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A review by lmrivas54
What He Never Knew by Kandi Steiner
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.