Game On

Into Darkness #3

by Navessa Allen

Book three in the No.1 New York Times bestselling Into Darkness series, following the dark rom-com sensations Lights Out and Caught Up . The game is on for these enemies-to-lovers with laugh-out-loud banter and scorching-hot brat play.

I hate that woman.

Tyler Neumann has spent years looking for his father, and not because he wants to meet the man. No, he wants to destroy him. And he'll manipulate whoever he can to exact his revenge.

Including Stella McCormick. She's everything Tyler hates. Her wealth and privilege have protected her for her entire life, and Tyler thinks it's time she finally paid the price. Whether she's ready to or not.

I hate that man.

Stella might not believe in love at first sight, but loathing at first sight - no question. From the moment she sets eyes on Tyler in her tattoo parlor, she knows he's the devil planning to make her life hell.

Forced to play the part of his girlfriend and invite him into her family's glittering circles, Stella quickly clocks Tyler's ulterior motives. But love and hate are two sides of the same coin, and soon she doesn't know which is being blackmailed by a man who wants to ruin her, or that they can't seem to keep their hands off each other.

Game On is an enemies-to-lovers dark romance with morally grey characters. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the content warning at the beginning of the book.


Enemies-to-lovers
Forced proximity
Fake dating
Rom-com
Morally gray MMC
Black cat FMC
Blackmail
Kidnapping
Power imbalance
Age gap
Betrayal and redemption
Dark past
Revenge

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Smut, Spicy, Enemies To Lovers, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Expected publication March 31, 2026

About the author

Navessa Allen lives on a 200-year-old farm in rural New England with her husband, their cats, and an assorted collection of farm animals.

To keep up with her latest projects, check out her Patreon Page or subscribe to her website.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads]

Book 1 - fck yes!
Book 2 - fck no!
Book 3 - ... fck it, why not? Let's gooooooooo!!

[Youssra (semi ia- shelving books don't mind me)]

I really hope this is better than whatever book 2 was😭

[ଘRory (Mr.Darcy Devotee)]

➤ Sign me the heck up. Morally Gray MMC x Black Cat FMC or GTFO. Who's lining up to read about a Morally White MMC and a White Cat FMC? Their biggest conflict is probably a misplaced teacup. I require more emotional damage than that. 🤪
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
౨ৎ Lights Out
౨ৎ Caught Up

[Laura Greenhalgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 (ARC review, thank you Quercus) I ATE THIS UP!! I loved this so much more than book two, this was TRUE enemies to lovers and the tension was crazy! Tyler is mean and icl I hated him but I also kind of loved him 😭🫣 but like if bad, why hot?? I really enjoyed the plot, the fake dating situation, secrets, lies and bickering/banter between the characters had me laughing out loud multiple times. I’m sad this is the last book in this series 😭❤️‍🩹

[morgan ۶ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

huge thank you to netgalley and zando for the arc!

4.5 ⭐️

this is by far my favourite book in the into darkness series ☺️

morally grey MMC x black cat FMC i absolutely loved them! stella was complex but once you get to know her more i couldn’t help but feel for her and wanted to protect her at all costs 😭 tyler was also the same way.

i really liked the plot, it was fast paced which made it enjoyable. tyler blackmails stella and forces her to be his girlfriend to get revenge on his father. nevessa’s writting style is amazing and really sucks you into the world.

the spiceeeee oh my i’ve never felt that way while reading that before WOW 🥵

[vanessa ⋆.☕︎ [semiᝰia]]

༄.🍃.࿔*: I didn’t vibe with the second book at all, which honestly broke my heart because I was so excited and eager to read it. It just didn’t click for me the way I hoped it would. So now, I’m really crossing my fingers that this one will be at least enjoyable enough to keep me hooked till the end. I just want that spark again, you know? Something to remind me why I was excited for the series in the first place.

[Jakob J. 🎃]

If I end up enduring, (and at this point it’d be solely for lampoon-reading purposes), I’ll draw up a bingo card including prevalences such as ‘masculine sound of approval,’ ‘Cheshire cat grinning,’ “he made me feel special,” and faux-reluctant acquiescence to arousal toward possessive behavior/reproductive-organ scolding.

If not, I’ll have to recruit one of you to call out the answers. Game on, indeed.

[KatieGwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Better than book two. Still absolutely abysmal.
Apparently the mention of a tattoo gun is a trigger warning for needles… also according to this trigger warning page, the whole world is a trigger.

Ok based on her defending her fmc “chronic illness” I’m already mad. I literally hate when authors take a real life illness and just show how pathetic they think it makes a person.

