4.5 stars!

I fear Navessa Allen's "Lights Out" has forever changed me. What a fantastic book! Please check TWs before diving into this one because it is a pretty dicey dark romance. This story is scandalous, super sexy (but not in a real life way because run, girl, run!), and serious when it needs to be. Many traumas, stalking, masks, d3ath, crime, obsession, and even laughter mix here to make one heck of a book. Like I said, this is a fairly twisted romance, and it will likely push you outside of your comfort zone. Still, I cannot deny that this book gripped me from the very first chapter. It is engaging, steamy, and unsettling, but ultimately a lot of fun to read! My one complaint is that it's a little too long, but since it was on audio featuring the incomparable Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan, it was hardly a chore to listen to it. Jacob Morgan has been one of my favorite narrators for some time now, and he just really has a knack for dark romances. Elena is also excellent. They make this book even more worthwhile!

Thank you to NetGalley, Navessa Allen, Dreamscape Select, and Slowburn for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This is a book I'm struggling intensely to review because it's down to if this is a kink you like. If you aren't into rape fantasy, non-consent, and sub/dom relationships, this isn't going to be to your liking. I took issue with many of the main characters' actions, but what it boiled down to was I couldn't assign them alignments. They were all over the place. My best guess is the author intended them to be chaotic good, but that wasn't accurate either.

Here's what it boils down to:
Pros -- the dialog and banter were hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters shining through their sexual roles.
Cons -- it's a dangerous and scary story that promotes stalking, breaking and entering, sexual assault, fraud, deception, obsession, and loss of freedom. Oh, and so very many broken laws, including manslaughter. Though Josh had relatively good intentions and Aly was receptive to it, it terrified me. It was all kinds of triggering. And the list of trigger warnings at the beginning was so extensive, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it. I'm glad I did because it wasn't as graphic and evil as it seemed, but it is the kind of book that if I saw a man reading it, I'd run fast and far away from him. It was fairly spicy and had a cohesive plot until the end when it felt utterly absurd and out of left field. I kept thinking, this is supposed to be erotica about a specific kink, and the author injected bizarre plot points that weren't needed to do the job. I can't believe I'm saying this but less plot, please. Stick to your strengths.

This was a really cool listen. I thought it was going to be like Butcher and Blackbird but it was way better.

Loved the narration. Jacob Morgan is always on point.

This book was sexy, fun and at times dark and serious but it was always entertaining.

I would love to see a spinoff with his roommate. Fingers crossed that's in the works.🤞🏾

Definitely an audiobook I would listen to again and recommend.

Thanks Dreamscape for my ALC.

I couldn't get this audio file to work. Was captivated from the very cover and yet had tech difficulties.

Interesting premise and lots of spice kept me engaged but I thought a lot of the book was unrealistic, including people who held down jobs but rarely seemed to go ito work. Narration was wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god I am obsessed with this audio!! I purchased the physical book and binged that months ago and once I saw duet audio was being released I ran to request this! Thank you so much for approving me. This is one of the best dark romcoms I’ve ever read and I’m so happy this specific subgenre is picking up. Navessa has a wonderful way of applying humor, spice, and well-developed characters all together which results in a binge-worthy story such as this. All the stars! Her research in nursing did not go unnoticed as I am an RN and she was accurate in her portrayal of the medical scenes.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. The audio was spectacular. The writing was so good. The humor was spot on.

This one gets a big yay from me.

The audiobook for this was phenomenal! It truly felt like listening to a play and the book was the perfect mix of dark romance and dark humor! The spice was to die for as well!

Missed most of the hype for me, was a good book but I can'trave about it like a lot if people seem to be doing. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen this audiobook

Lights Out is a dark masked stalker romance and it was oh so so good. I am full on obsessed and absolutely consumed. This book had me in a chokehold, had my stomach fluttering, had my jaw dropping, had my mind actually enjoying the dark things, I think I need help 😅 Although this book has dark themes the author could've made it much darker, but she didn't and I think that's why I loved it so much, it just felt more “realistic” if that makes any sense lol.. The stalker is actually soooo swoonworthy, you'll have to read to see 😏

I loved the characters, although some questionable decisions on the FMC’s part in the beginning, but she was actually aware of them 😆 The masked man was something else and I was here for it all. The spice was spicing hot damn 🥵 Their chemistry and banter was great !

I loved the storyline and the plot, how everything unfolded. Butcher & Blackbird fans will definitely enjoy this one. It was really fun and different from my usual reads, glad I gave it a shot. Can't wait to read more from this author. Make sure to check trigger warnings prior there are a lot.

🎧 The narration by Elena Wolfe & Jacob Morgan was ON POINT. Hot damn their voices were purely delicious in my ear. The way Morgan did the masked man's rough voice to not get recognized… oufff it had me melting 🥵 The spicy scenes with these 2 yowza. Honestly, this audio is phenomenal! Highly recommend it.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @dreamscapemedia & @navessaallen for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Omg the way I LOVEDDDDD this book! It was absolutely amazing!!! There was darkness, there was comedy, there was love, there was heartbreak. It was allllll wrapped into one. I reallllyyyy enjoyed it.
The audio was also absolute perfection! Jacob and Elena did a beautiful job!

4.5⭐️
4🌶️
5🎧

Ok! I'm in love! I went in completely blind and was so pleasantly surprised. It was so good! I loved the banter. And I didn't expect to laugh through this book. Please don't sleep on this one.

Narrated in duet by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan.

Please check trigger warnings.

What is there to truly say about this book other than it was truly a book that will stick with me for a very long time.

I loved this book from the very beginning. I laughed, I got very hot and sweaty, I stopped dead in my tracks with my jaw in the floor. This is a book that everyone needs to experience and I will be pushing it onto everyone’s TBR.

