It’s been an incredible ride for almost six years, and for the most part I have really enjoyed it, so it is with great regret and mixed emotions that I announce the closing of Reviewsbyjessewave effective January 2, 2014.
Please note that you won’t be cut off entirely from the site as we will try to keep it open for awhile, but after January 1 there will be no new content. You will still be able to access past reviews or posts, but you won’t be able to comment. This, I think, is a reasonable compromise instead of shutting down altogether.
A bit of history about this site: Reviewsbyjessewave started out as a small blog on April 8, 2008 that I set up on the advice of an online friend. I just wanted a place to review books I wished to read, rather than the stories the sites I was reviewing for decided I should read and review as they really weren’t into this emerging romance sub-genre and it was difficult for me to post my reviews there. To be fair, there weren’t many male/male romance books available in the early to mid-2000’s. Since then, the genre has exploded, with hundreds (maybe thousands) 😆 of authors and a plethora of books. Another on-line friend, Christian Otto, who was reviewing for the blog at the time, persuaded me to move to a website format in 2009 after a year of struggling to meet the needs of readers who could not access it due to the heavy traffic and the limitations of Blogger. Christian then became the (unpaid) Webmaster as well as my partner, which added an incredible workload on top of his already busy daytime job.
Two years later (Aunt) Lynn joined Christian and me in March 2011 when it became crystal clear that we needed additional help and expertise if the site was going to continue, and the three of us became a team. Lynn was already a reviewer here by that time and it was a natural progression for her to move into the role of technical expert in the areas where Christian and I needed her expertise, as well as manager of certain areas of the site, such as the free giveaways and overseeing the new reviewers. For me it was great to have two wonderful partners, but not long after the popularity of the site turned it into a 24/7 project for all of us and it was no longer fun – and it was fun initially, but it became all-consuming because of the need to manage such a huge number of daily visitors, which imposed an incredible and unanticipated burden on our bandwidth allowance, server capacity, and created new technology requirements.
In addition to the massive amount of time it takes to run this monster, we have had to upgrade our technology a number of times, with a corresponding exponential increase in hosting and other costs and increased workload pressures to keep it going at an optimum level. It has now become impossible to continue operating without a huge infusion of cash and twice the number of hours we currently dedicate to site operations. I was not prepared to invest additional resources above what Aunt Lynn, Christian and I have been contributing to cover the hosting fees and software costs as it was never my intention for the site to become a business. As most of you know, from Day One I have refused to accept paid ads or charge any fees, opting instead to provide free advertising for authors and their books by profiling them in different ways. The costs to renew the current hosting agreement or obtain a new vendor (along with the time issues) have become prohibitive with no offsetting revenues, so the decision to close, while painful, is the only course of action we feel is available to us.
I’m proud of the record of reviewsbyjessewave, which in addition to book reviews has been a strong voice on many social issues such as bullying, teen suicides, the effects of coming out of the closet, etc. In 2008 I organized our first author book giveaway at Christmas – a paltry thing compared to what it has become today and this is one tradition I’m sorry will end this year. In addition, I spearheaded the first of several comprehensive lists of readers’ favourite gay books which were completed with the help of other readers. Also, In mid 2009 I dared to write several posts asking why there weren’t more diverse M/M books which stirred up a hornet’s nest as usual because I always went where everyone else was afraid to tread. Here’s one of them. Now several years later we have an exhaustive list of diverse M/M books, with the input and assistance of readers and authors. There is also an incredible number of author interviews that I conducted over the years of which I’m very proud.
Because I love to have fun, I even interviewed four favourite characters from two series that I love – Ty & Zane from Cut & Run and Will & Taylor from Dangerous Ground; these fictional characters’ interviews out-muscled those of real people and blew them away. 😀 😯
This site originally started out as a review blog for readers, but it soon evolved into a venue and resource for authors too, and I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of the authors who contributed articles and advice to their peers on a variety of subjects, but mostly on how to improve their writing skills. These articles will be available as long as the site is around.
However, it hasn’t all been wine and roses as I have written several articles that were critical of M/M books, especially the lack of editing as well as what I consider to be a general decline in the quality of the writing. Some authors and publishers were offended. C’est la vie. Just as we praise books that are outstanding and a joy to read, it is a reviewer’s job to critique books that are not up to what is considered acceptable publishing standards. I believe that reviewers should be honest and make purchasers aware of the good, the bad and the ugly so they can make up their own minds before they present their credit cards to merchants, and we always encourage readers to check out several reviews before buying.
Despite me pissing off many authors and publishers this site been incredibly successful. Why?
M/M readers, you made us an (almost) overnight success. 🙂 Our success has been unprecedented for whatever reason — probably mostly luck! — and it exceeded expectations I could never have imagined. The numbers are staggering and it’s all due to you. I still can’t believe our incredible good fortune to have found each other and how many of you log on every day to check out what’s new. You guys rock!! Our stats indicate that to date there have been 361 million hits, 59 million posts accessed, and 6.140 million visitors from 200 countries, with the bulk of visitors from the US, Britain, Canada and Germany. However you may be surprised to learn that we have visitors from Qatar, Togo, Vatican City, Bahrain, Uganda, Kuwait, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Congo, Djibouti, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Rwanda – to mention just a few countries that are not known for being gay friendly. While these numbers may not seem impressive when compared to those of long-established review sites that review a full range of romance books, mostly het romance which is the dominant genre in the publishing industry, (both print and ebooks), and garner huge numbers based on the genre alone, I think our achievement is quite remarkable for a blog that started from such humble beginnings and only reviews male/male books – a very small segment of the romance genre, but clearly there’s a large audience for these books going by our numbers.
The addition of my partners Aunt Lynn and Christian. Without their technical expertise, professional input and guidance I probably would have closed the site years ago because of the workload.
Our guest reviewers. We write honest reviews, and a reviewer who has integrity is priceless: The high calibre of reviewers on this site speaks for itself. Your praise and critiques of our reviews have given us the impetus and encouragement that made this job worthwhile despite the long hours. Reviewing is probably one of my toughest gigs, except maybe bungee jumping in Oz and ballooning in Albuquerque (I’m afraid of heights). 😀 Zip lining is next. 😮 I’m very pleased with what we have achieved over the past several years. Our original list of reviewers included Jenre, Kassa, Christian, Kris, Aunt Lynn, Leslie, Maddy Cain, Lily, Erastes and Buda, Along the way we’ve welcomed Alexi, Stacey, Val Kovalin, John, Cole, Damon Suede, Crys, Stuart and Jeayci. Our current slate of reviewers includes: Victor J. Banis, Tj, Sammy, Feliz, Raine, Leslie S, Lasha, Andrea, LenaLena, Sirius, Larissa, Zac D, Orion, Lloyd Meeker, J.K. Hogan and Lady M. You readers benefitted from the knowledge and critiques of the best talent in this business. (I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone – if I have, I apologise profusely).
I would be remiss if I didn’t express my personal and sincere gratitude to those who helped me and the site along the way in the past six years:
On the top of the list is Josh Lanyon who granted me my first BIG interview which will probably go down as the longest interview on record on the face of the earth. (He claimed it was eight pages of questions but I think it was only six pages, seven tops). 😆 Josh has been incredibly supportive and generous to the site over the years by writing countless articles on different topics despite his time commitments and heavy writing schedule. In addition, he has donated every book he has ever written – some of them in multiple copies and formats – to readers throughout the years and especially during the holidays. Josh, if I had a hat I would tip it to you, but instead I’ll send you a virtual bottle of Irish coffee and raise a glass in your honour. 😎 Thanks also for your amazing writing that always moves me, which is one of the reasons I continue to read books in this genre. On a personal note, your practical advice when I needed it over the years was always on point and very welcome.
