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jurneesreads's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first Kandi Steiner read it did not disappoint
Going into this I knew this was the third book in the series but after reading reviews pretty much everyone said it can be read as a stand-alone which is what made me decide to give it a go as I definitely didn’t plan to read the first two they feature three of my least favorite tropes marriage in crisis, cheating, and love triangle I have no doubt those books are great I just don’t like those tropes and all three together is a big no for me but something about Reese intrigued me and overall the story felt really interesting my heart always hurts for the one who doesn’t get picked in a love triangle so seeing him get his book with a HEA I was sold
Where do I even start I loved this book like deeply loved it the connection between Reese and Sarah was so damn beautiful they both have a pretty tragic past and Sarah had the unthinkable happen to her and now she feels like a shell of who she once was and Reese well he’s in a pretty deep depression from everything with Charlie and grieving the life he thought he would live the way these characters heal each other gave me all the feels
Going into this I knew this was the third book in the series but after reading reviews pretty much everyone said it can be read as a stand-alone which is what made me decide to give it a go as I definitely didn’t plan to read the first two they feature three of my least favorite tropes marriage in crisis, cheating, and love triangle I have no doubt those books are great I just don’t like those tropes and all three together is a big no for me but something about Reese intrigued me and overall the story felt really interesting my heart always hurts for the one who doesn’t get picked in a love triangle so seeing him get his book with a HEA I was sold
Where do I even start I loved this book like deeply loved it the connection between Reese and Sarah was so damn beautiful they both have a pretty tragic past and Sarah had the unthinkable happen to her and now she feels like a shell of who she once was and Reese well he’s in a pretty deep depression from everything with Charlie and grieving the life he thought he would live the way these characters heal each other gave me all the feels
lmrivas54's review against another edition
5.0
Sublimely angsty, this book made me cry several times; it was intensely psychological, emotional, soulfully musical, and I loved reading it. Two broken souls save each other and together make up one whole, but it took them a long and torturous process to get to their HEA.
Reese is merely existing, living a grey life, teaching at Westchester Prep, and playing piano at the Kinky Starfish restaurant several nights a week. His sole purpose is to pay the bills and to survive. It has been two years since he lost Charlie to her husband Cameron and he still hasn’t been able to move on. Each time he sees her, happy in her marriage with her husband and kids is like plunging a knife in his heart. I hated Charlie in this book, because she just wouldn’t let him be, constantly looking him up and trying to cheer him up, pitying him, wanting to keep up a friendship that was too hurtful, like a yappy dog that wouldn’t stop.
Sarah is Mr. Henderson’s niece, the headmaster at Westchester Prep. She’s an extremely talented pianist who needs tutoring to achieve her dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall. She comes to Mount Lebanon from a traumatic event that forced her to leave college only one semester from graduation. She requested her uncle to help her secure the infamous Reese Walker as her tutor, based on his reputation as a legendary pianist. From the get go, their relation was complicated. Reese recognized a kindred soul, someone who was as damaged as he is, and who is having an existential problem with her playing. Sarah’s soul, her psyche, is so damaged that it interferes with her enjoyment of playing, and it encumbers her talent from shining through. I loved that they saw each other, they recognized each other’s pain and needs. It was inevitable that they would feel so intensely for each other. They had the obstacles of Sarah’s past trauma, the difference in ages, the fact they were teacher and student, and Reese’s boss was Sarah’s uncle.
As always, I love this author’s writing. Her prose is so descriptive, soulful and poetical. Her characters are a lot in their minds but their musings show progression, they’re not stuck in a loop, repeating the same feelings and thoughts ad nauseam. I loved all the musical language, the emotional context of a musician and his/her symbiotic relation to their musical instrument. It was like a magical and sentimental experience.
