Did I have a mask kink before Lights Out? No...do I after Lights Out?? For sure, yes!!

This was a fun and enjoyable read. I absolutely loved how "almost" realistic situations were. Like books are for fun, but it's refreshing reading how the characters aren't just about to jump on some stranger right off the bat just because.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥: 2.5★
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭: 2★
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 3★
𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 2★

This book didn’t have a plot really it was just a lot of smut, which if you are interested in that then you should read this book maybe after reading a huge fantasy book lol it was hard for me to finish the book because I need a good plot and there just wasn’t… a plot! 😂 I didn’t love the characters but I did like the banter and the 🌶️ scenes.

What an amazing book!!!

Aly is an ER nurse and if you know anything about healthcare it takes a special kind of humor to make it through. She doesn’t have friends, random hook ups here and there. But she finds herself obsessed with masked men on TikTok, one in particular. Will her comments on his videos stay comments? Or will fantasies come to life from someone she least expects?? The banter between the mmc and fmc is top notch! Will recommend this book to everyone who loves a dark romance mixed with a little comedy!

First, a thank you to the publisher for early access. This was a very delightful read. It's smart, funny, silly, scary, creepy, and sexy. The TWs at the beginning look overwhelming but take the moment because they all happen. Shout out to Fred.

Butcher and Blackbird for those of us who have masked men popping up on their fyp. It’s got dual pov, stalking, manslaughter, serial killers, primal play, knife play, breath play, bondage, CNC and, perhaps most impressive, excellent banter. Despite that, I had a hard time really getting invested in either of our main characters. Maybe it’s because it’s fairly angst free and I’m not fond of instalove, but that’s not this book’s fault! That honor belongs to my parents, my genetics, my favorite fanfics, and my shoddy neurotransmitters.

3.75 ⭐️

I find it absolutely wild this concept came about because a video on TikTok went viral, lol. Anyway, this was a decent read; my initial thoughts going in; a dark, stalker romance, with a mask play kink, what's not to love. I think I glossed over the rom-com bit, because I was not expecting for this to be so funny.

There were parts that I really enjoyed and other parts that fell a bit flat, in terms of the plot. It started off really strong and I really liked the main characters, Aly and Josh. They had great banter and chemistry, too; Josh was just so unhinged most of the time, I loved it. I thought they were really in-depth characters, Josh especially with his childhood upbringing and notorious dad, known as the 'Ken Doll Killer'.

The second half of the book felt like a completely different story from the first half; I thought it was good, but didn't quite fit, as the first half had focused on Aly and Josh's relationship and the whole mask thirst trap thing going on. Aly having connections to the mafia; it just felt a bit disjointed and out of place, but I did like her estranged family members.

Lets get into the kinks; breath play, knife play, gun play, fear play, primal play, a sprinkling of praise kink, and of course, mask play - it was a lot of fun; honestly, I would have been fine with this just veering on the physical side of things and the characters themselves than the whole mafia subplot.

I will say that there was some pacing issues and clunkiness with some sentences/phrasing/writing that just felt like I need to take a breath, or just random, didn’t flow well, but wasn’t overly bothered by it, and I overall had a fun time reading.

Tropes

He falls first
Dark rom-com
Stalker romnce
Touch her and die
Morally grey mmc
Kinks; cnc, breath play, knife play, gun play, fear play, primal play, praise kink, mask kink, anal play, edging and spanking.

Do you like banter? Sexy masked men who are obsessed and will stalk you...new kinks? Strong willed FMC's? Exciting plots and sexy time that are equally plentiful? Then this book is right up your alley! I laughed for a majority of the book with the back and forth banter between the MMC and FMC. They played off of each other so well never backing down. The characters were well developed as was the story. This book has many different levels each leading into the next keeping the reader engaged and thoroughly entertained. The backstory slowly emerges for each character bringing clarity to why they are and do what they do. I recommend this book as it does not disappoint and will leave you wanting to know what happens next.

I saw the posts, the TikToks, the quotes and immediately went feral, desperately trying to find a copy and along came Zando to bless my kindle!

I was so incredibly excited and it did not disappoint! It was dark and spicy and everything I was looking for. It was the stalker romance that had sweet moments but also had you on the edge of your seat. It sometimes made me giggle and other times I genuinely couldn’t put it down.

Also the spice - TOP TIER! I love a morally grey character and this really took it there. It was so freaking good, I absolutely ate it up! I can’t wait to read anything and everything from Navessa Allen - you’ve got yourself a fan for life!

This was so good!!! 🤭
I swear I had so much fun reading this one !

It was my first masked men dark romance and it didn’t disappoint ☺️now I want more !!

The “LOL” scene made me cackle 🤣
Josh is sooo funny & such a sweetheart!

But we can all agree that the star of the show clearly was Sir Frederick Cappellucci Hammond, the first of his name 🐱 I love him!!

This book gave me kind of the same vibes as butcher & blackbird but slightly less darker & a bit more funnier !!

