merlin's Pleasure and Prey series.

So, this was one hundred percent tiktok fanfiction, and I'm completely okay with it. It was weird, it was exciting, it was fun, and while you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit for some of Aly's reactions to Josh in the beginning, you also kind of... get it? The characters were well thought out, so I felt that their behavior made sense. I saw it mentioned in a previous review and I agree that Aly says it best: Josh is a soft dom golden retriever—sweet in the streets and mean in the sheets. Reading his POV was probably my favorite part of the whole book, because the dynamic he had with himself—the part of him trying so hard to be the opposite of his father versus the part of him that was, well, really kinky—was really fun. I also agree with a lot of other reviewers, however, that the mob thing kind of came out of left field. I get why as far as plot and character development, but I also felt like the first half of the book and the second half were almost two completely separate books.
Overall this was a 3.5 for me that I rounded up because I still had a good time.

I was initially drawn to this one because it was touted as a dark rom-com similar to Butcher & Blackbird, featuring a trauma nurse who is obsessed with an online thirst trap account, only to have him become obsessed with her, but when I opened it up and saw how long it was, I balked. This one fell firmly into the category of "way longer than it needed to be", and had I not read the bulk of it over the course of a 5 hour road trip, it definitely would have put me in a slump. I would recommend reading when you have a solid block of time to devote to it, because while the book is long, the writing is quick and easily digestible.

Aly is an ER nurse who is laser focused on her work, to the detriment of her personal life and mental well being. Her one guilty pleasure is religiously watching The Faceless Man videos, toying with the ideas of her darker fantasies. When she reaches out to an old hookup with one of these videos as a suggestion, he balks, and shows the text to his roommate Josh, appalled. Not being the observant type, he doesn't realize that the couch in the video is Josh's, and the hulking 6'4" frame and tattoos match those of his best friend and roommate. Having met Aly one time when she was over their apartment, Josh initially panics that his real life and internet life will collide, but then breaks out all of his hacker skills to test if Aly truly meant all the things she said in his comments. The first half of the book is basically just smut and dark stalker fantasies, but when a deranged patient takes things too far with Aly, it pivots to a zany mafia caper. It felt a little like two different books, yet somehow, it worked. As a couple, I loved Aly and Josh, because when not in his Faceless Man persona, he was borderline silly, and sweet despite his traumatic childhood, whereas Aly was strong and hard, a worthy mouse to his cat. The spice was 🔥 but also showed the importance of being on the same wavelength as your partner, no matter your proclivities. I'm not sure if this was a standalone or if there are plans to continue as a series but I would love to see a Mafia romance spinoff with Aly's cousins.

This book had me in a chokehold till the mob stuff. Could have done without all that.
3.5 rounded up to 4

This book was surprisingly well written, not exhaustive or over the top with the characters.
I liked both POVs

I hated the entire portion of Brad, The Mob, The family stuff. It felt like two different books.

I loved this! The banter between Alt and Josh was so good! It had a similar vibe to butcher and blackbird that brings comedy into the darkness of the subject matter. I enjoyed getting to know Josh and seeing him get to know himself and separate his darkness from the darkness of his father that he fears may be inside him. He is such a sweet snuggly cat daddy and then the mask comes out and he’s the best knife daddy.

Lights Out was a total rollercoaster, but not in a good way. The plot was all over the place, jumping from hot and heavy to creepy stalker in the blink of an eye. I couldn't connect with either of the characters. The constant switch between steamy scenes and intense danger felt forced and unbalanced. It's clear the author was aiming for a dark romance, but it just came off as disturbing. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, but this one wasn't for me.

5⭐️ 3🌶️
- MF
- Dark Romcom
- Morally Gray MCs
- Mask Kink
- Stalker
- Murder
- CNC
- Primal
- Bondage
- Knifeplay
- Biting

I haven’t enjoyed a dark romcom this much since Butcher and Blackbird. This book was hilarious! I know the month has only just started but I’m already predicting this is going to be my favorite book of the month and definitely one of my top reads of the year. I wasn’t even 50% in before I ordered a signed copy. I need this book on my shelf!

This book had it all! An over the top, possessive and obsessed MMC who would do anything for the FMC. A baddie FMC who wasn’t afraid to but jerks in their place and yet be vulnerable with the MMC.

