Lights Out: An Into Darkness Novel: 1 (Into Darkness Series)

4.5 ⭐️ From the first chapter, Lights Out had me captivated. Nevassa’s writing style has a personal touch, and the story just flows effortlessly. It has everything you’d want in a dark romance—twisted characters, sharp banter, sizzling chemistry, and a storyline that pulls you in from page one. And let’s not forget, this story isn’t just about a stalker romance—it’s got depth, humor, and even an unbeatable cat dad! Meet Josh: Hacker, masked thirst-trap, and sociopath. Josh, our morally gray hero, is trying to live life in the shadows. He’s a hacker genius and a near-carbon copy of his psychopathic (serial killer) father, though he’s hell-bent on proving to himself he’s different. By day, he hides from the world; by night, he transforms into a faceless masked figure who anonymously posts thirst-trap videos, relishing in the anonymity and the admiration of his fans. He’s intense, complex, and completely unhinged in the best way. And then there’s Aly, a trauma nurse with a twist. Aly spends her days dealing with humanity at its worst. She’s slowly losing herself to her job and spends her free time thirsting over masked men online. When her dark fantasy quite literally walks into her life—well, breaks into her house—she’s caught between terror and excitement. Instead of calling the police, she plots revenge, and their encounters become a deliciously twisted game of cat and mouse. Their chemistry? Off the charts. Aly’s back-and-forth banter with Josh is witty, funny, and totally addictive. And Josh’s interactions with her cat? Pure gold. Cat daddy in its finest. Simple said, they are the Perfect (and slightly unhinged) match. Josh and Aly may be twisted, but they’re perfect for each other. On the one hand, he’s a sociopath who’s broken into her home; on the other, he’s fulfilling the dark fantasy she’s been chasing online for months. She never imagined her online comments would manifest into reality, but now she’s facing the very thing she was asking for. Their connection is intense and unbreakable, with just the right balance of darkness and humor. And best of all? There’s no unnecessary third-act breakup or dramatic miscommunication— just a dark, thrilling romance that makes total sense for these characters. Their bond is undeniable, and watching them navigate this messed-up connection was a breath of fresh air. Lights Out takes an unexpected turn about halfway through, evolving from a dark, stalker romance into a spicy murder mystery with mafia intrigue. It’s like two books mashed together, and while the shift felt a bit jarring, it somehow worked. The first half is pure dark romance heaven—stalking, banter, kinks, and fantastic character development. The second half, while still engaging, loses a bit of that initial spark. Some parts felt long, and if it had been trimmed down a bit, it might have hit that perfect 5-star mark for me. Despite the pacing issues in the second half, Lights Out is still an incredible read (or listen!). It’s dark, funny, and addictive, with unforgettable characters and a unique premise that keeps you glued to the story. Nevassa’s writing style is magnetic, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next book. Oh, and let me just say this: Lights Out is an absolute must listen as an audiobook. The voice modulator used for the masked, faceless MC? Pure magic. It’s the kind of voice that melts you from the inside out, and I was completely hooked. I had the print copy on hand, and listening with headphones only a couple chapters, but it took the experience to a whole new level. It’s dark, spicy, funny, and all together a great read.

I admit to not being a fan of many tropes in dark romantasy. Stalker fantasies leave me cold, and lack of consent I find repulsive and depressing. But given this genre's popularity I've been trying more and coming up unimpressed each time. But not with this book. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty here I didn't like. It starts with a stalker fantasy for one, the plot was stretching the limits of my belief to begin with and just went into fully overboard unbelievable in the middle (why is everyone in dark fiction connected to the Mafia/is a super hacker?) so there was plenty I was sighing at, but what I would say is that the main characters save this book and make it special. The romance between the main characters is wonderful, after a rocky start it's a perfect blend of pain and pleasure, demonstrating that sex and relationships dont need to be conventional or always gentle to work, reminding me of The Secretary, which remains one of my favourite films. The main characters themselves are self-aware, traumatized people who find comfort and redemption in their kinks and relationship and once it all became fully consentual (not far into the book, actually, which was reassuring) I was onboard. Both main characters are strong, interesting people with flaws and a dark sense of humour, and I was so relieved by Aly, the woman, because she was not (as I have read in other books) some terrified, pathetic, conventional damsel in distress flailing about uselessly, but a woman of courage, conviction and with layers to her personality. This book has a lot of dark humour, which is fine but I didn't really find it lol funny, and there's certainly some areas pressing on the morally dubious. But my biggest issue with dark romantasy is always consent, and although there's some pretty murky moments with this at the beginning, this issue is resolved fast. To me, at least, consenting adults getting up to whatever they want is fine, but remove the consent and you're into territory which I don't find dark, novel and exciting but rather conventional, historic and depressing. For thousands of years women had very few rights over consent, being given away in marriage or otherwise with no reference to their wishes, so dark romantasy harking back to that is just dull and depressing, imho. The trouble is some people seem to think it's novel, new and exciting, which depresses me even more. So this book was a shining star to me in this trip I've made into dark romantasy, and I recommend it highly. A truly interesting tale, great main characters, and I'll be looking for more from this author who seems to understand the nuances of a relationship which pushes boundaries, explores bdsm, and travels to dark places certainly, but is respectful and loving at the same time, and never ends in abuse. Good work!

I added this to my TBR from a book group recommendation ages ago and had completely forgotten everything about it so went in blind. To be honest, I was a little put off by the ‘TikTok’s favourite’ because the last time I read a ‘TikTok’s favourite’ it was absolute trash! At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it as the MMC is so different to your normal dark romance, brooding bad boy. Turned out that’s what makes this book so good! It’s the lightest of dark romances really, it gets a little dark but it’s all done with full consent, respect, friendship and humour. It’s like the author read a bunch of dark romances and thought ‘what would a relationship like this be like in real life? If you could have the kink but safely with someone who wasn’t a walking red flag?!’ It’s still spicy and hot but also funny, realistic and a (mostly) healthy relationship. It’s really well written, no typos or mistakes (that I noticed), a good plot outside of the relationship that complements the romance rather than detracting from it. Lots of humour without being silly. Really likeable and well developed characters whilst managing to avoid the usual stereotypes and cliches. I really loved this book and can’t wait to read everything else the author has ever written!

Absolutely loved this book

Anche se disponibile solo in Inglese, per ora è molto apprezzato!

Josh is hilarious, spicy, devoted, traumatized and kind. Aly is annoying at times but their chemistry is great. I loved the humor, it had me laughing out loud multiple times through the book. There are some spicy parts, and a lot of seggual commentary but the story is worth reading even if it usually isn't your thing (romance usually isnt mine, but I have been finding some really good ones lately). Check trigger warnings if you tend to be bothered by some topics.

I have been ruined for other audiobooks after this one, this was soooo gooood! While it is a dark romance it was hilarious! I listened to it in bed and my boyfriend asked why I was laughing multiple times. The duet narration was everything and the voices of Jacob Morgan and Elena Wolfe were perfect. The story itself was also a five star, it had everything: great characters, humor, lots of spice, suspence and a great plot. Normally I finish a book in a few days but I had to savor this one, so I only listened to a few chapters a day. I can not wait to read the second book but in the meantime I will probably read and listen to this one a few times again.

Love this book, first heard the audio, but I needed a physical version.