As love is as intense an emotion as one gets, it occasionally leads us to make poor choices – choices that are hurtful to the ones we love. Have I learned interesting facts of history? No! I have been told in a few short sentences about the conniving behavior and bribery of those in power, but there is no continuity to the historical facts. There is little substance to show me how the people were affected by life under these leaders. They merely appear and disappear. Like some other reviewers I was expecting to read descriptions of Damascus and other parts of Syria that would give a true feeling of the area and that was one of the reasons that I got the book. There didn't appear to be much of this, there was hardly anything to describe or give character to the areas it was set in. Financial abuse occurs when one partner in a relationship controls the other's finances or uses money to control their behaviour. This can take many forms, including withholding money, stealing money, coercing their partner into signing financial documents, and even sabotaging their partner's career.

Throughout the narrative we get glimpses of a hostage situation, but it's not until the climax that we find out who is the gunman and who is the hostage. Unfortunately, financial abuse is often overlooked or misunderstood, and many people do not realise that they are experiencing financial abuse until it has escalated to a dangerous level. Therefore, it is essential to understand the signs of financial abuse and how it can impact both parties in a relationship. The Darker Side of Love spans the years from late 2007 to 2010 telling the tale of a group of middle-classed friends dealing with life. As the title suggests this isn't a cosy story of how love can conquer all but rather how love can be dangerous when offered to the wrong person. A number of serious issues are covered in the book including, domestic abuse, grief, substance abuse and adultery to name a few. Really enjoyed it, not quite as much as the previous two- (Luxury will always be my favourite, I just adored the glamour and insane wealth and indeed 'luxury'.)The characters are believable and sympathetic. I ached for Harriet and Stella in particular. More than one scene had me crying. This is not a blub fest though, there are light and funny moments, it covers the full gamut really.

All those fairytales, all those stories, and movies you’ve heard and watched growing up, lied to you. Love is never enough because love is not rational. You hear that love is irrational all the time, yet you still hear the same people saying that love is enough to keep two people together. A woman once loved a man with a large wart on his nose. She thought him the most handsome man in the world. Years later, however, she noticed the wart one morning. 'How long have you had that wart on your nose?' she asked. 'Ever since you stopped loving me,' said the man sadly." This story introduces us to four women who are firm friends. Caroline, Stella, Izzy and Harriet and their partners/husbands are the focus of this story starting in the nineties. Initially, it can seem a little overwhelming with the amount of characters that appear very early on. However, when you begin to understand each of their lives it becomes easier to distinguish between these very different characters.As the book starts all the couples; Izzy and James, Harriet and Wills and Stella and Jonny are all settled in life. Caroline, James' sister is single and feels on the edge of the group due to her status. The story unfolds and we see that none of the couples are quite as secure as first impressions suggested and secrets and lies test their relationships. Told in chapters covering the key times when the group are bought together such as New Year's Eve the reader is left with gaps, this device moves the story along nicely without becoming bogged down with the minutiae of daily life. As the brothers prepare to say goodbye to their mother, old wounds are reopened and they are forced to deal with the fact that what was once a family is no more. The death of the mother is the pivot around which the film revolves. As we enter the world of Julian, Michael, Steven and Chanel, we find that each is searching for identity and we are part of that quest.