In Lights Out, Navessa Allen doesn’t just write a love story—she detonates one. This debut installment of the Into Darkness series is a raw, sultry, and unapologetically unfiltered descent into a relationship shaped by trauma, fantasy, and primal instinct. Equal parts unsettling and intoxicating, this is a novel that dares to explore the emotional damage we carry, the dangerous desires we often repress, and what happens when both are met with understanding instead of judgment.
Where most dark romances flirt with taboo, Navessa Allen’s Lights Out plunges straight into it, emerging with something surprisingly tender beneath all the masks, knives, and blood. This isn’t a book that plays it safe—and that’s exactly why it works.
Plot Summary: A Dream in a Mask Becomes a Nightmare You Don’t Want to Wake From
Aly, a jaded trauma nurse, is no stranger to emotional detachment. Her daily life is a barrage of injuries, cruelty, and death, leaving her with little energy for her own healing. Her guilty pleasure? Watching videos of masked men in ghostly white visages, particularly ones drenched in tattoos and danger. Her social feed feeds her darkest fantasies until one night, a drunken message sent on impulse turns fantasy into flesh.
Josh, the man behind the mask, is not what he seems—and somehow, exactly what Aly needs. A mix of protector and predator, he stalks her, seduces her, and ultimately sees her. Their story spirals into something deliciously twisted: a love affair born not from fairy tales, but from shared damage, carefully negotiated boundaries, and a mutual hunger for control in a world that offers none.
Together, they unravel a world of lies, violence, vigilante justice, and intimacy that thrives in the shadows.
Characters Who Bleed, Burn, and Bite
Aly – A Survivor, Not a Victim
Aly is emotionally scorched, yet resilient. She’s not a damsel waiting to be rescued. She’s a woman confronting her truth—that arousal and safety might coexist in unexpected, even dangerous, ways. Allen portrays her not as broken but as someone learning how to redefine what healing looks like.
Josh – Danger, Disguised
He’s not just a man in a mask. He’s a paradox—haunted by his father’s legacy as a serial killer, yet driven to prevent harm. Equal parts stalker and savior, Josh forces readers to question what safety and danger even mean in a world shaped by trauma.
Supporting Cast:
Fred the Cat is Aly’s emotional tether, reflecting her growing comfort—or alarm—with Josh.
Moira and Nico (her morally flexible family) bring weight and complexity, providing a dark comedic foil.
Brad, the predator, is a monster cloaked in normalcy. His narrative arc reminds us how easily real villains wear friendly faces.
Themes: When Love Wears a Mask
What sets Lights Out by Navessa Allen apart from other dark romances is the psychological depth embedded in its kink and violence. Every scene pulses with subtext and layered emotional stakes.
Key Themes:
Healing Through Darkness – Aly and Josh don’t find peace in spite of their trauma, but through it. Their intimacy is a reclamation.
Consent and Control – Even at its darkest, the story underscores negotiated safety. Consent is always present, even when the setting is violent or voyeuristic.
Fantasy as Coping – Aly’s kink isn’t escapism—it’s survival. Allen beautifully illustrates how erotic fantasies can help us process buried emotional truths.
Justice vs. Vengeance – The novel walks a tightrope between vigilante justice and emotional catharsis, never fully absolving its characters, but inviting readers into their logic.
Writing Style: Sharp, Smart, Sensual
Navessa Allen writes like someone who knows what keeps people up at night. Her prose is gritty and unvarnished, crackling with wit, erotic tension, and flashes of aching vulnerability. From the rhythm of Aly’s internal monologue to the cold logic of Josh’s chapters, each voice is distinct, authentic, and deeply rooted in pain, survival, and sardonic humor.
The pacing is relentless in the best way: emotionally intense, physically intimate, and filled with dread and desire in equal measure. While not poetic in a traditional sense, Allen’s style is rhythmic in its build-up, escalation, and release—mirroring the emotional arcs of her leads.
Romance That Ruins You (In the Best Way)
There’s a primal, almost feral undertone to the romance in Lights Out by Navessa Allen. It’s not about hearts and flowers—it’s about breathing through panic, choosing vulnerability over self-protection, and letting someone hold your demons without trying to fix them.
The Relationship:
Starts with fantasy, develops through obsession.
Transforms into something real through shared secrets and a thirst for vengeance.
Culminates in trust—not the easy kind, but the kind that’s built in the aftermath of mutual destruction.
Sex scenes are graphic but never gratuitous. Every touch, bite, and whispered threat serves the emotional trajectory. For readers who crave a blend of intensity and emotional insight, this book delivers.
Highlights That Hit Hard
Why Lights Out by Navessa Allen Stands Out in the Dark Romance Genre:
An unflinching portrayal of mental and emotional exhaustion, especially among caretakers.
A female lead who is both deeply human and erotically empowered.
A love interest who is dangerous but not cruel.
Exploration of kink as therapy, not spectacle.
Realistic depiction of boundaries, triggers, and recovery.
Critique: Where the Darkness Overreaches
No book this bold walks away without bruises, and Lights Out by Navessa Allen does have a few.
Pacing Wobbles Midway – Around the middle, the action slightly stalls due to introspective repetition. Some internal monologues could’ve been more concise.
Suspension of Believability – Certain plot points, particularly involving revenge logistics, lean toward cinematic rather than realistic.
Limited Secondary Arcs – While Aly and Josh are fully realized, some side characters, especially antagonists, remain flatly villainous without deeper motivations.
These are minor issues in an otherwise well-executed narrative and do little to undermine the story’s immersive power.
Navessa Allen and Her Place in Dark Romance
Though Lights Out is one of her first full-length novel releases, Navessa Allen writes with the authority of someone who’s intimately familiar with her genre. Her roots in serialized storytelling give her work a uniquely addictive rhythm—each chapter reads like a cliffhanger, compelling you to go further, deeper, darker.
Comparable Reads:
Sick Fux by Tillie Cole (for its unhinged romance and emotional risk)
The Ritual by Shantel Tessier (for masked obsession and dark power dynamics)
The Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton (for stalker romance themes with nuance)
Allen earns her place among these names by daring to humanize the “monsters” we often see in fiction—and by making us question whether they’re really monsters at all.
The Verdict: A Kink-Laced, Heartbreaking, Dangerous Love Story
Lights Out by Navessa Allen isn’t just about masked men and erotic thrill—it’s a story about survival, acceptance, and the twisted ways two broken people can become each other’s salvation. With powerful writing, emotionally complex characters, and plotlines that keep you on edge, this book is everything a dark romance should be: gripping, morally ambiguous, and undeniably affecting.
For readers willing to explore the gray space between fantasy and fear, Lights Out offers a love story unlike anything else.