Amazingly good stories. In particular 'Todd' was just fantastic. ( )

Deborah Willis has crafted one lovely group of stories in The Dark and Other Love Stories.

This collection is full of humor and intriguing content. No, seriously. I was thoroughly impressed by not only Deborah's incredible writing style but the imagination behind these stories. Some of them were just wild! The weirdest yet most interesting was a girl falling in love with a man who wants her to be a bird. Like... what? How does one come up with THAT idea? Impressive.

My favourite was the story about a woman going behind her boyfriend's back and trying to go to Mars. It was funny and yet really moving. My heart ached for the poor man as we watched the scenario unfold. But my gosh, so good! It's hard to get emotions like that for a book!

I would highly recommend this book. Not only is it not your typical anthology full of love stories and dark and twisted humor, but it's also just really well written. Deborah has a real talent and it'd be a waste for this book not to find a bigger audience (also, she's Canadian. Represent!).

I do think this book may fit into a niche category for some readers, since it's not purely about love and romance. This book is not a romance book, it is a contemporary novel written with love themes. That being said, if you go into it understanding that this isn't a romance novel and it's purely based on theming and creative stories, you'll love it. I sure did! I thought it was a fun ride and I'd love to pick up more by Deborah in the future.

Overall, I'm thoroughly impressed by this book. I will continue to recommend it until my dying days, because it's a real, secret, Canadian gem!

Four out of five stars!

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

What Willis accomplishes in three pages will leave you spellbound and mesmerized. The well crafted characters found in these thirteen stories are all on the edge of the unknown danger that keeps the reader enthralled in suspense. What would you do if your girlfriend was planning on moving to Mars or if a man approached your teen daughter claiming that he teaches girls to fly? Stories sharp in detail and strange in the twists of love; these tales will haunt you in the journey taken and where they will leave you. ( )

What Willis accomplishes in three pages will leave you spellbound and mesmerized. The well crafted characters found in these thirteen stories are all on the edge of the unknown danger that keeps the reader enthralled in suspense. What would you do if your girlfriend was planning on moving to Mars or if a man approached your teen daughter claiming that he teaches girls to fly? Stories sharp in detail and strange in the twists of love; these tales will haunt you in the journey taken and where they will leave you. ( )

THE DARK and Other Love Stories by Deborah Willis (Fiction, Canadian, Short Stories)

What an incredible range of characters and POVs! - and not a romance in the bunch ;-)

Just some:

THE DARK about two girls at summer camp who dare each other to go out in the dark when everyone is asleep.

THE GIRLFRIEND ON MARS- weed grower & dealer & his live-in. She decides to sign up for a reality show on which the winning couple mans the first flight to Mars. He narrates what he sees on the show but all he says is not accurate.

(FORGET THE TITLE) A middle-aged American man visits the site of his late grandmother’s apartment in St. Petersburg and, not wanting to go alone, he hires a prostitute to go with him.

LAST ONE TO LEAVE is a very touching story of two survivors of different events who find each other but are eventually parted by death.

I liked best - TODD about a recovered addict just starting out in a new life, wanting his 10-year-old daughter to live with him, and in the meantime living with Todd, a crow that finds its way into the apartment through an open window.

FLIGHT: a teenaged girl runs away from her home in Victoria and hits the streets of Vancouver. She meets Eddie – that saves her from prostitution and drugs. She eventually returns home & carries on with her life. Years later, on the Sky Train, Eddie recognizes her and she denies knowing him.

THE ARK: Leanna and Toby as kids hate each other. We follow them from age six to adulthood in just a few pages.

THE HOLE and THE NAP touch on the fantastical. ( )