Game On

One Last Trip Into the Darkness

Alright my fellow spicy book dragons, we have officially reached the end of Navessa Allen's Into Darkness trilogy, and I am both happy with how this series ended and a little sad that it's over.

Game On is the third and final book, and once again we get morally gray characters, questionable decisions, ridiculous banter, plenty of spice, family drama, secrets, revenge, and enough chaos to fit perfectly into this series.

But this one gives us something a little different. The relationship begins with Stella and Tyler, but eventually develops into a triad with AJ. And once AJ entered the picture? I loved him. He was such a good balance for Stella and Tyler that I honestly wish we had gotten more of him throughout the book.

Meet the Characters

Stella: A tattoo artist and shop owner who I can really only describe as a hot-ass goth bitch. She's smart, witty, easygoing, caring, and takes absolutely no shit from anyone. She will do practically anything for the people she loves, especially her brother, sometimes even when she probably shouldn't. Stella also lives with chronic gastritis and has an absolutely foul-mouthed African grey parrot named Amos.

Tyler: Josh's best friend, a bookie, gym bro, professional cocky jackass, and a man who has absolutely no problem manipulating people to get what he wants. He's smart, cunning, determined, and morally gray as hell. Underneath all that douchery, though, there is a surprisingly caring side to him. He also operates under the alter ego Theo Strickland, which becomes very important to the story.

AJ: An old friend from Stella's former friend group and one of the wealthiest people in the city. AJ is kind, caring, funny, flirty, a little shy, and much more easygoing than Tyler. He's understandably hurt that Stella cut him out of her life along with everyone else, but once he tells her how he feels, he's determined to put himself right back where he belongs. And yes, my fellow spicy book dragons, AJ is perfectly happy sharing.

One Gambling Debt and a Very Bad Deal

Tyler has spent years tracking down the man he believes destroyed his mother's life, and he's willing to manipulate just about anyone if it gets him closer to revenge. Enter Stella and her brother Blake. Blake makes the spectacularly stupid decision to gamble at one of Tyler's events and ends up owing him a massive amount of money. Naturally, Stella comes running to save her brother.

But Tyler doesn't just want his money. He wants Stella. More specifically, he wants access to her family and the wealthy people surrounding them. So Tyler offers her a deal. He'll clear Blake's debt if Stella agrees to fake date him and help him enter her family's inner circle, supposedly so he can gain more wealthy gambling clients.

Except that's not the entire truth. Tyler has much bigger plans. And Stella has absolutely no idea that she's become part of a revenge scheme years in the making. What Tyler doesn't plan for? Actually falling in love with her.

Tyler's Douchery Knows No Bounds

The chemistry between these two is there basically from the second they meet. Their first interaction happens during a tattoo consultation, and it immediately turns into this ridiculous battle of insults, sexual tension, and neither one wanting to give the other the upper hand. Stella's internal commentary had me dying.

“God damn it, I was not about to be out-insulted by a gym bro.”

Girl, priorities.

Then there's Derrick, one of the older tattoo artists at Stella's shop who is extremely protective of her. When he realizes something is brewing between Stella and Tyler, he makes his feelings perfectly clear:

“If I find out you touched a hair on her head, I'll cut your dick off and shove it up your ass so you can find out what it feels like to go fuck yourself.”

I think that might be my favorite line in the entire book. But Stella can absolutely handle Tyler herself. At one point she tells him:

“Sir, you are a blond man. Calm down.”

When Tyler wants to know what the hell that's supposed to mean, she refuses to explain because explaining the insult would ruin it. I love her.

Amos Is an Absolute Menace

We need to discuss the true star of Game On. Amos.

Stella's African grey parrot is an absolute menace to society, and I loved every second of it. This bird has a mouth like a sailor, argues with Stella, demands his favorite snacks, and calls her “snack bitch.” Excuse me?!

The conversations between Stella and Amos had me dying, but they get even better once other characters are around and have to deal with him too. Between Amos, Stella's personality, and Tyler being Tyler, there is plenty of humor balancing out the darker parts of the story.

Stella Has Secrets of Her Own

One thing I really liked about Stella was that there's much more happening beneath her tough exterior. Her past is complicated, especially when it comes to her old friend group and a devastating car accident. Stella wasn't driving, but she took responsibility after her former friend Maddie fled the scene and used her wealthy family to escape the consequences.

The victim, Runa, was left with permanent injuries. Instead of walking away, Stella has continued helping her, including covering expenses and visiting her in the hospital. Their relationship was one of the more interesting parts of Stella's story because Runa knows exactly what happened, and their connection isn't what you might initially expect.

And when Stella tells her about Tyler and their arrangement? They come up with an idea. If Tyler wants access to the rich assholes surrounding Stella's family, why not point him toward the ones who deserve a little attention? And thus, a hit list is born. I was here for it.

Fake Dating Gets Very Real

The fake dating arrangement gives Tyler exactly what he wants. Access. Stella brings him into her parents' world, introducing him to people he would otherwise struggle to reach.

But spending that much time together also means Stella and Tyler can no longer pretend their attraction is simply part of the arrangement. Their relationship slowly becomes real. And that's a problem. Because Tyler hasn't told Stella everything.

His reasons for entering her life are much darker and more personal than she realizes, and he's built their relationship on a foundation of manipulation. Then Tyler starts uncovering information that forces him to question the story he's believed his entire life. Suddenly, his carefully constructed revenge plan isn't quite so simple.

I really enjoyed this part because underneath all the humor and spice, there's an actual emotional story about revenge, guilt, loyalty, family, and what happens when the truth you've built your entire life around begins falling apart.

And Then There's AJ

Now we need to talk about AJ. I really liked him. Stella cut herself off from her old friend group, and unfortunately, AJ got cut off along with everyone else. Except AJ actually cared about her. A lot.

When he comes back into Stella's life, he isn't thrilled that she disappeared on him, and he makes sure she knows it. But once those feelings are out in the open, he doesn't spend the entire book punishing her for it.

Instead, he puts himself right back into her life. AJ brings a completely different energy to the relationship. Tyler is intense, manipulative, cocky, and constantly scheming. Stella is sarcastic, stubborn, independent, and capable of matching Tyler's energy. AJ is more easygoing.

He's funny, caring, flirty, and a little shy, but he's also very clear about loving Stella. And when the relationship eventually develops from Stella and Tyler into Stella, Tyler, and AJ? It worked surprisingly well for me. I just wanted more AJ.

Secrets, Revenge, and Rich People Behaving Badly

This wouldn't be an Into Darkness book without everything eventually going completely off the rails. There are more parties inside Stella's parents' wealthy social circle, a massive gambling event, Tyler's tragic history, family secrets, manipulation, revenge, and revelations that completely change what Tyler thought he knew.

I don't want to give away every twist because discovering exactly how everything connects is part of the fun. What I will say is that Tyler enters Stella's life believing he knows exactly who the villain is and exactly what he needs to do. Things aren't nearly that simple. And watching his carefully constructed plans collide with his feelings for Stella makes the story much more interesting than a straightforward revenge romance.

The Verdict

Highly Recommended For: Dark romance readers, morally gray MMC lovers, fake dating fans, revenge plots, tattooed FMCs, why choose romance, MFM/triad relationships, chaotic pets, found family, ridiculous banter, family secrets, and readers who like their darkness balanced with plenty of humor.

Game On was an amazing ending to the Into Darkness trilogy.

Stella and Tyler's dynamic had everything I've come to expect from this series. They were chaotic, funny, ridiculously attracted to each other, and constantly throwing insults back and forth. Then AJ came along and somehow fit right into their madness.

I loved the triad dynamic, although I definitely wish we'd gotten more time with AJ because his personality brought something different to the relationship that balanced Stella and Tyler perfectly.

Add Amos terrorizing everyone around him, Runa and Stella making their little hit list, Tyler's revenge plot unraveling, family secrets coming out, crazy parties, an epic gambling event, plenty of spice, and Navessa Allen's signature humor, and I couldn't get enough.

The story balances the funny, sad, dark, romantic, and completely crazy moments really well, making Game On a fantastic finish to the trilogy. Am I sad Into Darkness is over? Absolutely.

But who knows, my fellow spicy book dragons. Maybe we'll eventually get a spin-off. Here's to hoping.

Happy reading, and remember my fellow spicy book dragons, before starting a book please check the tropes, and always check for trigger warnings. Nobody likes an unfinished book because the tropes aren't your cup of tea or having a bad reading experience because of unexpected trigger warnings.