Who knows where pain ends, and pleasure begins?The chance of a new life out in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors sounds too good to be true to shy musician Eva Byrne. Stifled and smothered within the cocoon of her brilliant academic career, Eva yearns for something different. Something real and exciting. Something she can feel. Excitement. Passion. Pleasure. She finds that sexy, enigmatic Nathan … enigmatic Nathan Darke can provide all these and more when she moves into his home as violin tutor to his young daughter. But Eva’s sensual encounters with her demanding, domineering new employer quickly evoke her deepest fears, as he introduces her to the trauma of submission and marks her with his particularly dark brand of love.
But will Eva’s natural curiosity and thirst for new experiences be enough to withstand the sting of Nathan Darke’s exquisite touch? Will simple surrender be enough as he challenges her every inhibition, taking her on an erotic journey of self-discovery and liberation?
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers.
This novel was previously released as three separate books, Darkening, Darker and Darkest, in the series The Dark Side.
In this volume the three books in The Dark Side trilogy are published as one combined novel, under a new title, Dark Melodies with new cover art, no cliffhangers and a HEA.
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I’m sitting here trying to find the words to give an accurate description of how I’m feeling after reading this book. And the best I can come up with off the bat is just WOW!! This was such a seductive story with all the passion and chemistry that comes in a BDSM relationship. I went through a full range of emotions reading this and couldn’t put it down once until it was finished. The push and pull between Nathan and Eva were spellbinding, to say the least. This has got to be one of the best books I’ve read by Ashe Barker to date!!
This was my first time with this author but it won’t be my last. As a person who has dealt with depression, I was easily able to recognize the symptoms and the incredible feeling of hopelessness that accompanies it. Although I viewed the quick forgiveness that Eva offered Nathan not once but repeatedly, I thought it a bit unrealistic, she should have made him work for it, but otherwise this was a wonderful presentation of a very real disorder. Well done!
“Nathan did go for a particular demeanor, he called it his ‘librarian look’. He liked submissives who presented themselves as meek, modest, unassuming, studious, quiet and shy. “One last thing, Evangelica. Have you ever worked in a library?”
I’ve never felt so conflicted about a book. The title alluded to this being a dark romance however it was due to the heroes surname. Then the cover seduced me and the blurb was promising. There was an extremely important message that is often swept aside with disregard to get out to the reader. However it was limited to a few chapters and unfortunately failed to deliver something that could of been an exceptional piece of literature. Originally this book was three books, possibly due to readers not liking a cliffhanger or the shorter length. However, I felt the book dragged on at times, whilst other parts were rushed into an insta love with a lack of character development. It did have a FSOG feel about it which in my opinion isn’t a good thing, however this book was a better read than FSOG. The dom’s in both books came across as being weak, at least this heroine was sassy. I loved reading her inner thoughts and witty personality.
This is super steamy, but the kink factor is vanilla with a swirl of chocolate.
Deliciously spun story – “Welcome to the Dark Side, Miss Byrne.”
—>>> Off-the-charts-brilliant Eva Byrne suddenly leaves her life of relentless academia for the unfettered Brontë moors, in search of something more fulfilling than what she has managed to experience thus far. All it took was one hauntingly played on-the-spot performance to prove her abilities to teach violin to Nathan Darke’s daughter, and he was instantly entranced. What she did not expect was to experience an awakening of her own sexuality via her “Mr. Darke experience,” who salivates to instruct her firsthand the wickedly kinky, mind-blowing sex she could have with him. But with such a fragile and intelligent mind, it may not take much to coax Eva back into her protective shell and shatter her romantic fantasies. This was a deliciously spun story! Really looking forward to reading more of this Black Combe Doms series!
This was my first Ashe Barker book and I really enjoyed it.
Overall, the story of Eva and Nathan, kept me entertained and engrossed. I truly felt for Eva, and the emotional issues she had. I thought that her mental condition was handled well and truthfully, being something that she had to learn how to deal with, not something that could just be swept under the rug in the long run. I always know characters have gotten to me when I cry, and I did with the scenes with Isabella, those were some of my favorites.
I will say that the one thing that distracted from my enjoyment, and it is merely personal preference, is the amount of description about everything. I am not one for a lot of description and this just seemed to be too heavy in that category for me. Maybe if I had read it as it was originally published, as separate volumes, I wouldn’t have noticed it as much. Also, I was disappointed that we didn’t get Nathan’s POV, considering the book started with his. I would have loved to see things from his perspective and felt that the tease of his POV at the beginning was a bit of a let down. Even with those, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely look into more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is book one in the Black Combe Doms series. Wow, what a great story, this one had me continuously coming back for more. What starts as a professional relationship with Eve tutoring Nathan’s daughter on the violin, slowly turns and twists into something so much more. Can Eve be the submissive partner that Nathan needs? Can Nathan be patient enough and a place of safety for Eve to explore her tastes? Great story that flows so well and it contains everything from funny to tears to some very steamy moments. Enjoy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Dark Melodies.
This is a steamy read. It has wonderful characters and an intriguing storyline.
Eva’s & Nathan story is everything I hoped it would be from sizzling and seductive chemistry. The characters are well developed and engaging. The storyline is captivating, sexy, steamy, and had me turning the pages as fast as I could.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book takes Eva to the wilds of Yorkshire moors. She goes there to teach Nathan Drake’s young daughter how to play the violin. While Eva is there she find excitement, passions, pleasure, pain, sensual encounters with the man of the house, Nathan. He’s domineering, demanding, dark and sexy. Eva is very talented with her violin but she has a natural curiosity to explore the darker side of passion. Nathan is more than happy to introduce her to submission and mark her with his dark side of love. This book also shows how gifted children integrate in society, depression and mental health. The steam is off the charts. Highly recommend as a great story. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Having first read this story as three separate books it was a joy to reread in one volume, and to find that I hadn’t misremembered just how powerful a story this is.
Beautifully written by Ashe Barker, the plot moves along at a steady pace, and the characters are both believable and easy to relate to.
Sheltered Eva wants more out of life than she gets in academia. In Nathan she, at first, gets more than she bargained for.
As a Dom, Nathan introduces Eva to the world of BDSM. Gradually, trust and love grow between them, only to be shattered by someone from Nathan’s past.
Their road to a HEA is not an easy one.
Loved the story. It is well written, entertaining and holds your attention. The story deals with a young girl who is on the genius level, graduating with numerous degrees by age twenty-two. Because Eva has attained these goals so early in life, she never had much of a childhood and has issues relating to people. Nathan enters her life as an employer but this escalates to a lot more very quickly. It is a great story that deals with depression, anxiety and later post-natal depression. All of these issues are dealt with great understanding and sensitivity by Nathan. Lastly, the sexual relationship between the two of them is intense and erotic. I would highly recommend this as a great read.
When i finished reading this story, i had no words to describe just how i felt about the whole book. It was that good, i put my tablet down and thought wow how am i going to write a review that is going to describe what a truely wonderful story this is. Its erotic and emotional , with passion and pleasure on both sides.
Eve, is truely one talanted lady, she has a very high Q and with that comes the ability to learn anything she wants very quickly. She wont allow anyone to touch her, not at all, but theres one thing she keeps secret and dosnt want anyone to find out.
Nathan a father of one and , a truely talented business man , and on the side after work he truely is a Dom who likes his submissives, but lately all the submissives have been letting him down.
Eve takes a job as a subitute at Nathans estate, teaching young Rosie how to play the violin. She met Nathan at the gates when he ran into her car His demand of her to prove her skills on the violin she dosnt mind, but the longer they are together the more her body demands something. Till one day, the day he gives her , her first orgasm, and what follows after that is a turbulance and passion that they both have not known. She is eager to explore the unknown to try what he has to give to offer. Love, trust is broken, can these two wonderful souls truely come together and find there HEA
Harmony
Eva and Nathan’s journey is one filled with elightenment, pain, freedom, restraint, unexplored boundaries, limits, unlimited lust, chemistry and heat. Together they make their own dark duet.
Gritty, sensual, set in the UK. An insanely sexy read