I Went In For the Mask. I Stayed For the Chaos.
Something happened when I picked up this book.
I’d been dark-romance-curious for a while. I’d loved Quicksilver by Callie Hart, I’d seen the BookTok chaos building around Lights Out for months, and I’d been watching the “check your trigger warnings” posts pile up in my feed. So I made the responsible adult decision to read a book about a masked man who breaks into a woman’s house because she drunken-DMed him.
For research.
Obviously.
What I was not expecting was to laugh. Frequently. While reading about behaviour that should absolutely not be entertaining.
Five stars. No notes. Except maybe several notes for my therapist.
What is Lights Out about?
Lights Out is the first book in the Into Darkness series by Navessa Allen, and it bills itself as a “dark stalker rom-com” (which is a sentence that should not work, and yet).
Trauma nurse Aly Cappellucci has developed a very specific type: masked men on the internet. After one drunken message to the masked thirst-trapper she has been following online, she wakes up to a reality that she probably should be reporting to the relevant authorities.
She does not do this.
Because Josh Hammond is not quite what she expected. He’s a hacker, he wears a mask, he has done his research (all of it, on her, which is alarming in a fictional context and somehow also endearing, and I recognise that is a problem), and he has golden retriever energy buried underneath about fifty red flags.
As Aly and Josh spiral further into their mutually chaotic situation, a genuine threat arrives and Josh shifts from obsession to protector. The stakes increase. Things escalate. The chemistry was already doing the most, and now there’s also actual danger.
It’s a lot, and it is excellent.
Why I picked it up
I’d just finished Quicksilver by Callie Hart, which clearly unlocked a part of my brain that needed darker romance to function. Everyone on BookTok was talking about Lights Out, and the general energy from readers was “I know this is morally questionable and I had the absolute best time.”
I needed to understand.
This was my first proper step into stalker romance and masked-man territory, and it was the perfect entry point. Not the most extreme the genre gets, but spicy and dark enough to immediately explain why readers were completely unwell about Josh.
I understood the hype within the first few chapters.
First impression
I realised it was going to be a five-star read very early on.
I was expecting dark romance. I was expecting tension, spice and a man who had absolutely no business being attractive given his hobbies.
What I was not expecting was to keep turning to my partner mid-read to explain what was happening, chapter by chapter, completely against his will.
Because it was also genuinely funny.
The humour caught me completely off guard, and that combination (dark, spicy and hilarious) is what made this book completely addictive. It’s the kind of book where you keep saying “just one more chapter” until suddenly your responsibilities are judging you silently from the other room and it is far too late and you do not care even slightly.
The vibe
Dark bedroom energy. Late-night bad decisions. A woman who probably should be more concerned about her situation but is choosing to be intrigued instead. A man in a mask who is simultaneously terrifying and weirdly charming, and apparently fine with both of those things.
Plus banter. A significant amount of banter.
Lights Out sits in a very specific and very effective category: dark romcom. It is dark romance that does not take itself entirely seriously, and because of that, it is one of the most readable and approachable dark romances I have found. The humour makes the darkness easier to sit with, which is a large part of why I think it works so well as a first step into the genre for readers who are dark-romance-curious but not quite ready for the fully unhinged ones.
The romance
The chemistry between Aly and Josh is chaotic in exactly the right way.
This is not a slow-burn tension-only romance where nothing happens for a hundred and fifty pages. The dynamic is immediate and electric: a cat-and-mouse situation where the cat has golden retriever energy and the mouse is genuinely not that concerned about being caught.
What made the romance work for me was that both characters have their own darkness. Josh is morally grey in ways that should be alarming. But Aly meets his energy rather than simply receiving it, which makes their relationship feel less like a power imbalance and more like two people who found the exact specific brand of chaos they had each been looking for.
He falls first. She takes a moment to admit it. The tension is a full five stars.
There is no third-act breakup. I respect that deeply and without reservation.
Fictional man assessment: Josh Hammond
Josh is a problem.
