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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Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren is THE BOOK! My all time favorite read.
From the get-go, I was sucked into Macy and Elliot’s story. Wanted to jump in the pages and breathe their air. Cuddle up with a good book inside Macy’s closet. Sun on the upper deck of Elliot’s house. Feel the love blooming from the most magnificent friendship.
Words cannot describe my love for this book. After reading the book, I’ve listened to the audio over and over. And each time, I love it more than the time before.
This is a library ebook I couldn’t put down. Before I even finished it, I ordered a print copy from Amazon. This heart-warming contemporary is about young lovers who meet years later after a disastrous night that changed their lives. The chapters alternate between the past and the present but were easy to follow the plot.
Poignant, funny, and beautifully crafted. This is a story I revisit again and again
This book is why Christina Lauren has consistently remained at the top of my favorite authors list. They have quickly sealed themselves as a 1-click duo. Everything they put out has lovable characters I root hard for, lovely settings, and slow burn angst-written romances that makes me swoon and want to linger in their worlds. Yes!!! And did I say YES, yet? Because it’s a YES from me and to anyone in need of a recommendation. Muah!
This was a little more brutal on the feelings than I could really handle right now, and Macy’s situation hit uncomfortably close to home. I definitely enjoyed the alternating timelines to tell the story, but Macy and Elliot were perfect for each other mostly because they would be awful for anyone else.
This book uses every other chapter to go back and forth between the main characters’ teenage years and the present. At first, this made the story feel a little choppy to me. However, once I found the rhythm, there was no putting it down! I really enjoyed this story!
When a story is really emotional, I get this strange physical reaction where the back of my hands ache. It’s the strangest thing, and only a handful of authors can pull it off, and let me just say…I was NOT expecting it with this book. I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of other Christina Lauren books in the romance genre, however, they didn’t have the same depth of story as this one, which is what caught me off-guard. This book is flawlessly crafted, and reminds me a lot of Liane Moriarty’s “Truly, Madly, Guilty”. Highly, highly recommend!
My favorite book by CA. This book was just everything. There were some points where I was like.. WTF? but I loved this story.
This is my favorite book I’ve read in a long time. It was almost indescribable… but I’ll give it a shot. I loved the characters, they came to life in the audio version and hooked me immediately and left me on the edge of seat after a roller coaster of emotions. The characters were so well written and the story line- hauntingly tragic in it’s own way.
I’m telling everyone I know to go out and read this book.
If you are a book lover- this is a must have to add to your collection!
4.5 Stars
It’s going to take me a while to gather my thoughts about this book. I fully agree that Christina Lauren have written a breathtaking, heartbreakingly beautiful story that deserves praise and adoration. However, I have to admit that upon further reflection and an abundance on over-analyzing, I’m left with too many questions in the aftermath to give this a full 5 stars. It stands to reason that my over-analyzing will continue and that it’s possible my opinion could change. All signs point to the FACT that this story is so well-written that I don’t even know how to process the feelings it’s created. Stay tuned.
Updated :
It’s been two days since I finished reading this story but it hasn’t been two minutes since I’ve stopped thinking about it. I’ve gone back and forth on my rating no more than a dozen times since I finished reading and I’ve been dreading this review because, frankly, my mind still isn’t settled from the emotional roller coaster.
I am SO in love with Elliot and Macy and their transition from best friends to a couple as teens; Through tragedy and separation and then running into each other again after eleven years. The way that Christina Lauren took us through their relationship by alternating between the past and present was a perfect way to show us how they fell in love, how it fell apart and how they might be able to finally get their happy ever after.
I know that I’m not supposed to read other reviews but sometimes I need to do it in order to gather my thoughts. I noticed a lot of people saying how things that happened were so out of character for Elliot. At first I agreed, then I looked at it outside of the haze of love and high esteem that I held for Elliot and remembered how, throughout the story, he dabbled in normal teen behavior. We also only saw him through Macy’s eyes and it was made clear that she didn’t always know everything that was going on with him. I don’t see his behavior as necessarily uncharacteristic but definitely a little disappointing, while not absolutely unforgivable.
Macy and Elliot’s love was real and honest but sometimes life can veer out of control through a series of little tragedies that turn into larger tragedies and before anyone knows it, things can never be the same. Fortunately for them, and us as readers, sometimes life can also give you a second chance to turn what should’ve been into what can be now.
