A standalone teacher/student romance in the What He Doesn’t Know series. I never learn my lesson.And I always want what I can’t have.When Sarah Henderson walks into my life, I tell myself she’s off limits. She’s my student, sixteen years younger than me, and my boss’s niece. It doesn’t matter that I see the same pain reflected in her eyes that I have in my own, or that the dead organ better … or that the dead organ better known as my heart kicks to life when she’s around.
I’ve been here before, and I know how this ends.
It’s been two years since I fell for the last woman I knew I couldn’t have, the one with the ring on her finger that I chose to ignore.
Two years of trying to overcome that heartache when Sarah slides into my life.
Another woman I can’t have. Another woman I can’t stop myself from wanting.
I never learn my lesson, but with a constant reminder of how that last forbidden love burned, I think I’ve finally learned this one.
This time, I won’t chase what’s off limits.
This time, I’m staying away.
And I’ll keep telling myself that until I believe it.
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I won’t lie, Reese was not the guy I was rooting for in the Duet, previously released to this one, but I still wanted his happy moment so this release was a wonderful form of closure for the character.
Once again being involved with someone who should be off limits Reese falls into old habits by getting mixed up with his student however Sarah isn’t what you’d expect. With her own past demons chasing her these two find solace in each other that I found to be beautiful.
What He Never Knew can 100% be read alone, though I recommend reading the What He Doesn’t Know Duet first to appreciate Reese as a character even more!
-Mackenzie
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.
I have been waiting for Reese to get a story since I read the duet that his heart was broken in and I will say that the author give me everything I wanted for him. It wasn’t an easy road in the least but he finally got that HEA he deserved. Seeing him evolve through his book was a heart breaking journey but so worth the tears I shed. Add in Sarah who had her own issues and working through them with the help of someone else who was also broken…… it was hard. So hard at times.
I’ve seen a meme floating around about taking characters from an author and wanting to protect them fro their journey and that’s how I felt about Reese and Sarah. I wanted to protect them from what they were going through. The author did an amazing job at having me love them as if they were real people that I knew.
I loved the first 2 books of this series and was rooting for Charlie to get her HEA and was that she did, but in this book….. well, honestly I hated her guts. I won’t go into details about it but I just couldn’t like her like I did in the first book. That’s all I will say about her because I don’t want to spoil anything in Sarah and Reese’s story.
The playlist songs that were added to the story were a beautiful touch. I listened to each of them and found it helped me connect with the story more. Everything that happened on this book pulled at every string in my heart. From hope to fear. Then heartbreak to happiness. These characters came a long way from the start of the book and their journey was utterly beautiful. Bravo to this author for writing another amazing book. 5 stars #2OCCJD
I knew going into Reese and Sarah’s story it wouldn’t be an easy one to digest. Reese has had his fair share of bad luck in his life. From relationships to friendships to family, everyone he comes in contact with bad things happen.
While he chooses to punish himself daily with teaching at the same school that the woman he lost, he is trying to get over the heartbreak. Teaching, playing the piano part time at the restaurant and now taking on the new student, Reese should be moving on in life.
2 years have past since that horrible day that Charlie went back to her husband….
Sarah is a breath of fresh air! She is going to graduate this semester, her dreams of playing Carnegie one day seems to be coming into play. Finals are upon her and then she can head home for the break and come back to finish her final semester. But just like that, her world has fallen apart. In the blink of an eye, she won’t be returning to college to finish.
Packing up and moving to live with her aunt and uncle to regroup, her uncle puts her in-touch with the great Reese to tutor her and get her back to playing and dreaming of moving to New York.
I enjoyed reading this story as I really looked forward to Reese finding someone who he truly deserved. It wasn’t an easy relationship but what relationship ever is?
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I can’t even put into words how much I loved this story. Absolutely LOVED it.
You get hit by an figurative mack truck right out of the gate and I never looked back.
Sarah and Reese are both pianists. And I was surprised to find links to songs that follow along with the story and these songs bring this story to another level. The feelings they evoked while listening helped me to understand what was going on in their minds.
I lost track of how many times I found myself in tears. I think that one of the best things that Kandi accomplishes in her books is that she really shows you who the characters are.
Sarah is a young woman who has had some tragedies in her life and she is trying to start over and pick up the pieces. She seeks the help of Reese to help her achieve these goals.
Reese is a broken man who is just trying to get by every day in a black and white world. He just killed me. My heart was broken for him all over again. It was so satisfying to watch them maneuver through the insecurities they carry and find their way. This story gives you a lot to think about and I admire how a difficult subject was tackled.
What a beautiful book of 2 people trying to figure out life with brokenness! I loved how Kandi Steiner laid down the ground work for Reese and Sarah right from the beginning. Yes they didn’t know each others histories but as the readers we did. It was so well written and powerful.
Sarah and Reese have this connection as they open up to one another with what has gone on in their lives. It is not rushed, you feel their relationship grow as student and teacher and then friends and then more.
The supporting characters are well written. Sarah’s mom always knowing something has occurred with Sarah but doesn’t push her but loves her. Reese as he deals with this past and Charlie and allowing him to be honest with himself.
This book takes these characters through real life issues. And as many of us do- we try to live life alone- this book helps to see that there really are people to love us and its good to love them too.
That is Reese’s and Sarah’s journey. The ending is amazing, gives great closer. The music added to the book through Spotify was so powerful and added so much. And Kandi’s authors note was just beautiful and heartfelt like this book!
Oh damn, this book…it was phenomenal. One of the best books I’ve ever come across if I’m being honest. This book moved me, it left me in awe!
Reese, this man is a special kind of man. He’s handsome, strong and very in touch with his emotions. He’s going through things that are emotionally draining, things that destroy people with the grief that follows him but he’s still standing, he’s strong in his own way and he makes you fall so hard for him, you just won’t be able to help it. He’s an amazing, incredible man with a whole lot of passion.
Sarah, gah this woman. I’ve never met a heroine that I’ve loved as much as I love this one. She goes through something that no woman should ever have to but even through her suffering she’s a strong and beautiful woman. She finds it hard to trust, as any one would but through music she speaks volumes and it’s beautiful, it’s beautiful to see her work through her struggles and come out on top. I’m in absolute awe of this character.
Right from the start I was invested in every way possible. Sarah’s story was heartbreaking and real, an every day occurrence and gut wrenching. The things that poor woman had to deal with just broke my heart over and over again but her strength, the strength shone brightly. She’s an incredible woman dealing with an extremely difficult thing and then we have Reese’s story and your heart breaks more for him. The things he has do deal with is extremely hard especially loving someone that will never love you back, that’s extremely painful.
Kandi Steiner truly outdid herself with this phenomenon. Never will I ever read a book that’ll make me feel the way this one did. This is by far my favourite book from this author and definitely on my top list of favourite books of 2019!
This book is about two broken souls finding their place in the world, finding their other half, the half that makes them whole again. About two people experiencing terrible ordeals but coming out strong in the end. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, angsty and has you feeling all the feels.
Y’all have no idea how much I hoped and prayed we would be getting this book. After reading the previous duet my guy didn’t get picked and I always wondered what happened to him and how he was doing. I
know he’s a fictional character but still….
“You can love someone, give them everything you have, and still not be enough.”
My heart broke for “my guy” during this book. He had his heart broken and was pretty much existing but not living. I honestly don’t know how he did it, staying in a town for so long after everything that happened.
We are introduced to Sarah and my heart broke for her because she was another damaged character. I just wanted to reach into the book and give her a big hug.
I loved seeing this damaged and flawed couple slowly come together and heal each other in the process. It was a perfect slow burn novel and I loved how I felt the connection between the characters. I could always feel the characters emotions oozing off the pages and I wanted to reach in and hug them several times throughout the story.
Gosh. What can I say about Kandi Steiner’s writing? Each book just keeps getting better and better. Steiner words are magnetic and just pull me in from the very beginning. Whenever I pick up a book by Steiner I know that her words will hurt me, soothe me and heal me all at the same time. There is something so poetic about Steiner’s way with words and my review doesn’t begin to give her writing justice. All I can tell you is to read the book and let the words take you away.
If you’re looking for angst, this book is for you! Forbidden student/teacher romance too
While I thought it was a good story, with Sarah overcoming her “wolf”, I was hoping for more. It just kind of fell flat to me. Her uncle isn’t happy but then all of a sudden everyone understands the relationship between her and Reese. As if all of a sudden poof! It’s all okay.
I must give a warning that there is a trigger in this story and it may not be for everyone….
“Your differences are what make you so beautiful.”
Kandi Steiner is most definitely the queen of angst! I was pulled into her insanely emotional web when I read the What He Doesn’t Know duet. And from that duet we finally get Reese’s story! Kandi’s words are like poetry as she tells us a story about love, loss, heartbreak and much more. I felt as though I had a weighted blanket on me at times. I had so many mixed emotions about Reese based on his behavior and history from the previous duet. I love that she made me hate him!!!
“It’s been two years since I fell for the last woman I knew I couldn’t have, the one with the ring on her finger that I chose to ignore. ”
Reese Walker is a complex yet simple man. He is moody, talented and reclusive. Life has thrown many things his way. He is caught in between his past and the present, trying desperately to move on. The piano has played such a significant role in his life…
“His relationship with the piano was tumultuous, and his career had been anything but traditional.”
Although she is a 21 year old adult, Sarah Henderson is also Reese’s student. She too has had some extremely emotional issues to deal with. The piano has been her deepest friend and now her enemy. But Sarah has dreams and goals that she wishes to accomplish. She is tough and determined to succeed.
“The truth was, music was my life, my heart, my soul.”
An age gap is the only thing that separates their connection. Their love of the piano and their past heartbreak are combined to bring a melody that will soothe your soul. It is organic. Starting out as “taboo” (student/teacher) but blooming into so much more.
“She was the light I never thought I’d see again, the purpose I’d thought I’d lost forever.”
What He Never Knew is a standalone but I recommend reading the duet first. It will give you a better idea of the back story and situations that occur surrounding Reese. Kandi does a great job of incorporating those situations into the story but it just isn’t the same. The vibe of What He Never Knew is much heavier but not suffocating. I also loved the way she describes Sarah. I had such a beautiful vision of her uniqueness and her talent.
Kandi Steiner will bring you to the brink before pulling you back! Emotions will run high but oh what a beautiful feeling when it ends. Loved the Epilogue as well. Although it was a “realistic” ending I feel that ending it any other way would have been wrong.
We had fought the demons of our past, and faced the challenges of our future – together.
4.5 stars
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“We are all just humans who want to feel like we’re not alone, even when we are.”
No matter how I start this review and no matter what words will follow, I can’t do this book any justice. It came, it saw and it conquered: My mind, my heart, my soul.
“Sarah was an unstoppable force, like a Category 5 hurricane, and we’d all just been wrecked by her power.”
What He Never Knew is incredibly touching, moving, real. Since IEWU by C. Hoover in 2016, a story that shook my bones to the core, no book after was able to rip me apart on such an intense level. Until now. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read wonderful soul-touching and soul-crushing books in the meantime, but the way this book here touched me, my soul, my heart and my mind is like finding a pearl in a natural oyster.
“His lips were the softest command, smooth like rose petals, yet powerful enough to bend me in a silent plea to submit.”
As much as I wished to read this beautiful book in one sitting. I had to take my time. Not only because I wanted to prolong the time with the characters as much as possible but also because the story wore my out heavily. It holds a wight that’s hard to carry. I needed breaks to distance myself, to let myself breathe again, not realizing I held my breath while reading.
“Reese had given me my dream kiss, a kiss I’d dreamed about, one I wasn’t sure could ever be reality.”
Sarah and Reese are raw gems and Kandi Steiner was able to grind and shape those characters into the most beautiful diamonds. Even their scars are visible as pretty inclusions, that make them unique and outstanding.
“She looked happy and free, and it was my favorite way to see her.”
Reading about these soulful characters, beautifully and tragically broken by life, feeling their connection and how they help each other heal, together with the power of music is a reading experience you won’t ever forget.
“Her pain was palpable, and it bled into me like ink on paper, spreading over me in a way that would permanently change me forever.”
This book had my mind, my soul my stomach in a constant knot. My eyes were heavy and puffy when I turned the last page. It moved me on a level I thought not possible. THAT book right here is the reason why I love to read. Why I fell in love with romance books. Emotions spilling all over the pages. A reading experience beyond comparison.
“She was the light I never thought I’d see again, the purpose I thought I’d lost forever.”
While writing this review I still have to fight tears and it’s hard to swallow. All the feelings that bubble up are hard to contain. And as soon as I finish this review, I won’t. Thank you Kandi Steiner for giving me all the feels, for showing I am enough, for letting me know it’s ok to feel and it’s ok to fall in love, to be vulnerable and to trust, even if that means I might get hurt. But as long as I feel, I live and as long as I live, I can follow my dreams.
“Nothing about us made sense, and yet, there was no other possibility.”
Reese Campbell stole my heart in the What He Doesn’t Know duet and then I was left to wait a bit impatiently for more of his story. Without a doubt What He Never Knew was most definitely worth the wait!
Reese and Sarah were each merely going through the motions of life haunted by the ghosts of their pasts. When they meet there was a spark as they found another kindred spirit. Both were broken in their own way but I loved how all their shattered pieces perfectly matched. In spite of all the reasons why these two shouldn’t work together they simply did.
Their stories are ones that gave me all the feels especially Sarah’s. I’ll be honest and admit there were tears, lots of them. There was despair, laughter, anger and so much hope as I devoured this beautifully heartbreaking and unforgettable read. The journey these two took me on was beyond rocky and put my heart through the wringer but it gave me all the closure I needed for Reese and so much more. What He Never Knew is a breathtaking and unputdownable read that was pure perfection.
I heart me some Kandi Steiner. Thus, this review is a bit difficult for me to write. I wanted to love Reese. I wanted to feel for him. I wanted to connect with him. But I couldn’t. After reading and being destroyed by the duet, I was totally Team Cameron. Unfortunately, that left me very upset with Reese and his choices. There were times when I glimpsed some maturity coming forth from him in the book, especially in the end.
But there is a huge reason I didn’t promptly add this book to my DNF pile: Sarah. This book was a bit of a trigger for me; the beginning made me put it down for a solid week before I could attempt to read it again. And even though I was a bit distraught by how the book opened, Sarah’s strength, personality, and perspective kept me going. She was the savior of this book. I felt as though she not only saved herself, but also Reese. Yes, her relationship to her piano and how she interacted with Reese changed her for the better, but she was the one who had to find the strength and the desire to let herself be helped and do the work to make her way back to herself.
I would say that the first three-quarters of the book were building blocks to the story but they didn’t capture me. However, that last quarter is what moved me to give Kandi 4 stars. She took all the messy parts of Sarah and Reese and turned them into a beautiful recipe for love and success. Perfect? Not always, but lovely all the same.
If you’ve ever read any of my books, you know I’m a sucker for music, so, needless to say, this book by Kandi Steiner got my attention! It features some seriously delicious angst, it’s emotional and moving, and best of all, has an HEA…and you all know how I am about my HEA endings! Read it!
Kandi never cease to amaze me with her writing. Her story telling has the ability to break you and make you cry yet mend your heart and give you all the feels at the end. I admired Kandi’s courage to touch on a dark trigger and she handled it really well. This heartbreaking and highly emotional story grabbed my heart.
What He Doesn’t Know Series will always held a special place for me because the duet was how I found Kandi Steiner. Even though this book is a standalone, I really recommend reading the series in order. You’ll have a better connection with Reese and feel his heartache and despair. I’m crying happy tears as I finished this book because when the guy who was left behind found the happiness that he deserved, I finally have closure.
I received an advance reviewer copy of the book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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I’m a blubbering mess……a happy, blubbering mess.
My goodness, Kandi Steiner. This book put me through quite possibly every emotion. This story tackles some very real issues; Sarah is the one of the strongest and real and vulnerable heroines I’ve ever read, even when her vulnerability was hard for her to come by, she SHINED through the pages.
And Reese…Lord……Reese. I actually connected with him the most throughout reading this book. In many ways we’re very similar; I truly felt his struggle, his passion, his “always being in his head”. I truly loved seeing him grow. Sarah truly was his savior, just as much he was hers.
The angst, the ANGST. But also the tender moments, the scary moments, the rage-y moments……the LOVE moments.
It was perfect.
PER-FECT.
Kandi, my love, you did it. And THANK YOU.
OMG!!!! I died…. my heart, it stoped for a moment from all the feels and then it kept beating because of how beautifully Kandi Steiner wrapped up this story.
I was sucked into the pages of this book, I felt the pain, the desperation of this characters and I didn’t wanna let them go.
This book can be read as a standalone but I do recommend reading the first two so you can really know and feel Reese’s pain and understand his broken soul.
Reese needs to move on, but how can he when he sees what he lost everyday, when he feels his heart fall deeper in the abyss. He knows he is broken and no one will ever understand him and his pain. When Reese meets Sarah he sees her, he truly sees her fight to be the best piano player there is and he is willing to help her.
Sarah is angry, sad and stuck in a dark place due to the trauma she suffer in school. She knows she need to love music again and Reese is her only hope.
This two characters are broken and they recognize each other’s darkness as they spend time together. They heal each other, the begin to trust one an other but they also know that the age gap between them represents a problem. But will they decide to continue?
Kandi does an amazing job at developing this characters as the story goes on, you grow with them, you immerse yourself in their world. Beautifully written. A story of fear, strength, love and forgiveness. Plus the musical references that Kandi writes in the book are beautiful pieces that really work with the story, they make you feel more connected with the scenes. I cried, I felt my heart break for two people that needed strength to keep going and they found it on each other. Definitely angst galore!!!!!
5 Stars read!!!
*i read an Advance reader copy and this is my honest opinion *
Oh Reese, I wanted his happy ending the second What He Always Knew ended. I wanted him to find his love, someone who understands him entirely and Sarah is the perfect person for him, both of them are so badly damaged that they heal each other. Sarah has a dark past, but both Reese and her went through something similar and now they have…perfection. The story that Kandi creates for the two of them is absolutely amazing. She gives us all the feels and don’t even get me started on the angst, we all know she’s the queen at writing angsty stories. One of my favorite genres to read is the teacher/student type and oh boy, I don’t think anything can prepare any of us for this one. My heart ached, I cried and cursed Kandi an awful lot, I laughed and oh boy, the way she linked the music to this book is freakin magic. Y’all, just buy this and read it. But do not, I repeat do not read this if you haven’t read What He Doesn’t Know and What He Always Knew first, it’ll ruin everything.
