Blue Notes

Blue Notes by Carrie Lofty

Rating: 4 out of 5

Title: Blue Notes

Author: Carrie Lofty

Publishing Date: May 6th 2014 

Publisher: Gallery Books

ISBN: 1476706891  

Provided by: Author

Summery (via Goodreads)

After being bounced from foster family to foster family, Keeley, a talented pianist, is read to start over as a junior at Tulane. But when she plays a small concert that attracts the attention of Jude, a brooding playboy and hair to an enormous fortune is the wake of his parent' tragic death, suddenly Keeley's life is thrown off balance once again.

Jude is the first person to confront her about the pain behind her music, and she struggles with whether or not to let him into her life, or keep protecting herself from the hurt that relationships have caused her in the past. But Keeley's about to learn that the melancholy young billionaire who appears to have everything he wants can open her eyes to exactly what she needs...

Before I get into ANYTHING I just want to say that the GoodReads description is a little wrong... for instance Keeley wasn't bounced around from foster home to foster home, she had ONE set of foster parents who ended up adopting her. And she attracted Jude's attention way before the 'small concert'. 

Review

"If I want you, sugar, I'll come and find you."

I didn't know what to expect when I got this book. I'd been really excited to read it but I hadn't read anything by Carrie Lofty before so I didn't know what I was getting. It's not perfect, very few books are, but all in all I really quite enjoyed Blue Notes! It gripped hold of my curiosity from page one and didn't let me go until the very last sentence. It was intense at times and made me smile at others, and it was always 100% sexy. 

Usually the thing I love most about a book is the characters - or at least one in particular - however, with this it was the story. Admittedly there were some predictable moments and parts that made me cringe - although I think they were meant to - but in general it flowed really well and kept me turning the page. The story follows Keeley as she starts University at Tulane, and how she copes with the attention from one dangerously attractive arsehole named Jude. As well as following Keeley as she tries to find the ability to let go of her past, or at least, move on from it. 

I'm not going to lie, more often than not I hate a female POV. This is because they can get winy and irritating. There was the odd moment where I felt that Keeley's decisions where out of character (like getting into Jude's car) but she has this strength that I really admired. Even when her world felt like it was being torn apart at the seems she picked herself up, brushed herself down and kept moving forward. She never gave up! She never complained that her life was too hard - even though she had every right to. Keeley's back story is woven into the book in singular threads, with each chapter giving you more information into her horrific past. More than once I wanted to jump into the book and steal her away from her monstrous parents. I have a real soft spot for this girl!

Now... Jude Villars. Where to start? I mean, there were times when I want to punch that guy in the face and then there where times when I was like...

In my opinion Keeley's obsession with Jude is completely understandable, he's intoxicating! The last third of the book, where Lofty strips away all his bravado and overall dick-ish-ness he starts to become a guy who you'd be happy for her to end up with. But I'll admit it takes a long time to get there. Some things are said that physically made my skin crawl! He has a kind of dirty Christian Grey feel too him, although Mr Grey would never have called Anna 'sugar'. I really didn't like that nickname...

If there was a single character to look out for, I'd say it's Adelaide. Her's and Keeley's transformation throughout the novel is really interesting. They learn from each other and Adelaide's maturity towards the end of the book is almost surprising. I found myself really proud of both characters.

One thing I did notice throughout this book is that almost every male character was build up of fatal flaws. Other than Keeley's adoptive father, they're all kind of dicks. Even the nice ones. Which is a complete 180 from most NA/YA books I read, as it's usually the girls that I have a problem with. 

Overall, I really loved this book! I would have liked a bit more information about her father though. I would have liked to have know more about what happened in California. If anything I would just have liked more! More Jude. More Keeley. More Janey. More Addie... just, more. 

What I will say though, is that this is definitely for older YA readers and NA readers. The sex scenes are incredibly steamy and graphic - which fitted into the story - but is not suitable for younger readers!!

"Turn me on, sugar," he says, smoldering and daring. "Just you and the piano."

These are a few notes I made while reading Blue Notes. All comments were made on my GoodReads page.

**I received this book as an ARC from the author (Carrie Lofty) to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**