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This book explores the morality of love and sex, and how distortions of these sometimes develop into abuse. Hayes argues that there are strong similarities between different kinds of abusive relationships, and that these similarities arise out of the common narratives surrounding romantic love and the logic of intimate relationships.

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Foreword; Kerry Carrington 1. Introduction 2. Enchantment and Romance 3. From Disney to Distortion 4. From Distortion to Abuse 5. Sexual Spaces 6. Sexism and Misogyny 7. Sexual Predation and Gendered Norms 8. Conclusion - A Geography of Abuse

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"This is an unconventional monograph offering a fresh look at the relationship between culture, love and abuse. ... I enjoyed Hayes´ engagement with popular culture, and generally enjoyed her reflective, imaginative approach to enquiry. ... This book is a provocation to think eclectically about the connections between sex, love, crime and culture, and deserves to be read." (Jennifer Fleetwood, The British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 56 (1), January, 2016)

"The book is a sensitive and insightful critique of discourses of love, and ´seeks to destabilize essentialist understandings´ of love, harm and intimacy ... . The book is engaging, stimulating, and difficult to put down, and would appeal to academics and non-academics alike due to its versatility and applicability to everyday representations of love and romance ... . I would highly recommend it ... ." (Jennifer Sloan, Crime Media Culture, Vol. 11 (3), 2015)

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Sharon Hayes is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Justice at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Her critical analyses of gender and crime are published in journals such as Sexualities and Critical Criminology, and in previous monographs including Sex, Crime and Morality (2012) and The Politics of Sex Trafficking (Palgrave, 2013).

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