Seriously Aly and Josh were a match made in unhinged heaven. I loved how he was so over the top and she was like I know I’m making dumb decisions but let me just get my raging hormones under control and maybe I’ll start making smarter choices. Spoiler. She doesn’t. But it all works out because he literally worships her and there isn’t a single thing he wouldn’t do for her.

Josh was sarcastic and so funny! I seriously couldn’t stop laughing. I love how he just decided that Aly’s cat was now their child and started calling them Fred’s mommy and daddy. Don’t get me started on him using the tracker to write out LOL.

This book absolutely lived up to the hype and I can’t wait to see what’s next from
Navessa.

OMG, this was fire! It’s definitely a dark romance that I absolutely devoured! Between all the spicy, the triggers, and the witty humor this book is just amazing!

If you are a fan of You or Butcher & Blackbird you need to read this book!

****Many thanks to Dreamscape Media and Slowburn/Zando for my gifted copy in turn for an honest review!

4.5 stars rounding up to 5 stars on Goodreads

WOW. What can I say about this besides I absolutely devoured it and loved e v e r y second of it.

If you enjoyed the Mindf*ck series and Butcher and Blackbird, imagine they had a baby and you’d get Lights Out.

The characters are so much fun, the story was written as if I was a fly on the wall. I love all things masked men and this one did not disappoint

I’m always worried when social media is the route that introduces me to a book, but this book did not disappoint! And honestly, we has a society need to confer—what makes a slow-burn?—because honestly “slow burn where?” Never met her here.

The spice and the plot went together so perfectly in this book that around the 70% point when I was expecting an “oop the story is over now” romance style wrap up, I look to see I have 30% more to go?! Loved that, no loose ends!

All around a really well done dark romance with all the kinks in all the right places.

Lights out is deliciously unhinged. Equal parts dark and hilarious, I found myself saying “oh, that’s not so bad” to the myriad of TWs.

Navessa Allen’s characters are multi-faceted. MMC Josh is fierce, protective, a stalker, and a golden retriever. FMC Ally is strong, loyal, likes it rough, and just wants someone to take care of her. These two match each other’s freak and it was fun reading along as they tried to outsmart one another.

I absolutely loved Lights Out and would recommend it to any dark romance readers or those who liked Brynne Weaver’s Ruinous Love trilogy.

For the fans of Butcher and Blackbird, this is SO for you. If you are looking for a dark rom com full of witty banter and some amazing spice, Lights Out is definitely a book to add to your TBR. After coming across a reel about riding a knife I knew I had to check this book out. Allen definitely did not disappoint. SPICE LEVEL - 5/5, FIVE STAR READ.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book!!! Such a good story and great writing style. This was my first by this author and will not be my last! This book hop led me from page one and wow!!! Just wow!!!

Thank you to Zando, NetGallety and Ms. Allen for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not requried.

Definitely feel like this is an entry into the subgenre? niche? of whatever category Butcher & Blackbird is in. Dark romance but make it even more niche. This book features mask fantasies/mask kink/fear kink, which I've never really read about before but I suppose, sure, why not. I really liked that Josh's background (his father was a notorious serial killer) made him constantly question his motivations, his true feelings, and his choices. On the other hand, Aly seems like a more mainstream person who has discovered a kink for masked men in social media thirst traps. She is a trauma nurse (I believe she worked in an ER, but I could be wrong) who lets off steam by surfing social media in her downtime and has come across videos of "the Faceless Man," a hard-bodied, tattooed man who wears a mask and frequently plays with knives and blood and other, um, props.

Aly's <s>infrequent booty call</s> sort-of ex Tyler is actually Josh, AKA, the Faceless Man's roommate. When Aly messages Tyler in hopes of reenacting some masked scenes, Josh (a skilled hacker) finds out and is able to find her from messages left on his accounts. He makes contact with her through social media and thus begins a stalking (but mostly consensual) relationship between them.

I was actually really enjoying the book for the first half to two-thirds, until the plot took a sharp turn from Aly and Josh's "relationship" into sort of a mafia book, which I didn't care for so much. The momentum completely ground to a halt and the tone of the book seemed completely different. I also enjoyed Fred (Aly's cat) at first; he served as a sort of canary in the mine for Josh as to whether -as the son of a serial killer- he could tolerate animals. However, the baby-talk lavished on Fred sort of veered into cringe territory for me. (I have a dog. I have had dogs and cats. I LOVE my pets. But I don't talk to or about them like Josh and Aly do. Too much.)

