The Man I Love by Suanne Laqueur Genres: Contemporary
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Publication Date: June 16th 2014
Pages: 592
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Erik Fiskare once had the bravery to make a gunman stand down. But now he lacks the courage to confront his own past.As a college freshman, he is drawn to the world of theater but prefers backstage to center stage. The moment he lays eyes on a beautiful, accomplished dancer named Daisy Bianco, his atoms rearrange themselves and he is drawn into a romance both youthfully passionate and maturely soulful. It is a love story seemingly without end. But when a disturbed friend brings a gun into the theater, the story is forever changed. Six lives are lost and Daisy is left seriously injured, her professional dreams shattered.Traumatized by the experience, the lovers spiral into depression and drug use until a shocking act of betrayal destroys their relationship. To survive, Erik must leave school and disconnect from all he loves. He buries his heartbreak and puts the past behind. Or so he believes.As he moves into adulthood, Erik comes to grips with his role in the shooting, and slowly heals the most wounded parts of his soul. But the unresolved grief for Daisy continues to shape his dreams at night. Once those dreams were haunted by blood and gunfire. Now they are haunted by the refrain of a Gershwin song and a single question: is leaving always the end of loving?The Man I Love explores themes of love and sexuality, trauma-physical and mental-and its long-lasting effects, the burden of unfinished business and the power of reconciliation. Through Erik's experience we reflect on what it means to be a man, a son and a leader. A soul mate, a partner and a lover. What it means to live the truth of who you are and what you feel. What it means to fight for what you love."A gorgeous, riveting novel with a cast of complex and memorable characters. It seduces the reader with its engaging storyline and depth of emotion, and resonates long after the last page is turned." -Ellen Harger, author of Strong Enough and The Anonymous Blog of Mrs. Jones
Let me just start by saying when I selected this book I had no idea what I was getting into; I had never heard of the book or its author. During the first chapter I was confused – I had not read anything so captivating and detailed in a very long time and was surprised. By the time I got to chapter three I was hooked and could not put it down.
The story of Erik and Daisy (from Erik’s POV which I love) is a beautiful story of first love and tragedy and how people (no matter what the age in my opinion) handle very extreme situations. I also liked the idea of people tending to repeat behavior they learn from their parents even when they do not mean to and in this book Erik did just that. Suanne does a wonderful job taking the reader on the journey with Erik and both the reader and he figure it out almost at the same time – nicely done. There where times I was frustrated with Daisy but again coming from Erik’s POV it makes sense because he was frustrated. The secondary characters (especially Will) are well thought out and are an integral part of the story (Will again but wont give it away) and are sometimes fun sometimes not – but help move the story forward. I was happy with the ending though it felt rushed to me – like there was more to work through for Erik and Daisy but my understanding is that there will be another book which I am sure will wrap up the story for them and I hope they get their HEA.
All in all a fantastic story and would highly recommend it.
