CONSENT BY NANCY OHLIN

Consent by Nancy Ohlin
Publishing Info: Simon Pulse | November 10, 2015

Status: Complete

Source: Pulseit

          In this sexy and intriguing novel, an intense-and passionate-bond between a high school senior and her music teacher becomes a public scandal that threatens the reputation of both.
          Bea has a secret. Actually, she has more than one. There’s her dream for the future that she can’t tell anyone-not her father and not even her best friend, Plum.
          And now there’s Dane Rossi. Dane is hot, he shares Bea’s love of piano, and he believes in her.
          He’s also Bea’s teacher.
          When their passion for music crosses into passion for each other, Bea finds herself falling completely for Dane. She’s never felt so wanted, so understood, so known to her core. But the risk of discovery carries unexpected surprises that could shake Bea entirely. Bea must piece together what is and isn’t true about Dane, herself, and the most intense relationship she’s ever experienced in this absorbing novel from Nancy Ohlin, the author of Beauty.

          This book has a horrible beginning. It was terrible. I did not like Bea's inner-dialogue and how the setting was developed. I don't think the state they lived in was even mentioned. I thought Plum was obnoxious and pushy. Tertiary characters appear and never come back. What's the point of even introducing them and slut shaming them, if they're of no importance?

          I read a lot about the piano. I got music theory and history. It brought back the terrible memories of piano and for some reason, I wanted to relive those memories by playing my piano. My mother would approve of this book because it made me play the piano, poorly, again. It also made me revisit my Opera phase, so well done. The music information was really dumped. Learning it first hand in real life was bad, relearning everything through a book made me cry. Amidst the trip down memory lane, I felt a very brief connection between me and Bea. We both play piano and we both know a little too much information about music (compared to our peers at school). We also both own Kawai pianos. That's about the extent of our connection.

          Then, I started hating her again. She started thinking that she and Rossi were exclusive. "He's ruining my special moment with Mr. Rossi." Um, eyeroll. What special moment, you delusional little girl? He's 19th century, but a 21st century sex-god? I expected this type of language from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Please stop. Then, there's this wonderful moment where she steals his handkerchief and smells it. I didn't think the intense, passionate part of the book was going to be stalkerish. What a "wonderful" surprise! I also didn't like how Bea started harboring insta-lust feels.

          The plot was a little dragged out for me. I know you have to develop a relationship and it has to take time but, it took a couple pages too long. The climax was relatively short compared to the rising and falling action. The climax was interesting and could have been more intense and elongated. The epilogue/resolution was really nice, cute and really fictional. But, that's okay. I felt proud of Bea because she's going to be more focused on school, instead of boys and she'll stop lying all the time.