What You Don't Know by Lizzie Enfield

What You Don’t Know is Lizzie Enfield debut novel. The cover gives a kind of cosy feel but doesn’t give anything of the story away. When I read the synopsis I couldn’t wait to get started as it seemed so different to your normal romantic fiction with the love interest being a plain,balding man! Not the usual hunk we are used to!

Plot

You’ve been together for fifteen years. You’ve got two gorgeous kids and a great career. All the boxes are ticked. You wouldn’t be tempted by a plain, slightly balding man called Graham.... Would You?

When Graham Parks walks into Helen Collins’ life, the last thing she expects is to fall for him.

He’s nothing like her handsome, successful husband, Alex.

But fifteen years is a long time and Helen can’t help wondering what it would be like to sleep with someone else. Has Alex secretly been thinking the same thing? As harmless flirtation develops into something far more complicated, Helen’s perfect world begins to look shaky.

My Opinion

The book gets off to a comfortable start throwing us straight in to the storyline without a gradual build up. I thought we were going to meet the “balding man” half way through the book so I was pleasantly surprised how early on in the book we meet him.  We meet our main character Helen when as her seemingly honeymoon period of marriage is wearing off. Having had children and returning to work part time and with husband Alex working away a lot it seems like she feels things could be greener on the other side.

Lizzie writes with pure emotion which shows through in Helen’s character. It did take me a long time to connect with Helens character as at first in the book it felt as if she was determined to have an affair but as the book progresses it becomes clear that through life’s stresses and strains which have an impact on her marriage she seems to have lost herself, and starts to question her husband’s intentions.

It was hard to see what attracted Helen to Graham, putting his looks aside I think it was just the fact that he had time to sit and listen to her and make her feel appreciated. I think it helped that Grahams character came across as a little bit vulnerable.

This is not a light-hearted, humorous read which is what I was expecting it to be. This book is full with pure emotion and shows the difficulties some people face after years of marriage. It will defiantly get your mind working.

I think what really came through for me was actually how realistic the storyline is, it defiantly had me thinking people are actually going through these emotions on a day to day basis.

An ideal read for anyone looking for a more indepth storyline, which is realistic and packed with emotion.