Reading in the Mountains

I opened my favorite social app for a bit of harmless scrolling—and instead discovered a whole new kink I didn’t know I had. Masked men, tattoos, knives, and just the right amount of menace? Yeah, my FYP knows me too well. So when Lights Out promised a morally grey, knife-wielding lead and a fast-paced, dark fantasy that blurs the line between fear and desire, I had to read it. Spoiler alert: it delivered. Let’s talk about it.

Some books start slow. This one? It crashes through the door at 2 a.m. with a mask, a blade, and a look that says “you’re mine.”

We meet Aly on a night shift—burned out, running on caffeine, and desperately in need of a little release. Enter her favorite guilty pleasure: a masked thirst-trapper who plays with knives like foreplay and somehow manages to turn millions of viewers into obsessed fangirls without ever showing anything explicit. The tension? Criminal. The mystery? Delicious.

And guess what—he’s not just a pretty mask. He’s Josh. Real, local, and deeply unhinged. His roommate once hooked up with Aly, and now Josh? He’s spiraling. He breaks into her house while she’s at work (because of course he does), records a thirst trap in her bed, and starts texting her like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Red flag? Maybe. But this is dark romance, and we eat that up.

And that’s all before the 6% mark.

By 10%, we’re already getting a car BJ scene in a snowstorm, sliding across icy roads like it’s just another Tuesday. It’s fast. It’s reckless. It’s giving morally gray with extra black.

Then—boom—Netflix drops a true crime doc about Josh’s father. Serial killer? Victims are sex workers. Suddenly, we’re spiraling into legacy trauma, bloodlines, and questions you don’t want the answers to.

This book is a fever dream in leather gloves. If you’re into obsessive men, voyeurism, masked danger, and a sprinkle of knife play, “Lights Out” might just scratch that itch.

BUT—let’s keep it real.

Coming off of Haunting Adeline, it’s hard not to compare. Zade ruined me in the most hauting, sexy way. He redefined what it means to be dominant, and Josh… well, Josh doesn’t quite fill that shadow. He’s dark, yes—but not pitch black. There’s chaos here, but it feels like the rainy-day version of the genre. Less bloodlust, more brisk foreplay. And the sex scenes? Fast, steamy, but missing that something—that slow-burn build, the mind games, the anticipation that leaves you breathless.

So where does that leave me? At a solid 3 stars. Still addictive (I hit 50% in under an hour), still bingeable, and definitely a ride—but if you’re looking for something truly dark, this won’t drag you into the abyss.

Still, if you’re just dipping your toes into the genre, or you want a twisted escape without completely wrecking your soul, Lights Out is a wild, slightly softer storm worth stepping into.