Lights Out

OMFG, FINALLY I have found a dark romance book that I truly LOVE!! It had the right amount of cutsey fluff and spice mixed in perfectly. I am an old school Disney fairytale kind of girl but I do not like the weak damsel in distress when it comes to these types of books and the fact that Aly could hold her own against the masked man was absolutely enthralling .
The only thing I would say that I wish the author had done was prolonged the revealing of the masked man just a bit longer, that stalking part was just a bit too short for me.
But the storyline was great, the banter was awesome just everything.. to say that was my only dislike is just Idk what is the word I am looking for but I loved this book,, it was a gift from my husband who got show more 1000 kisses of thanks for getting it for me.. Cannot wait for the next book, I need it like yesterday. show less

I know porn when I see it, and I've seen Skinamax with more narrative structure than this novel. But, if I've knocked books like Fourth Wing for going too light on its smut, as unworthy of the title, Lights Out errs in the other direction. If Dexter had been produced by Game of Thrones era HBO, they'd have made Lights Out. And maybe that's what Allen's novel really is - a first draft of a screenplay waiting to be spun out into six seasons of prestige television.

„Lights Out“ von Navessa Allen war mein erstes Buch im Genre Dark Romance – und was für ein Einstieg! Ich wusste nicht genau, was mich erwartet, aber ich wurde mehr als positiv überrascht. Das Buch ist leicht zu lesen, humorvoll und hat genau die richtige Portion Spice.

Die Dynamik zwischen den Hauptfiguren war einfach perfekt. Trotz der würzigen und teilweise sehr intensiven Momente blieb immer eine Achtsamkeit und ein respektvoller Umgang zwischen ihnen erhalten, was mir besonders gut gefallen hat. Obwohl es kein festgelegtes Safeword gab, reichte ein einfaches „Nein“ aus, und das wurde ohne Diskussion respektiert – das fand ich unglaublich süß und verantwortungsvoll dargestellt.

Josh war für mich ein absolutes show more Highlight. Seine Golden-Retriever-Vibes kombiniert mit einer traurigen Vergangenheit und einem überraschend spicy Geheimnis haben ihn zu einem meiner liebsten männlichen Protagonisten gemacht. Er bringt so viel Wärme und Tiefe in die Geschichte, dass man gar nicht anders kann, als mit ihm zu fühlen.

Die letzte Szene im Wald? Uiii, im allerbesten Sinne! Sie war intensiv, leidenschaftlich und gleichzeitig voller Vertrauen und Zärtlichkeit – ein absolut perfekter Abschluss.

Alles in allem hat „Lights Out“ mich komplett abgeholt. Wer Lust auf Dark Romance mit Humor, Herz und einer Prise Spice hat, sollte diesem Buch definitiv eine Chance geben. Absolute Empfehlung!

Triggerwarnings beachten! show less

“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.”

I don't know what rock I was living under when it came to this book, but oh my god. I adored this. Josh is the absolute best character I loved everything about him. Josh and Fred...gold! Aly was a character I really enjoyed because she was just real. The book has this perfect balance of humor (of the darker variety obviously) and spice. I honestly think these two might be my new favorite bookish couple. I can't think of a single thing that I didn't enjoy about this book. I mean come on masked stalker was already a win.

NOTE: THIS IS BASED ON THE AUDIO BOOK

Nurse gets stalked by her favorite Tiktok Dancer.

Overall reco: I tried to read this in the spring and didn't make it past the first chapter, I don't think I was in the right headspace for it at the time because I found Aly really boring, which is rather hilarious. The audio book really exploded onto the scene in the last few months and I was interested to give it a shot after hearing some clips and wow. So Glad. The book was a riot. I had to pause and repeat bits because I was laughing, I kept wanting to listen to it and just could not stop.
I really with dual narration was done like this for all audio books. No matter the POV of the chapter, the Female narrator did her parts and the Male did his. It show more really made the book so, so much better and there was a lot of sarcasm and joking that BOTH VA's put into this that absolutely made the experience so much more.
Fair Warning: I listened to the trigger warning and felt it was a bit much. I can read a lot of twisted shit, but I'm also neurospicy. If you have any issues with the idea of CNC or stalking this will likely not be a fun time for you, even with the comedy. If you are the person who started Haunting Adeline and went "this is weird stalking and rape!" then this is not the book for you. If you read HA and thought that Z was dry and boring as fuck... Try Josh.

