Blog Tour: I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs

Title: I Loved You First
Author: Reena Jacobs
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Received a copy from the author as a part of the blog tour.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You like books with a message.
• You like books that tackle real-life issues.

What's The Story:

From Goodreads.com: "My best friend was more than just a best friend to me. Three words summed it up: I heart him. I’d never tell him though. I wasn’t stupid. Besides, what he’d told no one, but me, was a little something I wished I could forget… or ignore. He was gay. I guess gay wouldn’t be bad if I wasn’t so in love with him. Now it was just cruel.

Stereotypes run amok in this college love story: Parties, alcohol, hookups, and breakups. Alexandria Carmichael may find it a bit much as she deals with the unreturned love from the boy who completes her. When all is revealed, not only does she risk losing her best friend forever, but also herself. Without her childhood companion for support, Alexandria takes a journey of self-discovery but fears what she’ll find at the end."

My Two Cents:

I Loved You First is a pretty quick read with a good message. Alex and Seth have been best friends since they were little. Alex wishes that they could be more than more than friends but Seth is gay. Being the good friend that she is, Alex is charged with keeping Seth's secret so he won't arouse suspicion on their college campus; he wants to try to maintain as normal of a life as possible. So while he woos the female co-eds to cover his sexual preference and maintains his reputation as a college jock, Alex is burdened with keeping Seth's secret a secret while trying to bury her own feelings.


There's a couple high points to the book. First, Alex is a great narrator. At some points, I thought it could have been interesting to hear what was going through Seth's head, especially after he is forced to come clean about his secret. The readers do really get to see how Alex grows and changes throughout the book in a really realistic way. Alex has always been content to be in Seth's shadow. Once he comes out, she realizes that she can step out of the shadows and get a lot more out of life. It does take her a long time to realize that she can be her own person and she didn't need to follow Seth around like a lost puppy or that she could have other friends besides him, which annoyed me a little bit. I also felt like Alex could have been a better friend to Seth. She doesn't seem fully aware of everything that he is going through and all of the things that he's dealing with. We do see Alex begin to grow but we don't see her reach her full potential. 


I enjoyed reading this book. Like I said, it's a quick read that tackles a heavy subject with a realistic voice. 

leave a comment, then head over to Reena's blog for a chance to win a signed copy of 
I Loved You First.
follow the tour stops HERE 
*courtesy of aobibliophileTM