Aly, a nurse, has a social media feed of mostly masked men. Needless to say, they are her kink. Then she meets the man behind the mask, Josh.

First off, read the trigger warnings. I scrolled past this audio book several times and questioned whether to listen and I’m glad I did. I loved the banter and Aly’s cat, Fred. I was kind of thrown by how the mafia was thrown in. Overall, I would recommend!

Thank you to Navessa Allen, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The dual narration was perfection! This is everything you want in a guilty pleasure read. It delivers on everything it claims to be and I totally understand the hype it's getting. It's dark, spicy, morally grey, and escapist. I love the new cover. If it sounds intriguing to you, it's definitely worth the read.

I really enjoyed this book! Aly is a trauma ER nurse that enjoys different kinks involving masked men. So after one drunken text later brings her dreams to reality. Josh has an online persona, where he creates thirst traps for all his fans, which happens to also include Aly. When Aly starts commenting on Josh's videos they start playing out their fantasies.

I would say this dark romance has great banter, a cat named Fred that needs an honorable mention and dark humor. If you are wanting to dip your toes into the dark romance genre this would be a good book to start with. Check triggers before reading/listening.

I loved the audiobook! Performed in duet narration by Jacob Morgan and Elena Wolfe. These two were amazing! The duet narration elevated the story, characters and emotions for me. The pacing of the story was good. Both narrators had great comedic timing. Jacob conveyed Josh's eagerness to learn more about Aly and also conveyed Josh's need to fulfill all her fantasies. While Elena captured Aly's personality and exuded her headstrong attitude. I highly recommend the audiobook!

I absolutely love this book!! Not only was this book an extremely dark romance but was very spicy and oddly hilarious. Some of the events are a little ridiculous but somehow it just works for the whole storyline. I can't wait to read more books by this author and listen to more books by the narrators. I enjoyed having a female and male narrators for each main character instead of one narrator for all. I will add this book might be triggering for some and is VERY spicey.
(p.s. The interactions with Fred the cat are hilarious).

I read this in book form before the audio and just WOW. The audio is crisp and clear, it flows really well.

I got this audio book in exchange for an honest review so here is my honest review - I am not into kinky weird stuff. I am a prude. However, I loved this! I loved it. There is an emphasis on trusting your instincts, "no", or "stop", meaning stop. Josh sounds like a nice normal hot nerd, and Ali's crush on him was genuine. His crush was genuine too. They just "met" (or hooked up) in an unconventional way. I did skip a lit of the grphic sexy stuff because I am a massive prude but I loved how well it was written (the parts I didn't skip).
I love how they get mixed up in all the crazy stuff and basically save their community too.
This is great romance.
I also LOVED the narration. It was perfection! I wish more books were narrated this way.

🎧𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 - 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ꜱᴘɪᴄᴇ: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

🎧 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗮 #netgalley
⏳ 𝟭𝟯𝗛 𝟯𝟴𝗠
🎙️ 𝗗𝘂𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻 & 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗲

⁀➷ “𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜𝑜, ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙𝑢𝑦𝑎ℎ”

💀𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚌𝚘𝚖
💙𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝙰𝚗𝚝𝚒-𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘
💀𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚢 𝙼𝙼𝙲
💙𝙷𝚎 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝
💀𝙱𝚘𝚢 𝙾𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚍

❝ ᴀʟʟʏ, ᴀ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ ɴᴜʀꜱᴇ, ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴍʏꜱᴛᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴍᴀꜱᴋᴇᴅ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏɴ ᴛɪᴋᴛᴏᴋ ᴡʜᴏ ᴘᴏꜱᴛꜱ ᴛʜɪʀꜱᴛ-ᴛʀᴀᴘ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏꜱ. ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ꜱʜᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ, ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍᴀɴ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛʟʏ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ. ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜᴇ ᴅɪꜱᴄᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜɪꜱ ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ɪꜱ ʀᴇᴄɪᴘʀᴏᴄᴀᴛᴇᴅ, ʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍꜱ ʜᴇʀ…❝

💭Imagine if Haunting Adeline and Butcher & Blackbird had an affair, this book would be the love child. It’s a perfect blend of dark stalker romance and laugh-out-loud romcom. Navessa balances the darkness with just the right amount of wit and humor, making this a uniquely addictive read, I just can’t put this down!

Josh is convinced he’s destined to follow in his criminal father’s footsteps, which is why he’s spent his life hiding from the spotlight. Enter Ally, the object of his obsession, who turns out to be just as messed up as he is. Their relationship is unconventional, to say the least, but that’s what makes it so captivating.

So many laughed-out-loud moments here, from Josh’s inner thoughts, especially when he slowly discovers how Ally is almost a fucked up as he is. And shout out to Tyler the best friend, I love him so much as a side character, Josh is so lucky to have a best friend like him. I hope he gets a book. In saying that, I also think this book would be unbearably dragged on if I didn’t listen to it, because this was long, but the narration was so enjoyable so I had a good time!

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧
Jacob Morgan has truly outdone himself in this audiobook. He didn't just narrate—he acted. Josh came to life, making the experience incredibly immersive. Elena, who is new to me, complemented Jacob perfectly in her role as Ally. Together, they created an audio performance that feels more like a masterpiece than just a narration. The dynamic between them added so much to the story, making it a truly fun and engaging listen. This is easily one of the best audiobooks I've heard this year. Well done!

⚠️𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐤⚠️
- Mentioned of mass shooting
- Cannibalism (mentioned, in the past)
- Breaking & Entering
- Stalking
- Anal
- Knife play
- Mask play
- Primal play
- Murder/violence/gore

✨ 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 DREAMSCAPE MEDIA 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 ✨

#LightsOut #NetGalley