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I really don’t know how to describe What He Doesn’t Know besides slightly messy. Let me explain. The book can be described as a second chance romance with a heavy emphasis on a love triangle. The tag reads “They say there are two sides to every story. But in this one, there are three” and that isn’t being overdramatic. It’s very true.

What He Doesn’t Know centers on Charlie. When she was a teenager, she had a huge crush on her neighbor, Reese, who is five years older than her. Unfortunately, for her, him and his family moved to New York when she was 16 years old. She moved on with her life- went to college, got married, and took a teaching position at her old school. Years later, Reese moves back into town and scores a teaching job at the same school as her. This time more heartbroken, since he suffered a devastating tragedy. With him back in town, Charlie questions her whole marriage.

Like mentioned earlier, it is hard to describe my feelings towards this book. It had a centralized plot and flowed nicely. But it was just messy. Messy in terms that the conflict involved was messy for all parties involved. The characters made questionable decisions and not everything was black and white. It is filled with drama and angst.

If someone is looking for light reading, this is not something they should read. There is a wide variety of tough subjects- including death, miscarriages, and cheating.

Characters

It isn’t a false to say that every character is complex and all lean towards unlikeable and not relatable. They were very frustrating and relied heavily on their heart instead of their heart. I think that is the point.

Charlie and Reese’s relationship treaded the line of uncomfortable. The last time he saw her she was 16 years old and he was in his early 20’s. For him to admit that he wanted to kiss her before he left for New York, felt a tad bit predatory. She was a literal minor, and that didn’t set well with me. It would have been interesting to see them fall for each other while both adults, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The author relied heavily on their history, instead of them developing in a linear way. At times, it was hard to even understand the attraction they had together since it was too convoluted with unresolved feelings for when Charlie was a teenager. Especially, in terms of Charlie, Reese kept mentioning how she used to me. He still held dear to this innocent teenager, and attempted to make her that way again.

This is part of a duology. And I haven’t decided if I’m going to read it, but it would be interesting to see how their relationship plays off. It isn’t exactly in a positive place when the book ends. Quite honestly, at this moment, I’m not rooting for them. Separately, I think they have a better chance of developing than together.

Final Analysis

What He Doesn’t Know is an angst-y, messy book.