A masked, heavily tattooed, golden-retriever-in-a-murder-mask problem, and I genuinely do not have a coherent defence for how much I enjoyed him.
He is a hacker who has done his research (specifically, on Aly, all of it, which is alarming and somehow fictional-context endearing), he has a complicated family history that adds genuine emotional depth to what could have been a one-note character, and he somehow manages to be simultaneously terrifying and funny. In the same scene. Often within the same paragraph.
The humour was the thing I did not expect. Josh being completely unhinged AND genuinely hilarious made him compelling rather than just intense. He is not the dark brooding type who stands in corners looking menacing. He is the type who, during a particularly distracting moment, finds himself mentally running through sporting teams to maintain composure, and if that sentence currently makes no sense, I promise you will understand exactly what I mean when you get there, and you will have to put the book down for a moment.
Would I survive dating Josh in real life? Absolutely not.
Would I fold embarrassingly fast in a fictional context? Apparently, yes. Immediately and without dignity.
Does he beat Kingfisher from Quicksilver for the top spot on my fictional man ranking? He won. It was not close. Kingfisher had a filthy mouth and I respect that deeply, but Josh had the spice, the humour, the chaos, the mask and the energy that started a full dark romance obsession. Kingfisher comes for the silver medal.
Lights Out spicy chapters: how spicy is it and where?
Lights Out is spicy. The key scenes land in chapters 8, 11, 14, 15, 20, 25 and the epilogue, spread across the book rather than held until the final act.
Is it spicy, and how much?
Spice rating: 4 out of 5 chilli peppers. Tension: a full 5 out of 5.
This is open door, explicit, and absolutely in “be very aware of your surroundings on public transport” territory. Dark themes are present throughout (knife play, breath play, primal dynamics). The book is clear about this in the trigger warnings. The humour running through the story keeps the whole thing from feeling heavy-handed, but this is not a fade-to-black situation. The spice is doing what it is there to do.
Which chapters are the spicy ones?
The scenes are spread throughout the book, which gives it a consistent pace rather than making you wait until the last quarter:
- Chapter 8: First face-to-face encounter, thick with primal chemistry; a wordless challenge that sets the tone for everything that follows
- Chapter 11: The cat-and-mouse dynamic heats up with dirty talk and a teasing video-chat scene; prelude energy doing the absolute most
- Chapters 14 and 15: The two-chapter scene BookTok keeps referencing; emotionally charged and intense with dark prop play
- Chapter 20: Adrenaline meets unexpected intimacy in the aftermath of the story’s action peak
- Chapter 25: Full established couple energy; the physical intimacy by this point reflects how much they’ve been through together
- Epilogue: Yes, even the epilogue delivers; a look at their future, and the kink is absolutely still present
Note: this book contains mature themes including knife play, breath play and primal dynamics. Please check the trigger warnings before diving in. Navessa Allen provides them and they are worth reading first.
Favourite moment
Any scene where the humour cut straight through the darkness.
Some spoiler-free highlights: the naming of sporting teams (you will know when you get there and you will stop and reread it), the knife in the mattress scene, and “I’m Batman.”
I did not expect to laugh as much as I did in a stalker romance. That specific surprise is a significant part of why this book hit as hard as it did. The dark romance genre has a lot of entries that are relentlessly intense. This one earns the humour and deploys it well, and that balance is genuinely rare.
Most unhinged moment
The entire premise, honestly.
But specifically: the knife in the mattress. Josh being terrifying one moment and somehow charming the next. The way Aly simply… adapts. Considers the situation. And then adapts further.
Also Fred the cat. Fred is a supporting character who absolutely did not ask for any of this and deserves full recognition for his contribution to the chaos. That cat had the right idea about everything.
Sir. Pick a lane.
Actually, don’t. The lane-changing is working.
If this book had a scent
Dark and sweet with something slightly dangerous underneath.
Think blueberry and black vanilla layered over smoked amber, a hint of dark woods and cold steel, and the specific feeling of late-night air when you have already made the decision and you know it. Sweet on top, dark underneath, and not remotely apologetic about either.
