Book Review: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

About the Book

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. 

My Thoughts

I’d heard rumblings how good this book was so I jumped into reading it without having looked at the blurb or other reviews. What an unexpected delight it turned out to be.

After 11 years apart, Macy Sorenson and Elliott Petropoulos meet by chance and this is the springboard for readers to discover their past as this multi-layered story moves between the past and the present.

This book is more than just a friends-to-lovers or a second chance romance. It showcases love and relationships in a variety of forms. I cried, I laughed, I was happy, I was sad. I was all over the place with my emotions and I just kept reading until I finished. My ebook is a rainbow of colours because I highlighted so many passages It was a compelling read and it’s going on my best of 2018 list.

Finally, one of the best things this book offers is the celebration of books, reading and words. I wish I had an Elliott in my life at a young age. The time he and Macy spent together, simply reading and sharing their thoughts was simply wonderful to read about. What a marvellous way to forge a relationship.

I cannot wait to listen to the audio version of this book.

About the Authors

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages.

http://christinalaurenbooks.com/