Reese is merely existing, living a grey life, teaching at Westchester Prep, and playing piano at the Kinky Starfish restaurant several nights a week. His sole purpose is to pay the bills and to survive. It has been two years since he lost Charlie to her husband Cameron and he still hasn’t been able to move on. Each time he sees her, happy in her marriage with her husband and kids is like plunging a knife in his heart. I hated Charlie in this book, because she just wouldn’t let him be, constantly looking him up and trying to cheer him up, pitying him, wanting to keep up a friendship that was too hurtful, like a yappy dog that wouldn’t stop.
Sarah is Mr. Henderson’s niece, the headmaster at Westchester Prep. She’s an extremely talented pianist who needs tutoring to achieve her dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall. She comes to Mount Lebanon from a traumatic event that forced her to leave college only one semester from graduation. She requested her uncle to help her secure the infamous Reese Walker as her tutor, based on his reputation as a legendary pianist. From the get go, their relation was complicated. Reese recognized a kindred soul, someone who was as damaged as he is, and who is having an existential problem with her playing. Sarah’s soul, her psyche, is so damaged that it interferes with her enjoyment of playing, and it encumbers her talent from shining through. I loved that they saw each other, they recognized each other’s pain and needs. It was inevitable that they would feel so intensely for each other. They had the obstacles of Sarah’s past trauma, the difference in ages, the fact they were teacher and student, and Reese’s boss was Sarah’s uncle.
As always, I love this author’s writing. Her prose is so descriptive, soulful and poetical. Her characters are a lot in their minds but their musings show progression, they’re not stuck in a loop, repeating the same feelings and thoughts ad nauseam. I loved all the musical language, the emotional context of a musician and his/her symbiotic relation to their musical instrument. It was like a magical and sentimental experience.
k_huskic's review against another edition
4.0
I was so back and forth with my view of Reese throughout the first two books in this series, but I wanted him to get his own HEA. He deserved it.
This story was an age gap romance, between Reese and Sarah. He's a piano teacher and she's his (adult) student.
I liked these two together! They'd both been through difficult times in their lives, and they needed each other. They just had a connection.
An emotional story, but I was so happy for Reese to get a happy ending.
This story was an age gap romance, between Reese and Sarah. He's a piano teacher and she's his (adult) student.
I liked these two together! They'd both been through difficult times in their lives, and they needed each other. They just had a connection.
An emotional story, but I was so happy for Reese to get a happy ending.
ghada95's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
"I kissed her with the rain pouring down around us, a bolt of lightning lighting the sky above. And I knew in that moment that she was the missing puzzle piece I’d been looking for all along. I’d just had to walk the busted up, broken down road to get to her. "
I finally managed to read What He Never Knew by Kandi Stainer.
For those who still ask, yes it is one of my absolute favorite romance authors.
However, as I was saying I read the third book of this series, although you can also read it as a standalone, but to understand the character of Reese and what he is facing and why he is facing it I suggest to read even the 2 previous books.
That said, the female character is given by Sarah, a 21-year-old girl who decides to face her life, after a traumatic incident in college, which forced her to abandon her piano studies and return home, changing everything that she reminded her of that period and shut herself up, creating a sort of isolation to protect herself from herself and others.
Being the piano one of her biggest passion, she decided to resume her studies and turn to one of the best teachers: Reese.
Sarah decides to take up her life again, and move to Atlanta and pursue her biggest dream, playing at Carnegie Hall.
I once believed I’d find my prince, my one and only soulmate who would make all the pieces of my life fall perfectly in place. Now, the only love I believed in was the love I felt for the piano.
It start a dynamic between these two characters very pleasant to read, although honestly I found the first part a bit monotonous, because the interaction between the two was very minimal, and the focus is more on their individual paths.
For Sarah in bringing out her dark secret and for Reese is addressing her departure from Charlie, a character we met in the duet "What He Does't Know".
Precisely for this reason I found it difficult to understand the instant romantic attraction, as I previously did not find that element that ignite the spark as I say.
Despite that, do not get me wrong I loved the book, and once Sarah and Reese started this romantic journey, I really liked them.
Another element that characterizes this book is the forbidden aspect that I have not found and recognized, because the female character is 21 years old, so she is aware of what she is doing and with whom she is doing it despite Reese being her "professor" and 16 years older than she is.
