Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the I LOVED YOU FIRST Blog Tour. The tour is a celebration of the One Year Anniversary since I LOVED YOU FIRST was published. It is also an unveiling of the new book cover. My stop includes a review and information for the giveaways. YOu can find all the tour information, including blogs, at the tour homepage. Enjoy!
Alexandria (Alex) Carmichael guards two secrets close to her heart. One―she’s in love with her best friend, Seth. Two―he’s gay.
As a freshman in college, Alex looks forward to fun times with her best friend. When Seth decides cycling through girlfriends is the way to fit in with the straight crowd, Alex must make a choice: watch Seth give his affection to another while her heart breaks or come clean with her feelings and risk losing his friendship forever.
I LOVED YOU FIRST is a new adult love story told through the eyes of Alex, an African-American/Caucasian student, who takes a journey of self-discovery while watching her best friend come to terms with his sexuality.
What a lovely and thoughtful book. I anticipated I Loved You First would be a different type of story. I expected it to be about a girl, helping her best friend as he struggled to be open and accept his sexuality. And there was that aspect to it. But the heart of the story was Alex's path to rediscovering her identity, to remember who she is without the cover of Seth's shadow.
Author Reena Jacobs did a very thorough job of bringing Alex to life. She was a character that I could embrace. She's thoughtful, shy, and a loving soul. All she wants is to be loved by Seth. She's willing to play the role of sidekick as long as hit keeps him near. She honestly has no idea who she is without Seth. It's a trap any person can fall in.
I wish I could have known Seth better. It's apparent that he cares very deeply about Alex, but he's so wrapped in his own pain that he treats her carelessly. It's understandable, I guess, since he's dealing with so much. And really, this is Alex's story.
I didn't realize how involved I was in the story, until I realized I finished in one sitting. I had to see if Alex could do it, if she could break free of the restrictions she placed on herself. If she could allow herself a life all her own. I found I Loved You First to be a very nice story with a worthy message.
Favorite Quotes:
"He faced forward and spread his arms. The wind caressed his blond hair as he tilted his head back. Spectacular was the word which came to mine - like the Greek god Hermes ready to take flight. I loved him all the more for his strength...his courage. If only I was the goddess to stand by his side instead of a shadow beneath his wings." (ebook, 14%)
"We were beyond fresh starts. Like a cracked baseball bat, the structural integrity of our relationship had weakened." (ebook, 54%)
You can purchase I LOVED YOU FIRST at:
Barnes & Nobles | Smashwords | The Book Depository | Amazon | CreateSpace
I Loved You First is on sale ($0.99) until August 5th at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The following code can be used at Smashwords.
Promotional price: $0.99
Regular price: $4.95
Coupon Code: XY82H
Expires: August 5, 2012
Coupon Code: XY82H
Expires: August 5, 2012
So every day we’re going to do a giveaway. Each
giveaway will run for 48 hours.
What’s up for
grabs? The giveaway winner will either win a gift certificate from B&N, a book choice Book Depository, or a selection of books from Smashwords.
How do readers
enter? Fill out the Rafflecopter form, along with answering the question on the form.
Grand Prize
At the end of the Anniversary Tour, we’ll be doing a
grand prize drawing. Two winners will be able to select. One randomly chosen blogger host and
one commentator. The prizes! The winners will receive his/her choice from the
following:
- $25 gift card from Barnes & Nobles
- $25 in books from the Book Depository
- $25 in eBooks from Smashwords
- $25 combination of books, eBooks, or gift cards from B&N, TBD, or SW
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Reena Jacobs is just a writer who loves to see her words in print. As an avid reader, she’s known to hoard books and begs her husband regularly for “just one more purchase.” Her home life is filled with days chasing her preschooler and nights harassing her husband. Between it all, she squeezes in time for writing and growling at the dog.Connect with Reena at:
I think you had me at new adult! This sounds like a really good read, I like that it focuses on her growth :)
ReplyDeleteThe first book that comes to my mind when I think of a college set read is Five Point Someone by Chetan Bahgat. He's an Indian author, whose books are just great, and his stories, very nice. We Indians, I mean, at least me, I'm a huge fan of FPS! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review hon!! Okay book set in a college environment. Hushed by Kelley York. I loved that book!!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to go with a book I recently read. Easy by Tammara Webber. I loved that book so much. One of the best that I've read so far.
ReplyDeleteGreat review girl!
ReplyDeleteValerie
Awesome review. This sounds like a very interesting book.
ReplyDeleteI was gonna say Easy by Tamara Webber too! It was a great book.
ReplyDelete--Markella
Easy by Tammera Webber
ReplyDeleteFlat-Out Love by Jessica Park. I LOVE that book:) The girl is a freshman in college and she has to navigate the new environment, she loves her classes, loves being exposed to so many new ideas and she almost outgrows her high school friends. And she lives with a family she really cares for, gets involved with them even though they're plagued by a tragedy she doesn't fully understand. It's the first time her actions have real consequences on others - a huge part of growing up. And her boyfriend is a geeky, wonderful MIT student and it's got the feel of forever love:)
ReplyDeleteYay for new adult books! I wish there were more of them.
ReplyDeleteThe first book that comes to mind is Easy by Tammara Webber.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this one! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful review, Andrea! The first quote is one of my favorites also. The second quote brings back memories of writing the story. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize how tough the question would be for me. I surfed through the stories I've read and came up with NOTHING! Hope you don't mind if I cheat a little. I'm going with a college book I'm looking to read. Easy by Tammara Webber. I keep hearing about it and can't get it out of my mind.
The closest book I've read to having a college setting is What a Boy Needs by Nyrae Dawn. HIGHLY recommended. The characters have just graduated from high school and are on a road trip to college.
The Rebuilding Year by Kaji Harper came to mind, Easy, and your story ;D.
ReplyDeleteEasy by Tammara Webber is a new adult set at college. I absolutely LOVED it. I couldn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteThe first one that comes to find is We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han which is the third book in the Summer series ( LOVE this series!) - the novel takes place at college before eventually moving in a summer house environment! :)
ReplyDeleteCollege.... Easy by Tammara Webber.
ReplyDeleteAnna and The French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins. I can't think of any other book I've read which was in college environment. They're mostly in hugh school.
ReplyDeletePsych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson is set in college :)
ReplyDeleteThe only one I can think of is Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire.
ReplyDeleteA book set in college I adore is Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson.
ReplyDeleteI can think of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Macguire and Easy by Tammara Webber.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favs in a college setting are Beautiful Disaster and Providence by Jamie McGuire, and Five by Christie Rich.
ReplyDeleteA lot of similar answers--titles I recognize. :) Still some new ones for me to check out.
ReplyDelete