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 … 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.
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This is just terrific and you should read it immediately. I hope there are more like this in the pipeline!
This was my first Christina Lauren book, and it won’t be my last. I fell in love with this “then and now” story. I’m a sucker for love finding a way and love has to find a way with Macy and Elliott. I also dig a book that is real. It tells the story of life as it happens, and it is often not pretty. It is often heartbreaking and soul crushing. But if you have someone…or someones (family and friends), you will find your way…eventually. There is humor in this book too (and lots of it), and more characters than our hero and heroine to fall in love with. If you haven’t picked up this gem, do so. You won’t regret it!
I adored everything about this book. The characters were fabulous, and it was simply unique.
Love and Other Words is filled with that hope, the spark of something so beautiful that you fear outside influence. You just know that left alone this love will flourish and become…beyond words. So you cling to it, you huddle around it and try to keep it out of the storm. The storm, you don’t even know what kind- just that it’s coming.
So here you sit cradling this football sized spark, hunched over keeping it out of the rain, when a Category 5 hurricane blows through. It left you in the wreckage. Your hands are empty and you cannot identify a single thing in a half mile radius. The spark is gone. You have no idea where, what, or how. That feeling- lost, bereft, and torn apart- is how Love and Other Words starts.
Bereft, lost, and torn apart…simply existing. Knowing full well the spark is gone with no clue how to get it back, that is how Macy is…existing.
But the spark isn’t lost anymore, no, Elliot is here. Now… Macy needs to figure it all out. Vexing as it maybe, Love and Other Words is a story that needs to be proclaimed.
Not only will you enjoy the story but there are some great words to toss around.
Book received in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed on behalf of Once Upon An Alpha
Absolutely phenomenal.
I love a friends-to-lovers story, and I love a story that gives us a dual timeline. This book hit both of those checkboxes and was just a delight to read. Lovable characters and a romantic, page-turning story.
Christina Lauren is one of my go to one-click authors. I haven’t read a book by this duo that I haven’t loved. Love and Other Words is yet another magnificent masterpiece by these ultra talented ladies.
Macy and Elliott’s story is more than just a romance. It is a coming of age, second chance, best friends and family story with a hint of romance. Told through present day and flashbacks this story will grab a hold of your attention and your emotions, running you through a gauntlet of real life experiences.
If you are new to Christina Lauren’s writing then this is the perfect book to get your feet wet. Not as steamy as their Beautiful series and not a rom-com like Dating You/Hating You but thoroughly enjoyable all the same.
5 stars
**Review by Amy W., Late Night Reviewer for Up All Night w/ Books**
Macy thinks she’s finally made it in life – she has a great job, friends, and a new fiance. But, after seeing her first and only love again, she can’t help but wonder if things could have been different. When old feelings start to resurface after never having the closure she needed when she walked away from Elliott, Macy is forced to confront all the demons that she ran from.
Being told in a Then and Now narrative, we get a glimpse of the friends to soulmates relationship that is Macy and Elliot. With their love of books binding their connection, can their love overcome everything they’ve endured? As adults, they have become strangers until their fated reconnection back in San Francisco. Their stories of how the night that ended it all comes to the forefront of their reconciliation. They are forced to relive the night that changed it all and faced to overcome the why behind it.
I love me a Christina Lauren book. It tugs at my heart strings and always has me wanting more. This gave me an Emily Henry PWMOV and a Nov 9 by CoHo vibe (which I both loved!). “Love and Other Words” makes you believe in soulmates and coming to terms that fate is undeniable no matter how far they may wander.
Do not pass on this one…
Gut-wrenching, sweet and sad – you will be all over the place – until the pieces fall into place.
If ever there was a book written about soulmates, Love and Other Words has to be it. When Macy and Elliott meet when very young, their love of books and words have already given them something precious to share. As the years go by, they experience a slow awakening of their bodies and hearts to each other. Their story is so incredibly touching that it made my heart weep.