I did not find the forbidden element of the book, that was the element that had attracted me most in the synopsis of the book.
As usual, Kandi succeeds in centering perfectly very hard themes to speak and even to write, which if not treated with delicacy can really ruin the whole read.
My vote for this book is ⅘ stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"There were people who lived, people who watched movies or listened to music or read books. But then, there were the people who created them, who wrote them, who brought them to life. Those were the poor, unfortunate suckers who had so much going on in their minds that they had to find a way to release it, to breathe life into it, to touch it and feel that it’s real.
Sarah was one of those people, and she was asking me to help her."
my link text
"I kissed her with the rain pouring down around us, a bolt of lightning lighting the sky above. And I knew in that moment that she was the missing puzzle piece I’d been looking for all along. I’d just had to walk the busted up, broken down road to get to her. "
I finally managed to read What He Never Knew by Kandi Stainer.
For those who still ask, yes it is one of my absolute favorite romance authors.
However, as I was saying I read the third book of this series, although you can also read it as a standalone, but to understand the character of Reese and what he is facing and why he is facing it I suggest to read even the 2 previous books.
That said, the female character is given by Sarah, a 21-year-old girl who decides to face her life, after a traumatic incident in college, which forced her to abandon her piano studies and return home, changing everything that she reminded her of that period and shut herself up, creating a sort of isolation to protect herself from herself and others.
Being the piano one of her biggest passion, she decided to resume her studies and turn to one of the best teachers: Reese.
Sarah decides to take up her life again, and move to Atlanta and pursue her biggest dream, playing at Carnegie Hall.
I once believed I’d find my prince, my one and only soulmate who would make all the pieces of my life fall perfectly in place. Now, the only love I believed in was the love I felt for the piano.
It start a dynamic between these two characters very pleasant to read, although honestly I found the first part a bit monotonous, because the interaction between the two was very minimal, and the focus is more on their individual paths.
For Sarah in bringing out her dark secret and for Reese is addressing her departure from Charlie, a character we met in the duet "What He Does't Know".
Precisely for this reason I found it difficult to understand the instant romantic attraction, as I previously did not find that element that ignite the spark as I say.
Despite that, do not get me wrong I loved the book, and once Sarah and Reese started this romantic journey, I really liked them.
Another element that characterizes this book is the forbidden aspect that I have not found and recognized, because the female character is 21 years old, so she is aware of what she is doing and with whom she is doing it despite Reese being her "professor" and 16 years older than she is.
I did not find the forbidden element of the book, that was the element that had attracted me most in the synopsis of the book.
As usual, Kandi succeeds in centering perfectly very hard themes to speak and even to write, which if not treated with delicacy can really ruin the whole read.
My vote for this book is ⅘ stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"There were people who lived, people who watched movies or listened to music or read books. But then, there were the people who created them, who wrote them, who brought them to life. Those were the poor, unfortunate suckers who had so much going on in their minds that they had to find a way to release it, to breathe life into it, to touch it and feel that it’s real.
Sarah was one of those people, and she was asking me to help her."
my link text
laurenmcd7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sienasummerrreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
“You are the kind of girl who deserves to be kissed in the rain.”
This follows Reese Walker, 37, a brilliant musician and teacher. With the loss of his family and the fresh heartache of the woman he loved on his mind, he is tackling each day as it comes. Then along comes Sarah Henderson, 21, an incredible pianist needing help to find herself again. She is broken and damaged just as much as he is. Can they heal together?
What an emotional read. I loved reading Reese’s happily ever after. The anxiety I felt in the first two books—this man deserves the world. Both are going through a lot, and Sarah is so strong. I'm glad Reese could show her what it’s like to feel and be loved. I love how her mum was so accepting, patient, and open to difficult conversations. Be mindful of the contents and themes when diving into this. Also, the audiobook is brilliant; I recommend it.