Amber Allure. I approached this publisher way back in 2008 to donate copes of all their M/M books to readers every week. This was uncharted territory for an epublisher and it must have taken a huge leap of faith for the partners to agree to provide free books for readers of a small, unknown and unproven blog with no credentials to speak of. Amber Allure granted my request and the rest, as they say, is history. This publisher’s confidence in the site was one of the cornerstones in our wall of success and it gave me the courage to approach other publishers later such as Elizabeth North at Dreamspinner who was just as generous. Many other publishers followed (Samhain, Lethe, Wilde City, Torquere, Riptide, Carina, MLR, eXtasy and Loose id) but the first was the sweetest. :bravo:
K.Z. Snow has been a fan since I started the blog, and every week she would stop by to count the paltry number of bloggers who checked out the few reviews posted; she was just as excited as I when the numbers started their incredible upward climb. Thanks for your support KZ. I’ll miss your humour but not your books as I will buy them as long as you continue to write because I really, really love your stories which are so different, thought provoking, definitely not cookie cutters and far superior to most of the usual fare. Xylophone is a tour de force that moved me so much I couldn’t put it down.
Ethan Day writes amazing books but in addition he has been a source of joy and fun for me over the years and it was wonderful to meet him in person at GRL in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ethan thanks for your contributions to the site which far exceed all of the books you donate every year, and thank you also for your guest posts which tickled me and made my days a little brighter and lighter. 😀 I’m sure now that you’re a Very Important Publisher you’ll be very happy I won’t be around to hound you in your new role. 😆
To Victor J. Banis, who has made all of our lives richer by his gift of writing such deeply moving stories and characters that only he could create, it was my great honour to have your presence, knowledge and expertise as a guest columnist and reviewer on this site. Most important, I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy your wonderful books which have given me so much pleasure and have a special place on my bookshelves, both virtual and real. I’m thankful that your writing will live on for generations of readers.
To Erastes who was a fixture on the site for a couple years both as a guest columnist and reviewer: You rock girl!! :hurrah: You are the only guest columnist who posted weekly on every topic under the sun to get us riled up. 😀 Thank you for adding a bit of British class to an already classy group of renegades.
A special “thank you” to author and guest columnist Rick R. Reed who has written an incredible number of books in different genres from horror to paranormal to romance, many of which I have reviewed and enjoyed enormously. Some of your stories have moved me to tears Rick, especially Raining Men which still haunts me. I look forward to your future releases which I know will be just as great. 😎
What can I say about Nicole Kimberling? As a guest columnist, she illustrates clearly why her books are always bestsellers and why she is highly sought after as an editor. With a minimum number of words she shows us what’s wrong with different types of characters and how an author can easily correct fatal flaws. 🙁 She has also shared her insights and expertise on a number of topics of interest to writers and readers. Nicole is a gifted writer and I absolutely love her new fantasy series Sea of Stars, especially Heir of Starlight, her most recent release.
James Buchanan you are a true gentleman. One of my highlights of GRL 2012 was meeting you and having the opportunity to talk to you in person for hours. Did I pay for the drinks or stick you with the bill? 😆 I love all your books and characters mainly because they are so different from others in the genre, but I’m in love with Deputy Joe and Kabe and I look forward with great anticipation to their future adventures. BTW James, you have the distinction of having written a post about BDSM which has the highest number of hits here (almost 40,000), but your article that resonates with me the most is called Living in Someone Else’s Skin about being transgender. Such a moving and informative post should be a must-read for everyone, not only those who read gay romances!
Jordan Castillo Price you are the reason I love ghost stories because of your PsyCop series. Victor and Jacob have my heart but Crash is giving them a run for their money. 😆 Petit Morts and Sweet Oblivion/Channeling Morpheus are some of my favourite series that I re-read whenever I need a kick of adrenaline. Thanks also for your wonderful posts – Notion Potion – A Stiff Shot of Inspiration – which inspired me as well as hundreds of other readers to get off our asses.
M.L. Rhodes: First, thank you for being a friend of the site. Second, I absolutely love your writing and I have enjoyed every one of your stories for many years and reviewed most of them, (some on other review blogs), but The Draegan Lords series will always be my favourite of all your books. You made me fall for a race of draegans and especially Keiran and Gaige and I can’t wait for the conclusion of their story.
To Jay Bell whose books I adore, especially Hell’s Pawn, thank you for everything you have done for the site. I would also like to express my thanks to you for always responding to my requests for yet another post. 😀 I appreciate you so much.
My thanks to Tj who not only reviews for the site but gave me a new perspective on the many issues facing gay men and GBLTQ teens today. Thanks for being my friend Teej and for keeping it real. Thank you for editing many of my posts so that I didn’t get into too much trouble. 😆 😯
In 2009 Stuart sent me several emails asking strange questions about M/M romances and gay men that I could not answer, so I wrote a few posts based on his emails to see if other readers had the answers. Here is the first post in which he wondered whether penises twitched when erect and what was the scoop about thumping cocks in M/M romances. 😆 He brought so much laughter to me and other readers that I eventually persuaded him to become a reviewer and occasional columnist. I miss you Stuart.
Thanks also to so many others who were contributors to the site including Sean Kennedy, Jaye Valentine, Reno MacLeod, Alex Beecroft, Josephine Myles, Lisa Henry, Damon Suede, Cody Hecht, Jeff Erno, Stephani Hecht, Clare London, Marie Sexton, Angela Benedetti, Geoffrey Knight and Ethan Stone, in addition to all the authors who wrote articles for our in-house writing series. There are many other contributors to thank but there’s only so much space I can use up before I bore you to tears (if you haven’t fallen asleep already). 😀
When I started reviewing M/M books almost 10 years ago, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. weren’t invented yet or were just a gleam in someone’s eyes. Now almost everyone (authors especially) start their day by checking out social media, something that was unheard of at the time. This is just one indication of the evolution of the writing business. Who knows where future advances in technology will take us – scary, isn’t it? 😕
A big thank you to those authors and publishers who respected the site policy of M/M only, even when they didn’t like it – it takes a big person to support you when they disagree with you. To my detractors – certain authors and one publisher in particular who was really vicious and took umbrage at the site policy and used it to spout hate and take pot shots at me personally – I’m sure you know what I want to say to you, but I’m much too polite and will take the high road because you really aren’t worth it. I’m leaving on my own terms with my integrity intact. My last message is directed to those authors who send me hate mail when their books receive well-deserved negative reviews on the site: write better books.
We will update you on the status of the site as soon as we have a new hosting agreement in place. It may take a few weeks before we know for sure, but we’ll try to ensure that any hiatus during the transition will be a short one.
If you’re a publisher or author, outstanding reviews will be posted during this month and we anticipate that they will all be completed before we close the shop.
And of course, the last Big-Ass Holiday Author Giveaway begins December 13, so we hope you authors and readers will participate. (p.s. authors, if you haven’t had a chance yet to donate this year, it isn’t too late!)
In closing, (I bet you thought this post would never end – you can set fire to it later) 😆 many thanks again to everyone who helped make this site the success it is today. To the authors who have been incredibly generous with their time and books, my deepest gratitude; to our reviewers, you’re the best because only the best can work here. 😀 Our achievements speak for themselves. I’m very proud of our record which is due mainly to our loyal readers, as well as our guest reviewers and my partners Christian and Lynn.
I will miss all of you who drop by the site or email me from time to time. I’m already having withdrawal symptoms but this decision was unavoidable. I made some wonderful online friends and I will miss you but I hope to hear from a few of you about new book recommendations. Au revoir.
The guys in the hot tub are waving goodbye too, but I won’t tell you what they’re waving. Billy, stop that. 
It’s not a toy. Damn perv. Billy!!! :sex2: :beer: He’s drinking already even though it’s not yet noon.
Lynn has added a short post at the end of this one but you won’t hear from Christian because the rat-bastard shuffled off to Vegas this weekend for some R and R he said, which translated means he’s picking up men in seedy bars. 😮 😯 He sends his love but not his money – he says he needs it to buy body shots to impress the guys.
***************
A few words from Aunt Lynn
I “met” Wave back in January 2009 in a poll post she did called Burning “Gay” Questions. I had seen some of her reviews on Amazon, found the blog from that and jumped into the conversation with two feet. I was fairly new to the genre at that time, coming in though Harry Potter fan fiction, and was really glad to find an already-established community to plug into. I posted my first review for Condor One by John Simpson late that month and the rest is history, as they say.
When Wave thought about closing the site a few years ago because there was simply too much work to do for one person, I jumped in and changed my role from reviewer to partner so she could keep it open, and the response from the announcement post was resoundingly positive. We merrily continued on, weathering storms of many kinds, but happy and energized.
Things have changed some over the last year, though, and we haven’t been so happy and definitely not energized. Between the workload (this is not the primary job for any of us, and more like a second full-timer), the costs of running the site, and some increasingly unpleasant…unpleasantness that goes with running a site for which not everyone agrees with the policies we’ve set, we’ve grown tired of this draining venture. We’ve tried to stay upbeat, but we made the decision to close after we found out what getting the next level of web hosting would be to meet our ever-increasing needs.
That said, I’ve truly loved being part of this venture. I’ve loved working with and alongside of our super team of reviewers. I’ve loved interacting with readers, authors and publishers’ staff. I’ve loved critiquing stories. I’ve loved giving away books; it’s like being able to play Santa every day for me.
Wave says above that Christian and I are one of the main reasons why the site is successful, but she is wrong. The site is successful because of her. It was her, alone in this thing, back in 2008. It was her deciding to bring on guest reviewers as the number of books in the genre grew. It was her who reached out for help to develop and improve it. It was her who developed and nurtured relationships with authors and publishers. It was her who branched out and went beyond reviewing to make this a resource for authors as well as readers. It was her who stuck to her principles, not budging when the shit hit the fan frequently over policies she made (and we upheld). Make no mistake – we would not be here if it wasn’t for Wave and I thank her for letting me be a part of it all.
Finally, I join Wave in thanking the 6+ millions of visitors who have racked up hundreds of millions in hits and crazy numbers of bandwidth that drive our hosts nuts each month; the authors that donate time, advice and free shit; the publishers who put up with us; and the wonderful group of reviewers with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working for the last five years. It’s been a wild ride indeed.
Truly the end of an era. I’m sad but in a funny way I’m also happy for you, Wave. And for Lynn and Christian. You’ve had incredible success and you’re going out on a high note. AND YOU’LL HAVE YOUR LIVES BACK.
**cough**
Not that this is a sensitive subject or anything. 😀 I know that sites like this are a labor of love, but they also come to dominate your life, and it’s good to know when to cut the strings. What a huge difference you’ve all made in the genre — you’ve helped define it, in addition to launching many, many careers. You are a fixture in the genre and you will be *enormously* missed.
I know many, many good things are in store. (Just think what a pleasure it will be to read without pressure.) Thank you very sincerely for all you have done for me and for so many others.
You know, there was so much more I wanted to do but there will always be others to pick up the slack and come up with bight, shiny, new ideas. There is a time for everything and I’m passing the torch to someone else.
The reason I didn’t respond to the comments earlier is that I was bawling my eyes out. As I told LenaLena and Raine, a couple of the reviewers, this decision was just as tough as the one to put my dog Jesse down. Now it’s like I’m losing him all over again because I named the site after him as I didn’t want to let him go a year after he was gone. Damn!! Now it’s like it’s happening all over again.
It was the best decision under the circumstances because we couldn’t afford the increased hosting fees – we were already paying over $1,000/year and to have the right host would have cost us probably $3 – 4,000/year. Apparently we take up a huge amount of bandwidth because of all the files .
Anyway the decision is made and we will move on. Thanks again for all your advice and help over the years J 😀 and I’ll see you later in the month at our annual interview.
PS Don’t be jealous but I’m moving to a thatched hut on a desert island.
Have you by any chance looked into Bluehost? They offer unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage. We use them for our site and to run our store and they’re very affordable.
Thanks for asking Jay, but we did talk with them. We don’t fit any of the low-end host packages, and I contacted or researched almost every host out there. “Unlimited” is actually false advertising; we found out that they all have limits to their “unlimited” packages that they don’t advertise and our bandwidth alone (the amount of traffic we have coming in daily) exceeds their limits so far that we can only go into a $100-1000/month plans depending on the host, way more than we can afford. Most people can use the “unlimited” plans, but our popularity is also our biggest enemy, if you will.
I wouldn’t touch Bluehost. They dropped a friend of mine, a popular blogger, for a TOS violation. What did him in: A video he made of himself dressed as a woman lip syncing to I Kissed a Girl. They told him it was adult content and their TOS prohibits that. They barely let him get his files.
Wave, I am deeply moved by your post – what an incredible loss this is to our genre – I can’t say that I have always agreed with you (in which case, one of us would be unnecessary) but I have always respected your judgment, and I have always taken great satisfaction in knowing that the blog was here for me, if I needed to rant, to say goodbye to my readers, or just to share my thoughts. It – you – have been a class act. I hope we can stay in touch in the future, and I wish you well in whatever venture you tackle next (I know you are not going to just rest on your laurels – not your style, my dear)
Thank you for everything you have done for us authors over the years. We will not soon again find another friend to measure up to you.
Victor
Thanks for stopping by. The site is only as good as the people who contribute and the technology to support it. Since we couldn’t afford what was necessary in terms of the technology, as well as the time, it’s best to call it a day.
I know we didn’t see eye to eye on the site policy, but as I said in the post it takes a big person to disagree but still understand the rationale. I valued your input whenever you were able to contribute and we will miss you as well. It’s like a changing of the guard. Others will take up the challenge and do a much better job than this site. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
I am already mourning. I don’t know what I will do without my daily dose of Jessewave. I send my love and thanks to everyone!
Thank you for letting me review here for the last couple of years, I have learnt a lot from you and Aunt Lynn, and met some great people. 😀
Damn it though – I will never get to review my first DIK now! 🙁
I have had such a good time, thanks again Wave.
Hi Raine
Thank YOU for doing such a terrific job. As I mentioned to you by email, this site wouldn’t be here if not for people like you who give up their free time to do an unpaid job that they love.
I’m glad you had a good time – so did I – most of the time. 🙂
I must say that for me and I imagine many other M/M readers, your site was one of the first stops on my daily internet browsing. That is a truly amazing accomplishment Wave. Thank you for helping us to sort through the deluge of books with honest and insightful reviews.
I know it was a tremendous amount of work and expense for you, Aunt Lynn and Christian and I thank you all for struggling on when things got really tough. Your unique voice and unfailing support for the genre and the gay community at large is a force to be reckoned with and will be sorely missed.
Thank you for your all the heartfelt posts that made us cry and the fun ones that reminded us that laughter is truly the best medicine. Which reminds me, now that you don’t need the Friday Guys anymore, can I have them? :pant:
Thanks Tj and right back at you for your wonderful job as a reviewer on the site. I also appreciate you for sending me so many great articles. As I said in the post, you saved my bacon many times when you edited my posts.
The Friday Guys will make an appearance before we close the shop and after that you can have your pick of as many hot stallions as you want. :sex2: :whistle:
Thank you Wave and Lynn and Christian. Wave thank you for taking a chance on the reviewer who never did blog format reviews before I starting to review here. Lynn thank you for being so patient and answering all my computer related questions no matter how silly they probably seemed to you :). Christian just thank you for amazing work you do behind the scenes and for all the smileys. I also met so many great people here. Thanks for making this site such a fun place to visit.
Hi Sirius
It was my pleasure to have you as a reviewer on the site and I’m proud at how much you have evolved and improved over the short time since you started. I sure can pick ’em. 😎 I know you will get better and better. For me, I’ll take a rest when the site closes down as 10 years of reviewing is a long time.
Thanks to you, Christian, and Auntie Lynn for giving so much of your time to this site, which helped many of us get started on our m/m reading journey! It was great to get to meet you at GRL 2012, albeit briefly – maybe I’ll see you there again in 2013. 🙂
Hi Chris
I hope to meet you again at GRL or another retreat as I absolutely love to talk about M/M books.
Keep on doing the great work you’re doing. 🙂
You know, having a life can be highly overrated. :crying2: Gay Romance Org is usually the first site I check out each day. Before I discovered your site I was spending a lot of money on truly horrible books. I don’t always agree with the reviewers but I know which ones think like I do and avoid the books reviewed by the ones I don’t see eye to eye with. I have discovered a lot of incredible authors here and that’s what I’ll miss the most. I know whose books I enjoy now but discovering new authors? That’ll be the challenge. :afraid:
Thank you Wave, Lynn and Christian for all of your hard work over the years. You should be very proud of what you’ve built. :bravo: I hate to see it end.
