The Man I Love

You don’t want just another “contemporary romance.” You don’t want a genre. You want a story that mirrors your longing. “You want to see the unspoken words in your heart on the page. You want to be touched and validated. You want to be swept up in a love that erases the universe and sets you at the center of a new galaxy. But you’re no fool… You want it to be believable. I want that, too. I want to write passionate but thoughtful love stories. I made up my own genre: I call it emotionally intelligent romance.” – Suanne Laqueur Those words quoted above where part of the words from the author under the book’s description at amazon. I don’t really know where to start. I’m literally lost for words. For the first time in a long while, I am afraid I’ll mess this up and not give justice to what I’ve read through my review. The last time I felt like this was when I read I Love That About Her . They are not the same book. Not even the same genre. But I’d say there are books that will leave you silent after you read them, making you mull over what you just read, going through some bits and parts of what you read inside your head. Then you sigh. And both of these books made me feel that way. I don’t know how to write this review without spoiling it for those who haven’t read it and at the same time pour all the thoughts and emotions that this book made me felt. And that’s when I remembered the words quoted above that I have read before accepting to review this book. This is not just another book, this is an emotionally intelligent romance. And it was also an emotionally intelligent written book. So let me start where it is easy… the Point of View (POV) at which it was written. As oppose to most people saying books written in first POV are better because it made them feel like they were the character, I love books written in third person because they let me as part of the story. First POVs makes me feel like reading a diary, an outsider invading someone’s privacy. Third person POVs let’s me see the story like I’m there. I was a personal witness watching everything unfold. And reading ‘The Man I Love’ made me feel like I was one of the people in Erik’s circle. Watching his life unfold, at times having this urge to smack him in the face and at times wanting to cuddle him in an embrace and tell him everything will soon be better. I was not being told the story. I was part of the adventure as I turn on every page. Reading ‘The Man I Love’ was not just another ride to a happy ever after novel. It’s not about the fairy tale but more importantly it tells a story of a life. A journey. Life that includes real emotions and not just the fairy tale – anger, happiness, hurting, all those ups and downs. This book had me confuse at some point. There are things that I don’t agree with but I do understand. I have this notion that ‘just because I understand it meant I agree with it’, this book though had me in reverse, I don’t agree with it but I understand.’ I don’t know if that make sense to you. I can’t articulate it myself. I just don’t know that there were points where Erik’s reactions and decision were the exact opposite of what I believe in, or what I would have done but then I know where he’s coming from. I can clearly see why he reacted the way he did. And I understand him. And that understanding had me continue finding out what he’ll be up to when otherwise I would have close the book and walk away. The same thing with Daisy. There was a point that I don’t agree with the way she dealt with her life. I may have never been there but I felt her pain. And having those feelings connected I was able to accept her and the things she did. Reading this book was an amazing experience. It made me feel a lot of emotion. It even opened feelings I thought I have buried deep long ago. But that’s not all. it also opened my eyes a little more. Gave me a better understanding of why some people do the things they do.

This story is fantastic! I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will honestly say that it fits my superb category! The start of The Man I Love was a bit slow, but then it began to pick up pace throughout the read. It begins with a little history about a boy named Erik and how he found his way into the theater as a backstage hand. Then he meets Daisy, the most beautiful woman that he has ever laid eyes upon. Once he watches her dance on those pointe shoes with those powerful legs of hers, her astonishing beauty and talent begins to tip his world upside down. Their relationship blossoms quickly, making them inseparable in and out of the theatre. Among Erik and Daisy, a band of close friendships form among other dancers and backstage workers. All too soon, this particular group of friends are forced to endure one of the most traumatizing moments of their lives—together. A shooting within the theatre during a practice session will ultimately destroy a part of the group’s lives forever. Afterward, love is tested. Friendship is tested. Strength, courage and mentality are tested. Will they be lost forever, living among the event that took away their happiest moments as lovers and friends, or will they be able to find themselves before it is too late? My favorite characters within this story are Will and Lucky. I can say that I did enjoy reading about Erik and Daisy a lot, but I really enjoyed Will’s personality and joking manner along with Lucky’s intelligence and ability to function in traumatic events. I agreed to read this story before even reading the synopsis. This is a general rule that I use when accepting any request because reading the synopsis allows you as the reader to form a prejudged conception of what the book is going to do for you. This story was a major impact on me and I really took to the psychological aspect of the novel. The mental breakdown that each character faced, while not all details in full like Erik and Daisy, the concept and the impact was evident. The author does a wonderful job with conveying the characters in ways that the reader can truly feel a sense of understanding. While not all decisions were easy to accept, the understanding behind everything was revealed by the end which made the story hold so much more depth and intrigue. One of the morals that I took away from this story is that everything happens for a reason, but that reason is imperfect as humans often are. We fall, we become confused or lost, then we find a way to pick up the pieces and follow your heart. It may take a short period of time to find that person that you once lost sight or if may take several years. While The Man I Love is not for the weak-hearted, I would suggest also that it is not for anyone under the age of eighteen. This story covers a lot of loss, heartbreak, tragedy and pain; however, it also encompasses happiness, forgiveness, love, friendship and understanding. All of these emotions really captivated me and kept me entranced within the author’s writing. On the topic of writing, this author does a terrific job of keeping everything within meaning. Even though the pace was slow to start and quickened throughout the story, I felt that this did not hinder the story in the least. The development of all characters is absolutely astonishing as well as the grammatical context. I did not find myself experiencing difficulty reading, other than wiping away tears that clouded my vision from time to time. I would definitely recommend this to both men and women because it is not necessarily told from a man’s standpoint, nor a woman’s point of view. It is simply a narration of the events that occurred within the lives of Erik Fiskaire and Daisy Bianco. This story deserves the full five stars because it was well written, original, highly-enigmatic and intense. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I love this author's writing style. I read wonderful stories all the time, but the actual craft of writing from this author continues to blow me away. Erik and Daisy meet and fall in love in college. She's a world class ballerina, and he does the technical design. Everything is going wonderful for them. Their romance is perfect. School is great. By all signs, the future is nothing but up, up, up. After a tragedy, it's impossible for them to get back on track. This is the journey of their love and despair and the eventual finding of themselves. It spans many years. I didn't read anything about this story before starting it. Every emotion hit me hard, and I had to ride it out fully. I want to go into detail about all my feels at each point, but I don't want to spoil anything. Just know that you aren't going to want to put it down, but you may have to a few times to wipe your eyes. It's beyond beautiful. It broke my heart at times and overfilled it others. The Man I Love is not to be missed. Exquisite. Moving. Defining.