CREATESPACE Dark Notes

Dark Notes by Pam Godwin is a hypnotic and provocative contemporary dark romance that explores healing through a forbidden, student-teacher, age-gap romance. Despite the seemingly simple premise, this story is emotional and unputdownable! I absolutely loved it!“It’s universally known that the more forbidden something is, the more desirable it becomes.”Ivory Westbrooke is a 17-year-old pianist, enrolled at Le Moyne, a prestigious high school, with her eyes set on a scholarship to an elite university and, ultimately, a career as a musician. But her day to day circumstances are much different for her than her peers; life has tested her resilience and scarred her heart for years. Her goals are more than just an aspiration, they are an escape plan. Emeric Merceaux is the new teacher at Le Moyne, taking over for Ivory's previous mentor.. which makes him the one that could help make or break her dreams.These two have a ten year age gap, and with Ivory just over the cusp of the age of consent, this romance has the potential to challenge its readers. Personally, I think the dynamic between Emeric and Ivory is developed with such intention and care for its questionable nature... These two characters come to life on the page, and their romance blossoms from simple infatuation to something profound, meaningful and heartwarming.The positivity in this book surrounding a certain word that Amazon doesn't like is everything to me. I absolutely love when an author can successfully explore more deviant behaviours with care, positivity and an emphasis on consent. This is the best representation of BDSM that I've come across, and it only made me fall harder for Emeric and Ivory. It's also one of the hottest romances I've read in awhile. Seriously, if you like BDSM representation in romance ... the intimate scenes are nothing short of delicious.“She’s fantasia in the flesh, unbound to convention, vibrating beneath my hands and begging to be directed.”Emeric landed a spot on my list of top tier book boyfriends. I'm obsessed with his intensity, his passion and his flare for discipline. Ivory intoxicates him and he cannot look away, despite the risk. He becomes obsessive, possessive and invasive in the best way. His unwavering dedication to her and her needs made me swoon over and over.He also plays Metallica and System of a Down on his piano to de-stress. Need I say more?This romance has one of the most satisfying and heartwarming conclusions I've come across in a long time. It's a bit of a journey to get there, but Emeric and Ivory's HEA is so worth it. Their story will live on in my head forever.Of course, Godwin's lyrical prose lends perfectly to this story; it's steeped in musical themes and language, right down to the vibrant New Orleans setting. Every Godwin book I've read so far is like this. Her writer's voice is so adaptable and immersive, and creates a unique aesthetic with each story's theme.I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys forbidden dark romance, the student-teacher trope, BDSM, age-gaps, emotional contemporary romance and stories of healing.

Tropes: forbidden, age gap, BDSM, student - teacher (trigger warnings - abuse and rape), dark romanceREAD THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. Really. If you have Dark Notes on your TBR for ages like me, let it be your next read. You won't regret. Pam Godwin created beautiful book, full of angst, music, pain, love and steam 🥵Emeric and Ivory should never be together. He is a music teacher with dubious past, involved in scandal, she is his student trying to survive after her father death and her family disinterest. They both have their own problems but cannot resist their mutual attraction.Emeric was ... just amazing. He was sexi, kinky and a bit rude to others but he supported Ivory in everything. I loved that Emeric was able to admit his feelings really soon and he deeply cared about Ivory. Emeric wanted her just for himself almost from the beginning and his possesivnes and protectivness was over the top but I loved it 😂😂 Ivory was very strong heroine. Her life was full of tragedy but she didn't give up. She was doing everything to change her life and fullfil her dream. I just wanted to hug her all the time 🥺Despite Emeric being into BDSM, there are not many kinky scenes and they actually don't have sex maybe till 80% of the book. But the sexual TENSION guys... I was obsessed. Couldn't put down my Kindle. And I loved that their relationships actually evolved. Emeric gave Ivory enough time to heal even though he wanted her so much. He also prioritized her dream before his career and was determined to do anything for her ❤️❤️ You just gotta love him.Another thing I adored was Pam's writing. Emeric and Ivory are both pianists so its logical that music is very present in the book. But Pam not only writes about music, she made me feel it through pages. Music, story and both characters were magicaly intertwined. I think it is very unique and makes this book special 😍 Dark notes overcame my expectations, immediately became one of my forever favourites and I reccomend it to everyone 👌❤️ (just check out the trigger warnings, please).

Every guy in this book is toxic. Nuff said.Too rapey for me.

I love, love , loved this book! It is not for everyone that's for sure, but it worked for me and I'll be rereading this soon.

Absolutely love this book and author. It’s slow at the beginning but wow!! So good, so hot! Student/teacher, Dom/Sub. Definitely 18+! Check your trigger warnings!!!!