If this book was a drink
A blueberry blackout cocktail: dark, sweet, dangerous-looking and absolutely the kind of drink you should not have more than one of before making questionable fictional decisions.
Alternatively: a dark berry margarita with black salt. Because subtlety has completely left the conversation.
If this book was a snack
Dark chocolate blueberry bark. Sweet, dark, slightly sharp and addictive in a way that makes you keep saying “just one more piece” until suddenly it is gone and you have somehow started the next chapter at two in the morning and your responsibilities are a distant memory.
Read this book if
- You are dark-romance-curious and want a book that brings you in gently with humour
- The masked-man romance trope has been living in your head rent-free (this is one of the best examples of it)
- You like your fictional men morally grey with a side of genuine chaos and surprising funny moments
- You enjoy golden retriever energy applied to extremely questionable behaviour
- You want tension, spice and banter in roughly equal, generous measure
- You like dark romance that is also genuinely, legitimately funny
- You are fine checking trigger warnings before diving in (please do)
- You want a BookTok book that actually lives up to the hype (this one does)
- You enjoy black cat x golden retriever energy, but make it dark romance and remove the safety ratings
- You want to understand why the entire internet was unwell about Josh
Avoid this book if
- Dark romance is genuinely not for you regardless of how it is presented
- Stalker romance tropes are a hard no even with humour involved
- You want a wholesome, cosy, low-drama love story with no moral complications
- You need your fictional men to be emotionally stable and legally sensible
- You are not willing to check trigger warnings before reading
- You are my mother-in-law (I love her and this is entirely for her own protection)
Quick answers
What is the age rating for Lights Out? How explicit is it?
Lights Out is adult content only, not suitable for readers under 18. It contains explicit open-door scenes with dark themes including knife play, breath play and primal dynamics. Please check the author’s trigger warnings before reading. Navessa Allen provides them and they are comprehensive.
What order do you read the Into Darkness series?
Read in order, as these are sequential stories following the same characters:
- Lights Out (book one)
- Caught Up (book two)
- Game On (book three)
All three books are out now.
Can you read Lights Out as a standalone?
Lights Out has a satisfying, complete ending and can technically be read as a standalone. However, if you fall for Josh and Aly (you will), there are two more books waiting (Caught Up and Game On) and you will want to read them immediately.
What should I read next if I loved Lights Out?
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver is the first obvious pick. BookTok pairs these two constantly, and for good reason: dark romance plus genuine humour, different premise but the same chaotic fun energy. If you are ready to step up in darkness, Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton is the next move.
EmberSas ratings
- Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
- Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
- Tension: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 / 5
- Book Boyfriend (Josh): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5 (problematic rating system; do not apply to real life)
- Emotional Damage: 💔💔💔 / 5 (not heartbreak damage, more “what does this say about me?” damage)
- Obsession Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
- Red Flag Appeal: 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 / 5 (regrettably high)
- Dark Romance Gateway Drug: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 / 5 (this is the book that started the whole obsession)
Review Snapshot
- Book: Lights Out
- Author: Navessa Allen
- Series: Into Darkness (#1)
- Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
- Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
- Emotional damage: 💔💔💔 / 5
- Obsession level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
Final verdict
Lights Out is the book that started my dark romance obsession and it is still not loosening its grip.
Five stars. Would absolutely recommend. Check the trigger warnings first, then read it immediately so you have someone to send voice notes to about Josh.
“Okay, so I need you to understand that I know this man is a problem. I know. I am aware. But Lights Out was so addictive, so funny, so spicy and so chaotic that I simply cannot pretend I didn’t have the best time. Josh is a walking red flag in a mask, Aly is not nearly as innocent as she could be, the chemistry is insane, and I laughed way more than I expected to in a dark romance about a masked stalker. This was my first proper masked-man stalker romance and apparently it unlocked something, because now I need more. Five stars. Please read the trigger warnings first. Then read it immediately so we can discuss why we are like this.”