The dual timeline of Then and Now gives you a gap–a gap of eleven missing years in which each of them went on with their lives without the other. You are left wondering what could have possibly driven them apart and all is not explained until the very end of the book. The slow burn between the two in the past is touching and incredible to witness. The ending is as satisfying as any I’ve ever read.
I listened to the audio version of this book. The narration by Erin Mallon is incredible. She could read me the numbers that make up Pi and I would be entranced.
4.5
This is a beautifully written second change romance told in alternative chapters in the past and present. The way it plays out is fitting to show us just enough to explain what is happening in the present time and reflecting back to the events that solidified their relationship. It’s not as funny as I’m used to from these authors but I appreciated the humor we got with this contemporary story. It’s about families and heartbreak, loyalty and betrayal, miscommunication and an endless love that even with time doesn’t fade. I adored both these characters equally and could have read more about them and looked further into their future. I loved that I found this book in KU and will quickly pick up another as I always enjoy a CL novel.
I didn’t want it to end.
I would have happily read until Elliot and Macy were 98 years old, on their death bed and surrounded by their 8 children, 26 grands, and 12 greats. This book was everything I love. The characters were 3 dimensional, smart and kind, and their story was so well written you could feel their friendship, love, and devotion grow with every paragraph.
Love and Other Words is just one in along line of books that make Christina Lauren books an immediate one click for me. Well done, Ladies!
There are almost not enough words to describe how much I absolutely loved this book. I’m almost mad at myself because I’ve had this paperback sitting on my shelf for a couple years. I could have gone through this wonderful journey a lot sooner if I would have picked it up sooner! I know it’s like 2 weeks into January BUT I think this could be one of the top 10 favorite reads in 2021! This story has everything I LOVE about reading a book!
It is a second chance friends to lovers story that has loads of back story and development between the characters. The undeniable chemistry these two characters had for each other was palpable and could be felt coming off the pages. Add in the fact that reading / literature is the backbone of their friendship makes me love this book that much more! This was slow burn paradise. I sighed out loud, I laughed out loud, and I definitely cried at this book. Christina Lauren outdid themselves with this masterpiece!
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Sometimes there’s this moment, when reading a book, that you know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience. It might sneak up on you over the course of a story. It could arrive with a heart-crushing realization at some point near the middle or end. But there are those truly special characters and stories that have an underlying energy to them, a vibration that resonates with something at your core. This is one of those stories for me.
This is the first book I’ve attempted to read on my phone. I was worried that doing so might be difficult or distracting. Within the first couple pages, that misplaced concern melted away into the lives of Macy Sorensen and Elliot Petropoulos. I’m one of those that still loves holding a physical book in my hands. And to express just how powerful this book was for me, I will be owning two copies: an e-book on my phone and a paperback that will sit on my bookshelf, spine out, so each time I walk by it I’m reminded of its magic.
It’s easy to share that the characters, plot, emotion, and immersive setting in this novel were all orchestrated like a fine-tuned symphony. But there’s a layer beneath that, maybe many, that connect with the heart, mind, and soul in a way that transcends words. Yes, it’s ironic, being this is a story composed of twenty-six characters arranged in a unique and compelling way. But it’s the way those same characters, plot, emotions, and immersive settings accompany the reader along the course of their everyday lives that is transformative.
I’m usually not one to appreciate intimate scenes in a book. Too often, their placed into the story in a way that feels gratuitous. And if you are put off by intimacy in a novel, this might not be the book for you. However, I would like to emphasize the word “might”. While there are scenes which delve into quite explicit physical encounters, I felt more connected to the emotional weight of the words and actions than anything else throughout these moments in the story.
Each turn of phrase, every raw emotional outpouring, connected me with each of these characters and their shared plight in a manner that had me not only rooting for them, but living the same roller coaster ride alongside them. The co-author duo took me along with them on an emotional journey that ripped at my heart in one moment and tickled my soul in the next.
This is easily my favorite book of the year, and quite possibly, much farther into the past. It arrived on my doorstep at a time of the year when so many other things were vying for my attention. And while the combination of family experiences, musical concerts, and my own writing experiences created its own sort of magic, the presence of this book and the message it delivers fit like a puzzle piece I never realized was missing.
