**** ( 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.
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