Back to my rating. I want so badly to give this a full 5 Stars because a book can’t make me feel this heartbroken, yet so full at the same time if it wasn’t an extremely well-written, fully developed story, right? Unfortunately I keep coming back to the fact that something is missing for me and I’m left with a lot of questions and I just can’t commit to being 100% happy with the story. I’m usually not the reader who needs dual POV in order to completely love a story but I can’t help but feel that just one chapter of Elliot’s POV could change everything for me. So, I’m back at a 4.5 for now. Give me another month of over-analyzing and dissecting this story over and over, because it’s going to happen, and perhaps my rating with change again. All of that being said, I really hope that you’ll read this story because, no matter how heartbroken I am from it , I don’t regret for one minute reading it. In fact, I don’t regret it so much that I’ve already reread it, and will probably continue to do so for a long time to come.
I’ve read Christina Lauren’s three most recent stand-alone novels (The Unhoneymooners, Josh & Hazel, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand), they are all so fabulous!! Knowing this, I knew I would love Love & Other Words – but I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to put the book down – literally! I read this in one day and this story will stay with me.
The dynamic writing duo of Christina Lauren (so flawlessly written you would never know two women are writing this instead of one), have quickly become my favorite go-to authors. They know how to make readers feel every.single.emotion. I laughed, and cried reading this – and most definitely fell in love with Elliott and Macy. The dual timeline was easy to follow along with and gave so much depth to the characters current day story.
There were twists in the story I really didn’t see coming and I love how the storyline is wrapped up. My only hope is someone buys the rights to this and makes it into a movie because I want more Elliott and Macy!!
Highly suggest this to all my reader friends!!
I had Love and Other Words on my TBR for almost a year now and thanks to the Romanceopoly Challenge I was able to make time to read it finally. Love and Other Words happened to be my 2nd roll for the challenge when I rolled a ‘3’ and landed on Women’s Avenue. I’ve only read a few Women’s Fiction (Chick Lit) books, but thanks to the challenge I’m going to give this genre more of my attention.
I finished reading Love and Other Words on January 21, 2019. I started reading it the day before on the 20th and finished it the next day since this was a book that was hard to put down. It put me through an emotional wreck, especially at the end of the book. I was literally in tears that my hubs asked me what was wrong? I couldn’t tell him because he would have never understood.
Christina Lauren left me hanging until the very end on what happened between the main character and her first and only love of her life. Why were they not together in their adult lives? I wanted to know, which is why it didn’t take me long to read this book.
One thing to mention is that the book is told by one character and that is Macy Sorensen. You don’t get another POV in this story, which makes it a WF/Chick Lit story. First, you are introduced to her as an adult and then she happens to run into someone from her past, Elliot Petropoulos who she thought would be her forever. In comes the back and forth chapters of Macy and Elliot as teenagers and present-day adults to finally get to the bottom on what happened between the two.
First off, I love Elliot Petropoulos in this book. This young man here is what I would consider the perfect best guy friend who would be the ideal boyfriend. So many personality traits and qualities about him that won me over, especially after realizing he loves to read books. Macy also loves to read books. (Seriously, a couple that loves to read together. LOVE!)
This book has a lot of friendship, tension, angst, sadness, and romance in it. The very end will be the big doozy of them all though. Be prepared to have tissues on hand.
This book gets 5 stars from me, and I highly recommend it to readers that love Women’s Fiction (Chick Lit) and even fans of Contemporary Romance. This happened to be my second book from the author duo, and I plan on reading even more of their books very soon.
I give myself three more seconds to look at him, and it’s like another punch to the gut. He’s my person. He’s always been my person. My best friend, my confidant, probably the love of my life. And I’ve spent the last eleven years being angry and self-righteous. But at the end of the day, he tore a hole in us, and fate ripped it wide open.
Love and Other Words was such an amazing story. I was seriously hooked from page one, and at no point in this story did I ever want to stop reading it. The story of Macy and Elliot is told in past and present tense. I loved being able to witness their journey. Their journey kept me hopeful for what was to come, then had me anxious for what I knew already happened. The writing in this story was truly amazing. I don’t know why I haven’t read more from Christina Lauren, but that is going to be changing.
