Book Review: ‘Lights Out’ by Navessa Allen (Booktok made me read it)
It's another one of those moments where we realise just how easily I can be influenced by Booktok. In my defence, I have held out against ‘Lights Out' by Navessa Allen for a long time. And by a long time I mean about… 6 months? Which, considering I've only recently gotten back into dark romance, I don't think that's bad going.
‘Lights Out' is one of those books that you will have seen on Tiktok, at large, because it's just that popular. I had to see if this latest iteration of the hype train could live up to it.
Here's the summary:
“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.”
Look, let me make this easy for you. Do you have, or have you ever had, a penchant for Le Masked Man? That trope. That trend. It sure a spike in popularity during lockdown, and I don't think it ever really went away. I have to remind myself, often on a daily basis, that I built my FYP, brick by brick.
For me, it was Kylo Ren content, for others it was Ghost Face. Whatever your preferences, if the masked figure thirst traps get you… Then you need to read this book. That's all. You can leave now.
Still here? Ok, well, let me go into more detail.
What this book has is an absolutely fantastic concept. I loved it.
What this book also has, despite the darker exterior, is a lot of heart.
I think ‘Lights Out’ makes such a great crossover for the reader who wants to start moving into the dark romance genre. Don't get me wrong, there are some scenes that are quite shocking, and some that definitely err on the side of extreme. But as a whole the author has penned the driving force behind the plot to be a safe space, and it's clear it comes from a place of warmth. Despite the violence.
When it comes to dark romance I tend to hold other books up against some of the more intense offerings, such as ‘Den of Vipers’ by K A Knight (literally, that book has been holding me hostage since I read it a couple years ago now. Please. Help). This means that one persons dark romance could be candy floss and glitter to me. You know?
It's all about personal taste, experience and perspective.
Is ‘Lights Out’ dark? Yes. But it's a very controlled darkness. And that, quite honestly, was refreshing.
Yes, there will always be a part of me that wanted the two main characters to push that darkness further, but then it would have left itself open to much more criticism, and a lot less love from readers.
This romance is twisted, but it works for them. And I was hooked!
I really liked the author's writing style, and all in all I had a good time.
Defintely check out the content warnings before diving in. I think there is a tendancy to assume that anything with a traditional publisher, a nice cover, and a lot of reader heat, is gonna be pretty tame. Nuh uh. Continue with caution. And if it creates any negative energy within you, just get out, ok?
‘Lights Out’ was nothing like I expected, and that's what I ended up loving the most about it. I'll definitely be reading book two, I'm curious to see where this series can go.
Written by Sarah
