Love and Other Words

by Christina Lauren

Erin Mallon (Narrator)

After a decade apart, childhood sweethearts reconnect by chance in New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren’s touching, romantic novel Love and Other Words…how many words will it take for them to figure out where it all went wrong?

The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

• ISBN10: 150821266X
• ISBN13: 9781508212669
• Publish Date: 10 April 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Edition: Unabridged
• Format: Audiobook
• Duration: 8 hours and 23 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book deals with death and grief.

The Basics:

Love and Other Words is a romance-centric Women's Fiction novel about Macy. It alternates between present day when she's unexpectedly reunited with her first (and only) love and the past when they first met up until they had a falling out. Neither has gotten over the other, but they've also never talked about what happened eleven years ago that forced them apart.

My Thoughts:

I don't normally read Women's Fiction, but Love and Other Words sounded interested, so I decided to give it a try. And I'm so glad that I did! I was immediately hooked into Macy's story even though there was nothing specific that I can pinpoint. I just wanted to know what happened to her and see her get her happy ending. I also just loved the past chapters, because she and Elliot are just too freaking adorable for words. They're both avid readers and spend a ton of time together just reading. Four years of being alone together and just reading. Seriously.

The focus of Love and Other Words is on the relationship between Macy and Elliot, so it does read like a Contemporary Romance, which was good for me. It's just a change of pace, since it doesn't follow the general romantic progression, as we also need to work through Macy's emotional trauma, which is done through her relationship with Elliot. We don't know what happened to separate them for over a decade; it's slowly revealed. I did guess, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment, because there was still a lot of baggage to unpack surrounding it.

Love and Other Words also deals heavily with grief. Macy's mother dies when she's ten and leaves her father a list of "rules" to help him raise a teenage daughter. One of those things was to find her a weekend getaway when she's feeling stressed, which he takes very literally and buys a second home. Next door to Elliot. Macy doesn't talk much about her mother, but over time does open up Elliot about it, since he does ask her and lets her know that he's there if she does want to talk. Then we learn that Macy's father also passed sometime within those eleven years, and she still hasn't dealt with it at all. Her feelings there are completely mingled up with her feelings for Elliot.

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that I really enjoyed Love and Other Words. The teen romance was really sweet and kind of messy. The present day is even more messy because Macy is extremely avoidant of her emotions, which is quite understandable given her history of letting people get close.

[bookperson]

Eh. There are better romances out there and for some reason I'm still here reading Christina Lauren...

[girlinthepages]

Over the course of the past year or so I've fallen in love with Christina Lauren's romantic comedies, enjoying the witty banter, the impossible situations, and the laugh out loud moments. So you can imagine my surprise going into Love and Other Words expecting another fun romance novel and experiencing instead a much more emotional, heart-string pulling book, and by far the most painfully evocative novel by the duo that I've come across so far. Love and Other Words captures the painful, isolating feelings of first heartbreak so viscerally that readers won't be able to read Macy and Elliot's story without remembering their own fraught teenage relationships.

Told in a dual timeline between the present and the past (when Macy and Elliot were teenagers), Love and Other Words follows medical resident Macy as she is working to establish herself in the Bay Area after returning from nearly a decade away in order to escape heartbreak and tragedy. Rather than a "meet-cute," Macy experiences what I like to think of as a "meet-trauma" as she runs into her ex in a coffee shop who she hasn't spoken to in over ten years, and does what any reasonable person would do- makes an excuse and hightails it out of there. Of course, the Bay Area really isn't that big and she's forced to confront both her past and present feelings for Elliot throughout the course of the novel.

Ok, huge points for this novel being set in the Bay Area and being realistic about what it's like to live there (Crazy high rent? Check. Taking two hours to go about 12 miles in the car during rush hour commute? Check.) and that also explores other areas of the Bay outside of San Francisco- Berkeley (East Bay) and Healdsburg (North Bay) are both also mentioned. I loved the setting and seeing how Elliot and Macy were so drawn to returning to the Bay in their adult lives after wanting nothing more than to escape as young adults and try to start over after their relationship imploded.

