Book Review: Lights Out: An Into Darkness Novel by Navessa Allen

Book Review: 

Lights Out: An Into Darkness Novel by Navessa Allen

Or: How to Accidentally Get Emotionally Attached to a Hot Mess in a Dystopian Wasteland

Let me start by saying I picked this book up because the cover screamed “moody post-apocalyptic romance” and I was emotionally in the mood to watch the world burn — just not literally (looking at you, 2020). Also, my husband was watching a documentary about concrete. Again. So I needed an escape.

Enter Lights Out — Navessa Allen drops us into a world so bleak it makes my toddler’s tantrum in Target last week look like a Disney short. The government’s gone, the electricity’s gone, and surprise! 

So has any illusion that humans will behave decently without air conditioning. Our heroine, who I’ll refer to as Sass Apocalypse Barbie, is a badass survivor with a moral compass that sometimes points north-ish… but only if there’s whiskey.

Plot-wise, it’s part survival horror, part slow-burn romance, and part “holy crap, did that just happen?” 

Every time I thought I knew where it was going, Allen hit me with a plot twist like Oprah handing out trauma:

“YOU get emotionally wrecked! 

And YOU get morally conflicted!”

 

Let’s talk about the love interest. He’s grumpy, morally ambiguous, and 100% the kind of guy who says he’s “not good for you” while making intense eye contact. In other words, I was in. I would’ve risked ration packs and an emotional breakdown too, girl.

Now, is this book flawless? No. The pacing occasionally slows down like my Wi-Fi during a Zoom call. And there were moments I wanted to shout, “STOP BROODING AND JUST KISS HER ALREADY!” 

But the writing is razor-sharp, the atmosphere is rich with dread, and the tension — romantic and otherwise — could power a small village. You know, if electricity still existed.

Final Verdict:
If you like morally gray characters, apocalyptic chaos, and don’t mind crying while also thinking “I could totally survive a wasteland with my emotional baggage and an empty granola bar wrapper,” Lights Out is your jam.

👉4.4 out of 5 Doomsday Snacks.

Would read again — preferably with wine and a flashlight.

👉Want more dramatic dystopias and emotional damage? Stick around. I review books like I avoid doing the dishes — passionately and with sass! Thank you for reading my blog.