I wish we could have cut out the mafia part entirely and had Josh (or Aly!) go a little darker and handle Brad themselves. I mean. It's DARK romance, right? Sloane and Rowan would have chewed these two up and spit them out before the first chapter had even ended. Josh turned out to be a GIANT cinnamon roll underneath that mask.

Apparently there are trigger warnings; none of them bothered me so I don't even remember what they are but if you are a very sensitive person please watch out for those.

All in all, the first part was fun, solid 3 1/2 stars. If the author writes more I'd be more than happy to read them.

**Trigger/ Content Warnings: Sexually explicit scenes and language, knife play, alcohol use, stalking, mention of off page SA, medical content, death, blood, gore, remembered child abuse, anal play, mental health and illnesses, mentions of serial killers and their crimes, invasion of privacy, limited description of mass shooting, home invasion, hidden cameras, theft, hacking, remembered unintentional cannibalism, remembered car accident, breath play, primal play, mask play, death of a parent, gun play, stabbing, fear play and consensual dubious consent.**

I heard about one particular scene from several months back and I was SOLD! The rest of the story also did NOT disappoint! This book had me giggling and kicking my feet at certain moments and drooling and fanning myself at others. I’ll be adding Josh to the top of my ever growing list of book boyfriends. Speaking of list’s I highly recommend adding this book to yours!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Zando for an eARC of this book- this is a re-release through a trad publisher.

Themes/Tropes: Serial killer parent, stalker, he falls first, morally grey, Mask, unaliving, ex's best friend

Check you CW for this one my friends...

I would say this is for people who enjoyed dipping their toe into dark romance with Butcher and Blackbird but wanted something darker... Also if you liked Mercy this one will be right up your alley.

I enjoyed this book and the two main characters. The MMC, yes he's a stalker, but somehow he was also kind of a golden retriever BF, I honestly don't know how those two go together but it works- I promise.

The FMC is a trauma nurse and has discovered masked men on TikTok, she has a favorite and when she is trying to see her occasional friend with benefits she send a video asking him if he would come over in a ghost face mask. When he asks his roommate about it... well lets just say the roommate liked to wear mask on TikTok.

The MMC has so much inter turmoil associated with his father and his childhood, it was a lot, but because of it he has become a recluse and hides in his apartment all day, except when he is making his TikTok content or hacking into computer networks.

Oddly enough this book was a wild ride, some mystery, lots of smut, and a cute cat named Fred.

What to expect:
*Dark Rom Com
*Masked stalker
*Touch her and die vibes
*Darker kinks (consensual dubious consent, knife play, gun play)

Aly is a hospital trauma nurse with a mask kink she has mostly kept to herself. Josh had a complicated childhood he tries to hide from but has a significant presence online as a certain masked persona. When Josh learns Aly not only follows his account but may be interested in the same darker kinks he is, his interest grows to an obsession to stalk and try to play it out with her. As their masked interactions go on, it becomes clear to Aly she doesn’t fear harm from her masked stalker and Josh grows to realize he cares for her beyond fulfilling some dark fantasies.
If you are a fan of dark rom coms you will find this to be a fun read. The banter between Aly and Josh was so playful and fun, even along the darker themes and situations. I love dark humor, so it didn’t faze me. This was a high spice read for sure! Josh was the best at fulfilling his role while still making sure she was onboard and just as into it along the way. This is Dual POV, which I loved because we got to see and understand each one inside and out.
Do check your trigger warnings if you have themes that might bother you, but I think Navessa Allen did a great job distinguishing between what darker fantasies and kinks can look like in a healthy way versus truly problematic behavior. It was a great read overall. Thank you NetGalley and Zando Projects for a chance to read and review this book!

This book has an identity crisis. It’s trying its hardest to be the love child of Haunting Adeline and Butcher & Blackbird, but it falls short on both. The storyline had potential, but it reads more like fanfic as written.

The problem is Josh is more cinnamon roll than Zade or Rowan. He’s like a golden retriever playing dress up, and Aly truly is the first person who would die in a horror movie.

And the baby talk to/about the cat? Just no. I have two dogs and a cat so it’s not like I’m anti pet. The first instance was cute, but it was overdone and became less cute and more cringe.

It got a little more interesting near the end with the Brad storyline. Had the book explored and expanded on that, I think I would have really enjoyed it.