Come Here Often? Toronto’s Love Stories.
If you've lived in Toronto long enough, you've probably got some sort of a love story right here. Whether it's a stolen kiss at a Scarborough intersection, or a picnic in Trinity Bellwoods, there's a lot of love in this city.
The fire that was lit by Fifty Shades of Grey may have since cooled down, there are still plenty of readers looking for sensual and steamy titles. There are a great deal of readalikes out there, including some that skillfully blend the erotic with the literary. What's more, we've got our very own Toronto-based read!
Check out Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Renard (a pen name; the real author remains a mystery!) The storyline is similar: an attractive older man seduces a younger, naive woman and the relationship that develops is both dangerous and unconventional. In these books, Renard introduces Gabriel Emerson, a professor at University of Toronto, that is a well-known expert on all things to do with Dante. His young lady is graduate student, Julia Mitchell (who got accepted into Harvard, but could only afford U of T, albeit admitting that it is the 'Harvard of the North'!) You could also check out the sequel, Gabriel's Rapture, and follow up with Gabriel's Redemption.
Russell Smith's Girl Crazy is another steamy exploration of love and sex in Toronto. When a disgruntled college instructor and a 20-something wild-child collide, only disaster can strike as they both delve deeper into the seedier parts of their overlapping lives. This is also available as an ebook!
Multiple characters navigate a series of complicated relationships in Zoe Whittall's novel, Holding still for as long as possible. While not a typical love story, it's a great look at the often painful ways we search for love and respect, all set around the Parkdale area.
In Something Remains by Hassan Santur, various characters' stories interconnect, including Andrew, a loner photographer/taxi-driver, and his former flame, the gifted and troubled Sarah. The scenes in which they wander the streets of Toronto, reigniting their previous passionate and flawed relationship, are sincere and heartfelt.
In a similar vein, Girls Fall Down by Maggie Helwig, which you may recall as the 2012 One Book for Keep Toronto Reading month, also follows a pair of former lovers as they explore the lines of their old relationship and the new one they begin to build.
Have a favourite Toronto love story? Share it with us! And don't forget, the Yonge Street Project is also available if you'd like to share and document all types of personal stories along the world's longest street!
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