Love and Other Words is the story of two people meeting at a young age, and creating this bond that is unlike any other. It is the story of two people finding a love so strong and meaningful, yet not knowing how to keep it. It is the story of love, mistakes, heartache, and healing. This story was seriously everything.
In my opinion, when a romance book has very little sex, and still keeps me immersed in its pages, drowning in its story, I know that it’s bound to be an amazing book, and that is exactly what this book is. AMAZING . Love and Other Words is for sure a top favorite for the year, and yes I am aware that the year just started. Believe me, it is that good!
To the wonderful duet, Christina Lauren, thank you for sharing such a beautiful, emotional story. I seriously recommend it to EVERYONE. I’ll for sure be reading many more books from you guys!
Omg. This book was amazing. Loved Macy & Elliot. Both so sweet. The story alternates between their childhood & adults. Love this. I was so invested in their story. Couldn’t put it down. I love everything these ladies write. But gotta say this book is exceptional.
Why on earth did it take me so long to finally pick up this book and read it. I absolutely adored it. Read it in one sitting. Up till the early morning and it was so worth it. Christina Lauren has to write more women’s fiction cause Love And Other Words was fantastic. Wow. Elliott and Macy’s story was so well developed and full of love. Their friendship and love oozed off the pages. Macy and her father made me laugh and cry. Both the past and present chapters worked for me. Linking them perfectly to why Macy is they she is.
Elliott and Macy gave me all the feels. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So good. Such a beautiful friendship growing into love. The final chapter and sentence was spot on.
5 Favorite Word Stars
*5 Stars*
Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was awesome. I devoured it and was hanging onto every word. The story is told both through the eyes of the past and the present, and progresses along side each other quite nicely. We start with when Elliot and Macy first meet as children, alongside when they run into each other after 11 years of no contact.
As we get to know each of them as adults, and see the connection that never really went away, we begin to wonder what happened when they were younger. As that story is progressing in the past chapters, you kind of start to piece together bits and pieces, but when you get to the big reveal, I was only half expecting what had happened.
I loved both of these characters and I truly loved Elliot’s family. Sabrina, Macy’s best friend, was another great secondary character too.
This one is a roller coaster of emotions, and I was hanging to find out what would happen. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and can’t wait to get around to catching up on more of this duo’s work.
I’m a sucker for second chance romances and friends to lovers romances. This book gave me both which I loved! Macy and Elliot met at a young age while she was there for the summers with her father. I loved how the story was told in the past and present. We got to see and feel the connection that build between Macy and Elliot. It was a nice and delicious slow burn which I loved. I loved the fact that they were bookworms and had their own library.
This wasn’t your typical second chance romance novels because at times this story was heartbreaking. I wasn’t sure how much my heart could take at times. As expected there was a twist and honestly I can’t believe this character would do this to the other character. I know I’m being vague but this doesn’t make sense and seems so unlike them. Like I still don’t believe this happened. Nope. Then when you think things can’t get any worse it does. Just rip my heart out Christina Lauren!!!
This is the third book that I have read by this author and I’m loving their books so much! This book was lot more emotional than “Roomies” and “The House” and I enjoyed every heart and soul crushing moment. This story will make you believe in second chance romances that can overcome so many odds!
Sits with you for a long time. Star-crossed, second-chance love.
I’ve been in the worst book funk, and even as I started this, I wasn’t convinced that this would be the book to break it. But Christina Lauren wove a tale that very subtly wrapped me up in it until I couldn’t put it down.
I became immersed in May and Elliot’s story, invested in seeing how they got together, we’re torn apart and rediscovered each other. It was fantastic. And also sad and had me in tears. I loved this book and each and every character. This is definitely a must read!
3.75 stars
So… This was an entertaining read, I think that the story about the friendship and the first love between the main characters was so cute, that innocence and spontaneity of childhood and adolescence.
On the other hand, sometimes the heroin Macy annoyed me, I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t forgive and be with Elliot since only with him she really felt happy.
After…I couldn’t understand how Elliot could be so fool and do what he did, even though I know that people do make mistakes like the one Elliot did, I think that in Macy’s place, I would forgive him, but I wouldn’t be in a romantic relationship with him again.
In any case, this book will make you think about love and other things, therefore you should read it, if you like second chance romance.