Nooo! Say it ain’t so! I will miss this site so much. It was one of my go-to pages to check out every morning, and you’ve done a great service for m/m authors. Thank you for all your great work. You’ll be greatly missed. 😥
Sorry to see you go, but I get your point and wish you all the happiness and good luck in your lives.
Thank you to Wave, Lynn and Christian and also to all the behind the scenes people who made this site awesome.
Discovering this site started me on a truly life changing journey that included not only finding phenomenal
reading material, learning more about publishing and writing, but most of all, meeting amazing people. Thank you for that!
All my best to you Wave – and everybody – who worked and contributed to make this site such a wonderful “go to “. 🙂
I was surprised and saddened to read this post today, but I understand how picking up a little hobby in this genre can turn into a second full-time job. Trust me. 🙂 You’ve always been very kind to me, especially in your reviews. I wish you the very best in your future endeavors.
Wow, Wave. I don’t know what to say. Other than thank you for your kindness to me over the years and giving me the opportunity to give my opinion on books to a wide audience. I shall miss this site, all the people who have contributed to it and the wonderful reviews.
Good luck with whatever the future holds for you, Lynn and Christian
I’m so sad to read this,, but respect your decision. I can’t imagine how all consuming this site must have become for you and you’ve done an amazing job. I don’t always comment here, but I checked the site every day to see what books were being reviewed that day or what thought provoking article was being posted. The site will be sorely missed. Thank you for the many years of enjoyment.
I was a reader of this blog long before I was an author you reviewed, and all I can say is Thank You. This is an amazing site that has done a lot for the m/m reading community, and I’m so sorry to see you go. Good luck, all, with everything you do in the future! Much love.
Wait. What?! Where will we go now for all our m/m recommendations? This is truly sad.
I really should have included in my post above how much I personally appreciate everyone connected with Jessewave and the time, hard work, and wonderful posts that made this site one which I visited at least once a day. Not just for the wonderful reviews, but for discussions of LGBTQ issues more generally. Take care everyone and best wishes.
Oh my.
Wave (and Aunt Lynn and Christian), this site has for years been my first stop in finding great new m/m books. I have over the years built up a list of favourite authors whose new releases I can chase up independently, but what this site has done is make me aware of great books by so many authors who were new to me, and the loss of that trusted advice and information in the future will be considerable. But I can’t thank you enough for opening up the world of m/m romance for me, and for all other readers of this blog. All your work has been so worthwhile, and will be sadly missed.
I have some hope that if someone comes to you with a proposal to continue the site on a commercial basis, they will come up with enough money for you to consider selling.
What a sad shock. I shall really miss you all. Thank you so much for all the reviews and fascinating guest posts, which were key to developing my knowledge about m/m books, and much else! I don’t know what I’m going to do for a replacement but, as Josh Lanyon says, you’ll get your lives back!
All the best. 🙁
Wow. 🙁 My first thought is that this sucks, and for me and many other readers and writers, it does. But I can see how something that started out as a spare-time hobby and grew into an expensive and stressful monster, no matter how many gems of awesome were found within, can become too much to deal with eventually. I’ve had that happen, actually, and although quitting was hard, it was a positive thing all around.
Anyway. Just think of all the extra money you’ll have now to buy more books, and all the free time you’ll have to read them? Say hi every now and then, let us know you’re okay. [hugz]
Angie
You were my introduction to the m/m community years ago and to so many wonderful authors and books. You made a bigger difference in my life than you will ever know and I thank you so much. I wish you the best in all your future endeavors.
Wave, Lynn, and Christian,
Thank you. While I will miss my daily visits to see what is new here, I will always be grateful for the reviews and other posts I read here. There were a number of books that I bought on impulse and when I was disappointed by them, I saw again and again that if I had read the review here first, I wouldn’t have made that mistake. 😯 But the reviews here more importantly led me to wonderful books I would never have found on my own and for that I am truly thankful.
Wave, thank you for starting this incredible venture. I always enjoyed our banter in the comments and will miss that. But I will always have the kindle fire I won here last December 11th to remember you by. (I know it was December 11th when I won because I was giving a final exam between 12:30 and 2:30 that day. It was during that time I got an email from you saying you were “demanding a recount” and that I should check the site.) 🙂
To the three of you and to all of the reviewers and contributors, thank you so much and you have my best wishes for a wonderful future no matter what that might entail.
:bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
A year ago, I had the privilege of meeting Wave in person in New Mexico. We had some lively (sometimes passionate, dare I say) discussions about the genre, about gender roles and life in general and while we don’t see eye to eye on every issue, damn it, Wave, I have an enormous amount of respect for you. Here, my brain said when we spoke, is a woman of true courage and conviction.
It’s because of you that the community has been able to discuss certain topics. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to examine certain things. You brought so many voices together here and as an author, my books and I were always treated respectfully. (With a critical eye when it was due – but never a disrespectful one.)
You will be missed, all of you. You leave a hole that I’m not certain can be filled.
Is it almost six years? I will be sorry to see this site go. I have followed you for most of these years and saw your blog grow to what it is today. Thanks for all these years and all the others who provided posts and comments. Also thanks to you I have discovered a great reading genre. :hug:
You have me in tears, Wave.
I remember those good ol’ days: the hope you had for this site; the pride you took in it; your diligence in continually making improvements. It was so exciting to see your ever-increasing numbers and the growing enthusiasm for Gay Romance Org among readers and writers alike! You’re right up there with Elisa Rolle in making m/m romance a genre-fiction phenomenon and contributing to its popularity on a daily basis.
On a more personal note, I remember all of our email exchanges, the sharing of happiness as well frustration. And I remember finding out how you got your online name. 🙂 But most of all, and with great fondness and gratitude, I’ll never forget your generosity in lending me and so many other authors a helping hand in advancing our writing careers. (I especially had fun with my feature articles! 😀 )
In spite of all the obstacles and setbacks you’ve had to face over the years, you managed to assemble a great team and keep this place clicking along. :bravo: But I can appreciate how costly and overwhelming it must have become, and how much you, Lynn, and Christian want to have your lives back.
I’ll miss you, Wave. Feel free to email me at any time, about anything. Now go enjoy your life — fully!
:biglove:
KZ
You are one of my favorite review sites and I am truly going to miss you. Checking your reviews is one of the first things I do every morning. Thank you so much for all the great reviews you gave my books over the past couple of years. They were always fair and always well thought out. Whatever you do from here on in, I wish you the best of luck with it. I hope you and all the great people who worked for you have a wonderful Christmas and an even better New Year. Damn. I miss you already.
Everything changes, and we all move on. I wish you the best in your new endeavors.
This site was my fave daily stop on the internet. I’ll miss it so much. 😥 :help:
Thank you for everything. :2thumbs:
Wow. Thanks so much for your contributions.
I am so sorry to see you go, Wave. The demise of this site will really leave a hole in the MM reviewing community I fear. The website person in me now twitches with the urge to try to fill the gap. (Which, of course, I couldn’t ever do as you’re one of a kind!) I’m so happy I got to meet you at last year’s GRL. It was a pleasure and an honor. I’ll really miss this site with it’s posts from Victor and Rick, and you of course! I may even miss the fact that Sirius never likes anything I write. 😉
I wish you all the best and thank you for what you’ve given to authors and readers over the years. It’s been a great pleasure and I’ll miss you!
Thank you all for the reviews and opportunities! While I’m sorry to see you go, I’m glad you’ll all get more free time to relax. Life is too short to carry on slaving over something if it’s no longer making you happy. Big hugs, and all the best. Jo xxxx
So sorry to see the site go, Wave. You have been such a rock when I’ve needed it! Much love to you and your hard working elves. Thank you so much for all the wonderful things you’ve done for all of us….you will be missed!! 🙁
Susie
This is indeed sad news, Wave, but I completely understand for the all the reasons you laid out.
I check this site once a day since I happily discovered it years ago and it is because of this site that I discovered all my favourite writers and will continue to follow them for new novels and updates. I now have to wonder where to go for recommendations after January 2nd, especially where to find new authors – not only has Jessewave recommended some of the most awesome novels and novelists, it has also helped me to know which ones to avoid.
