“Lights Out”, Navessa Allen
Published February 14, 2024 • Book 1 of Into Darkness
I want 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.
Trauma nurse Aly escapes her hard-working days by thirsting after masked men online. To her, nothing could top the fantasy of her favorite tattooed and masked man hunting her down. But she never could have guessed that one drunken text would turn those dreams into reality . . .
I want things most people don't, craving darkness and depravity instead of light and love.
Josh has spent his life avoiding the limelight, but his online persona is another story. At night, he posts masked thirst traps for his millions of fans, until one follower catches his eye—Aly.
Together, Aly and Josh live out their darkest fantasies, unaware that Aly has captured the attention of someone with far more sinister intentions. As Josh turns from predator to protector, he must ask himself how far he'll go for the woman he can't live without.
“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.”
I stumbled onto Lights Out in the most 2024 way possible: doomscrolling TikTok after the disastrous presidential election, feeling drained and hopeless. That’s when I saw Navessa Allen, just as gutted as the rest of us, running a discount for a cause. At that point, I had already seen the cover make its rounds in social media, but knowing that the author and I shared the same values was enough to push me into reading what she had to offer.
I queued up the audiobook (5 stars for Jacob Morgan) while putting up my flocked Christmas tree, and it’s now a core memory: twinkling lights, red and silver ornaments, fake snow on branches, and me laughing out loud as Josh and Aly got themselves into one chaotic situation after another.
What I loved most about Lights Out is how it manages to be hilarious, romantic, and sharp all at once. Josh and Aly’s dynamic is pure rom-com gold: equal parts banter and ridiculous shenanigans. Their antics—sometimes over-the-top, sometimes sweet—hit exactly the right note for the mood I was in. After weeks of political gloom and endless bad news, this book was a breath of fresh air, the perfect escapist cocktail of humor and heart.
Navessa Allen gave me exactly what I didn’t know I needed that winter: a story that let me laugh, swoon, and forget about the heaviness of the world for a while. Lights Out isn’t just a romance; it’s also a reminder of how books can meet you exactly where you are and give you joy when you need it most.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
stalker • murder • sexual harassment
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Owned: Target paperback