Love is Never Painless

Love is Never Painless
Zane

**** ( 4/5)

I am not a big Zane fan. I have read a few of her books, but I am not a big fan of erotica or what ever you consider her genre. This book arrived as part of my main selections that I forgot to cancel and when I saw the title and the dedication, it looked somewhat interesting and nothing like her previous novels that I’ve read, so I decided to maybe give it a try.

The dedication was “To everyone who had tried to make a relationship work” or something to that effect. That along with the title “Love is Never Painless” gives you a general idea of the plot of this book. The books is three “novellas” that demonstrate the true and painful nature of love and relationships. The first story highlights a relationship between two childhood female friends. The second novella highlights a man who is having trouble understanding and letting go of a relationship – to the point that it is hindering his new one and third novella highlights love tested and untimely ruined, but not without a fight.

The first two stories were good, but for me it was the third story that caught my attention and truly haunted me. I started reading the last story first and was so captivated I decided to keep the book and read the entire thing. I don’t want to give away too much, but the third novella is one of the most poignant and powerful short stories I have read. The emotion and pain were real and I felt as if I was a part of the family. Maybe because I had seen this before and been in a similar situation, but wow. If you do nothing else, I think you should read the last story. The love and all the other emotions in this one still ring out in my mind.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend. As I mentioned before, it is not typical Zane material, so it is safe for pretty much everyone, espcially those of us who truly understand the title an/or appreciate the dedication (i.e. anyone who has ever been in love).

*I have nothing against Zane- I think she is a good writer and I have enjoyed some of her books ( mainly this one). I also respect her as a writer, publisher and a business woman. I am not a prude or anything, I just enjoy books with substance- and not the sexual kind.

Like Sheep Gone Astray

Like Sheep Gone Astray

Leslie J. Sherrod.

*** (3.5/5)

This was the January Book selection for book club # 2. First time I’ve read a book by this author and the first time I read a Christian themed mystery.

Anthony Murdock is a young, prominent African American pastor who left a lucrative job and salary to follow the God's calling. However, the devil followed him and threatens to ruin everything in the form of lust and greed, when Anthony "overlooks" a little extra (bribe) money. As Anthony’s conscience and spirit catch up with he tries to undue his wrong, with out completely undoing everything else has worked for. Anthony also must content with a conniving, sinful wife who believes Anthony’s “preacher thing” is only a fad and she tries to lure him back with flashiness and greed of her own. In Anthony’s quest to make things right and find out who is out to get him, he draws strength from the powerful story of Samson, who went down with his own enemies.

This book is cumbersome at times. It’s long, the story goes a few too many places and there are too many characters. I along with some other members of the book club admitted to skipping entire chapters when certain characters were involved because they just didn’t add to the story. Other than that this was an all right read. I enjoyed it and was kept guessing until the end. It wasn’t too preachy, but had just the right amount of a message to keep it going. Especially the powerful chapter where Anthony draws strength from the story of Samson. There were also some very powerful sermons that could rival some of the best you’ve heard.

Verdict- Worth it, but bring a little patience.