Like the compelling question Macy and Elliot share from the opening chapters of this novel: Favorite word? All of them. Every. Single. One. Not only for how they exist on their own, but also for how they string together to create an emotional experience that’s immersive, authentic, and enveloped by love in its purest form.
I enjoyed the YA quality of this book mixed with an adult romance. It’s like my book addition fed. What I didn’t like was the main character’s indecision and whininess. It makes sense in the end, but it was hard to stay on the journey with her.
I fell for Christina Lauren with the Beautiful series and it remains my favorite. I’m not sure how I missed Love and Other Words! This beautiful, poignant story of first love and trauma and hope touched me deeply. It reminded me of my first love and resurrected all the feels from those days.
Gorgeous writing, intriguing and unique characters, and great world building. HIghly recommend.
This book is objectively a five-star book. It’s beautifully written, with engaging, likable characters, interwoven timelines that manage to not be confusing, and plots twists that aren’t just for the sake of twists.
However, it wasn’t really the book I was in the mood to read. It’s incredibly sad, and I wish someone had warned me of that beforehand. So here’s your warning: this book is sad. Be prepared to maybe cry or at least get all the feels.
I know this is many people’s favorite CLo’s book, but I prefer their romcoms–and this has no com. I can’t fault this book for that, though. It was well and truly excellent. Be prepared to be almost more invested in the love story of the MC’s at 18 than 29, though, so if you don’t like reading about high schoolers (I know some people don’t, because it reminds them of their kids), this probably isn’t the book for you.
Christina Lauren became one of my favorite authors ever since I read and listened to her book, The Unhoneymooners, and Erin Mallon is one of my favorite narrators. However, I was very hesitant to pick up this book. One of the reasons is that I am not a fun of alternating timelines between then and now. I also heard that this is a YA novel, a genre I usually stay away from.
I’m glad that I took the chance to read/listen to the book. Christina Lauren made the then and now switches work. This is not only a friends to lovers then a second chance romance novel, but it is also a poignant novel about love within the families, especially between Macy, the heroine, and her father, and the dynamics of the Petropoulos (Eliot, the hero’s family) relationships.
Before I found out why Macy was undecided if she’d stay with her fiancee or take back Elliot, I’m a little annoyed at her. I kept saying that she is so wishy-washy and preferred safe relationships rather than be with Elliot, the love of her life. I liked Elliot. They are soulmates and “everything friends” since childhood that for unhappy situations, which were not revealed until the later chapters, they lost contact until 11 years later in a fortunate serendipity stroke.
The characters were well developed. I laughed, swooned, and cried listening to the book! I really cried when I learned why Macy blamed Elliot for what happened to her life that one fateful January night. I’m not giving away any spoiler alert. Read and/or listen to the book and find out!
Last but not least, the narration is spot on! Erin rocks both the female and male narrations. This book is going to be one that I will be listening to several times over!
I have trouble reviewing books that are so well-reviewed. I can’t bring anything new to the table, so I tend to make the reviews short and sweet. This was a slow burn for sure, because you know there’s a past, you hope there’s a future, but you also want to follow the story to find out how we got to where we started the book.
I didn’t have the extensive past that Macy and Elliot have with my relationship. But when he showed up at my school Freshman year, I declared we would be best friends. So I was especially drawn to their story. As I work my way through Christina Lauren’s back catalog, I find so much to love that I had missed out on by starting with their newer works. Heat and tension, the slow-burn, heartbreak and tears, young love, and mature love, this one had it all.
Clearly, I love this writing duo and I adored this book. So I will leave with a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“I like your kind of quiet. Your heart isn’t quiet.”
“It feels like he’s part of my nuclei, entwined with my DNA.”
“His kiss is an aching prayer; devotion pours from him.”
“You’re not my outside, you’re my every side.”
*swoon*
review on my blog
https://www.emilythebooknerd.com/2020/01/love-and-other-words.html#more