Title: Blue Notes by Shira Anthony (with Venona Keyes) Bundle
Series: Dreamspinner Bundle
Author: Shira Anthony
Genre: Contemporary/Arts
Length: Single Author Series Bundle (1414 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (March 11th, 2016)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Blurb: Immerse yourself in the best-selling Blue Notes universe, where music and romance are intrinsically intertwined. In Blue Notes, a struggling jazz violinist meets an attorney for a true journey of the heart; in The Melody Thief, a renowned cellist, sought after by conductors the world over, seeks hope and forgiveness from a lawyer; in Aria, rekindled lust blossoms into a true romance in world of opera; in Prelude, a world-renowned conductor clashes with a substitute violinist; in Symphony in Blue, revisit the couples of the Blue Notes series; in Encore, the cool kid violinist and the wannabe conductor dance in and out of a relationship and in Dissonance, a British noble on the run meets a busker in a subway.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-349-2
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7532
Reviewer: Prime
Review: This is a first go for me into the writing of Shira Anthony. It was a pretty damn good first go, too. This recent bundle released by Dreamspinner Press is a collection of the 7 books featured in the Blue Notes series. I am not about to go into detail of each book, as it is, I rate all of the books a solid 4 out of 5.
On the whole, this is a thoroughly enjoyable series and just so easy to read. The fact that Shira Anthony actually gives us dates to mark the passage of time makes it so easy to follow. Each book centers on a difference couple and somehow they all know each other, whether it is through practicing law in Chicago, or have links to the symphony orchestra or opera in either France or Chicago.
The plots are engaging and the characters are not only relatable and likable, but it found myself totally invested in their stories.
This is the type of series for people who love characters that have a strong background in music, more so classical and jazz because this is the centre of the entire world that has been created. The relationships just felt so real, including the ups and downs experienced by each couple.
Yet at the same time sometimes the characters suffered from frustrating cases of lack of communication! The only real criticism I have for it is that sometimes the books seemed to drag, when the “action” slowed down and sometimes led to awkward jumps in time. I wonder if it would have been better in these instances to make the jump to the next “scene” or “time” earlier would have made the reads better.
I think one important note to make, which has also been brought up on Goodreads as well, that the order of publication (which is how the books are bundled together here) is actually not the chronological reading order. At least to me that makes a BIG difference in knowing that. If you are someone like me and is big on numbers and try to reconcile everything in a series, particularly when dates are given, you might want to take this into account.
In the book/order of publication: Blue Notes, The Melody Thief, Aria, Prelude, Encore, Symphony in Blue and Dissonance.
Chronological order: Encore, Prelude, Blue Notes, Aria, The Melody Thief, Symphony in Blue and Dissonance.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *