Book Review: What He Never Knew by Kandi Steiner

What He Never Knew (What He Doesn't Knew #3)

by Kandi Steiner

Release Date: February 21, 2019

Source: Author

Goodreads

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 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. 

I have to protect my heart every time I start a new Kandi Steiner novel. Since I absolutely LOVED the duet before this book, I knew my heart had to be prepared entering this book! 

It's been two years since the love of his life didn't choose him. Now, Reese is just trying to make it day by day. When he takes on a new piano student for the headmaster of his school, he's shocked to find a broken girl that understands exactly the hurt and heartbreak he's dealing with. Sarah was broken to the point of no return, and now she's a shell of who she used to be. Sarah will do anything to be good enough to reach her dreams of playing the piano at Carnegie hall, which means becoming vulnerable and showing the emotions she's kept locked up since she left school is impossible. Reese is slowly unlocking those emotions and learning how to be human again alongside her. 

Wow. The moment this book starts, your heart is going to shatter and slowly put itself together again with each page. Sarah is violated in the worst possible way and we see her at her lowest point, trying to just get through life. Watching Sarah and Reese connect was so emotional and magical and it was amazing how Kandi can create two such broken people and help heal them. While this was an age gap (21 and 37), I never felt like Sarah and Reese weren't capable of being equals. Because of the life experiences they had and the betrayals they had experienced, they were able to connect with each other and fall for each other because of it. 

Not only was the relationship and the romance spot on in this book, the music that Reese and Sarah connected over was breathtaking. I loved how lost in the music the characters would get and how they would communicate with the piano. I could feel how important the piano and music was to both of these characters and how vulnerable they would become while they played. The music gave their romance so much more depth and meaning. 

If you can't tell, I absolutely adored this book. This is definitely a very emotional book that you have to go in ready for characters to be broken. The beauty of this book, though, was watching these characters learn to love and feel again. I loved seeing Reese finally have a chance at becoming whole again and I think everyone needs to pick up this book!