Oh & The spice was top tier 😮‍💨🔥 soooo good

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I actually give this book a 3.5⭐️ but I can’t do halves on here and it’s closer to a 4 than a 3. It’s a level 2.5 on my spice scale as well. I had a lot of thoughts while reading this book. It is a stalker romance, at least during the first half but it changed direction. Really enjoyed the stalking and playful tricks that the MMC played on the FMC. But then out of nowhere and with no explanation on how she made her conclusion or her thought process, our FMC figured out who her stalker is. How did you figure it out? What was your thoughts process? The name of the MMC really threw me off as well. Josh, a J name? Of all the names in the universe, Josh is his name. I don’t know why but that really got me. About half way through the book it took a hard right turn as well. Our FMC is no longer the career driven woman who is saving lives at all cost. Now she is dark and having murderous thoughts and she also has ties to the mob? That was way outta left field. I definitely didn’t predict that one. All in all, while I did have several issues with this book I did still enjoy it. I think it should be at least 100 pages shorter than it is, lots of unnecessary content in there, but I did still enjoy it.

I am concerned how much I love these morally grey rom com dark romances 😂 send help… or more of them??

Aly and Josh’s chemistry is 🔥 and mix in some cute cat daddy dynamics with Fred the cat and you’ve got a winner. I enjoyed the story and boy was there some spice. Sure there were some parts where I was WHAT but there were some high stakes thrills and excitement that kept me on the edge of my seat.

So if you like a golden retriever, morally grey stalker who falls first, get your hands on this book and devour it.

As always check the trigger warnings before you dive in.

I absolutely loved this book. I stumbled upon it as one of my recommended and I just disregarded my current tbr list, because it just sounded so good. It's a little dark, but not too much. It had some hilarious moments that I had to just put my kindle down and laugh about it real quick. Their banter with each other was great. Josh is definitely a golden retriever type stalker, which is something I loved.

"The couple who slays together, stays together."

This book gave me everything i love.
- Masked Men? Check
- Stalking? Check
- Knife Play? Check
- Bondage? Check
- Edging? Check
- Primal Play? Check
- Cute, funny banter? Check
- The most devoted, sweet, loving man who doesn't play around about his girl and will absolutely fuck you up if need be? Check
- Murder? Check

This book was so funny. I found myself laughing out loud so many times. The spice, the banter, the chemistry between the two main characters was perfect.

Loved this book !! Do you like a hot mask man who is going to stalk you ? This book is for you ! A dark romance rom com, that has the best amount of spice and comedy. Highly recommend!

I really had fun reading this one! Definitely along the lines of Butcher & Blackbird, this dark romance is spicy and dangerous. It was a bit longer than I was anticipating but it didn’t completely lose my attention kind of long. It was fun throughout the whole story! I really enjoyed the characters as well! I am so grateful to Zando for sending me this one early and I can’t wait for everyone to try it out!

OMG this book was so great! I couldn’t stop reading it.
I love that there are so many fun moments and pretty disturbing moments and so many unexpected twists in the story.
Aly is such a badass character. She was obsessed with masked man and finally her dark fantasies become reality. And Josh has finally found a woman he can really care.
If you like dark romance, stalking and some mafia then you’ll definitely enjoy this book!

I dnfed this book at 15%. I was really bored honestly. There were a lot of unnecessary details being given and it dragged. If it wasn't unnecessary filler info, it was thinking about sex. I love spicy books but this wasn't for me. I like dark romance, but this wasn't for me.

lights out is the perfect "decaf" dark romance! It has the perfect combination of morally gray main characters, mafia, knifes, and a cat. The book never felt stale and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

If a light-heated stalker romance could exist, it would be this book. I would have liked to see the main character put up a little more of a fight knowing that someone just broke into her home, but you can't help but fall in love with Josh. They match each other well and the way he takes care of Aly and is there for her after all the horribleness that surrounds her on a daily basis, it was was difficult not rooted for him.

I truly enjoyed this book! I've been wanting to read it for awhile and when I saw ARCs available for the republishing, I jumped on it. This book is a perfect stepping stone for those who aren't sure dark romance/stalker romance is there thing.

Josh is such a cinnamon roll for a guy who posts masked thirst traps and has the urge to stalk a woman. I think his backstory with his father added a little something extra to his character. I'm not going to lie, I'd love to know more about that time in his life. That being said, the author did a really good job of making sure this story was about Josh and not his father.

I loved Aly! I feel like a lot of us ladies can relate to her when it comes to watching certain types of tiktoks and reels. She's such a badass though and isn't scared to handle a gun or protect herself. I felt like the way she handled everything with her stalker at first was really good. I liked that she didn't just sit around and cry about it. Nope, she tried to stalk him back and solve the mystery, WHILE being smart about it. She had mixed emotions about the entire thing which felt pretty realistic to me.

The only part I was a little meh about was the mob aspect near the end. I would've rather seen Josh and Aly handle their little issue on their own. It just felt a little out of place to randomly drop the fact that some of her family had mob ties, especially after learning about Josh's father.

All in all. I really enjoyed the story. There's no third act breakup, and I found the writing and plot very interesting, and the spice was 5 alarm! Seriously, if you're a lover of spice be sure to add this book to your TBR.