“Loving her felt like building something. A cathedral. Spires and bells and stained glass. But she broke one window and I indiscriminately tore the whole thing down.”Spanning fifteen years, Suanne Laqueur’s award-winning series follows a young man’s emotional journey back to the truth of himself and a woman he can’t forget.Erik “Fish” Fiskare is a student of technical theatre at a Philadelphia … at a Philadelphia university. At twenty-two, he is the lover and soul mate of Daisy Bianco, a beautiful and talented ballerina. His best friend is William Kaeger, Daisy’s charismatic, bisexual partner. When Will embarks on a disastrous affair, it pushes Erik’s tolerance and Daisy’s trust to the limit. Until the day Will’s lover brings a gun to rehearsal, intent on stopping the show.
“This was the real story. This was how it started. Not with locked eyes during romance and sex, but with blood. With locked eyes in a crisis. Helping even though it hurt. Making your fingers let go even as your heart was breaking. To do what you had to do to survive so the story could go on being told.”
The three novels of The Fish Tales explore how a single act of violence sends shock waves through a tight-knit circle of adolescent friends, rearranging their atoms, breaking bonds and unconsciously shaping their adult lives. Erik soon discovers that in the face of heartache, grief and betrayal, love is not always enough to make you stay. But sometimes, it’s the only thing that can bring you back.
“She’s a generous and forgiving partner. I can be one, too.”
From college to adulthood, through love and loss, devotion and betrayal, estrangement and forgiveness, Erik and Daisy will take you on an emotional journey of love and truth.
“At some point, Fish, you just have to start living the truth of who you are and what you feel. You never forgave, forgot or got over Daisy. You just left.”
more
Loved this series! Suanne Laqueur is a master storyteller. 5+ stars. Highly recommend!
This entire series is incredible and I came to it at exactly the right time.
The Man I Love is from Erik’s point of view and is all about the bonds of love, romantic, friendship and family and how it can survive through horrific events.
Give me Your Answer True – From Daisy’s point of view but not a complete retelling of the original story, it is heartbreaking as you watch her descent, using self harm to control her pain. It is overwhelming and absorbing, you feel everyone’s pain as they reconnect at the reunion.
Here to Stay – The story of Erik and Daisy finding their way forward together. Just when you think life is finally getting back on track the author rips the carpet out from under you once again. The importance of their friendships really called to me with this one.
Each book gives an insight into the issues of mental health and how people are affected by the events they go through, and how they can be helped back to themselves.
The Ones that Got Away is like you sat down and had a chat with the author about her inspiration and thought processes whilst writing the Fish Tales. I found it really interesting and feel very grateful to the author for sharing so much with us.
I will be recommending this series to everyone as one of my all time favourite reads!
I’m staring at my iPad trying to find the exact right words to sum up how I feel after finishing The Man I Love. Well, first I had to splash some cold water on my face cause my eyes were swollen from crying, then I had to take a few breaths to gather my thoughts. I’m still having difficulty finding words.
The Man I Love is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I feel like I’ve gained four new friends in the form of Erik, Daisy, Will and Lucky. I’ve experienced writing like I’ve never experienced before. This story was extraordinary. It was such an intense journey and I think the reason it worked so well for me was that I got to follow these characters through fifteen years. I formed a bond with them. A connection. I felt I lived vicariously through Erik especially but also Daisy. Their relationship was raw, honest and real.
This was also an experience in relationships and emotions. How to love and forgive. To accept and let go.
What Erik and Daisy went through was real and believable. Their relationship was a journey and I cherish every moment. No matter how ugly it got because it’s a part of their history. It made them the people they are. Shaped them.
Suanne Laqueuer’s writing is insanely addictive and beautiful. It was like reading poetry. The words took on a whole new meaning and gutted me. Page after page. My heart was filled with love. Love for her words and these fabulous characters. The Man I Love is proof why I love to read. This isn’t just a story. It’s an experience.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know what to expect from GMYAT, which was from Daisy’s perspective, but it’s safely to say that Suanne Laqueur did a number on me. I actually think I love this book more than The Man I Love but it’s pretty damn close. Once again I feel Laqueur pulled my heart out at times. It was such a powerful and profound reading experience. I’m at a loss for words thinking about what I just read. One would think it’s just the same book as The Man I Love. Let me stop you right there. It’s the furthest from it. So many new and important revelations were made and they made me see Daisy, Will, Lucky and the others in a new light. A more admirable light.
Having read The Man I Love was the perfect foundation for Daisy’s story. The characters mattered to me now. They’d become my friends and I cared/care about them deeply. I was struggling with tears just from reading the first chapter. I’d been living vicariously through Erik’s life and now it was Daisy’s turn and it suddenly became emotional difficult at times. I didn’t need this book to make me forgive Daisy’s actions. I already did that in the first book. This was more about her journey towards acceptance and forgiveness towards herself. It was a thought provoking experience. Daisy’s self discovery and road to recovery was awe inspiring. It was emotional exhausting at times, only because Suanne Laqueur captured and explored Daisy’s struggle. It was ugly, raw and very beautiful.
Laqueur writing is poetically mesmerizing. Her words visualizes before me and becomes more than just words. I breathe them in and let them manifest inside me. I want them to stay there because every words matters and is written with so much heart and soul. I don’t want to lose them. I’ve read on her author page that she describes her books as emotionally intelligent romances. I agree! Every character has a purpose and were so complex that I couldn’t wait to peel the layers away. Give Me Your Answer True was cleverly written and her writing feels effortless. This truly is a work of art.
After reading Here To Stay I can finally say that I and the characters have come full circle. This third and final book in The Fish Tale trilogy was nothing more than a masterpiece. The writing was intelligent and there was a purpose for everything that happened in Here To Stay. I have to admit that I was pretty damn angry with the author. It was only after I finished Here To Stay that I can loudly say, that what she accomplished not only with this book but with the entire Fish Tales series was genius.
Here To Stay was for me about the characters and how they grew, had changed throughout the twenty years I followed them. It was all about Erik, Daisy, Will and Lucky. I loved and cherished every moment of being in their company. Not only has this series been about the relationship between Erik and Daisy but also the friendship between Erik and Will.
Erik and Will certainly had a bromance going on with their funny jokes but it was more than that. It was unconditional love. They relied on one another and they stepped up whenever one of them was needed. No question asked. I often got emotional when Erik and Will were around each other and had their talks. They’d been through so much together and when they were apart but still their friendship and love were stronger than ever. They truly brought out the best in one another.
I loved how Erik and Daisy approached their relationship this time around after they’d been apart for twelve years. They showed growth, openness and they communicated. A very traumatizing experience with a certain loss proved how much they truly had grown. I feared they’d both revert back to old patterns but their trust in each other along with their powerful and undying love prevailed. It was an emotional roller coaster ride. I was bawling my eyes out only because I care so damn much about these amazing people.
The writing was excellent. Phenomenal is more like it. Every word mattered and took on an entire new meaning. I’m so in love with this series and can’t praise Suanne Laqueur enough. This has been unlike any other reading experience I’ve ever had. In some way my life feels richer because of The Fish Tales. I’ve followed these characters for twenty years and feel like I gained a new set of friends. This is exactly why I read. Not just this book but the entire Fish Tales series is a masterpiece. I bow down to you, Suanne Laqueur. You got a fan for life.
10 BadAssDirtyAWorkOfArtStars