Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

4 reviews

landofkate's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“So, he’s probably not a serial killer who uses the app to lure his victims.” I reared back. Was that what she’d thought? F**k. That was the absolute last thing I wanted. How did I fix this? I was half tempted to send her a DM explaining myself, but how would that work? Hey, Aly, it’s me, the man who broke into your house. I was just watching you through the camera I hid in your room, and I wanted to let you know that you are correct. I am not, in fact, a serial killer. Jesus Christ. I knew I should have argued with my therapist when she said it was time to wean me off the anti-psychotics. Clearly, they’d been necessary if one of the first things I did once they were out of my system was start stalking someone...
“I need so much more therapy than I’m currently getting.” I grinned, because same... Aly was f**ked up too. Hallelujah.
💀
Navessa Allen's writing grabs you from the dedication 😲 to the end of the book (that epilogue though!) and you are in for a RIDE! The comedy between Josh and Aly reminds me so much of everything I liked about Butcher & Blackbird's Rowan and Sloane. And, if you aren't in love with these characters by the end of the book, then obviously there's something wrong with you... it's not them, it's TOTALLY you.😉

I don't want to give away any other spoilers than I already hinted at because I want you to experience this book for the masterpiece that it is. Navessa's writing is admirable because she takes dark subject matter and makes it realistic, hilarious, interesting, and well researched. You can tell how much skill she put into this book because writing something like this cannot be easy.

Her characters are unique, carrying their own forms of crazy, that you can't help but fall in love with. Like, am I really adding Josh to my book boyfriend list? Yeah, yeah I am. Do I wish there was a sequel? HELL YES! Am I sketchy of Tyler? Yeah, dude has some skeletons... he's got to, right? And do I need more Fred content in my life? YES! (Even though I have 2 mini-Freds at the moment.)

I don't want to sugar coat Lights Out though, it's a dark book. There are ridiculous sex scenes and tons of trauma-influenced sketchy behavior. But even as they're doing the crazy thing, they are still having mental health check-ins, so you laugh and the tension is broken. This is such a fun read and I already can't wait to revisit this world again soon! 

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rmesquirrel's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Not for the faint of heart but, ooohhh boy are the "spicy" scenes hot. The author gives you two page of warnings before you read the book and it contains 27 items. 

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allyourpagearebelongtous's review

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adventurous dark emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My first read was through Patreon, released chapter by chapter. It had me well and truly hooked from the start and I keep re-reading my favourite parts. It will not be my last read, already ordered both the regular paperback and the special edition.

While this book is dark and has dark themes (
grief, attempted kidnapping and rape, off-page rape, stalking, cannibalism, accidental cannibalism, mafia, burglary, murder and CNC, among others
), the dark parts are not the main focus of the story. The relationship between the MCs, their struggles, their healing and "adventures" together are, and it's told in a wonderful mix of humour, sarcasm, spice and pure unhingedness.

Lights Out has managed to reach the same level of irreverence for the romance genre as Butcher and Blackbird, while still staying firmly in the genre. If you liked B&B, I absolutely recommend this book. If you didn't like it, I still recommend this book. 

It's spicy (explicit), and I definitely discovered things about myself. 

10/10, would recommend, will read again. 

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