adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0

this book was so cute pls. ik it's a dark romance but it's a lot lighter than say butcher & blackbird but it does have similar vibes.

i think it was so funny how josh tried to portray himself as like a scary person like ooh he's stalking people ooh he's hacking but he gags at anything really bad

loved this book so much that I'm immediately rereading it bc I just loved being in that world so much. I'm so excited for the next two books.

the premise of the faceless man deciding to meet her & them ending up together based on a drunken text drew me in.

I love how this book can be dark with like "touch her & die" vibes without glorifying serial killers.

Who knew a morally grey golden retriever was actually the man of my dreams. Not me, until I just met Josh.

This is a Dark Romantic Comedy with LOTS of spice. I thought this book was really easy to read and really entertaining. I loved the banter between Aly and Josh. Reading how much fun they had teasing and poking at each other definitely made their relationship spark to life. In turn it also meant that the thing I loved most about the book was these characters. I loved Aly’s strength and wit. She was not one to put up with anything from anyone and I appreciated that about it. Then there was Josh, who was a very complex walking green and red flag. Honestly the man was just so sweet and goofy yet an absolute beast. Having a flip he could switch was probably the hottest thing. His entire demeanor and his bond with Fred had me giddy most of the book. I can’t help it, it was wholesome and hilarious.

Overall the plot was fun but at times I felt some things just came too conveniently and there wasn’t really any kind of plot twist. The second half of the book took an unexpected turn but I had a feeling something like that would happen based on the cover of the book.

The epilogue was amazing. I love that it high energy and entertaining while also wrapping their story up with a great ending. I really enjoyed Josh and Aly and FRED! We cannot forget the real MVP of this story which is Fred. He was iconic and I loved him.

I enjoyed reading this and I would first say that you check the content warnings before you read this. This is a dark romance that is pretty light and also gives off the rom-com vibes of Butcher and Blackbird. The fmc is a trauma nurse who has unconventional kinks while the mmc is a masked man who videos himself for people with that kink. He notices the fmc watching his videos and starts stalking her.
I think this was fun because the fmc was consenting to every wild thing he did and I liked that aspect. I really enjoyed that the mmc never wanted to hurt her and was a pretty good guy despite the kinks. The first half of the book is the fmc and the masked man getting into each other and the last half is an unhinged mmc and fmc getting rid of another nasty man who was stalking the fmc. Overall this was a very fun book, i loved the banter and I thought the fmc was pretty bold and sure of herself and what she wanted. There are a lot of spicy scenes, BDSM, mask play, and primal play. Definitely read this if you like dark romance that's also fun. Thank you to Zando for the arc of the trad pub version.

Read if you like:
- Dark romance
- Primal play
- Stalker romance
- Touch her and die
- Mask kink

OMFG.

Wow.

Um.

I loved this so much?!

If you liked Butcher & Blackbird this PERFECT for you.

Thank you Zando Projects, Slowburn & Navessa Allen for an early copy.

Loved this book and devoured it in one sitting because I could not stop reading! The banter is hilarious and the chemistry between Aly and Josh is absolutely to DIE for! I loved how this had a plot line in addition to the spice! And the spice was delicious!! Definitely perfect if you're a mask loving dark romance reader!

🖤 Slightly unhinged FMC
🖤 Masked (morally grey cinnamon roll) MMC
🖤 Primal play
🖤 🔪play

•I have no regrets about publicly claiming you. Claiming me? Oh, god. No, vagina, do not quiver at that. Damn it. Not you, too, ovaries.•

I learned a few things about myself reading this book…mainly that I probably need therapy 😂 but I mean who doesn’t and who wants to be normal anyway?

•“You’re deranged. You know that?” I shrugged. Deranged. Protective. Same thing.•

Like who’s not gonna fall for the golden retriever psycho stalker boyfriend? Cause I definitely will. Every damn time. If you enjoyed B&B and L&L by Brynne Weaver I recommended picking up this book. It has the dark romcom but make it psycho vibes of those books. Which I think maybe my new favorite genre!

•He was like a soft dom—sweet in the streets and mean in the sheets. But, like, mean in the best way. Bossy and demanding and relentless, and oh, no, I was getting turned on within five feet of a fresh corpse.•

Seeeeee. Yep this book was so good I can’t wait to have it on my shelf thank you so much Zando, Slowburn Reads, and Netgalley for sending this book and thank you Navessa Allen for writing it! You got a new fan!!

