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 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 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."
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