"You're thinking about sex aren't you?"
"Dirty, dirty sex"
"Yeah, you'll be fine"

Plot: 5/5
Spice: 5/5
Characters: 5/5

THRILLER! (plot)
We have a plot line! Like a real one and not just the day to day of a man doing questionable things in a ghost mask to an over tired nurse. I sort of guessed what was going to happen when Brad was introduced but I still HIGHLY enjoyed the ride. Even when a bit predictable, It took some twists I didn't expect and I liked that. This was a very great balance of plot and dirty, nasty smut. I also really loved the humor and vibe of the book, it never felt like it got to pretentious and felt like it was talking down to the reader.

Is Primal Play and CNC on you sheet too? (spice)
The smut was great. 5 stars. Why? Ah.. lots of scenes and while some happened off screen, it never felt like we were missing out because it was usually BIG BOOTY BLOWOUT and then a mention later of them being tired because after the BIG BOOTY BLOWOUT they had like another faster round later.
It felt like we were getting the prime rib and steak and they were just casually mentioning that hey also had a side of mashed potatoes. I felt almost exhausted as the characters at the end of some of the scene's, FFS.

Do I now read most male MMC's the way the Jacob Morgan reads Josh? (characters)
Yes. Brain Chemistry altered. Honestly both of the narrators were so good. This was a great and worthwhile purchase for me.
Josh is hilariously funny, an absolute hoot. I loved his chapters because of his absolutely altered way of thinking. He was constantly making me laugh and I think, in the end, that I just liked Josh's chapters. Even when he began to worry, they felt.. fun.
Aly's chapters felt lesser against his. Maybe I just prefer humor but I often felt bogged down in Aly's chapters with far to much introspections and over thinking. show less

OMG I felt like a voyeur reading this book, and my blushing cheeks are still burning (but I could not put it down). I think it was pornography - not like The Girl in 6E (Torre) which made me want to toss my cookies, but more like a kinky sex-driven Finlay Donovan - fun but very graphic (there I go blushing again, just thinking of it - LOL).

Two like-minded people (Ally and Josh) like dreaming about kinky sex, like talking about kinky sex, and most of all like doing kinky sex (with each other). You might say kinky is in the eye of the beholder, so it is possible that the rest of the world will find this book wholesome and playful.

Despite my prudish comments, I admit that I had to walk around the block a few extra times to allow the show more couple to finish doing their thing before I had to turn off and get back to work. The respites were few and far between and sometimes I had to walk around the block a few more times, before those two horny bunnies stopped going at it.

Aside from the the sex, there is a cute plot and a fantastic chase scene toward the end, some humorous mob involvement - and Josh's hilarious description of coffee kitchen nook ...everything was done in cream and beige and I couldn't understand why the mosaic backsplash was full of naked people. It looked like it was supposed to be some ancient Italian design but some of the pieces were slightly off so one person's arm sat much lower than the other and another guy's **** was separated from his body by a full tile space it looked like it was just floating there on its own like a phantom **** in the middle of a party.... - my WORD dictation program appeared to have been offended and put **** in lieu of the particular part of male anatomy being described... show less

Lights Out is an enjoyable read with a mix of suspense, humor, and some seriously spicy romance. The story follows a strong, relatable heroine navigating danger and desire in equal measure. The romance is steamy and well-written, with plenty of banter and funny moments that add charm to the otherwise intense narrative.

That said, the pacing can feel slow at times, with a few scenes dragging on longer than needed. While the suspense keeps you intrigued, it’s occasionally predictable, which tempers some of the tension.

Overall, it’s a fun, spicy, and entertaining book that might not blow you away but is worth picking up if you’re in the mood for romance with a touch of danger and humor.