I have spent the last year devouring anything and everything I could get my hands written by Kandi Steiner. It’s unacceptable (in my opinion) that I missed out on the books Kandi released prior to the What He Doesn’t Know duet caught my eye—and miss out I did! It truly pains me that I can’t just drop everything and read her work. Kandi has impressed me again and again as I have read the books in her backstock. If you don’t follow my blog already, I am a voracious reader, and my taste is extremely eclectic. If I pick up a romance, I want a strong hero and heroine, sexxxy times that scorch my kindle, and a killer storyline. So far, I feel that everything I have read from this particular author meets those standards as well as giving readers a wide range of subgenres to choose from. Now, it’s ironic that the first books I read from Kandi was a triangle romance, because in all honestly, I dislike triangle romances immensely. LOL. And yet, I LOVED the What He Doesn’t Know Duet. Originally, I was drawn to the blurbs. But it took literally moments to get sucked into the first book in this duet last year when I read them. In preparation for reading What He Never Knew, I reread the duet so that I was on top of my game, and honestly, I think I loved it even more the second time around. Since I’m such an angst junkie, I’m addicted to Kandi Steiner’s writing, as she has a way of torqueing your emotions just enough that it’s delicious and not painful. Now that I’ve discovered her, I have a new go-to author and I am sure you will love her just as much
As much as I loved the duet, when I finished reading it, I struggled with the ending. With the lack of a happily ever after for my pick of the men Charlie Pierce was stuck between… the fictional hero that didn’t get the girl… that Kandi Steiner made me fall completely in-love with over the course of the duet. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of him until one day I found out that Kandi had written his HEA—talk about bliss! I was in heaven knowing this book was coming, and I am not ashamed to say that I stalked Kandi’s social media accounts until the blogger sign ups were available. As anyone who read and loved the What He Doesn’t Know duet would attest, readers were in for an emotional ride from the first page until the last. So I expected to be as emotional when I read What He Never Knew. I just wasn’t prepared for how emotional the read would be. In order to avoid spoiling the ending of What He Always Knew—the second book of the series—I am avoiding the use of the hero’s name in this review. Please forgive any vague references as I simply wanted to insure your reading isn’t tainted.
What He Never Knew is a taboo student/teacher romance with a much younger heroine. I can’t praise this book enough. Can I magically give it more than 5 stars?! The storyline itself was phenomenal with a very steady pace that will suck you straight in. The connection between the protagonists was utterly beautiful and made my heart sing to see them both happy at the conclusion of this book. I feel like the story has now come full circle where it wasn’t really complete for me at the end of What He Doesn’t Know/What He Always Knew. Technically you can read What He Never Knew without first reading the (What He Doesn’t Know) duet. That said, I truly believe the three books should be read in sequence to enhance your reading experience. You’ll get lost in the books regardless but will understand the hero on a completely different level. You will fall in love with Sarah and hurt with her the way I hurt. I cried real tears—ugly tears in fact—while reading this one and I don’t cry easily. If you haven’t read Kandi Steiner before, please, PLEASE read these books, you’ll surely thank me and the other bloggers who have written reviews of them. If you’re looking for a lost hero, a broken heroine, and a love story to make your heart soar, you’ve found it!!!
Quotes:
…He loved that woman so much that he put himself through a daily self-flagellation just to keep her in his life.
…she wore her scars on her sleeve like a woman who’d been through as much hell in her life as I had
…I saw the way my music moved her — the same way it moved me — and I knew from that alone that she’d been cursed by her creativity, by her inability to see the world like a normal, well-functioning human would. It was the same curse I bared.
…If I could survive last night, I could survive anything. I was the girl who cried wolf.
…I curled in on myself, as if I could shelter myself now, as if I could protect what damaged goods still remained. As if anyone would want them, even if I could.
…I was the girl who cried wolf. But I vowed to myself that I would not be the girl who let the wolf win.
…I didn’t know what to make of the music I made that evening, The song was pained. It was real. It was raw… and new. Fresh, like nothing I’d played before. And all the while I played it, I thought of my new student. That should have been my first warning.
… Sarah was an unstoppable force, like a Category 5 hurricane, and we’d all just been wrecked by her power.