Thank you SO much for helping me find authors whose characters and worlds have given me such joy. And thank you, and all contributors, for the time, effort and talent it takes to run such a fabulous resource.
Bravo Wave, Aunt Lynn and Christian. You’ve created something special with this site to be truly proud of! You all deserve a big round of applause…and probably a round of drinks, too 😀
I’m so sad to see the blog go, but I know your influence will be felt for years to come! Best of luck with everything, and thanks so much!
All good things must come to an end, I suppose 😥 but you’ve more than done your bit and should get to do something else some time. 🙂
I ‘ll miss writing for you!
Take care!
So sad to see you go, but I have no doubt that a site like this could eat your spare time and your not-spare time, and more besides. You deserve to back away, and have time for yourselves and for new projects and a change of pace. You should feel really proud of the success of the site and its contribution to the M/M genre.
When I started publishing, this was already the place to get a review, and my first notice here was a huge thrill. I come by regularly to see what new books are out, to check the reviews, to read articles, and to find out what’s happening in the field. I’ve been enlightened, intrigued, and steered toward some very good books. You’ve done everything you could have hoped for with this site, and more.
My very best wishes to everyone here for fun, success, and a lot more free time, as you move on with the rest of your lives. And a huge THANK YOU for having been here when I first ventured into these waters.
I’m sad to see you go, I found so many interesting books through you guys. Thank you for all that you have done for the readers of m/m romance over the years! 🙂
I am so sorry to see the website vanish. You were one of the first sites to review my work, and it gave me such pleasure to see what honest reviewers thought of my work. I have enjoyed all the reviews and I can’t imagine all the work that has gone into this. Thank you so much for all you’ve done.
Beautiful farewell post. I’m so sad to see you go. 🙁
S.C. Wynne
I thought I was being punked for a moment, and I’m really sad to see that I wasn’t. This was a day I truly never believed might come and I’m so sad to see that it has. While I appreciate the props and I’m thrilled to know I helped brighten your day, along with anyone else’s, over the last four years, I can say with all certainty that your support of me, the author (as well as, I hope) friend, meant more to me than you’ll ever know. Everyone in life benefits exponentially merely by having others who believe in them, and you along with this site and the guest reviewers have been that for a great many authors. Obviously its not been all sunshine and roses for everyone, but speaking for myself, that support has been something I’m not sure I could ever completely thank you enough for. The one thing I’ve always believed when it came to you and this site, was that even when you were critical (including of my own books), that derived from a passion to not only witness the genre continue to succeed, but also see it flourish. I believe without a doubt that you and those who have helped you keep this site alive all these years HAVE played a significant role in that success. Anyone who writes or publishes M/M or gay romance owes each of you a thank you for that – whether they’ve agreed with your opinions and policies or not. From this life-long, smartass who lives and writes and dreams from a little notch in the Bible-belt of the USA, you most certainly have my heartfelt gratitude for all you have done for me as well as the genre I am equally passionate about. While I completely respect your decision to bow out gracefully, I am exceedingly sad to see you go.
As always, much love and many, many thanks,
Ethan
You will be missed!
The site is wonderful, funny, informative and refreshingly honest. None of which are easily accomplished. Thank you all for working so hard and giving so much to the rest of us–readers and authors, alike. You didn’t just provide us with a review site, you fostered an entire community.
I’m so sorry that it all has to end in January. Though, knowing how very much love and work went into the site I can’t help but feel like you’ve all done more than anyone could have expected for years!
Thank you for so much!
😯 I can’t imagine my life without you! All the time spent readind posts , laughing at some and crying at others, hours spent choosing from the Friday men, … well, it is a page of my life that is going to be turned and that was a really great page!!
I want to thank you for this and I hope you will enjoy your life, you deserve time for yourselves, I understand and respect that even if it makes me sad.
:biglove: goodbye!
mona
Oh, I was so sad to see this post. I had to check the date to see that it wasn’t an April Fools Day joke. I’ve been following you for quite a while now, and will miss the reviews and articles so much. 🙁 😥
It’s been my go-to m/m review site and I’ve discovered many new authors here. However, I can see that it’s become a chore now, and that’s a good reason to bring it to a close. Many thanks, Wave, to you and Christian and Aunt Lynn for all the work you’ve put in over the years. Also, thanks to the reviewers who’ve spent hours slaving away, giving us their thoughts and recommendations. Thanks also to the publishers and authors who’ve been so generous with their book donations.
Best wishes for the future to all of you. :wave:
Aw man, I will miss your reviews, interviews, your giveaways and even the commentaries. I’ve learned a lot from this site. I’m glad you’re keeping the website around as a reference, and I hope all of you find lots of happiness in your future endeavors.
This is sad news to hear. I will miss coming to check out the daily reviews and get ideas for my next book to read (not that I need to add to my never ending to-read list 🙂 Thank you for all your hard work to provide this for everybody. It is a fabulous site and I will miss it. But on the other hand its great that you will be able to spend more time doing other things. Good luck in the future.
Wow, I will definitely be sorry to see the site go. I’m glad I was able to be a small part of it before the end. I’ve found so many amazing authors and made so many great friends because of this site. I wish you the best for the future, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to have some “you” time. 🙂
When I first came on the scene about five years ago, this site was a wonderful friend to me, a place I could come to find out about books I’d like to read, and also to establish myself as an author. Here I’ve learned to be a better writer, what readers want, and what pitfalls to avoid. I’ve spent a small fortune based on recommendations from the reviewers here.
This site is also where I first learned about Spirit Day, an event I hold close to my heart, and many’s the time I have found out here what’s going on in the world. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, and always felt I was among friends. I’m very sorry to see this adventure end, as Gay Romance Org has provided a great service to the m/m reading and writing community, and introduced me to many folks that I now call friend, both online and off. Whenever I have a new story coming out, my first thought is: “Gotta do a giveaway at Wave’s!”
You’ve given us reviews, giveaways, news, polls, and so much more. A huge void will be left. Thank you, Wave, Lynn, Christian, and your many reviewers and contributors. Yes, it has been a great ride that I hate to see end. So hugs to all of you, well done, and please, don’t be strangers.
I’m so sorry for see you all going. Thanks so much for all these years of dedication to the M/M genre.
I’m going to miss you big time.
:biglove:
Dear Wave, I am so very sorry to hear this news! It’s been my privilege to have received several wonderful reviews on the site. You’ve been a great encouragement to me. I can understand why you’ve made this decision and would like to thank you for your enormous contribution to our beloved genre. You’ll leave a tremendous gap.
Best love, and all good wishes for success in your future ventures.
Harper
I’ve had the pleasure of watching this site grow from its infancy, as well as having had several of my stories reviewed on it. You’ll be missed, Wave. 🙁
:biglove: :sendoutlove: :hug: :skoal: :thanks: :wave:
:wave: :wave: :wave:
Best of luck to all of you for the future.
This genre won’t be the same without you! There is nothing else out there (that I’ve found) that is up to the standards of Gay Romance Org or does quite as much for our industry, and this will be a loss that will surely be felt by the publishers as much as the readers and authors out there who have come to rely on your reviews and posts. I sincerely hope someone out there is willing to take up the mantle, but these are some very big shoes to fill and I will certainly miss my daily visits to JW over my morning coffee. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, so thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me personally and the genre at large, and I wish you the very best of luck in the future!
I’m popping my head up from lurkdom to wish you a fond farewell, Wave. I remember the blogger days, and the first list of reader favorites, and even though my writing room is dark I still follow every entry here. You will be missed. :flowers: Thanks to you and Lynn and Christian for all your work. Wishing you the best in all your future endeavors!
– wren boudreau
Wren
Thank you for all your hard work putting together the first and maybe the second list of Readers’ Favourite Gay Books a great source for us all. That was a huge undertaking and I love you so much for doing it; I know that the readers appreciated all of your hard work.
I hope some day you’ll get back to writing M/M books and if you do, please tell me when your latest release will be available.
Thanks for everything Wren and take care of yourself.
