Bad and Dirty Books: Fish Tales by Suanne Laqueur

The Fish Tales trilogy follows the extraordinary love story of Erik “Fish” Fiskare and Marguerite “Daisy” Bianco. When they meet in college, she is an aspiring ballet dancer and he is learning the behind-the-scenes art of stagecraft. Their love affair is set at the center of a circle of friends, bound by creativity and artistry. Then a shocking act of violence on their campus tears the circle apart and leaves Erik estranged from Daisy for over ten years. The series follows Erik and Daisy’s parallel journeys, exploring the effect one traumatic event in their youth has on their lives and how they choose to deal with the experience as adults.

  Book 1, The Man I Love follows Erik “Fish” Fiskare over a 15-year period, in an emotional journey back to the truth of himself and a woman he can’t forget. During college, he falls deeply in love with a dancer named Daisy Bianco. Their passionate, soulful relationship is destroyed after they witness a murder on campus. The trauma tears apart their circle of friends and leads to bitter estrangement. Yet as he moves into adulthood, Erik is haunted by the past and the things he left unfinished. Did he ever get over Daisy? Or did he just leave? He soon discovers that in the face of heartache, grief and betrayal, love is not always enough to make you stay. And sometimes, it’s the only thing that can bring you back. The Man I Love received a gold medal in Realistic Fiction at the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.

Book 2, Give Me Your Answer True inverts the narrative and tells the story from the POV of Erik’s girlfriend, Daisy Bianco, answering the questions the reader was left with at the end of The Man I Love. Rather than a rehash of the same exact events, the focus is on the years she is estranged from Erik—with some flashbacks—and her own journey as she takes responsibility for the mistakes of her youth without letting them define the woman she is evolving into. Give Me Your Answer True received a gold medal in Realistic Fiction at the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.  

The third book, Here to Stay, follows Daisy and Erik into the next phase of their lives together. Though separated for twelve years, the extraordinary bond forged in their youth has endured. But when your soulmate has caused you indescribable pain, how easy is it to forgive? How much trust is needed to place your heart back into the hands that once broke it? How much faith does it take to ask the question, "Do you still want me?" and believe in the reply: "I still want us."