“This brutal man is my home. His hell is my heaven. I’m his Ivory, and he’s my darkest note.” ~ Ivory
Dark Notes by Pam Godwin
Published by CreateSpace on April 6, 2016 (originally published on April 3, 2016)
Genre: Romance (YA, with 18+ mature content, so it goes into NA territory)
Pages: 428
Format: Paperback, Ebook
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With a 4.23 star-rating (5790 reviewers/as of Sept 2017) on Goodreads, Dark Notes by Pam Godwin was a dark surprise filled with steam, romance, and “oh shit” moments.
Book Description:
They call me a slut. Maybe I am.
Sometimes I do things I despise.
Sometimes men take without asking.
But I have a musical gift, only a year left of high school, and a plan.
With one obstacle.
Emeric Marceaux doesn’t just take.
He seizes my will power and bangs it like a dark note.
When he commands me to play, I want to give him everything.
I kneel for his punishments, tremble for his touch, and risk it all for our stolen moments.
He’s my obsession, my master, my music.
And my teacher.
MY THOUGHTS:
Let me start off by saying that usually I am a series reader. I love series that follow a few main characters or where each book is a new story in the same “bookverse.”
With that being said, Dark Notes is a standalone. I’ll be the first to admit that standalones often leave me feeling empty and anxious. Like…what happens next? Dark Notes finished on a high note. The ending was satisfying and made my bleeding heart happy. It literally gave me a completely new outlook on standalone novels, thus thrusting me into the standalone universe I had so adamantly avoided for many, many, many moons.
So who are the central characters? Ivory and Emeric (oh, Emeric, le sigh). Ivory is a 17 year old piano student who attends a prestigious music school, but comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Her mother and brother (the only family she has) are worthless and both physically and emotionally abusive toward Ivory. Let’s just say that their lack of initiative forces Ivory to partake in shocking and stressful situations. These situations keep a roof over their heads, but the price is high, considering Ivory is untrusting and views sex as vile and painful.
I’ll admit the very first time I read this book, I had a pretty hard time getting through some scenes. The descriptions…the feelings…the emotions you literally feel pouring from the pages just shatters your heart into a million pieces and makes you want to grab Ivory and save her, yourself.
Enter Emeric Marceaux, Ivory’s new 27 year old piano master at her school. With his classy style and dominating presence, he steps over the student-teacher line with Ivory almost from the first moment they interact (like, literally the very first scene they see each other… in CLASS). His strength fuels her desire. His dark notes brighten her song. When Emeric takes Ivory under his wing and becomes her protector and lover, the pages literally explode with feelings and emotions. He has come out of a recent troubled situation, so his initial attitude is a bit aloof and dickheadedness. But as the story unfolds, so does Emeric. I almost loved his character development as much as Ivory’s.
The sexual interactions are hot and not too overboard. From the piano to painful bliss, Pam Godwin makes you question a vanilla sex life. The relationship development between Ivory and Emeric is taboo, but so full of love, trust, and beauty. It’s so easy to justify or understand the alleged affair the two undertake while he is the teacher and she the student. I’ll tell you this right now: If you are NOT OKAY with taboo relationships, this is not for you. I was able to easily overlook the situation because of WHAT Ivory has gone through and how mature she is. Because, yes, people, some 17 year olds are just as mature and experienced as Ivory. The descriptions of emotions in certain scenes cause your chest to flutter. The experiences and reactions make you cringe in despair or sigh with contentment. From the good, to the bad, to the ugly, Ivory and Emeric’s epic love story transcends most taboo relationships and provides such a strong punch to your heart the more you dive into the pages.
This definitely is not an easy read. It contains many taboo and unsavory circumstances that many readers may not be able to handle. Some parts are hard to read, but the brutal honesty shines through. Ivory is a female lead we can all look up to with her strength and perseverance, and Emeric is a man we should all have by our side.
“Her needs, desires, and fears run deep. So deep she could easily lose her way in the darkness. She needs a rope, not one that tethers her to her horrific past, but a strong, unbreakable line to guide her forward. The bindings might hold her down, but I’m pulling the other end. I’ll never let go.” ~ Emeric
“The thing I value most doesn’t cost a dime, yet it seems to be the hardest for people to give.” ~ Ivory
“It’s universally known that the more forbidden something is, the more desirable it becomes.” ~ Emeric
So if you’re into taboo, but sweet romance, overcoming shitty situations, strong female leads, hunky male leads, and steamy bow chicka bow wow, Dark Notes by Pam Godwin may be your fortè. It’s a YA Romance, but it borderlines “adult” due to the descriptive sex scenes. For that very reason, I have placed this review under the NA~Romance category.
I give it 5 “I’m fucking my teacher” stars!
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