Heart and Soul

Bestselling author Sally Mandel writes vibrant novels peopled with richly-drawn characters whose lives move readers to both laughter and tears. Now she has created a remarkable story about the profound risks that are taken in the pursuit of a dream.

For pianist Bess Stallone, a self-taught musical prodigy from the tough side of Long Island, getting into Julliard was a minor miracle. It just wasn’t the kind of school girls from her blue-collar neighborhood attended. In fact, the only thing Bess had in common with the other Julliard students was her singular passion for classical music, which she could play magnificently. Except in front of an audience. From her first disastrous recital, Bess knew that she would never be good enough for the stage, as her bitter father had been telling her for years. But one willful, determined teacher would change everything.

Renowned virtuoso David Montagnier has already captivated the world. Now he needs a new partner for his two-piano repertoire, someone to breathe fresh excitement into his work. Drawn to her wild talent, David challenges Bess, seducing her with music and offering her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get out of Rocky Beach. As David leads her from their first terrifying performance in a Harlem church to standing ovations at Carnegie Hall, Bess allows herself to surrender to the joys of life, and to believe in love.

Then the romance crumbles. For David’s brilliance masks the wounds of a tortured genius that may never heal. Forsaken, Bess must make a fateful journey of her own–to search once again for the music missing from her heart.

Resonating with wit, warmth, and profound insight, Heart and Soul is a triumph of emotion, a flawless symphony of realism and romance that celebrates life, love, perseverance, and an enduring passion for music.