What He Doesn’t Know by Kandi Steiner
Publication Date: March 15th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Photographer: Perrywinkle Photography, Lauren Perry
Cover Designer: Kandi Steiner
On the northeast side of town, there is a house.
The house was once magical, filled with love and joy and plans for the future.
Inside its walls are many things that belong to me — my books, the china from my mother on my wedding day, the beautiful cage once home to two birds, now empty, just like me.
And a man.
A man who also belongs to me.
A man I no longer wish to keep.
A man who, no doubt, has not slept, though the sun is rising. Because the house where he waits is where I laid my head to rest every night for eight years. Until last night.
No one who knows me would believe Charlie Pierce, the quiet, bookish girl who never made waves is pulling out of the driveway of a man who isn’t her husband.
But they don’t know me at all.
I don’t even know me.
Not anymore.
They say there are two sides to every story, and I suppose in most cases, that’s true. But the one I live inside of? It has three.
On the northeast side of town, there is a house.
But there is no longer a home.
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They say there are two sides to every story, and I suppose in most cases, that’s true. But the one I lived inside of? It had three.
I am on of the few who believe there is never two sides to a story – most would consider me cynical in my thinking and that is quite alright with me. Because there is never two sides to a story – there is side A, side B and the truth. And in this book, this story has ALOT of sides and each one is the truth, just depends on which character is telling you the story.
For those of you who are not fans of love triangles and cheating, this book will be difficult for you to read. If there is no way for you to understand why someone would cheat, do not read this book. For the rest of us, this book will be a great read to us.
Kandi does a great job with this book and the story of these characters. Everything plays out perfectly and the flow of everything is so smooth and natural. Nothing is rushed and you get to relish in the minute details of the story. This book is told mostly from Reece and Charlie’s POVs, as the story surrounds them and their past and how that leads to decisions they both make in the present.
I won’t go into details about what happens as the reader needs to experience everything firsthand. I will tell you that Charlie is kindergarten teacher who has been married to Cameron for 8 years. Cameron works for the same company that Charlie’s father started. Reese is Charlie’s brother’s best friend from high school and close to Charlie’s family. Reese is moving back into town for a teaching position as the same school Charlie teaches at.
I like Charlie – she may be quiet and reserved but she’s always been that way. She’s not exactly naïve, but she definitely doesn’t get out a lot. I love that she battles with herself – with her feelings, with her decisions, with her relationship not only with her husband, but with Reece. I love that she never gives up.
Reese – I have a lot of mixed feelings on him. He’s respectful of Charlie and her marriage. He wants to be her friend, if nothing else. But when she is at her weakest, he uses that to his advantage and doesn’t care at that moment that she is married. And that does not sit well with me. I know that he is fighting for what he wants, but damn that just irks me.
Cameron – I don’t like him one bit. Nope, you can’t change my mind either. I don’t give a shit how hard he tries to win her back – too little, too late. I get that he has his own demons from his past, but dude needs to realize he fucked up 5 years ago and that’s what broke everything.
“I love him Reese,” I whispered, the words cutting me like a dull razor blade as they left my lips. I knew they penetrated him just the same.
“Doesn’t change the fact that you love me, too.”
While I enjoyed the plot and angst given, just didn’t care for the two men. However, it’s not because I couldn’t relate to them, but because their actions annoyed me. How do I explain this – there are times when I don’t care for characters because the author just wrote shite characters (can’t relate to them, they bring nothing to the story). In this case, Kandi wrote characters that you are either going to love or hate because of how well she wrote them and the role they play in the story. And in this case, I want to tear their balls off and shove them down their throats For me, that’s what makes a book great – I feel strongly about a character, good or bad.
Overall, this book was great. Was it outstanding for me, no. I did not get that whole “holy shit, this book is a MUST READ” feeling. Mostly because I didn’t feel 100% vested in the characters; my heart wasn’t vested in the story as much as I have been in others. And that’s ok – others will feel more than I did. I do want to know how this story ends and where these characters end up. I just somehow missed the whole emotional roller coaster on this one.
About the Author:
Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.
Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).
When Kandi isn’t working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.
Connect with the Author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KandiSteiner/
Twitter: @KandiSteiner
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Website: http://kandisteiner.com
Awesome review court!!! Shared on all my socials!!