Lights Out - Navessa Allen

 

Lights Out - Navessa Allen

⭐ - 3.8

🌶 - 4

This was quite a wild read for me, because I did not expect the plot to be what it was, and it made my whole outlook on the book a little 50/50. I really enjoyed the first half of the book and where it was going with the plot of 'masked stalker man' and the reader knowing who he is, but the FMC being in the dark. The second half of the book threw me off a little bit and felt like a whole trope change - but nevertheless, we finished her (the book, I mean). 

Starting off, the blurb was enough for me to put this book on pre-order and take a chance on a tiktok masked man who is clearly addictive in more ways than one, which is what made it an interesting plot because it was tailored towards the modern day romance reader and was something that (as an avid 'tiktok sensation book' reader) is relatable as a guilty pleasure (we all do it, we're all friends here, no shame or lies) and so making that into a plot AND making him a stalker?? Yes please. 

Josh was personally more interesting for me as he held more of a personality and gave more towards the story and enhanced more feeling and attachment towards a character throughout. I thought his character background with his Father was really interesting and could have played more of a factor throughout the book. His Dad was a serial killer and Josh questioned whether he would turn out to be the same as he shared the same DNA, thinking he would have the genes of a psychopath. His worry was if he wanted to or may end up hurting Aly through all he did, yet he never felt the urge but in fact quite the opposite - which was a great character defining moment, but I really feel could have been played upon so much more considering the content of the second half of the story. 

I also enjoyed Josh's work background of internet hacking because it played into the stalker role so well and made we want to keep reading because it was so enticing. Although it is cut short, this is something, which in the long haul (or maybe short depending on how you look at it) saves Aly's life - so thank goodness for a sexy internet hacker, eh?

Josh gave 'morally grey but that's ok because you're also basically a golden retriever boyfriend' vibes and I enjoyed his character a lot. The mischief, entertainment, sexy aura and protective persona that he depicted made for an enjoyable read - alongside his questionable, but frankly, quite alluring sexy times scenes. And he was all about becoming a cat dad, so really that was the winning factor in all of this. 

Aly is a trauma nurse, helping victims of domestic abuse, trauma cases etc. and keeping all control when it comes to saving someone's life from something so life threatening - her past a connection to this job role which we found out more of later on in the book. 

Aly likes to have control within her work life but likes to let go of it when away from work, to no longer feel the stress and tension of the day. To get away from this, she turns to a new guilty pleasure of hers which is watching masked men on tiktok creating content that would drive a smut reader wild. And one night, she finds a certain video from a certain content creator (Josh) and ends up sending a message to him which then sends our plot into a stalker frenzy. Josh knows who Aly is but Aly does not know that it's Josh, due to the mask. Aly is then taken over by his content and continuously watches, waiting for new uploads on the daily, just to give her stress relief throughout the day (same girl). 

Aly is then given new aspect in character to look at as she becomes a woman in distress but also a woman who can carry her own once she realises she is being stalked by the man behind the phone screen. Not giving up her control but when looking at it, is really asking for danger through her choices - but we love an independent woman, so we read on! That being said I, again, feel this could have been given SO MUCH MORE throughout the book! Aly fighting the stalker, not giving him what he wants whilst giving him what he wants. Taunting him the way that he is taunting her. That would have made such a thrilling read to see how it could all play out!

The whole book could have been about Aly trying to find out who the masked man is, what he wants, why she's attracted to him and what to do about this whole crazy situation. However, Aly figures it out quite early on in the book which then ends our masked men stalker tiktok portion of the story, and slowly transcends into a mafia plot. This part of the story is a little wild, more in the nature of, I don't fully understand why it happened, but nevertheless, I feel it still made a good plot and was definitely there to create further stories in the future within this world. It does add to the question of "is Josh a serial killer?" which is fun because we're still feeling a little dark romance edge throughout, so it did have a bit of a full circle moment. 

Although the book originally starts off with a dark romance vibe, I'd definitely say that it's more of a dark rom-com, as the theme of the book is simply humour between the two main characters. And I really enjoyed that! The wit and banter Josh and Aly had between them was really fun to read and helped me to understand the progression within their relationship and to understand them as a couple. It brought something light to the book which was nice to read as it isn't something you typically get within a dark romance, so the change was welcoming. But it was definitely more on the side of rom-com throughout most of the book, with the occasional glimpse of darkness in some particular scenes. And some particular scenes were there to keep you on the edge of your seat - if you know, you know. And if you're about to find out, have fun!

I would definitely recommend this book because all in all, it's a fun read and Josh and Aly make a really fun duo to go on an adventure with. I did enjoy reading this and was glad I chose to put it on pre-order. It gave me a good giggle and some great content!

Please do read your trigger warnings before reading this book! There is certain content within that is needed to be read with caution!

Your mental health matters. You matter. Please be careful in what you choose to read. 

Let me know what you think of Lights Out or if you have any recommendations for me!

Happy Reading guys and gals x