I know I’ve been a terrible lurker lately, but I’m going to miss this place like crazy 🙁 Wave, you’ve been a great friend to this genre and everyone in it. We’ll miss you! I’m happy for you, Lynn and Christian that you’ll all have more time to actually live your lives now, though :biglove:
Wave, Lynn, et al,
Four years ago, when my first self-published novel was released, I didn’t even know the m/m romance genre existed. A “fan” of mine, who eventually became one of my dearest friends, referred me to Reviews by Jesse Wave. I was flattered that she suggested I submit it for review, but honestly didn’t think the website would have any interest in an unknown, self-published author like me. To my surprise, you reviewed the book, and the review was quite positive. It led to other reviews and bolstered my confidence. I then submitted manuscripts to m/m publishers and signed my first contracts. Four years later, I now have 26 published stories, and I doubt any of that would’ve been possible for me without Reviews by Jesse Wave.
Almost every book I’ve released has been offered as a giveaway on this site. This site has added my upcoming releases to their coming soon carousel. I’ve been interviewed and blogged on this site. At one point I even planned to review for this site. It has meant so much to me personally, and I’m very saddened to see it close.
But as much as it has meant to me professionally, I will also miss the site because of the service it has provided to me as a reader. And I’ve fallen in love with this genre and have consumed hundreds of these stories, many of them because I discovered them on Reviews by Jesse Wave. Although I haven’t always agreed with the reviews, and though sometimes I’ve even been angered when I’ve seen a good book harshly criticized, I’ve always appreciated the exposure this site has provided. I also appreciate the time and effort the individual reviewers have invested in these books, some that they don’t particularly like.
I’m sad because I know there will be a huge void in the absence of RBJW. Sure, there are other review sites, and I visit almost all of them. But this one is special, and I’ll always appreciate the role it played in changing my life.
Jeff Erno
When Rhys Ford posted that your site was closing, I felt sad to see you go! But I also see this as a possible opportunity. You see, I’m working on a new website dedicated to providing a community for authors, readers, and now possibly reviewers of GLBT themed books. I really wish I was an author, but I just don’t have the knack for it. what I DO have is a vast arsenal of experience in graphic and web design. Spectrum books is how I hope to be able to contribute to this wonderful community and help out those authors that have the skills and talent I wish I had. 😀
I plan to offer a self-publishing distribution storefront for authors that wish to sell their books through direct distribution; a in-depth ebook cover generator so junior authors can design a book cover for themselves when they don’t have the skills with Photoshop or the budget for an artist; pre-sales proofreading and editing services to allow self-publishing authors the tools critical in publishing quality stories; messaging and community forums so authors and readers can discuss ideas, get advice for writing, plot development, how to get a contract with a publisher, etc,; and ideally anything else that can be added that will give readers and authors a community to get together and call their own.
I would be really interested in talking with you about what it would take to get a really amazing book review blog started up, about some of the challenges you’ve faced, and tips on how to attract unpaid reviewers. (Even though my site has a store front, I am not in this to make money so I don’t exactly have a budget for staff.) Please feel free to email me, I would love to hear from you. 🙂
Goddamnit biatch, I’m gonna miss this place. It’s the only review site I have on my Feedly account, because you have so much beyond reviews.
Hell if I know who ended up paying for the booze that night. Hopefully we didn’t stiff the bartender.
I don’t have enough words…a sad state for a writer. Thank you for your voice; all of them that make up this site. Thank you for your support. Thank you for the e-cards at Christmas and my Birthday. Thank you for occasionally providing me a soap-box to stand on. Thank you for doing what you loved and letting us all benefit from it.
Here, while you’re waiting for my slow ass to write: Joe’s Mix. I’ve been listing to it while I tried to figure out what to say.
Hi James
I’m sure you know what a tough decision this was but it was inevitable. It was a great gig while it lasted and I’m pleased that so many people, readers AND authors, thought that the site added some value to the genre. It was tough to walk away but I’m sure I’ll find some new place to visit when I have some free time. Starting in January I’m going to curl up and read all of those books I bought over the years that I never got around to reading.
Thanks for Joe’s Mix. I hope you’ll get around to writing more Deputy Joe soon. Can’t wait for the next book. 😀
I’m sorry you are all having to hang up your blogging shoes 🙁 but understand your reasons. The site is one of my regular visits, numerous times a day to check for new books to read.
Good luck for your future ventures 🙂
It is so sad to say good-bye. I started reading in the m/m genre in 2008 and this was the only review site I knew of. I have visited regularly ever since. Thank you all for the time and effort put into this wonderful site over the years. I wish you joy and luck with your future plans. It has been such a pleasure coming here. Bye for now…
You will absolutely be missed! Best of luck for the future, and thank you so much for all the work you have put in over the years.
Aww. This was my first m/m review site. I even won some of the coveted freebies 🙂
Thank you all. Just thank you.
I’m full of feels right now. Sigh.
I’m so sorry to see you go. I made sure to check your site daily for reviews on books making their rounds. I was never disappointed in the stories I chose to purchase based on the recommendations by your fine group of reviewers. I also enjoyed the many fascinating articles on the M/M market as well as guest posts by my favorite authors. You will be missed, but I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
I am saddened by this news. I have always enjoyed your site, I always thought that your site reflected so much in what I am trying do, promoting M/M reads. I wish you all the luck in your future endeavors and if you ever need a place to post please contact me. The M/M Genre will be missing some Great Contributors.
I’m very sad, but understand your reasons for saying it’s time to say goodbye. You and your team gave us thoughtful reviews and topics for wonderful discussions. You will be missed greatly for your humor, integrity, intelligence, and insight. Thank you, Wave and your incredible team.
Sorry to see you go. Thank you for all the reviews and posts. I discovered a lot of books and wonderful authors because of you. I will miss this site.
Am I going to miss you! This site was the first one I found after seriously starting to pursue the genre, and the only one I’ve really stuck with over the years. Thank you for enriching my reading experience and entertaining me daily. Best wishes to you all. I hope you enjoy a well-deserved break in the new year.
So sorry to see you go. I’ve been checking this site almost daily for the last few years, the best review site for m/m I’ve found. Discovered new authors & publishers, I’ll miss you. Thanks to everyone involved & all the best in your future endeavors 🙂
I had a crazy, crazy day and this news jut left me… speechless. 🙁 Wave, I sent you an e-mail but I doubt it was comprehensible, so…
I am sorry to see you go. This was a wonderful place you and Lynn and Christian made. I will be forever grateful that I had a place in it. I’ve met some wonderful people and I’ve learned so much. I will miss you all.
I understand your reasons. I admire the effort you made for all of us, but sometimes people just have to move on. I wish you all the best and I hope we’ll meet somewhere else. I wish we lived closer so we could all have a drink.. or two… or three… :beer:
Hi Lady M
You know how much I value you and not only because you’re a reviewer on the site.
All good things must end and I stuck it out a lot longer than I thought I would.
I’ll keep in touch and please keep sending me book recs.
I will miss this site terribly! This was probably the first M/M book review site I discovered a few years ago. And certainly one of the best. I always loved the honest reviews and the commitment you all have shown to a growing genre. When my first book was released last year, I sent my first request for review consideration here. I wasn’t sure you’d approve of my offering (you did… 4 out of 5 :-)) but I crossed my fingers knowing I’d be given an honest assessment. As a reader, I thank you for your guidance and as an author, I thank you for your encouragement. Best wishes to you all. xoxo Lane
Hi Lane
I’ll probably miss the site more than anyone, but it was time.
I’m pleased you found the content of value both as a reader and author, as that is our community. If I helped in any way or anyone else on the site, then I’m happy. Keep writing books that we all would love to read. 🙂
Y’all filled an essential niche in the blogoverse of online romance reviewers. I haven’t always agreed with all of your positions (wouldn’t THAT have been boring?) but I always respected the care and thought you have brought to them.
Thank you for what you have done. You will be missed.
I shall miss you. thanks so much for all you did.
Every morning it’s coffee, then jessewave. I’m going to miss this a lot. It’s hands down the best site for reviews, great articles and book recommendations. And the giveaways have led to me buying books that I wouldn’t even have known about. Of course the reviews and recommendations from readers have done the same.
I’ll miss you.
You will be terribly missed, but I understand your decision. I’ve always found your reviews even handed and fair, and I’ve med many, many wonderful books based on your recommendations. Good luck in whatever you chose to do.