Black cat x morally grey…. If a raging witch bitter goth tattoo artist chick means black cat then pop off ig.
He isn’t morally grey. He’s also just bitter and raging. The whole “premise” of his rage literally dissolves in one page and she still hates him but “well he has a therapist now so ig it’s fine if I’m in a weird random never fleshed out throuple with him and some guy I used to hook up with in high school and college”

Age gap…. It’s mentioned but she’s so immature it’s hard to believe she’s supposed to be THIRTY FIVE YEARS OLD. She actaully said “sir. You’re a blonde man. Calm down” OUTLOUD. TO SAID MAN. I’ve never hated anything more. And if you think the banter will save this ??? She actually told him his “breathe smelt like milk farts” so yeah. Literally wanted to stab my eyes out.

JK HE BLAMED SOMETHING ON HIS ZODIAC SIGN. FML

Also there were sooooo many times I went “oh I’ve totally read this before in a different book”

Wanted to Dnf at 10%. Stuck it out for you all till 50% where I gave up for two days. Skimmed the rest to verify it was just as bad as I figured it would be. Highly recommend skipping this one as well. People who think this is enemies to lovers… HOW SHE HATES EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. ALL THE TIME. FOREVER. .

Because of my job as a bookstore manager I receive advance copies of books.

[Nicki]

We better see more of Josh and Aly, I kinda miss them

[Grace Quan]

pre-release:

OH YOU ALREADY KNOW IM SAT 💚

[Bee]

GAME ON: Manosphere edition

Honestly if I wanted to read about an asshole jock who resembles so much of the irl podcast bros, who's also bitter and treats the FMC like shit and assumes everything about her, without asking even ONE single question, I would've skipped this honestly.
I knew before going in that Tyler wouldn't be my type of MMC, but I had hope, because I'm one of those people that rated 5 stars both Lights out and Caught up, even if both are completely different in my opinion. So this had the chance about 60% where I dnf'd the shit out of it, to give me SOMETHING to work with. But it didn't.

I also don't understand what Navessa is trying to communicate to the audience, that she's gonna do full why choose in the future or something? I don't mind but I'm not the audience for that, and since in the content warnings for the book there is "sharing", I thought that it will be like in Caught up, where there was some sort of voyeurism, others watched or they did. But never touched others. Well here, chapters 21 ladies, it's where I gave up lol. FMC just had full on sex, first spice scene with another dude and sort of Tyler on the side. ALL because listen, they were stubborn and super horny. Wtf was that even? You will see how that makes sense in the context lol. Also yes it's not really a spoiler as it's in content warnings, I don't know if there is more of it or not further in the book.

Speaking of the FMC, she's supposed to be 35, and she acts like she's a fucking teenager. I simply cannot comprehend, how a woman over 40 cannot write another woman who is mature or at least close to that. Completely dissapointing. And their banter as such is stuff like your breath stinks and she's too skinny?? I don't know. I felt enraged reading and then the smut scene settled it for me. Garbagioooo. Bye.

_______
pre:read
my local bookstore pulled through with the early preorder, so you know what time it isss 💚💚

[TarynXO]

Hit us with it Navessa! My TBR is warmed up and ready to play 😏

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

This release owns my soul already 🔥🔥🤑

[paige 📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s giving powerpuff girls

[Texa]

Edit: just saw a trigger warning for multi-partner sex so definitely not for me

How am i supposed to read this knowing he hooked up with the fmc from book 1 and another ow after😑

[ishraq ✿ (semi-ia)]

ah well 26 will be an interesting year for me...

[Diesta]

I have two questions. One: How do you guys rate a book that isn't published yet? Two: What was wrong with Caught Up and why everyone is dissing? I thought it was really fun. Also, it was a bit enlightening regarding the whole sex labor and stuff. I had no idea.

[Kritika Yadav]

Enemies to lover, revenge AND age gap? Say no more.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

I wish I could accurately put into words how I feel about this book. I never really got over my dislike of Tyler. Pretty much at all.

I read the TWs. The multi-person sex was a threesome. I have zero issues with this, in general. My issue is, although the book was Stella and Tyler’s story, it ended up being the three of them in a relationship at the end. Sure it’s the very end of the book, but you can see it from the very first time they have sex. I just feel like the maybe the marketing is a bit off for the book.

I also didn’t know it was Tyler that was the brat. If I had, I would’ve skipped. I don’t want to rate the book based on my dislike, but overall I just didn’t connect with the book or fully with the characters.

I LOVED Josh and Aly, as did everyone else. I liked Junior and Lauren. I didn’t care at all for Tyler and Stella. I fear I may pass up anything further.

[Emily Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good! I was lucky enough to win a manuscript from the giveaway on Navessa‘s page! If you’re looking for true enemies to lovers, these two absolutely hate each other through most of this book. The plot was so interesting and the spice was SOOOOOOOO spicy. I don’t want to give any spoilers since there are still a few months until the book is published, but the banter between these two had me laughing out loud and kicking my feet, the ending had me absolutely sob crying, and the spice had my pulse racing!!!!

