SMART LOVE by Vincent Fudge II is a blisteringly honest relationship self-help manual based upon hard-won knowledge learned by a knucklehead of a main character the author names Edward, though he admits right up front that Edward the knucklehead is actually himself. Edward is off-and-on married to Ebony, a woman he’s chosen to have children with, and it quickly becomes obvious why the protagonist of this autobiographical tale might need an alias, for the story opens with the fact that ‘Edward’ and Ebony have become involved with the legal system because he recently put his wife’s head through a wall. What’s useful about this story is reading about how Edward and Ebony endeavor to figure out whether or not their marriage can be saved, accompanied as this conundrum is by helpful sociological/psychological ‘try this’ type exercises intended to benefit readers towards strides in their own personal growth.

The plot of SMART LOVE is effectively driven by Edward’s and Ebony’s will-they-or-won’t-they stay together question, yet this is also what’s most frustrating about the book since it soon becomes evident that, though both members of the couple claim to love the other person, what they mean may be very different from how other people define — and what they desire — when using the term ‘love.’ Edward admits early on that his relationship with Ebony was never a soulmate thing, but rather a we-both-want-kids-let’s-parent-together connection with the two of them attracted enough to be able to scratch each other’s sexual itches, but in most other ways they’re basically incompatible. Beyond regularly triggering verbal, emotional, and (most illegally) physical abuse — the latter of which occurred on four different occasions, and though as often instigated by the wife as by the husband — these individuals just don’t seem to enjoy each other’s company, nor do they have similar communication styles. Improving communication, however, is a skill that can be learned. And all the practical tips offered are where this book shines.

Changing toxic relationship patterns along with achieving genuine internal growth is hard work, so for a couple who don’t seem to even like each other much, investing an entire year beyond the recent abusive incident attempting to evolve together is laudable. The pair certainly do know one another better by the end of the year. The problem is, a main reason Edward claims they are putting in all this effort to potentially avoid divorce is for the sake of the children, but readers will not be able to keep themselves from wondering if children raised from birth amidst this amount of rancor are likely to grow up unscathed.

A profusion of lessons learned saves SMART LOVE from being a merely unpleasant time immersed in the perspectives of two people who may or may not be entirely better off apart.

~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader