AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album three and a half stars out of five and wrote: "Benét returns to what he does best on Love & Life: making music for love-making. Slow and sultry and steeped in Stevie, Marvin, Luther, and especially Quincy Jones-produced Michael Jackson and Prince's forays into quiet storm, Love & Life is a consolidation of Benét's strengths as a seduction artist. Arriving after the turgid turmoil of Hurricane, this is frankly a relief, as Benét demonstrates a lighter touch throughout Love & Life, shedding any suggestion of personal revelation in favor of courting clichés without blushing."[2]