As I mentioned previously, Love and Other Words is the most emotional Christina Lauren book that I've read and the dept of emotion was pretty expertly crafted across the dual narrative structure. The "past" timeline really captured the essence of exploring the first love and intimacies of the teenage years, while the adult "present" timeline was so raw and vulnerable and made me feel like I had crawled into Macy's heart. As much as I love their rom coms, I think it's almost a shame that they are not writing more of these emotionally charged stories because MY GOD these women can write a tragic twist. I was literally left completely speechless when I found out what the big reveal was even though I thought it was going to be fairly obvious (which it was in some ways but they just took it to a whole extra LEVEL). They also wrote a wonderful cast of supporting characters (which I've noticed they always do), however I appreciated the juxtaposition of Elliot's bright, rambunctious family and Macy's small, quiet and somewhat sad one. Both families were valid, important, and had their strengths and weaknesses in their own way. I listened to this one on audio so I'm not sure if it's a particularly long book or not but all of the characters felt fleshed out without the book feeling unnecessarily long.

While I think the writing and crafting of this story deserves a full five stars, I unfortunately can't rate it that way in good conscience because I found myself unsettled by the ending. I don't want to spoil anyone, but I personally was not rooting for a HEA for this couple as I think the tragedy and time between the first and second chance of this particular romance was too much to overcome and think that it would have done better with more of a bittersweet, live and learn as we go our separate ways type ending. And wooooooow could I never have forgiven Elliot if I was Macy no matter how in love I was with him. He basically KILLED HER DAD. And his whole excuse for cheating was WEAK and PATHETIC. And he constantly sort of casts himself as the victim IMO?

Overall: A really, really solid novel from Christina Lauren and perhaps the most well written one, Love and Other Words packs an emotional punch with after effects that longer for days.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[jamiereadthis]

The fourteen-year-olds talk like adults, which seems implausible, and as adults they act like they’re fourteen, which does seem plausible but not much fun to read. There’s a lot of telling that the main characters are soulmates instead of showing they can handle a mature relationship. Not bad, it’s just… not my thing.

[Leigha]

Two people with a past reunite in this angst-filled adult contemporary romance.

While I’ve enjoyed Christina Lauren’s other books, this one is a huge swing and a miss for me. Elliot and Macy’s connection felt unauthentic and unhealthy. Their relationship as adults needed more depth than their teenage relationship. They didn’t really know one another after eleven years despite the history between the two. It felt more like lust and nostalgia than actual love. Part of my problem might be the formatting. Rarely do I enjoyed stories with a narrative transitioning between the past and present, especially with a major secret in the wings (looking at you Ugly Love). It’s hard for me to connect with characters with such a secret. If I don’t know until the end of the book your road block, how can I properly understand and root for you?

I wish time had been spent developing Macy beyond her messed up past with Elliot. What are her thoughts and feeling toward her job? How did she handle rough days from her work? Hell, does she even read anymore? How does she relax from her job (other than sex and obsessing over Elliot)? I think I know more about Elliot than I do Macy at the end of the novel.

tl;dr An unhealthy romance, underdeveloped characters, and annoying time skip kept me from enjoying this Christina Lauren installment.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Reasons to Grab Earbuds and Listen to Love and Other Words

• Told from the voice of Macy Sorensen, a pediatric doctor, living and working in the San Francisco area. When we first meet Macy she seems to have a perfect life but we quickly learn she has been just going through the motions of life. Macy world turns upside down when she bumps into Elliot, her best friend and first love, whom she hasn't seen since New Year's Day eleven years before. Lauren shares their current interaction as they reconnect, but also gives us chapters from their past.


• Macy lost her mother at an early age but her mother left her father with instructions and tips to help him raise their daughter.  These little tips made me laugh and occasionally weep. It is something I could see myself doing had I faced a similar fate with young children. One thing was to take her away from the city, and her father ends up purchasing a summer/weekend home. It is here that Macy meets Elliot.


• I absolutely adored young Macy. She is a bookworm, shy, sweet and awkward. She and Elliot immediately clicked with their passion for the written word. A tiny closeted alcove became a magical place where they shared, talked and experienced loves firsts. Lauren allows us to understand Macy, and I enjoyed moments from the past, even as I longed to know what drove them apart.


• The romantic development in their youth was delightful.  Wait until you see Elliot and Macy together. It will make you belive in soulmates! Lauren delightfully shared precious, heart-melting moments. She gave us all the awkwardness of young love. With youth comes fears, uncertainty, and mistakes.


• Knowing something tore this young couple apart created an underlying edge to the story. It left me hoping that maturity would allow them to face their past.  If two people belong together it was Elliot and Macy.


• I worried in the beginning, and if I am honest almost set the book down, because Macy was involved in a serious relationship. But Macy was going through the motions and playing it safe. Once Lauren shared that relationship with us and the way it all was handled I could focus on Macy and Elliot.  The drama was kept low as the two worked up to understanding exactly what happened that drove them apart. I laughed, wiped tears from my eyes and felt for not only Macy but Elliot too.


