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.
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
Reading updates
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Started reading
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14 May, 2018:
Finished reading
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14 May, 2018:
Reviewed