[Meg]

Pre- release 💚
Omgggg I’ve been waiting for the cover to be released! Couple days After my birthday too? ? Let’s goo!

[AshleyReadsSmut]

🏷️ 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦 & 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗦:
🤺Enemies-to-lovers
🛌Forced proximity
🎭Fake dating
🤭Rom-com
🩶Morally grey MMC
🐈‍⬛Black cat FMC
📩Blackmail
🥷Kidnapping
💪Power imbalance
🔢Age gap
❤️‍🩹Betrayal and redemption
👤Dark past
🔪Revenge

[Cami (Aelin's version)]

Fake dating y Forced proximity??? SIGN ME UP.
Espero que haya cameos de los protagonistas anteriores

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm not sure where exactly my feelings about this book lie, but they’re somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5. The flip between Tyler’s character being a complete jerk to all of a sudden wanting to redeem himself was too fast for me. I also was not a huge fan of the MMC being a submissive and the “brat kink” was not my jam. Not a trigger, but definitely made me enjoy this book less than had that not been a part of Tyler’s character.

All in all an entertaining listen. Huge thanks to Penguin Random House for the ALC on this one!

[Alison Nardini · Rating 5 out of 5]

3/3 Navessa Allen 👏 4.5 ⭐️ I LOVE Stella and her prickly & black cat personality! Enjoyed her being 35 too. I did want to slap Tyler a few times but he came around 🤣 Plus, AJ, glad you were there. Could have used even more of ya!!

[Christine Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, this one did not hit for me. It pains me to say this since I LOVED the other two in the series.

Tyler was just so mean the entire book, and the ending felt rushed. I wasn’t a fan of him in the previous two books but I was really ready to leave my preconceived notions of him at the door. There were moments i enjoyed the book and some lines that had me laughing out loud, but i think in trying to do too much (and seriously I mean too much in terms of revenge plot, enemies to lovers, childhood trauma, wealthy vs. Poor disparity, chronic illness, and more) and not enough of the romance/falling in love aspect of the book hindered the story for me. I like true enemies to lovers, but at the 80% mark, they really shouldn’t be enemies anymore…. lol or at least you have gotten hints of them at least headed towards love, and not just full blown hatred with a facade of lust. Some people might really enjoy this one and can look past it all, but sadly this was my least favorite in the “trilogy”.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank god (and Netgally people) for this ARC. I didn’t know I needed how much I needed bratty Bi-con Tyler in my life. Stella walked his ass like a mf DAWG. Utter perfection 😛😛😛😛😛😛

[Molly]

31st Mar 2026

[Amelia Blackmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Game On
Author: Navessa Allen
Series: Into Darkness, 3

What to expect:
*Enemies-to-Lovers
*Blackmail / Forced fake dating
*Reverse age gap & Dom/Sub relationship

*Some SPOILERS below*
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PLEASE read each of the triggers before going into this book. Everything listed in the triggers appears on page, in great detail. For those that are worried about the multi partner trigger, I do not read cheating in any form, this was not cheating in anyway! The scenes in this book were between consenting adults that all have feelings for each other.

This book features Tyler, Josh’s roommate from Lights Out. He sets out to blackmail Stella because her brother owes him $3 million in gambling debts. Tyler also has a personal vendetta against one of the men that associates with her parents. Stella had a traumatic experience in younger years and she is trying to do right with her life to make up for her wrong doings.

There is a lot that happens in this book that is not the romcom, funny dark romance we loved from Lights Out. Written very well, as all of this authors books are! I enjoyed the darker side of humor that is included in this title, and of course there is an adorable pet to keep you laughing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Slowburn for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Safety:
No real OM/OW drama, several on page MFM scenes that both MC’s are happy to participate in. No third act breakup.

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV’s: Stella (FMC) & Tyler (MMC)

[Ana Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this one, but it was not good at all. The first book in this series was amazing, lights out, excellent storyline and the characters were very likable aside from the roommate of the mmc which is the mmc of this book Game On. He is a horrible character, you can’t like him, he’s insufferable. The FMC was ok but very droll. Storyline was overly spicy. Almost pornographic. I don’t know what happened after lights out but the next two books caught up, hanging by a thread and this one, I’m so happy that this is the final one of the series., thank you NetGalley for this ARC

[SarahReads · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of my most highly anticipated books, because I I LOVED the other two, and yet it was one of the biggest letdowns for me so far this year.

The characters never grew on me, they were absolutely terrible to each other for 95% of the book, and Stella was giving millennial core in the very worst way. Add in the fact that this book ends with a throuple, despite us knowing next to nothing about AJ.