Diana Copland
😥 I am going to miss you guys like crazy!
Wave, your site was the very first site I stumbled across when I started reading m/m…it has been such a great ride for me all these years!
Thank-you for all you and everyone involved here have done.
I will miss coming here.
Hi Jaime
I loved having a fellow Canadian on the site checking out the reviews, although that wasn’t the only reason. 🙂
Like most of you I would check out the new reviews with my morning coffee, and after January 1 I won’t be able to do so anymore, but things change and it was time for me to do other things such as more travel. Maybe I’ll be able to with the money I save.
I am going to miss this blog but I wish you all the best of luck in life. Thank you so much for all the fun you have given us 🙂
I’ve enjoyed this site immensely. Thank you.
First the Friday Guys, now this.
May we all meet again one day.
Hi Bryant
Maybe I’ll bring back the Friday Guys before we close. I, too, miss them. 🙂
I will be sorry to see you go. Long time lurker, constant visitor to the site. Does anyone have any recommendations for a review site as trustworthy and reliable as this one? I will miss you horribly! Thank you for everything.
I discovered this site last year but only just became active this year. I’m sorry to see you go but I’m at least glad that I got to converse and read some great reviews. Thank you for taking the time to write such wonderful reviews, showcase some wonderful books and authors and those posts that deal with current events.
Very sad to see the site closing – but I totally understand the costs and time and how draining it can be. I have enjoyed the many reviews and purchased many ebooks upon said reviews. It will be hard finding another site that has such great info – and HONEST reviews. For those publishers and authors who complain – seriously – editing does make a difference.
Oh man, I didn’t want to believe what I saw first thing in the morning! 🙁
I’m really and truly sorry to see you go. Like so many other folks said: your site was the first one I visited every morning and I will miss you like crazy. 😥 😥 😥
All the best for you Wave, Aunt Lynn and Christian :sendoutlove:
Hi guys
Thanks for all your great comments. I know it’s sad to see the site closing after all these years. I’ll definitely miss it. 😥 But it was a fantastic experience to see the site grow over the years and I made two great friends along the way, Wave and Lynn. :hug:
We want to keep the site open as an archive so maybe you’ll come back from time to time to re-discover an old review/book.
:reading1: :reading2:
Now I need to sleep ^^
Hey babe
Glad to see you made it back from Sin City in one piece. Yeah, you should catch up on your sleep because I’m sure you didn’t get any all weekend. I hope the guys appreciated you. 🙂
Wow, I just happened to come here today to look for a review, and . . . 😯 I haven’t been around here in quite some time, but I love this site and it’s turned me on(oh hush)to some great books and the reviews have helped me figure out whether to buy certain books. I’m glad you’re going to keep the site up, if static, because even like that, it’s a very useful resource!
Best to you, Wave, Lynn, Christian, and all the other rockin’ folks who’ve made this site what it is.
That’s what you get for staying away so long Kendall. 😆 😯
Gosh, what news to wake up to today :(. But things must change in life, and I totally understand how the site, like Topsy, has growed. The most important thing in life is for you all to look after yourselves. I’m sure we’re not going to lose you from the community!! or let me say *with a frown* you better not be a stranger!
Thanks for all the resources you’ve offered, and the part you’ve played in the growth of the genre, and offering an introduction and example for so many sites that have followed.
In boring techie news (!) I’ll get your Wiki pages up to date over Christmas break, Wave, and then there’ll be a record of all your reviews at another location, too.
http://bookworld.editme.com/jessewave
*hugs to you all*
Hi Clare
Thank you for the kind words but I must first apologise for not acknowledging the hard work you did on my behalf on the Wiki. I knew I would forget someone important and it had to be you. Thanks for offering to update the Wiki pages over Christmas – I really do appreciate it.
I hope to meet you at another GRL although I don’t know if Chicago in October is the best place to frolic as it’s even colder than Canada in the winter. Maybe the following year. 🙁
Life runs in cycles and I could take up another hobby where our paths may cross. You never know – I could become a book editor. NOT.. 😆
I’ll miss you guys! Best of luck to you all. 🙂
Your site is the one I check every single day. I’m going to miss you so much. Enjoy your time. This is a well deserved break. Because, we all know you three will be out there with the rest of us, reading, writing and enjoying life. 😎
Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into the site. I’ve always appreciated the honest, thoughtful reviews of my books that’ve appeared here and I’ll miss reading the recs and finding new books to read.
Wishing you all the best for your next endeavor.
*SOB!* (That’s weeping, not an expletive). Bryant and I are on the same page here. First the Friday guys and now this! I would say my book budget is grateful but I’ve found too many authors I like here so I shall spend on! Stop and smell the roses guys. Wave, maybe you can start reading long books now. Even though I’m mostly a non-writing lurker, I somehow feel like this is family (the good kind). I’ll miss you all. Take care.
Deedles
I will definitely miss you. I remember when you came out of lurkdom just over a year ago because you were either so riled up or moved about something, and I’m really happy to see you participating in all the discussions on controversial topics (you know how much I love controversy) 😆 You’ll be fine because the site will still be here although in a different form, and you will be able to check out reviews written upto December 31.
Take care of yourself.
PS Bryant is a perve who just wants me to bring back the Friday Guys. 🙂
Now, now, perves need love too!
This decision has been enormously difficult for us, me especially. It’s like having a limb cut off, but like surgery (which is always drastic) you know when you have to bring out the scalpel. I will miss each and every one of you as I have gotten to know you over the years. I feel as if we’re friends as I have chatted to you about books (*argued* more than *chatted* at times 😀 but all in good fun). You have emailed me often with recommendations about books to review or just read and I will miss that interaction, but I hope that when you read a really great book in future you will remember to email me about it.
As much as you will miss the site I will miss it more and I’ll miss you but someone else will come up with even better ideas so the genre will be just fine without reviewsbyjessewave. Thanks for the memories which I will cherish. 🙁
OMG 😥 This was my first m/m review site. Thanks to you & Lynn & Christian for all your work. I will miss you all. :biglove:
I remember when this site first opened once upon a time. 🙂 That was about the same time I started publishing gay YA fiction, and you guys took a chance on my books, even if I don’t write romance. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for this market, and I wish everyone good luck in your future endeavors. Thank you again.
I’m going to miss coming here every day 🙁 and thank you for all the great reviews and for helping me find some great m/m books :sendoutlove: And wish you the best of luck :biglove:
Well Wave, I waited a bit to post. So…in my own inimitable style, 😀 I will “review” this goodbye post.
Sammy’s Review of Wave’s farewell:
Where to start? Friday guys, big ass give aways, Lynn sending me instructions on how to post something then correcting my mistakes a hundred times before just throwing up her hands and letting my complete jackassery on how to use a computer go; Christian, the quiet babealicious computer guru always picking up the pieces of something the bigass holiday fest broke, and on and on and on.
Despite all the incredibly fun and memory building experiences laid out in Wave’s reviews, it was the discretion and restraint concerning her comments on the less than cordial critics that spoke volumes of this woman’s true character. Sometimes, in life, we are afforded a rare and wondrous gift. A person who does not allow bullshit or mince words but instead deals directly and honestly and only asks that you do the same. For me…that was Wave.
As any good reviewer will tell you, when you are close to that which you are about to review it might be best to hand that job over to another–so that there will be less bias and emotionalism and a more honest review.
While I have been on this site, there have been two lurkers with me. Many of you think that Rick and Freddy are mere figments of my imagination. Well, as Wave knows these boys from Pittsburgh are quite real and they have a message for you dear Wave. I will quote my phone conversation with them here:
Me: I am so sad–Wave is closing down.
Rick: What the hell did you do? Don’t tell me you broke Jessewave?
Me: no, no–it was Wave’s choice…really.
Freddy (on the extension): Oh honey–that is sad.
Rick: Don’t honey her, she’ll want to come visit or something.
Me: Are you asking me to visit–ooh–I’d love to!! When shall I come? Hello? Hello? Darn connection!
Ok–it didn’t go like that, exactly. But Wave–they did honestly say this–and I echo their sentiments completely.
