Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1) by Navessa Allen🎧 Narrated by Elena Wolfe & Jacob Morgan

Synopsis (via Goodreads): The viral TikTok stalker dark romance, burning with high heat, hilarious banter, and a love story like you’ve never seen before. Can you handle the ride?

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 Cappellucci doesn’t need any more kinks. She likes the one she’s landed on just fine. To her, nothing could top the masked men she follows online. Unless one of those men was shirtless, heavily tattooed, and waiting for her in her bedroom. She dreams about being hunted by one in particular, of him chasing her down and doing deliciously dark things to her willing body. She never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become her new reality.

I want things most people don’t, craving darkness and depravity instead of light and love.

Josh Hammond 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 to drool over, but one follower has caught his eye: Aly. After reading a comment begging him to break into her house wearing a mask, he decides to take her up on her offer.

Together, Aly and Josh live out their darkest fantasies, unaware that Aly has captured the attention of someone else. Someone with far more sinister intentions than a little light stalking. As Josh turns from predator to protector and the stakes heighten, he must ask himself how far he’s willing to go for the woman he’s obsessed with.

“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.”

I genuinely enjoyed this book! The trigger warning list at the beginning had me worried (and had my husband looking at me funny for a few days after I let him listen to it), but it really wasn't that bad. Most of what's on the list is just alluded to or mentioned and not described in great detail. Honestly, Lights Out didn't even feel like a dark romance, just a regular kinky romance with some darker aspects tossed in. 

For starters, Josh is adorable and so stinking cute. I love his relationship with Fred (her cat) and the ridiculous, off-the-wall comments he makes. His humor and snark had me smiling throughout this book. He's also incredibly self-aware and owns his kinky sexuality. He knows what he likes and just wants someone to share it with. Josh is also very protective and the way he takes care of those he loves is endearing, if a little overbearing at times. It makes sense when you learn about his history and get his backstory. The way he watched Aly to make sure she was actually into it (and not just all talk and bravado on the internet) was sweet in a weird way. His intentions were good at least.

Tyler was a solid friend. Was he full of himself? Absolutely. But he had Josh's back and I can respect that.

Aly was a likeable main character as well. She's responsible, capable, and has the ability to work through her emotions rationally and without freaking out (externally). We do get some inner monologue about her questionable decisions, but I like how the author handled it. It felt believable if you can get behind a cute stalker romance. Her experience as a trauma nurse means she's seem some things most of us only hear about. I think that added to her believability as a character engaging willingly with a stalker and how she was able to "trust her gut" when making decisions. 

I also liked that the "reveal" wasn't left until the end. They're able to develop an honest relationship in addition to their kinky one. The story that revolves around them was a tad unbelievable at times (like her family ties and what ends up happening to her one night at work and after), but it does play into the overall story and helps it progress. Now I'm not saying these things are impossible, but they were very convenient for the story.

Overall, Lights Out was an immensely enjoyable read. It had me smiling from ear-to-ear and pausing the audiobook when the smut was smutting and the kids or husband were around, lol. Both narrators were phenomenal and I can't wait to listen to more books by them. Caught Up is the second book in this series, and June 10th can't come fast enough. (★★★★★)