If you love:
🔹Forbidden
🔹Student Teacher
🔹Age Gap (16yrs)
🔹Forced Proximity
🔹Healing Journey
🔹Intimate Spice
Genre/Type: Emotional Romance 18+
APK: Audiobook
Audiobook Length: 10hrs 59mins
Narrators: Jason Clarke and Mia Madison - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: Book Three In The Best Kept Secret Series
Tropes or Themes: Forbidden, Age Gap (16yrs), Student Teacher, Forced Proximity, FMC Musician, Trauma, Healing Journey, POC Rep, Mental Health, Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual Content
Mentions: Death Of Parents, Rape and Assault
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
This follows Reese Walker, 37, a brilliant musician and teacher. With the loss of his family and the fresh heartache of the woman he loved on his mind, he is tackling each day as it comes. Then along comes Sarah Henderson, 21, an incredible pianist needing help to find herself again. She is broken and damaged just as much as he is. Can they heal together?
What an emotional read. I loved reading Reese’s happily ever after. The anxiety I felt in the first two books—this man deserves the world. Both are going through a lot, and Sarah is so strong. I'm glad Reese could show her what it’s like to feel and be loved. I love how her mum was so accepting, patient, and open to difficult conversations. Be mindful of the contents and themes when diving into this. Also, the audiobook is brilliant; I recommend it.
If you love:
🔹Forbidden
🔹Student Teacher
🔹Age Gap (16yrs)
🔹Forced Proximity
🔹Healing Journey
🔹Intimate Spice
Genre/Type: Emotional Romance 18+
APK: Audiobook
Audiobook Length: 10hrs 59mins
Narrators: Jason Clarke and Mia Madison - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: Book Three In The Best Kept Secret Series
Tropes or Themes: Forbidden, Age Gap (16yrs), Student Teacher, Forced Proximity, FMC Musician, Trauma, Healing Journey, POC Rep, Mental Health, Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual Content
Mentions: Death Of Parents, Rape and Assault
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
booklovershangout's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me so happy. I was beyond excited that there would be another book in this series. It was absolutely perfect and I could not have asked for a better ending or story. It was beautiful and the storytelling was so engaging. I could not put this book down and I am so dying to read more from Kandi already. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
rihoward's review against another edition
4.0
4.4 stars
I have wanted Reece to have his own story since the duet. There was just something about him that made my heart hurt at the thought of him not getting it. I'm glad that He got that HEA through Music and Sarah.
This story covered a pretty painful topic and showed how music can become an outlet for healing even while being the very cause of the pain.
This is a great book for anyone needing a book filled with angst, love, and hope.
I have wanted Reece to have his own story since the duet. There was just something about him that made my heart hurt at the thought of him not getting it. I'm glad that He got that HEA through Music and Sarah.
This story covered a pretty painful topic and showed how music can become an outlet for healing even while being the very cause of the pain.
This is a great book for anyone needing a book filled with angst, love, and hope.
t_white51's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What He Never Knew - Kandi Steiner
Best Kept Secrets Book 3
READ BY JASON CLARKE AND MIA MADISON
The narrators both did an amazing job!
My Review:
My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice: 🌶🌶
Pages: 397
Genre: Romance
Tropes: interracial Romance, Teacher/Student, Age Gap
Reese, a trained pianist muchly sought after teacher who has his heart on ice determined a relationship and love are not in the cards for him
Sarah, his 21 year old new student who has gone through trauma no woman should have to go through has totally reinvented herself. Dressing to make herself invisible and with a tight rein on her emotions…existing but not actually living.
They in the process of lessons recognize the pain each is carrying and it creates a bond that allows them to gradually open up to each other. He is the first person she has confessed her trauma to as she is the first he’s confessed his to.
In a slow journey filled with stumbling blocks they try to find their way back to the living and discover they both have hope.
This book is emotional and obviously deeply researched. It will have you in tears for them both as they battle to overcome.
Kandi has a way of writing very emotional books that pull at your heart strings. I highly recommend this book and every other book she’s written.
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