African love stories? Is that not some kind of anomaly? This radical collection of short stories, most published in this edition for the first time, aims to debunk the myth about African women as impoverished helpless victims. With origins that span the content, it combines budding writers with award-winning authors; the result is a melting pot of narratives from intriguing and informed perspectives.

These twenty odd tales deal with challenging themes and represent some of the most complex of love stories. Many are at once heart breaking yet heart warming and even courageous. In Badoe's hilarious 'The Rival', we encounter a 14 -year-old girl who is determined to capture her uncle's heart. His wife, she decided would just have to go. Mr. Mensah the uncle is all of sixty years old.

Crafted by a stellar cast of authors that includes El Saadawi, Ogundipe, Magona, Tadjo, Krog, Aboulela, Adichie, Oyeyemi, wa Goro, Atta, Manyika and Baingana, there is hardly any aspect of women's love life untouched. From labour pains to burials, teenagers to octogenarians, and not to mention race-fraught and same-sex relationships, the human heart is all out there: beleaguered and bleeding, or bold, and occasionally triumphant.

It is highly recommended that you the reader take the stories one at a time, so that you meet the women protagonists individually. So that you can listen to them and hear their hearts properly" whether Sudanese, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Nigerian or Zimbabwean. As for the tales as a whole, you might find them eye-opening, perhaps even inspirational, but above all, you will be entertained by them.