Saturday, November 8, 2014

Crazy Love: A Memoir by Leslie Morgan Steiner| ♥

Saturday, November 08, 2014

Crazy Love: A Memoir
Leslie Morgan Steiner

  • Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 
  • Reprint edition (March 30, 2010)
  • ISBN-10: 0312377460
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312377465
  • Genre: Memoir
  • Buy it: Amazon | B & N 
Image and video hosting by TinyPicSynopsis: "At 22, Leslie Morgan Steiner seemed to have it all: good looks, a Harvard diploma, a glamorous job in New York City. Plus a handsome, funny boyfriend who adored her. But behind her facade of success, this golden girl hid a dark secret. She’d made a mistake shared by millions: she fell in love with the wrong person.  At first, Leslie and Conor seemed perfect together. Then came the fights she tried to ignore: he pushed her down the stairs, choked her during an argument, and threatened her with a gun. Several times, he came close to making good on his threat to kill her. With each attack, Leslie lost another piece of herself.  Why didn’t she leave? She stayed because she loved him. Gripping and utterly compelling, Crazy Love takes you inside the violent, devastating world of abusive love and makes you feel the power and powerlessness of abuse that can take place anywhere and to anyone.  Crazy Love draws you in -- and never lets you go."



  • Well.. this book seems as crazy as it's title. I don't really understand some the negative reviews to this book, people assume the writer Steiner just wanted to brag about her riches and was seeking attention through her book.. Honestly, you don't need to write a whole book to show off! If she wanted to really brag, she could have written Ten ways to get rich and look good. This is much more meaningful then that, it's a powerful and gripping novel about abusive relationships/marriages. It was a depressing novel which did get me teary. Leslie and Conor are two opposite people - Conor did seem strange to me though, and he continued to remain a weirdo by the end of the novel as well. 
  • I thought Leslie should have left as soon as he called her his "property" in the beginning of the relationship. That was a warning sign right there - I'm not surprised she missed it though, when you consider a person your everything - you overlook every single flaw. He makes decisions about both of them without consulting her. He clearly verbally abuses her, then it leads to physical abuse.
  • Leslie had a neglected childhood, so when she found love with Connor she stayed. I think her childhood did play a key role in her relationship with him. That's the psychologist within I, I can't help not knowing why people do things they do. I cannot just accept it like it is. I need reasons. I saw all the signs of an abusive relationship with Leslie - verbal abuse, neglect, physical abuse, isolation etc.. It was a quite depressing read, but I found it fascinating! I believe people should read this novel with an open mind, and not call the writer "weak" for staying in an abusive relationship. 
  • After reading Conor's side, it does make me sympathetic with him, but I find it hard not to judge him after what he did with Leslie. People who bully/abuse others usually weren't like that once. Bullies & abusive people are created overtime. No human being is born cruel. It does make me sympathetic, but it does NOT justify their actions. What's wrong is wrong. What happened to Leslie, happens to many women and men.
  • I thought this was an amazing read, I finished this in one setting of course. It was engaging, I couldn't put it down. I love reading memoirs, I can't find anything wrong with them unless they seem unrealistic or have horrible writing. This novel had none of that so I'm glad I picked up on this one. 
  •  This memoir was raw and honest. I think this novel does a great job of clearing saying abusive relationships are not right compared to most New Adult or Romance novels these days where they try to make this kind of abuse look like "normal romance." Fifty shades of Grey anyone? (Not the BDSM, but the actual abuse!) It's not normal, it's crazy love/dark romance - love that's not right! This novel would be perfect 5 butterflies for me. I would really recommend reading this.


Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & follow :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

Disclosure: Review copy was sent free of charge from St. Martin's press in exchange for an honest review.

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” —Stephen Chbosky 

femmmefatalee@gmail.com

32 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. This book seems amazing. Great review!

    Ivana @ Bookish Teens

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  2. congrats for the review..this books seems very nice

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  3. I like your post and I want to red the book

    http://corleonka.blogspot.com/

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  4. This is a very interesting and detailed review, Benish! Great job! I'm glad you enjoyed this book. I know that I would not enjoy reading it at all, though, because I was in an abusive marriage....Although he never hit me, he DID come very close to doing it -- TWICE. And he was emotionally and verbally abusive, as well as unfaithful. I stayed too long....but I finally left him, and filed for divorce.

    This book needs to be read by those people who are unfamiliar with the dynamics involved in these relationships, so it's great that you've featured it on your blog!

    Here's a link for an article written by the author. The title says it all: "He held a gun to my head. I loved him."

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/he-held-a-gun-to-my-head-i-loved-him/2014/09/12/31fb5720-39c3-11e4-8601-97ba88884ffd_story.html

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts!! : )

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    1. Thank you for sharing the article link, I've just read it. It's really mindbowing and eye opening what she went through with this man. I wish more people knew about this book, it's really underrated.

      - I'm really glad you have gotten out of an abusive relationship as well! Hope you're doing well now, you don't need someone who clearly does not need you. Thank you ♥

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  5. So glad I am across your review as there aren't that many as good as your review.


    Kind regards,
    http://www.loyaltofashion.com/

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    1. Aw thanks so much, glad you think so! ♥

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  6. This was a very informative review of this book and I loved reading your thoughts :) I would not normally read books like this but I am glad you liked it. Great post! By the way I have nominated you for the Opposite Book Tag and you can check out my post here: http://abookparadise.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/opposite-book-tag.html

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    1. Thank you so much for the comment & award tag! Really appreciate it ♥

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  7. Raw and honest is all you can really ask for in a good book.

    /Avy

    http://mymotherfuckedmickjagger.blogspot.com

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  8. Oh wow, this seems like a tough thing to read. I do like writing memoirs, and they often leave me in more tears than a fiction novel would because the lives some people end up living are horrible, and they are real. I read A Child Called It and it was a difficult one to get through and ugh... made me so sad just reading it! I will try this one. It seems like something I would like to try...

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    1. Yes, I agree. A Child called It was just so sad .. This was a pretty tough read as well, I'm just glad the author made it out of this kind of abusive relationship alive. Hope you end up liking this read xx

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  9. Thanks for your visit and your comment dear Benish. Very nice blog, I follow you with pleasure. From Italy... many kisses .Mirtilla

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  10. Very cute blog!
    If you like to follow each other, let me know.
    Kisses

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    Replies
    1. Thank you ♥ & sure, following you right away :)

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  11. I haven't read a Memoir before, but you have me intrigued by this one. It sounds like a pretty emotional read and it is good to see you enjoyed it so much. Fab review.

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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    1. Memoirs are amazing especially because they're realistic tales, hope you look into this one. Thank you♥

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  12. I haven't heard of this book before. I have been reading more lately but it is so hard to find the time to.

    Tracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights

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    1. Yes, so true! We need to make time though ♥

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  13. This type of book will be a first for me; but after your review, it is most definitely going on my TBR list. Thank you so much for sharing this and for the awesome review! Have a beautiful week and happy reading :)

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    1. Aw yaay! Thank you & hope you enjoy reading this book ♥ xoxo

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  14. Lovely review

    Love Vikee
    www.slavetofashion9771.blogspot.com

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  15. this sounds like an awesome book! thanks so much for reviewing:) always nice to read a good and honest review before buying the actual book.

    lots of love xx
    Nee from ROSECANDLE11

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