One of our newest reviewers Jess is sharing her reviewers celebration post. We are so glad she joined our team with her love for all books especially f/f!
Check out Jess her post and don’t forget to enter the giveaway 🙂
Hey there, everyone! I think I’m the newest reviewer here on Love Bytes, so I was a little nervous trying to write this. I still feel like the new kid in class. But whenever I feel nervous about anything, I try to put it in writing, so I hope that works here today!
Let’s see. A little about myself. My name is Jess, I live in Minnesota, and I’m a 24-year-old graduate of creative writing and literature. While my SEO-writing job might not be the most glamorous creative option, it still allows me to write daily, which is great. I also work nights a few times a week at a gas station, so I meet a lot of interesting people while drinking a lot of free coffee. My hobbies include listening to podcasts, going on walks, taking way-too-long naps, and watching true crime shows. I also have a cat named Miss Fuzz who has no eyes. She might walk into stuff sometimes, but she walks into my heart every day! Sorry, that was an awful joke.
I can’t remember exactly when I started reading LGBT romance, but it was a layered journey. I’m a lesbian woman who enjoys LGBT works of all genres, not just lesfic and not just romance. I’d read a few Sarah Waters historical books before college and loved them, and Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex is one of my favorite books of all time. My first M/M book I read was Damon Suede’s Hot Head when I was in my first year of college. Two years later, when I’d come out to my friends and family, I read my first F/F book—Radclyffe’s Above All, Honor. These two books awakened things in my that I never thought even needed awakening. As a gay person, I’ll always feel closest with other gay people. I’ll always have an intimacy with them, an understanding, that I might not get with straight people. And these books allow me to have those little intimacies with hundreds of LGBT men and women every time I turn the page. It was like finding a special sort of family who understands and loves me for exactly who I am.
In 2018, I managed to carve myself out my perfect work schedule—four very long 12-hour days at two different jobs followed by three days completely to myself. This opened up my schedule to having plenty of time to do exactly what I love most—reading! Nothing makes me happier than settling down with a Starbucks and my Kindle to read the latest LGBT romance. Love Bytes has made this even more fun, because I can share with so many others which books made me laugh, cry, and cheer. I can share the way those books make me feel. And what’s better than that?
Thank you for reading this small part of my journey as a reader and reviewer. Love Bytes has been such a fun experience so far, and I hope to be with the blog for many years.
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Thanks for your post, Jess! I love learning how books have influenced someone’s life. I am with you on liking a 4-day workweek. I did that for years and years and recently had to go back to 5 days (plus some on weekends) and I greatly miss my old schedule.
Thanks for the little peek into your life. Good luck and many years on reviewing!
I like the diversity of the reviewers on this site.
Thanks for reviewing for Love, and to Dreamspinner for the GC. Middlesex was indeed amazing. Always looking for works that good.
Thank you for the personal post!
Thank you for the post, Jess. I hope you continue reviewing for Love Bytes for a very long time!
Thanks for being a reviewer.
Thank you for sharing.
I love HOT HEAD myself!
Jess…isn’t reading just the best?!!! Since retiring 3 years ago I read and review constantly. Being able to choose a book to meet my mood is the best ever.
Thanks for sharing and reviewing!
Thank you for the post Jess and for sharing about yourself!
thanks for sharing a little about yourself Jess!
now Jess you seem to have that work/life balance sorted!!!
thanks for your thoughts
Thanks for sharing your experience so far. Great that you like being a reviewer for lovebytes. Looking forward to reading more from you. And it’s always nice to meet other people, who work 4 days a week^^
Thank you for joining the review team at Love Bytes Lets hope there will be many more reviews 🙂
I really appreciate the hard work of all the reviewers
Thank you Jess
I’m picturing you crying and laughing over your Kindle in Starbucks now. 😉
Thank you for the post! I enjoyed reading a little bit about yourself…
I, too, hope that for this blog and you this anniversary is just one of many more to come. Thanks for the post!