I won this book in the Goodreads giveaway section (Yay) and I have to say I am glad I entered.

First of all I would like to start off by WARNING potential readers to make sure you have spare time before starting this one because it hooked me in from beginning till the end.

Alexandria (Alex) Carmichael and Seth Richards have been best friends since elementary school, now at College the two are still inseparable Seth is a social butterfly always attending parties. While Seth is good looking and a g More...

I first found out about I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs from a fellow book blogger - aobibliosphere
aobibliosphere
The description enticed me and after reading the first chapter I was totally hooked.
The story centers around two college freshmen who have been best friends since elementary school, Alex and Seth. Alex is the only person in the world who knows Seth has a secret. Seth is gay and doesn't want anyone to know. Alex has no problem keeping the secret, the only problem is he's not only More...

In A Nutshell:
The expectations I had after first reading the description of I Loved You First did not at all prepare me for what I got out of this story. I thought I Loved You First would explore friendship, but it explores more aspects of friendship than I expected. I expected a story where one friend had fallen in love with the other friend and a story where one friend was hiding his true self from the world. I was surprised to see the story explore a friendship where one friend lost her sense More...

Alex and Seth have been best friends since childhood, when she rescued him from bullies. Now they’re older and in college and Alex’s feelings for Seth have changed. She’s gone from loving him to being in love and would even settle for being a part of his active rotation of dates, but they’re all a front and she knows it. He’s gay and there’s no way he’ll love her the way she wants, as much as she wishes for it.

Seth is one of those pretty golden boys who girls flock to and other guys can have who More...

I admit that I was a bit reticent at first to try this book because the topic isn’t my cup of tea, I was unsure. Now I can say that I don’t regret reading this story. Reena Jacobs wrote moving picture of the troubles adolescent can go through. It’s remarkably well done. I could sympathise with Alex and I loved how she is mentally growing at the end of the book. She has learned that she must first and foremost love herself and that you must always be true to your feeling if you don’t want to hur More...

Alex believes herself to be invisible, living in the shadow of her best friend Seth. Seth is athletic and sociable, and is in the closet that however, doesn't stop Alex from being in love with him. Still, she doesn't feel that she needs anyone else in her life. Of course, that all changes with Seth's secret is let out of the bag. Alex finds that she isn't as invisible as she thinks she is, and that maybe he isn't the only person she needs.

I didn't think I was going to read this so quickly. Once More...

Alexandria is in love with someone who has no chance of loving her back-at least in the way she would like. Seth, her best friend, is gay. Their friendship is sweet, they have been friends for many years and Alexandria does not intend to throw away their friendship over her crush. Alex knows that Seth is not straight, but she is the only one and is forced to watch the parade of girls that Seth dates more for a show than anything else. The reader will enjoy understanding the motives behind Seth's More...

I Loved You First by Reena Jacobs is a very sweet read. By that, I mean the story is very different, something that I had not read before and I thouroughly enjoyed every page of it!
The book is a stroy of two best friends, Seth and Alexandria, who have been BFFs since first grade. Alex is deeply in love with her best friend, however, the tiny problem here is that seth is gay. Both of them keep their secrets to themselves. Alex is the only one who knows Seth's secret and Seth realises hers eventu More...

I Loved You First follows Alex, a freshman in college who has a thing for her gay best friend. It details her difficulties and discoveries as she explores her emotions and deals with how to find herself within them. Helping her along her journey book are Seth (the gay best friend), Dink (a football player), and Trinity (a classmate).

This book was difficult to read, but it was well written. The characters were strongly written and the pacing of the book moved nicely. There was a lack of a typical More...

Wanting to check out a really good LGBTQ novel ? One that is aimed at Teenagers and in both African and Caucasian Viewpoints ? I Loved You First tells the story of two college students Seth Richards and Alex Carmichael. One is gay and the other straight , One male and the other female , One Black and one White. Alex and Seth have been friends forever and now reaching college-aged Alex is in love with her best friend Seth , though of course she knows that she can never be with him that way and th More...

