The Pain of Pleasure is a gothic of the modern era - dark, atmospheric, and erotically charged (more on that later). This book comes out of the gate swinging with a setting that immediately pulls you into it and swallows your imagination. It’s an abandoned church in the heart of Brooklyn, NY. From this church a man, known only as “the doctor” runs an experimental research-based headache clinic. His patients are eccentric and widely varied, from children to the elderly, rich and poor, educated, junkies, and more. However, most notable among them is Ms. Adele Watson - not only a migraine sufferer, but also the clinic’s main benefactor. Constantly pushing the boundaries of her patient/doctor relationships with the doctor already, when Adele learns of an intense case the doctor handled with a patient named Sarah, Adele enlists the help of a new nurse to steal Sarah’s journal from the doctor and uncover the missing woman’s secrets on her own. But with the most bitter wind storm the city has every seen blowing closer every day, the patients are eventually forced to gather in the church for shelter and it becomes clear the effects the doctor has had on his patients is more extraordinary than they have before realized.

This is a novel with a few erotic elements scattered within, not something I would have marketed as outright “erotic fiction”, as I have seen it listed in some places. These elements, where they are found throughout the book, however, are perfect elements for a gothic novel. And with the storm leading the way through most of the book, I’d say this is more gothic fiction than erotic.

I also believe that the cannabis use portrayed in the book wasn’t done in a way that showcased due diligence on the author’s part to do properly research the effects of such drug use. As someone who uses cannabis regularly… I was a bit confused by the reactions of various characters to simply ingesting THC gummy. I’m not trying to assume, but it was like the author had only ever read about the effects of cannabis used and not partook themselves or talked to anyone who had. It was just… strange.

The writing style was really hard for me too get in and the plot would have been so beautiful if it was rewritten well.

Unfortunately, the writing style of this novel was not for me. I tried multiple times to immerse myself and do not believe I was the correct audience.

This book is a bit difficult to rate. Every piece on its own was strong - I enjoyed the characters, the topics, the prose - but it was hard to read. Intensely literary and at times clinical.

The plot was entirely character focused, and I’m not usually a fan of that, but it did work here. It just isn’t my usual sort of read.

There’s a bit of a mystery element to this work as well, and it turned out not to be about that so much as about the character. So, regarding that, I was a bit disappointed. I had also expected more of a religious element, but it wasn’t really there.

It was a gorgeous book, but very dense. Though there were certainly passages that made me feel deeply, it felt at times almost like reading a textbook.

All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I am conflicted.

The pain of pleasure is largely is "good" novel, it is interesting, the three POVs are helpful to the story progression, and the writing is well done, but it just wasn't entertaining?

While the book is largely "technically sound", there was always something missing for me.

Disclaimer: I was given an electronic Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The most striking thing about this novel to me was the interesting format and structure of the plot. It's a novel very much in the literary vain, though I will say, that I found the ending to be significantly more satisfying than most literary fiction novels. The language was also just beautiful in this book. While it was not a favorite read for me, the novel poses a lot of interesting questions about the nature of pain, and it made me think critically.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. I was attracted to it because I am a migraine sufferer. I did enjoy the sections spent discussing migraines and how they work, but that was where the enjoyment ended.
The cover promised that the book was two aspects: both a mystery/thriller and “erotic.” In the end, it was neither. The mystery centers on Sarah, a patient of the headache clinic who disappeared. This mystery lives on the fringes of the story, given little attention and never being resolved in any meaningful way. There was nothing “erotic” about the novel, either, so I question including a quote on the jacket that called it such. Most instances of sexual activity were described in a disgusting way. Many scenes bordered closer to r*pe than sex.
All of this could be forgiven if the story had good characters pulling us through. Unfortunately, this was not the case. They were all flimsily developed and seemed two-dimensional at best. None of them were given a satisfying conclusion either. It felt like the author wrote half a book and then decided she would just end in the middle of the plot. The prose was also at times confusing. I’m all for flowery and purple prose, but the book was so slow, it only hindered my reading experience.
I was really excited about this release. It was a lot different that what the quotes and cover promised.
I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Readers' Copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley.

