Lights Out by Navessa Allen

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lights Out — Filthy, Thrilling, and Utterly Addictive (5 ⭐)

Author: Navessa Allen
Genre: Dark Romance / Erotic Thriller
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 out of 5

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

Explicit sexual content • Stalking • Violence • Murder • Child abuse (past) • Sexual violence • Trauma • Death • Strong language

(Yes, this list is long. Yes, the book is still incredible.)

😳 Initial Thoughts: OH EM GEE… I Loved This So Much

Okay. Deep breath.

Lights Out is the kind of book you read with one eye on the door in case someone walks in. 👀📖
It is pure guilty pleasure — the kind that makes you think “wow, I cannot believe how much I’m enjoying this” while absolutely refusing to stop reading.

Masked man? ✔️
Online obsession? ✔️
Unhinged tension? ✔️
Characters you end up caring about way more than expected? ✔️✔️✔️

This book had my heart racing the entire time. I was on the edge of my seat thinking WHEN is she going to figure out who he is?! It’s delicious, intense, and wildly addictive. Honestly, I’ve been handing out some 5-star reads lately, but this one? This one clears them all. (Okay, maybe recency bias… but STILL.) 😮‍💨🔥

📚 What This Book Is About (Premise)

Lights Out follows Aly, an ER nurse who copes with stress, trauma, and loneliness in very relatable ways — and Josh, a cybersecurity specialist who runs a wildly popular masked social media account.

Aly is obsessed with masked men.
Josh is the masked man.

When Josh realizes Aly is fantasizing about him online, their connection spirals from digital obsession into something far more dangerous, intimate, and emotionally intense. What starts as voyeuristic fantasy quickly blurs into real-life obsession, protection, and love — all wrapped in morally questionable decisions.

This book explores fantasy vs. reality, control and consent, and how trauma can shape desire in complicated ways.

🚨 SPOILER WARNING 🚨

Full plot summary and ending below. Everything is revealed.

🔥 Full Plot Summary: Masks, Obsession, and Crossing Every Line

🏥 Aly & the Faceless Man

Aly works in a trauma ER and feels deeply isolated. At home, she escapes into fantasies fueled by videos from a masked creator known as the.faceless.man. She leaves explicit comments, never expecting anything to come of them.

Her ex, Tyler, sees one of these comments — and unknowingly shows it to his roommate, Josh, who realizes Aly is talking about him.

Josh is immediately intrigued… and begins researching her.

🕶️ Josh’s Secret

Josh wears a mask online because he’s the son of a notorious serial killer. He’s deeply traumatized, ashamed of his face, and terrified of becoming like his father. Technology is how he controls his world.

Instead of backing off, Josh starts stalking Aly.

He breaks into her house.
Films himself on her bed.
Leaves his mask behind.

Aly panics — then realizes the video was filmed in her bedroom. She confronts him online. Instead of stopping, the dynamic escalates into a dangerous, arousing game of power and surveillance.

🧨 The Line Keeps Moving

Josh installs security systems, watches over Aly, sends her gifts, and communicates almost entirely through messages and videos. When he finally appears in person — masked and silent — the tension is unbearable.

Their relationship becomes physical, intense, and emotionally loaded. Josh insists Aly must know his identity before they go all the way, despite how fast everything else is moving.

Aly suspects Josh is the masked man… and hires Josh himself to “find” the masked man, unknowingly setting up a deliciously twisted situation.

🚨 Real Danger Enters

A known rapist, Brad, begins threatening Aly. When he tries to break into her home, Josh intervenes and knocks him out. Brad later dies, forcing Aly and Josh to cover up the incident with help from Aly’s mafia-connected uncle, Nico.

Josh spirals, terrified that killing Brad proves he’s no different from his father.

🧠 Truth, Trauma, and Loyalty

Aly finally learns Josh’s identity and his past. Instead of running, she understands him — fully. Together, they erase evidence tying Aly to Brad while narrowly avoiding police suspicion.

Josh intentionally triggers Brad’s house alarm to expose other victims, ensuring Brad’s crimes come to light.

💍 The Ending

Josh and Aly confess they love each other. They commit to a real relationship, navigating family threats, trauma, and mutual obsession.

Months later, in the woods, during one of their intimate roleplay games, they propose to each other.

Unhinged? Yes.
Perfect for this book? Absolutely.

🖤 Why This Book Works So Well

  • Masked man tension that DELIVERS 😮‍💨

  • High emotional stakes

  • Erotic scenes tied to character, not just shock

  • Trauma handled thoughtfully (for dark romance)

  • A thriller plot that actually keeps you on edge

This isn’t just spicy — it’s compulsively readable.

⭐ Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Filthy, thrilling, emotional, and impossible to put down. My favorite guilty pleasure read in a long time.

📚 If You Loved Lights Out, Try These Next:

  • Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

  • Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

  • The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby

  • Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton

  • Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger

😈 Bottom Line:
If masked men, obsession, and morally questionable romance make your pulse spike — Lights Out will absolutely ruin you (in the best way).

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