Melanie's Reviews > Lights Out

full disclosure: navessa is a friend of mine (and she was/is such a huge inspiration to me on goodreads, and i will always be very thankful for her in my life). i did purchase this book with my own money, she doesn't even know i'm reading it, but i am just so immensely proud of her and really wanted to support and read her newest book. yet, i am aware there might be some subconscious biases while i was reading, so here is my longwinded caveat making you aware too!

so, i do not have any kind of tiktok mask kink. i respect it, but it’s just not for me. and truly, when i think about it, i think of brittany broski and ghost from cod lol. (and i love that for her! and all of you, too!) but this story was so unexpectedly sexy to me. like, i was eating it up from start to finish. and i think, deep down, i also knew if anyone was going to write a story like this, with a lot of care evening out the power dynamics, it would be navessa!

this first book in a series follows aly, who is a trauma nurse, who overworks herself to attempt to cope and heal trauma in her past, and josh, who is the masked tiktok cosplayer, and who also is trying to do everything in his power to hide the trauma in his past, for him and his family. Ii know this is a steamy romance, but there is a lot of discussions surrounding their traumatizing past and the therapy and work they’ve put in to try to live happier lives. and the effort they are putting in with each other, using care because of their good communication, and i absolutely loved everything about it.

i will say, this went a little bit into a direction i wasn’t expecting, once the relationship gets more established, but i still had such an amazing time with this. and again, this was really sexy - and the use of toys was super highlighted and super hot every time. these mcs for sure matched each other's freak, and i deeply respected it, and cannot wait to read the next book.

content warnings at the start of the book: Lights Out is a dark stalker rom-com with heavy themes. Reader discretion is advised as this book contains: Sexually explicit discussion and scenes (including anal play), Alcohol consumption, Mention of (off-page) rape, Child abuse (remembered), Medical content, Blood and gore (in a hospital setting), Discussion of mental health, Mention of serial killers and their crimes, Limited description of a mass shooting, Stalking, Invasion of privacy, Home invasion, Hidden cameras, Hacking, Theft, Unintentional cannibalism (remembered), Death, Car accident (remembered), Description of a violent death (remembered), Death of a parent, Breath play, Knife play, Gun play, Fear play, Primal play, Mask play, Consensual dubious consent

other trigger + content warnings i wrote down while reading: grief, abandonment, drugging, vomit, misdiagnosis (bad doctor taking advantage)

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♡.) Scandal ★★★★★