• Erin Mallon narrates, and she totally rocked this one. She enhanced my connection and the emotions of these characters. I loved how it brought their story to life. This was my first experience with her, and I will gladly listen to books narrated by her again.

This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I wasn't sure if Christina Lauren would be able to make me love them more than I did for all the wonderfulness that is Autoboyography, but they totally did with Love and Other Words. I am getting a little misty just thinking about how wonderful this story was!

Who?

Macy - A doctor, who is engaged to an older, financially stable man, with whom she enjoys a comfortable relationship, but has yet to fully commit to him.

Elliot - Macy's former best friend and first love, who broke her heart, but still does not know why she disappeared from his life.

What?

After 11 years, fate intervenes, and Macy crosses paths with Elliot. From the very first glance at their reunion, Macy knew there was still a spark, and realizes how much she missed him in her life, but can she forgive him for what happened in the past and rekindled their friendship?

Why?

I honestly do not know where to start extolling my love for this book, but here's a list of things worth noting.

• This book made me feel so many things. I smiled and laughed and swooned, but I also shed a bunch of tears. There were sad tears and tragic tears, but there were also a bunch of happy tears.

• Man! Talk about making me wait! Christina Lauren kept the whole story to themselves for the bulk of the book, which made me nuts, but also kept me flipping the pages. As they flip between past and present, it's hard to understand what happened to destroy this friendship.

• I loved the alternating timeline, because it let me watch two romances unfold.

• I got to see them grow from ages 13 - 18, and I loved seeing what a beautiful and solid friendship they had. Some of the things they discussed were so intimate, and I have to comment Elliot on being such a great "girlfriend" to Macy when she really needed it.

• I have a special place in my heart for second chance romances, because they give me hope that not all endings are permanent, and the authors gave us one truly beautiful one in this book.

• Can we just talk about how wonderful Elliot's family was? They were so vibrant and loving and I want them to adopt me, but mostly I loved them, because of how lovely they were to Macy.

• Macy's dad was pretty special too. He had to raise his daughter on his own, and thank goodness, mom left him a list, because though he was trying, it was tough for him. I loved all the effort he made and his love and adoration for Macy was so obvious.

• These two were readers, like HUGE book nerds, and nobody loves a book nerd more than another book nerd. And seriously, their friendship and romance grew within the walls of Macy's closet-library.

• I loved Elliot!! I loved young Elliot and I loved grown Elliot. He wasn't perfect, but he was precious. He was always very open and honest and he spoke from the heart, and he loved full on.

And, because I am such a sap, I have to dry the tears that started falling as I recounted things about this book. This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and it just filled my heart with so much joy. Nothing but love for this one.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
*I received a free copy of [title] from [publisher] via Edelweiss. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *Love and Other Words is one of the most poignantly beautiful stories I have ever read! My heart is still reeling, and I want to both laugh and cry at the same time.

Story:

Love and Other Words switches between Macy's childhood and the present, slowly unraveling all her secret thoughts, fears, loves, hopes, and heartaches. Christina Lauren's stories just get better and stronger with each book, and I can hardly even write because my feelings are all over the place.

The character development in Love and Other Words is nothing short of amazing. And the friendship between Elliot and Macy when they were children and teens is beautiful. There were just so many little details about them both that made sense to me.

Love and Other Words is also a devastatingly beautiful second-chance-at love story, and I was so immersed in Macy and Elliot's story I know I'm gong to re-visit them one day.

Characters:

Macy is successful, smart, witty, and lovable. However, she doesn't appear very happy in her present life. In her past, she was rather happy, though, even though her mom died when she was 10. And she gets even happier once she meets Elliot.

Elliot is my new favorite male lead. He's a bit nerdy, extremely smart, sensitive, funny and he has a favorite word for everything!

Elliot's whole family was awesome, the parents, the sisters and brothers, they all wanted only what was best for Elliot.

Writing style :

Love and Other Words is written in first person point of view from Macy's perspective. It switches between the past and the present, and that way, the readers got the full scope of Macy's story - even if some memories were kept until the very end.

Feels :

Love and Other Words brought all the feels. And this story is one of the most beautiful I have ever read.



I would disappear into the background when they touched like this, feeling like I was witnessing something sacred.

It's strange enough to see him from the back, and I'm watching him with such intensity that for a second, I convince myself that it's actually not him after all. Maybe it could be anyone - and after a decade apart, how well do I really know his body, anyway?