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The Second Ending
Not yet published
Expected 1 May 26A former prodigy who refuses to believe her best years are behind her and a young virtuoso searching for his passion both get an unlikely shot at their dreams in this sparkling debut about second chances, unexpected joys, and the miraculous power of music.
Prudence Childs was once the most famous kindergartner on the planet. After teaching herself to play piano at age three, she performed at the White House, appeared on talk shows, and inspired a generation to take up lessons. But as adolescence closed in, Prudence realized that she was being exploited and pushed into fame by her cruel grandmother, so she ran away. Broke and alone, she took a job writing commercial jingles, which earned her a fortune but left her creatively adrift.
Now forty-eight, with her daughters away at school, Prudence agrees to compete on a wildly popular dueling pianos TV show to reconnect with her inner artist. Unfortunately, her new spotlight captures the attention of her terrible ex-husband, Bobby, who uses the opportunity to blackmail her over a long-buried secret. If she doesn’t win, she won’t just be a musical failure; she’ll also be bankrupt and exposed in front of millions.
Her on-air rival, virtuoso Alexei Petrov, a young internet sensation with a massive audience and a dreamy Russian accent, has problems of his own. His demanding parents made him a technically flawless pianist but left him without friends, hobbies, or any kind of life outside his music.
As they prepare to face off onstage, the retired prodigy and the exhausted wunderkind realize that the competition is their chance to prove to their bad exes, tyrannical family members, and, most important, themselves that it’s never too late to write a new ending.
Prudence Childs was once the most famous kindergartner on the planet. After teaching herself to play piano at age three, she performed at the White House, appeared on talk shows, and inspired a generation to take up lessons. But as adolescence closed in, Prudence realized that she was being exploited and pushed into fame by her cruel grandmother, so she ran away. Broke and alone, she took a job writing commercial jingles, which earned her a fortune but left her creatively adrift.
Now forty-eight, with her daughters away at school, Prudence agrees to compete on a wildly popular dueling pianos TV show to reconnect with her inner artist. Unfortunately, her new spotlight captures the attention of her terrible ex-husband, Bobby, who uses the opportunity to blackmail her over a long-buried secret. If she doesn’t win, she won’t just be a musical failure; she’ll also be bankrupt and exposed in front of millions.
Her on-air rival, virtuoso Alexei Petrov, a young internet sensation with a massive audience and a dreamy Russian accent, has problems of his own. His demanding parents made him a technically flawless pianist but left him without friends, hobbies, or any kind of life outside his music.
As they prepare to face off onstage, the retired prodigy and the exhausted wunderkind realize that the competition is their chance to prove to their bad exes, tyrannical family members, and, most important, themselves that it’s never too late to write a new ending.
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Expected publication May 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2025
I fell in love with this book. I couldn't find the correct version in goodreads. It's got the wrong publishing year and I couldn't find a way to report it to Goodreads.
Prudence was a child prodigy on the piano but has given it up. Desperate times and blackmail has driven her to accept a place on a wildly popular TV show. In order to go, she has to re-examine her skills and what caused her to quit in the first place.
On the other side of the coin is Alexei. He has also been playing since he was young. He is driven. His parents have moved heaven and earth to make sure that he can do nothing but play his music. But have they done too much for him?
I was compelled by this story. I couldn't put it down. It was riveting.
Prudence was a child prodigy on the piano but has given it up. Desperate times and blackmail has driven her to accept a place on a wildly popular TV show. In order to go, she has to re-examine her skills and what caused her to quit in the first place.
On the other side of the coin is Alexei. He has also been playing since he was young. He is driven. His parents have moved heaven and earth to make sure that he can do nothing but play his music. But have they done too much for him?
I was compelled by this story. I couldn't put it down. It was riveting.
February 22, 2024
What a lovely read! As a musician, I very much enjoyed all of the musical references. The pace was great with short, consumable chapters. Loose ends were neatly tied up. There were a lot of endearing moments and I found myself rather attached to the characters by the end of the book.
December 10, 2023
I am a pianist and I loved this book!
March 18, 2025
Fell into a reading slump when I was reading it, but it also brought me out of it. Enjoyed it more with the last half.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews