I haven’t had a whole lot of luck with viral booktok books, but several people mentioned enjoying the audiobook of Navessa Allan’s Lights Out. Hooked up with my new library card, I put holds on Lights Out and it’s sequel, Caught Up. The library gods were with me, and I got them both quickly. I’m not a dark romance reader. I’ve read a few that I really liked and noped out of a whole bunch that didn’t do it for me for whatever reason. I grew up around angry men whose insecurities fueled jealous, controlling behavior to keep the women and children in their lives small. I don’t find it sexy. I’m also not a turn off your brain kind of reader. It takes a lot, A LOT, for me to enjoy a story that involves stalking or other obsessive behaviors. While I wouldn’t say that either Lights Out or Caught Up will ever be a favorite read, I did enjoy them.
If you are going to read Lights Out, I highly recommend the audiobook. Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan did a great job, with an extra hat tip to Jacob Morgan’s ability to turn Josh’s stalker tendencies from off-putting to golden retriever who won’t let you go to the bathroom alone because he loves you so much. Elena Wolfe is fine, but she does such an every woman voice that it felt like Aly had a less distinct personality than I would have given her in my head.
Aly is an ER nurse with a secret kink for rough sex* and masked men. Her favorite TikTok sexy mask creator is called The Faceless Man. The Faceless Man is Josh and Josh knows who Aly is. Aly and Josh’s roommate had had a hookup situationship, and Josh has been a little obsessed with her since. When he finds out she’s a fan of his thirst trap alter ego, he escalates from stalking from afar to breaking and entering and making direct contact. Most of the book is Aly trying to figure out who Josh is and Josh trying to keep his identity hidden until he’s sure Aly won’t report him to the police. Along the way, Aly gets the attention of a serial killer who tries to make her his next victim, and Josh becomes a cat daddy to Aly’s cat, Fred. There is some kinky sex in here that’s probably shocking if you’re new to books with kink.
Josh fulfills the wish of a man who completely devotes himself to you and takes care of you whether you want it or not. He’s a murderous golden retriever of a man, so fun in fiction, but both terrifying and exhausting in real life. Aly and Josh are two fucked up people who find each other and make each other better, instead of what usually happens – make each other worse.
I had heard that some people were disappointed by Caught Up, but I figured that probably meant that it wasn’t exactly like Lights Out. I had even fewer expectations. Two things quickly made me cackle and understand why Caught Up gets a lower rating from the “reading shouldn’t be political” BookTok girlies – Lauren is a politically active sex worker and she has a roommate who is non-binary. I’m giving Caught Up five stars for this alone. And yes, I then went to check the reviews and sure enough – people screeching about pronouns and disgust at the frequent use of the phrase “sex work.” Blessings upon Navessa Allen.
Nico “Junior” Trocci is introduced in Lights Out as Aly’s cousin who is a clean up guy in a mafia family. Junior and Lauren had a thing in high school, but when her father and his father made it clear that things will get violent if he keeps seeing Lauren, he breaks things off in a way that humiliates her. Ten years later, Lauren has become a cam girl and a partner is a kink play club and is lobbying for laws that make sex work safer. She’s built a happy and financially stable life for herself doing wirk she loves with a supportive found family. Junior is trying to get out of the mafia and out from under his father’s thumb. He’s pretty miserable, but has been looking after Lauren from a distance, and is a long time subscriber to Lauren’s cam girl page. When Lauren’s father is finally out of the picture, Junior approaches Lauren in person at church, and then later at her members only sex club.
I liked that Junior has a sexual awakening at the club. I also liked that Junior does not struggle with accepting Lauren’s work. He does struggle with communication. I think the second chance aspects – the emotional work that goes into taking accountability and rebuilding trust – were diluted by everything else that was going on. I’m also taking off a star for a character saying that the mafia doesn’t terrorize it’s own communities. It’s untrue and it’s a racist argument to portray the Italian mafia as better than Black and Brown gangs. Nope.
I was glad that I listened to both of these because I don’t think I would have stuck with them as eyeball reads. As entertainment while taking a walk or doing chores, they worked.
Josh’s roommate, Aly’s former hookup, looks like he will be the main character in the next installment. I’m not terribly interested in him unless he gets his ass handed to him several times.
*There is no safe way to choke someone. not in any situation, and definitely not during sex.