Tropes:
• Stalker romance
• Morally grey MMC
• Masked stalker
• He falls first
• Black cat x golden retriever
• Kink friendly

We all have those thirst trap men and women on social we watch on repeat, right. This book delivers a five star story with a five star spice. Where do I start, Love the cover, Loved the synopsis, the story has me all twisted up. Dark romance that had me laughing out loud with the banter between these characters, a coaster ride of a story was so well done. The spice between Josh and Aly was just hot. This book does come with trigger warning…aren’t we all in our trigger era though, I digress, I highly recommend this book. Such a fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to Navessa Allen for this amazing love story, I’ll be thinking about this one for a while. Pub Date Aug 6,2024 Looking forward to owning this one.

Such a great entertaining read!! This is the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a really long time and I can definitely get behind more dark romcoms in the future. I’m not going to lie when I say I was a bit skeptical of the plot when I read the synopsis because I thought how does one create a 455 page book off of masktok? However, I truly enjoyed that the author created characters that had substance and were oh so relatable. Aly and Josh had amazing chemistry together and I loved that they were able to act out their fantasy’s under the guise of anonymity.
I am still thinking about this book and will definitely be doing a reread.

Thank you Zando Projects and Navessa Allen for the Arc.

UMMM HELLOOOOO!?!? Where was this book all my life because it was sooo HOT and perfect.

A trauma nurse with a mask kink & a masked tiktoker who is lowkey obsessed with her?! AHHHHHHH!!!

Aly enjoys watching sexy masked men videos after she gets off her rough, long ass shifts, but there’s one in particular who she can’t get enough of and always comes back to. What she wasn’t expecting was to one day find his mask on her bed…

The banter between these two was AMAZING! These two were definitely made for one another & were quite the couple. I felt like I was constantly giggling like a freaking school girl! There is suspense, there is sooo much kink, there is smoking hot tension that had me gasping for air!! The story was so good too ugh it was just wonderful all around!! Couldn’t put it down!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
Dark romcom
Masked Stalker
He falls first
Morally grey MMC
Black cat x golden retriever

Thank you Zando for the ARC!!

Lights Out was a fun, darkish book about two people with the same kink. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. The banter between Aly and Josh was fun and aside from the darker aspect of the book, it had some sweet romance to it too. I think if the MCs hadn't been as sweet or funny the book would have been a tad too dark for me.

There are several trigger warnings for this book, but the actual 'dark' part for me wasn't in the smut/kink factor but in the (spoiler). Unfortunately without that 'dark' part of the story, there wasn't much of a plot, just smut.

This was my first Navessa Allen book and I enjoyed her writing style. It was easy to read and the 🌷 🍆 💦 scenes were entertaining and 🌶️ 🥵 . I would be interested in reading other books by her.

Overall, this was a pretty decent book, not one I'll be recommending to my mom, but if you like your smut on the darker side and can handle the other trigger warnings, this is a well-written and fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was a really fun time. I completely forgot I applied for this ARC, so it came as a welcome surprise when I got this in my inbox. Navessa Allen hit something special when she wrote this, it had me laughing, crying, screaming and kicking my feet. Dark romance, masked men, touch her/him and you die, stalker… say no more, I’m going in all guns blazing. Everything from the characters to the story was a wild ride. As a dyslexic reading, I struggle reading unaided, hence why I like immersive reading as it helps with concentration but this was so easy to read and follow, I was falling in love with the book and it kept me engaged so reading without the help of an audiobook was no issue. Josh and Ali were a picture perfect couple minus the stalking though, if Josh decided to stalk me; tall, dark and tatted… say no more. He’s also a computer genius… sounds like my kinda guy. And kinky af… and he does thirst traps, is there anything this guy can’t do. Ali is a badass and will bow down to nobody’s bullshit, I loved her chemistry with Josh and how they have really witty banter. She’s not a pushover and I feel for her character as well as Josh’s. Relatable and well developed. The only thing was that I wish we got more background into Josh’s past and also the Ali’s connections to her extended family, it touched on the estrangement but it doesn’t go too deep. The spice however, was spicing and it did make me question some things about myself, it was top tier spicing. I loved seeing the connection of the MMC and FMC on a sexual level, all the kinks and then it got even better as emotions got involved, Josh takes care of Ali, even down to the “no safe words, just tell me to stop and I’ll stop”, putting her needs ahead of his desires, but obviously Ali’s a big girl and she can take it. AGHHHHHHHHH, swoon. I loved this, it has some great quotes and funny moments, I’m looking forward to having it physically.

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.