What is the meaning of "pain?" What is the meaning of "pleasure?" What happens when the two merge together, creating a perfect storm of euphoria, addiction, and obsession? These are some of the questions posited by "The Pain of Pleasure," an electrifying new novel from the mind of Amy Grace Lloyd.

"The Pain of Pleasure" by Amy Grace Lloyd tells a tale through the perspectives of three different characters: the Doctor, who has something to hide; Ruth, a nurse who was hired to keep tabs on the Doctor; and Sarah, the Doctor's former patient who has gone missing. Sarah's chapters are presented as journal entries that were left to the Doctor. These three storylines converge as a disastrous storm rages outside. I read this ARC because I thought this would be a rather interesting read. Even though it was a bit confusing in some parts, I still enjoyed it.

I thought that the characters were interesting and endearingly flawed. Each character read like they had their own unique voice, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. I also really liked how each of the characters' stories unfolded over the course of the novel. Each storyline had me engaged and interested, for the most part. Finally, I just really liked how thought-provoking this novel was. This story has definitely left me with some topics to think deeply about. The only thing I had a slight issue with was the writing style. The syntax was a little strange sometimes, which caused me some confusion while reading.

Overall, I felt like "The Pain of Pleasure" was a hard-hitting addition to the literary fiction genre. With engaging characters and an interesting, expansive plot, it was an enjoyable read that I kept me wanting more with each page I read. Both rousing and hard-hitting, "The Pain of Pleasure" is a book that isn't afraid to ask complex moral questions--ones that the readers will think about long after the last page is closed. I recommend this book to anyone who is in the mood for a challenging read. I had a great time reading this, and I look forward to the author's next project.

Rating: 4/5

A story that follows multiple POV’s, include a doctor who runs a headache clinic, a nurse hired by the clinic’s patron to spy on the doctor, and a former patient of the doctor’s who has gone missing. As a migraine sufferer, I really appreciate the depth with which the author explained migraines and even learned some things.

While the dedication to write in the voice of a doctor was very successful, it did leave a bit of a void where emotions are concerned. I had some trouble feeling like I could truly connect with the characters. It felt like I was watching a story unfold through a window pane on a rainy day, I could understand what what happening and everyone was playing their parts very well, but I felt disconnected and alone.

Because of this, my favourite scenes were ones that did not have the doctor in them. When it was just the nurse and the patron there was some like that entered the story and I enjoyed those chapters much more.

Thank you #NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

I think this book COULD have been great if it was cut by about 100 pages.

This is a combination of environmental issues, pain management and addiction. This could likely be qualified as erotica, but it's FAR too long.

thanks anyway~

I had high hopes for this that unfortunately the book didn't reach. I thought the blurb was a bit misleading, and the focus of the book was inconsistent with the title.

This is story about doctor who work in pain-management practice, specialist in Chronic migraine. The story not focus only on the doctor also people around him, the patient, the nurse, the owner of clinic. And there is climate change that make extrem weather. I think these book need more develop and structure also good format.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#ThePainofPleasure #AmyGraceLoyd #RoundaboutPress #NetGalley #ARC

This book was ok! I didn’t like the format in which it was sent though because I couldn’t read it on night mode on my phone.

But overall this book was entertaining.

I'm so sorry, the writing and story with this one didn't do it for me at all and unfortunately I didn't finish the book.

This was very interesting to read. I was drawn to the parts that detailed migraines as I grew up with my mom suffering from their effects of them. I do as well.

The book also is written with a strange relationship that I wanted to understand between the two main characters. It fell flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC for the purpose of this review. Three stars!

With a language that tries to hard to be something it’s not and flat characters that you don’t really care about, this book was a disappointment. I can see some readers really love the story and there was some scenes that was good and erotically interesting. Sadly, I’m not one of those readers.

Thank you for the chance to read!