In Blue Notes by Carrie Lofty, Keeley Chamber’s childhood was the stuff that nightmares are made of. Literally. The hell her parents put her through would have been enough for most children to give up. But whenever she could find the time and the means, Keeley had her music and piano practice to focus on. She knew that was her ticket to a better life. After entering the system and getting foster parents, she began to learn a new way to live. And with a healthy 
support system guiding her for the first time ever, Keeley earns a music fellowship at Tulane in New Orleans.
‘Self-preservation isn’t about putting up shields to protect one’s possessions. It’s about having few possessions in the first place. Let the marauders take what they want; they won’t find much. Emotions are like that too.’
Finally in a position to give her all to her music, Keeley gears up for her performance in the Fall which can make or break her future career. When a gorgeous but arrogant man begins to critique her music outside the rehearsal hall, she verbally lashes out, even though she can’t get his blue eyes out of her head. Their next meeting proves he’s out to challenge her, but why she has no idea. Keeley realizes the self-assured man is local billionaire Jude Villars, who just inherited his family’s fortune and business after losing his parents suddenly. He’s known as a ladies man. So why has he set his sights on someone so inexperienced such as herself? And will she ever be the same again if she gives in to his seduction?
“What’s so special about me? Forget the piano and all the other pretty words. Why me?”
“Same question back to you,” he says, his words clipped. “Forget my damn money and my tragic headline life. Why did I deserve your trust?”
Blue Notes is a powerful New Adult novel that shows us what it takes to overcome a tragic past and fight your way through it all to make your dreams come true.
First of all, the scenes where we flashback to Keeley’s childhood were absolutely heartbreaking. They were detailed very well so we got a sense of her fear and her shame in her parent’s actions. What a brave person she was. How Keeley managed to hold it together was a testament of her will and her incredible foster parents. I loved the dynamic with her foster parents once the story moved on to their relationship together. They were so supportive and protective without coddling her too much, giving Keeley room to grow and make mistakes on her own.
Keeley and Jude’s relationship was extremely complex. The dialogue mirrored that as well, so this may not be the type of book you can simply breeze through…it is the type to make you think, to look at the meaning behind the character’s words. I wasn’t so sure of Jude’s intentions at first. He seemed like a player just out to have a good time and wreak havoc on Keeley’s self-esteem. Then once we got a better look at the man behind the social image, I really wanted things to work out between them. They were both tortured souls thanks to their tragic pasts. Who better to understand them than someone who’s already been through hell themselves? Their love scenes were something else. They managed to be playful, intense, and almost bordering on erotic all at the same time, but it worked perfectly to show them growing as a couple .
With New Orleans to explore while Keeley falls in love for the first time, and some incredible music to enjoy, Blue Notes will be a moving story for fans of the New Adult genre.
Book Info:
Published May 6th 2014 by Gallery Books
For fans of Jamie McGuire and S.C. Stephens, a sizzling new adult novel featuring the tumultuous relationship between a young piano prodigy and a reluctant billionaire playboy—set against the vibrant backdrop of a New Orleans college campus.
After being bounced from foster family to foster family, Keeley, a talented pianist, is ready 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 heir to an enormous fortune in the wake of his parents’ 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 to 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…