I received this book from the author. Here is my honest review.

The blog tour is coming up, so here's my review for the novella! It is a very quick, easy read. It flows pretty well, too. It wasn't predictable for me, so the whole time I was reading I was never quite sure where the novella was going to take me. I had a couple ideas, but none of them really came about. That was okay, because by the end I suppose I was pretty satisfied.

I have to say, though.. I didn't like the relationship Alex has More...

Thank you to author Reena Jacobs for this e-book. This was a quick, interesting read that deals with relevant issues. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed the friendship aspect of Alex and Seth's relationship but struggled with her unrelenting feelings for him. When we meet them, they're at the point where she's known for quite sometime, years in fact, that he will never be able to love her the way she wants him too yet she still pines in secret. We don't always fall in love with the More...

I normally don't read YA so when the author approached about being part of her blog tour, I figured I'd give it a try. After reading the blurb, I was intrigued. I love stories about unrequited love.

Seth and Alex (Alexandria) have been best friends since elementary school. The novella starts off with both Alex and Seth being freshmen at the same college. Seth is the All-American Boy. He's good looking, excels at baseball and all the girls want him. But he's hiding a secret that only his BFF knows More...

What I didn't expect when I first started reading was the emotional turmoil that the characters have to face.

What I liked: 1) The concept. I really appreciate unrequited love, because I've had many unrequited crushes in my life. Not any that are as long-lived as Alex's for Seth, but still. I'm totally able to empathize, and it's clear that Miz Jacobs knows how to write those emotions clearly and concisely. 2) Alex 2.0. I liked Alex a lot near the end, when she finally was figuring out what she w More...

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 th More...

I Loved You First was a quick and enjoyable book - I really liked it. Alex and Seth are in college and have been bff's since elementary school. At some point in their relationship Alex fell in love with Seth. Unfortunately for Alex, Seth is gay.

I have to say, I love the name Alex for a girl! Love, love, love it! At first I wasn't feeling Alex. I mean, I liked her, but she was so content on being Seth's shadow and following him around like a puppy, and that drives me crazy. However, I liked her More...

I don't understand unrequited love at all, probably because I never experienced it. If I liked a guy growing up and he didn't like me back, I got over it and moved on pretty quick. What I especially don't understand is Alex's unrequited love for Seth. She thought that he was awesome, but why couldn't friendship be enough for her? It's not like he was going to have a serious relationship with another woman. That bothered me about this novella, but I admit that maybe I just don't understand becaus More...

Parts of this novel were entertaining, but I was expecting more. I think what affected my enjoyment of I Loved You First was that I didn't like the main character at all. I thought Alex was incredibly selfish and not a very good friend. In the end, she takes a step in the right direction, but considering all that went on throughout the novel, I don't think it was enough. Also, she is supposed to be in love with her best friend, but she never really says what she likes about him except for the fa More...

I Loved You First is the story of Alex and Seth. It's a story of friendship, love, personal struggles and growth. It's a story of getting lost in the shadows of someone else. It's a story of rediscovering the person that you are.

Alex is desperately in love with her best friend Seth. She will do anything for him. Even to the extent of relegating herself to the backburner. But it doesn't matter how much she loves him, or what she does to make him happy. Seth will never return her feelings. For Set More...

***Book received by author in exchange for review***

I don’t normally tend to read stories with a LGBT storyline. I have read Hushed by Kelley York, so when I was approached by Reeba Jacobs to review her book and be a part of the re-release blog tour, I was intruigued enough by the summary to agree. I’m kind of obsessed with anything in the New YA/Mature Adult category, plus Reena has one of the awesome-est (is that a word?) review request. First of all, at only 196 pages, I think this book would More...

Alex is used to being in the shadow of her best friend Seth. He's out-going and popular. Seth is the kind of guy all the girls fall for, including Alex. There's just one huge problem. Seth is gay. Alex knows this, but no one else does. She is about to learn how hard it is to keep someone's secret, and how hard it is when you fall for the wrong person. Can Alex learn to be her own person and step out of Seth's shadow? Also, can she learn to deal with her feeling about Seth?

This book is a very mod More...

** I was sent this book by the author for an honest review**

I Loved You First is a novella length love story that had me hooked from the very first page. Alex, a college freshman, has fallen in love with her best friend Seth. It seems like a pretty straight forward romance but for the fact that Seth is gay. Alex is the only person that knows the truth but this doesn’t change her feelings for him. Alex is forced to stand by and watch Seth as he dates a string of girls, while her heart silently br More...

(My full I Loved You First review can be found at Agrippina Legit)

I Loved You First is an easy, enjoyable read with a positive underlying message. Its stand-out feature is the strong character voice of Alex, which remains consistent and appealing throughout the book. The first person narrative quickly draws the reader into Alex's world and encourages them to empathise with her situation.

Alex herself is a likeable character. While, at times, her choices were frustrating, I never resented her for More...

This seemed like an interesting concept for a book. It was definitely something I hadn't seen before. Basically Seth and Alex (Alexandria) have been best buds since first grade. Alex loves Seth but Seth is gay and only loves Alex as a friend, maybe little sister.
In the beginning of this book I didn't like either character, I found them both whiny and total drama queens. Alex is so wrapped up in being friends with Seth that it's he everything. Seth is so wrapped up in his facade and poor me rout More...

As you can tell by the title of the book, I Loved You First is a story about love and, me being the sucker for romance and love that I am, I was eager to read it when she gave me the opportunity to do so. I'm so glad that I did!!

Straight up, I absolutely LOVED this book. The story of a girl named Alex and her love for her best friend Seth - it sounds so simple at first but the wrench in the plan comes from the fact that Seth is gay. Alex knows this but it doesn't change her feelings even though, More...

First of all I'd like to say a big thanks to Reena for asking me to review her book and also for asking me to take part in her up-coming blog tour, it's always amazing to be asked to take part in these events.
I have to say, I loved this book and although it's a novella and quite short it tackles a very important issue and with sensitivity, care and has just as much impact as a full length novel would have.

Alex has just started college along with her best friend Seth who she has known since they More...

I Loved You First hooked me from the very beginning and never let me down.

Alex really loved her friend Seth. She wanted to be more than friends, but he was gay. Yes, he was still in the closet. He covered up by dating different girls and then dropping them for one reason or another.

Here is a quote from when they were on the motorcycle:

"I took off with a jerk. Seth hated when I did that, but it forced him to grip me even tighter. He scooted forward with his thighs encasing mine, and his groin pre More...

Being in love with your best friend is complicated and it makes matter worse if your best friend is gay!

Alex is in love with her best friend Seth. And, he is gay.
She still cherishes the small amount of time they spend together even if it doesn't lead into anything. She is happy just being his side-kick. He drags her to parties and games and she goes with him, always beside her and somehow she has lost herself in his shadow.
I liked Alex. She is shy and scared of facing the world on her own. I c More...

Review: I couldn't wait to read this book! It sounded like a fun, interesting, and probably emotional read; plus, I felt like I could relate to Alex on some level. It happened in high school; instead of the guy being just my best friend though, he was also my boyfriend. I was delighted of course, but I always felt like something was really off about the relationship. We broke up after about a year and I was crushed. Fast forward to a couple of years later, after we had graduated high school, and More...

This book really spoke to me. I suppose it might be because when I was younger I had a good friend who was a lesbian and I had a severe crush on her so i could really identify with the problem our protagonist Alexandria faced. She also had the added burden that they had been best friends since childhood adding to the pain of the unrequited love.

I thought author Reena Jacobs handled her internal conflict with tact, sensitivity, and real pathos, without ever making her pitiful and whiny. Not an More...