Book Review: Lights Out by Navessa Allen

Lights Out

Navessa Allen

Into Darkness, #1

Publisher: Zando/Slowburn

Published Date: February 14, 2024

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance

338 Pages / 13 Hours 36 Minutes

Date Read: March 14-31, 2025

Format: 🎧

Source: Audible

As always, if you prefer a spoiler free review please read my quick review instead of the in depth review below.

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About the Book

Aly is a trauma nurse who has a thing for masked men on social media. She finds herself wondering what it would be like to be on the other side of the masked man that she follows. One drunken night, she instigates the masked man and begins getting messages from him. Josh has spent his life trying to avoid any notability even though he has a wildly popular online persona as a masked man making thirst trap videos. When Aly's comments catch his attention, he has to determine how far he will go or if he will fight his obsession. Together Josh and Aly navigate the lines of fantasy, stalking, and more.

Disclaimer

When reading any dark romance, please read your trigger warnings.

Quick Review (Spoiler Free)

While I expected this to be overhyped based on reviews I've seen, I still enjoyed it overall. I believe part of the enjoyment for me was the narration. Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan did an amazing job with this book. My favorite aspect of this story was the wittiness and the banter between the two main characters. I was giggling at the Harry Potter references and the dad jokes from Josh. The romcom aspect kept me there the whole time. I am not a fan of knife play and those types of activities so there were parts that lost me but overall it is definitely worth a listen for sure!!

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Now, let's get into the details!!

(Note: Some text may appear to be blocked out, just highlight that text to read it.)

This was completely a Bookstagram/Booktok read. It took me a while to pick it up because I was afraid that it would be overhyped. I did like the voice for the actors in the clips that I listened to so I figured "why not?" And man am I glad that I did. It wasn't my favorite altogether but it was funny and did leave an impression on things that I like and don't like in romance books.

My favorite aspect of this book was the wittiness and the banter between Aly and Josh. From the moment they began messaging online to the continuation in person was fantastic. I was constantly giggling at the Harry Potter references, the dad jokes, and the constant cuteness between Josh and Fred. The romcom aspect was 100000% what kept me pulled in to this story.

I also really enjoyed the underlying thriller-ish storyline. The lines of consensual non-consent are tested with Aly; and Josh is put in the position to switch into protector mode. It is, in my opinion, a great example of Aly's trust with Josh. The characters then again have to handle covering up a murder together so there are definitely varying levels of right and wrong in this book.

Now with that said, we enter the part that I just didn't enjoy with this one. I am not a fan of weapon play and those types of activities. For some reason, when I begin reading those scenes I tend to get pulled out of the story. The way that Josh ultimately took care of Aly in those moments brought me back in. Now, this is my own personal preferences but it does take away from the overall vibes which is why I feel like I need to mention it related to the overall rating I gave because I know there are people out there who have similar issues with romance books.

Narration Comments

I really liked Elena Wolfe as Aly and Jacob Morgan as Josh. Jacob Morgan is another narrator that I would let me read mundane things, like a newspaper, to me. The dynamic really worked well between these two and the emotions that they put into the characters felt genuine. A big thing for me is that nothing feels cheesy or over the top when I listen to books. This set of narrators was a win.

Ratings