I almost didn’t read Lights Out by Navessa Allen due to a trigger. Luckily for me, I asked a few friends who had read it and figured out pretty quickly that the trigger wouldn’t be as triggering for me as I had thought it would be. So I hopped on over to Hoopla and immediately listened to the audiobook version of this extremely popular book. And, honestly, I’m so freaking glad I did.
Lights out by Navessa Allen
Lights Out by Navessa Allen is a dark romantic comedy published on February 14th, 2024. It is 338 pages of laugh out loud, fall in love with a fictional man, goodness. I listened to the book on the Hoopla app, but the book can be found wherever books are sold, and on the author’s website here.
Premise
What would you do if you left flirtatious comments on a thirst trap video and that man started stalking you? Well, Aly figured it out real fast. But it’s not as cut and dry because the two had an in real life connection. Josh creates semi erotic content online and when he finds out the girl of his dreams is a fan, he decides to start stalking her, in a super protective type of way.
I listened to the audiobook but I’ll absolutely be purchasing a physical copy for my shelf too. I don’t often listen to audiobooks, mainly because if a story sucks me in I’ll just sit there staring off into space instead of doing any of the chores I planned on doing while listening. But this was a must listen. It was a first person, dual POV, and dual narration that had me literally swooning at times.
“My evil plan was working. Step one: get Aly to drop her guard. Step two: fuck her on this couch. Oh, wait, no. I’d skipped a few steps somewhere” – Lights Out by Navessa Allen
Triggers
There are many triggers in Lights Out and I recommend checking them at the front of the book. The main ones I noticed were:
- Sexually explicit scenes and discussions
- Mention of past rape, past domestic abuse, and child abuse experience.
- Stalking
- Mention of unintentional cannibalism
- Gun, knife, breath play
- Violence, murder, and death.
My Thoughts
This is the type of dark romance I love the most. I want unhinged but in a hilarious way. Like I want to feel as though I’d be besties with a character, and both Aly and Josh could join my husband and I for dinner, I’ll cook. I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I laughed a lot at the pure damn near cinnamon roll/golden retriever-esque behavior of Josh. AND THE CAT!
“I thought we could spend some quality time together as a family. You, me. Our maladjusted son who just scooted his butt across the carpet behind you.” – Lights Out by Navessa Allen
I was so afraid to start this because of the Trigger Warnings (cannibalism is SOOO not my thing) but in the end it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be and absolutely worth the listen.
The spice scenes in this book were … *chef’s kiss.* Thankfully, I knew better than to play them over blue tooth in my minivan while I was driving around town. Otherwise the neighboring cars would have gotten an earful of some kinky goodness.
Side Note: No your car is not soundproof and most of the time we can hear whatever is playing and any phone conversations on the outside of your car.
Josh was equally unhinged as he was hilarious. Aly will likely make you face your own questionable kinks as well. However, with themes of grief, social anxiety, and estrangement from family, there is still a huge amount of character growth within the two main characters. So yes, you will laugh out loud several times throughout the book, you’ll also get a big dose of the feels too.
“You’re here,” she said, so low I almost missed the words. I slipped my hand from hers and pulled her into a hug. “You needed me.” – Lights Out by Navessa Allen
Of course, my favorite side character in Lights Out by Navessa Allen was Fred. Who couldn’t love him. He was perfect, great comedic timing, and I always looked forward to scenes that had him.
If you want a dark romance but you want to laugh out loud, several times, this is that book. Seriously, don’t listen or read this book in the middle of the night next to a sleeping spouse, you will wake them from their slumber. Added to that, there are a couple of twists within the book that take place during the second half that will keep you up even later.
Who Would Like Lights Out by Navessa Allen
Tropes in this book include:
- Insta-lust
- Stalker
- Animal sidekick
- Hidden Identity
I would say if you enjoyed the absolutely unhinged but funny personalities of Diesel (Den of Vipers by KA Knight) and Niall (The Death Club by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti) this book will also be right up your alley. Also, I have not read Butcher and Blackbird yet (Another cannibalism trigger that I’m trying to get past,) but I’ve heard a lot of people compare Lights Out to that.
If you’ve read Lights Out by Navessa Allen, or you’re adding it to your TBR, let me know in the comments. I love interacting with other readers over books I loved.