Review of Smart Love

[Carolina Guerra]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Smart Love" by Vincent Fudge II.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Smart Love by Vincent Fudge II is a personal project with a principal goal: to save a marriage. The author leads a step by step process to align his and his wife's goals to either be the best couple they can be together, or to prove that they should be apart. It contains a mixture of the events, challenges and agreements that happened during the year of this project and enough anecdotes about the previous marital years that enrich the reading experience. It also contains exercises and reflections that the reader can find useful.

I was happy to see that the book is not only a proposal to find the ingredients that could keep a couple together; it is a deep and transparent document about Vincent Fudge II thoughts, desires, faults and frustrations. It is a nonfiction story about how both parts, husband and wife, drove the marriage to a toxic stage. I liked that even when it's written from his point of view, he does consider his wife's perspective and what he learned from it.

I was so involved with the narrative that it felt like I knew the couple. I felt the desperation and the hope in their ups and downs. If you can read this without judging, you'll not only find an interesting approach to heal a relationship but an intimate experience filled with growth and empathy.

I found many positive aspects in this book. I didn't find any errors. It seems exquisitely edited, which is why I give this book 4 out of 4 stars .

I recommend Smart Love to anyone in a relationship or with a past-relationship. Even if you have the healthiest of marriages, you'll find some thoughts and scenes interesting and hopefully illuminating. I believe this book has the ability to tell you that you are not alone, that sometimes it is hard to communicate and that any relationship takes two people willing to stay on it.

The book contains some religious quotes, but it is not an spiritual book. It does not tell you that you should forgive everything or honor your wife because the Bible says so. Those quotes are there only to provide some depth and to ensure that you'll take the time to reflect on every anecdote before continuing your reading.

I think a feminist person can read this book, but it could be hard to stay objective because this book starts with a toxic relationship and a violent episode that triggers the desire to amend things. If you are a feminist, I'd say to only read if you can let go of any judgment. The book does not justify or defend any violent events, but explains how it escalated and everything behind it.

I want to thank the author for writing this book with such vulnerability. It allowed me to compare and reflect about my own thought process in my relationships. It opened my mind a bit more, which is always a fabulous gift for the reader.

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Smart Love
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[Christina Puttre]

I felt the the book could benefit anyone in any form of a relationship. There were good pointers that could benefit everyone. I also appreciated that the husband was able to view things from his wife’s perspective. Empathy goes a long way in making the steps to repair a relationship.