Rick: “Please tell Jessewave how much we’ve enjoyed her site. We went there all the time. It was really wonderful to have a place where we could find books that spoke about us, as gay men. Thank you Jessewave–you made two gay guys very happy and gave us a wealth of good books to check out and read. You will be greatly missed.”
So, in closing, I highly recommend this final goodbye to all of you. It touched my heart–much like the author did, immensely. I will have a few more reviews posted here before the door closes for good, but, suffice it to say, none of them will be as important as this one.
Wave, you were a light to my soul…thank god there is email cause I will need to check in every saturday and pretend I am sending you my reviews for the week….and no–that does not make me a stalker…well, maybe a little…. 😀
Sammy
Sammy
You have to stop this. I have been crying for the past week and just when the box of tissues was breathing a sigh of relief you got me going again. 🙁
Sammy, you know how much I love and appreciate you. Our little chats always start off about books but somehow meander into no man’s land. How do you manage o do that every time? 😕 That’s some weird talent you have woman.
As for Rick & Freddie, although I never *met* them and those rats never did write the post you promised on their behalf, I could feel the love you have for them whenever you talked about them which was often, so I suppose they are okay. 😀 Thanks guys for the nice words … just keep Sammy away from the Friday Guys who I’ve hidden all these months because she tried to find out their home addresses and phone numbers. 😆 I did promise them one more outing before we close as long as she didn’t try to peek down their underwear. :escape:
On a more serious note, I’m sure you know how much this decision cost me emotionally so I won’t dwell on it, I just wish it didn’t have to end this way. Sometimes life sucketh.
Thanks for everything Sammy.
Your website has been such a gold mine for good reviews, articles and of course free books! Thanks for all the hard work, I’m sorry to see you go. 🙁 but I completely understand you reasons for going out on top! Thanks again and I wish you the best of luck with all your future endeavors. Heather
I’m so sad you’re closing the site, though I do understand your reasons. But I’m going to miss you. I’ve mostly been a lurker, but I’ve always read here daily. I think I’ve been following you pretty much since you started reviewing, way back when you were on your other site. How will I stalk you now? 😛 Seriously, though, thanks for all the great reviews and posts over the years and good luck in the future.
I’m still trying to let this sink in. This was one of the first M/M sites I found and one I visit daily. Wave, you and your team will be missed so much! I could always count on the latest and greatest books being featured, amazing interviews and though provoking posts. Enjoy the time you’ll gain. I hope you appear again soon. We should do coffee one day (please). Take care and ((Hugs))
Hi Mary
Thanks for stopping by to say farewell. I have enjoyed our discussions on reviews whether we agreed or not. I love to talk about books.
The interviews and book reviews will still be here when we change the site around an d make it an archive but hopefully it will be of some value for as long as we can keep it around. Right now I just want to lick my wounds but coffee in a few months would be great. 😀 I’m hoping to do a bit more travel with the extra time.
Take care.
I enjoyed writing the piece about condoms in fiction a while back with the other authors. Best of luck in the future.
Pardon my English
Wow… such a sad news 🙁
This is by far the best M/M site I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling into.
I’ve been a lurker here for many years and this It makes me even more sad and guilty that this is the first time I’ve ever posted a comment.
I can say that this website changed my life because I’ve been introduced so many authors and books.
Perhaps the best topic I’ve ever read in here is about ‘M/M being fundamentally about men’. Because being one of the few gay male readers of M/M romance, I too have read many M/M books that really bugs the hell out of me and became kind of insulting for me as a gay man. And I’m very grateful that I read it and I’m very happy that it is finally addressed here.
One of the things that makes this website so great for me is that it’s welcoming towards gay men and I feel like we really matter here and the people here really absorbs and listens to our opinions. It just that in some M/M websites that I will not mention, they’re not exactly welcoming towards gay guys.
So it just makes me even more sadder. I feel like I have nowhere else to go 🙁
But anyway, I wish you guys all the the best you have our total support for your future endeavors. 🙂
Hi Gian
Thank you for stopping by. Don’t worry, most of the people who access the site are lurkers. I’m very happy you enjoyed Stuart’s article – he has always spoken his truth. We have had quite a few gay reviewers over the years on the site and still do, so some of the books must appeal to them.
I hope you will continue to read books in this genre as we have some terrific writers, and good luck with finding another review site. This one will be here for a while after we make some changes in January so you will be able to access the reviews that are posted, although there won’t be any new content.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
I am so sad that this site is closing. I found so many great books here. Read such lovely articles and of course… haha, enjoyed the giveaways. I will miss it terribly…
Love & Hugs~
xoxox
I really enjoyed coming to this site each day and will miss it terribly. You guys introduced me to Josh Lanyon’s book and I will always be grateful! 🙂 xoxo
I am so sad to see the site go, as when I first discovered M/M this was the web site I visited to find good books. I still check it every morning before work even after reviewing here myself.
Thank you Wave, Lynn and Christian for all your hard work over the years. I will miss you all. Hugs.
Oh my God, I’m actually tearing up. Thank you so much for your time, effort, and dedication!
I realize this may be an inappropriate forum to ask this question, but as I have no other place I can think to ask it, I will forge ahead – are there any other M/M book review sites that any of you would recommend? I’m not talking about something like goodreads, though I realize that is a resource that is out there for me.
Have you tried http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/ ? It’s more of a blog [what I imagine this must’ve been like before I discovered it] but still lots of interesting stuff to be found there.
Oh jessewave we are going to miss you. Sob :crying2: :loveyou:
i will absotively miss you guys!
thank you.
-kkm
A thousand thanks to you guys! :biglove: I will most definitely miss this site very much!
😯 🙁
:biglove: :biglove: :biglove: :biglove: :biglove:
Wow, I admit I am a lurker and only found out about the closing through a status update but-Wow. So sad to see you go. This was the first blog I came upon when I started reading MM. Sniff…It’s the end of an era.
Although I haven’t been a regular visitor, I’ve always found your reviews good (and impartial), and there are so many people out there who rave at this site (with good reason)!
You have set the mould; so many (both readers and authors) blatantly praise everything coming from here and so it is with thanks and gratitude that I applaud everything you, Christian, and Aunt Lynn have done over the last few years to promote (and endorse) good M/M fiction!
Good luck; best wishes; may everything you wish come to you threefold – because you all deserve it!!
*Hugs*
Carole-Ann
I’m late to this post because I haven’t been online much lately, and I haven’t been here in a while. But I’ve appreciated knowing the site was here and I loved being part of the community. Thank you Wave, Lynn, and Christian for creating a wonderful forum for such interesting discussions and fun people!
This was one of my first sources for M/M reviews, helping me figure out where to spend my hard-earned $$ (and where not to 😆 ). It was such a thrill to later get to be a reviewer here myself. You will be missed, greatly, but I understand why this was the necessary decision.
Now, go enjoy an adult beverage or five… :beer: :drinkin:
I will greatly miss this site. Thanks to you all for maintaining such a wonderful site. I really will miss the fact that you stood up and gave praised when earned and called out authors and publishers when needed. Sometimes it just needs to be said.
Thank you Wave, Aunt Lynn and Christian for your time and your efforts. I am so grateful!
Thank you all for your hard work and excellent resources. The reviews, interviews, and information have been incredibly helpful. I wish you all the best for the next stage of your adventures! Thank you again!
I’ve spent very little time online over the past couple of weeks so have only just seen that the site is closing down, and I have to say that I’m absolutely gutted!
I’ve read all the reviews and posts religiously for the past couple of years, and the site has always been my first port of call when I’ve wanted to investigate a new author or find out more about a specific title.
Thank you so much Wave, Lynn and Christian for all your hard work and dedication over the past years. Your readers are going to miss you so much. I for one don’t know what I’m going to do without you!
Here’s wishing you all the very best for the future, and thanks once again!
Reading gay fiction for a long time, I really felt at home and in good hands on my way to get to know more very good authors, great books. I’m really sorry to see the site go, a service like this would be worth to pay a fee (and my budget is not a big one). I’m glad you did the site your way, stuck to the concept you felt worked well.
I can only repeat what was said before: Thank you Wave, Lynn, and Christian for creating a wonderful forum for such interesting discussions and fun people! Thank you for all the work and good reviews. *hugs*