Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation

Sociologist Eva Illouz has made it her career to explore the intersections of romance, capitalism, and psychotherapy. This book is a more-polished version of her previous work, Consuming the Romantic Utopia, that delves ever so slightly more into psychology (including a number of interviews) and less into history. If you've read one, it's probably redundant to read the other but it's an incredibly insightful analysis nonetheless of how capitalism, culture, and class influence how we think about relationships. The prose itself is clear, but obviously as an academic, leans a little dry.