Love and Other Words,

by Christina Lauren

Publication: Gallery Books; April 10, 2018

love and other words 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 Review:

Oh, my goodness, I’m not sure where to begin – but I have so much love for the latest by Christina Lauren, Love and Other Words. This is the story of Macy and Elliot, who become fast friends growing up after her father purchases a weekend home next doot Elliot’s family. Brought together by their love of books and words, their friendship develops from the time that he is 14 and Macy is 13. Later at the age of 29, Macy spots Elliot in a cafe one morning, and all of the history, emotion, and hurt between them comes flooding back. Working as a Pediatric Neurologist and engaged to a “convenient and secure” man, Macy must decide whether to carry on with her life of survival or try to come to terms with her and Elliot’s past.

First and foremost, this is my first time reading Christina Lauren and it wasn’t until after I finished that Christina Lauren is actually a collaboration between two authors. I love it when I have no idea that two different minds went into creating a novel and characters that are fantastic. Secondly, I love that this novel seems to cover so many genres from YA to New Adult & College, and Women’s Fiction. Meeting the characters as young teenagers, getting to know them as adults, and learning every in between was not only special but added a great deal of depth to both Macy and Elliott, as well as, their family and friends who went through changes with them.

Love and Other Words is such an emotional rollercoaster that shifts between friendship, romance, sadness, and happiness. Macy and Elliot represent true love and friendship, as well as, lost loves and loneliness – but most importantly – they represent the beauty of firsts and lasts, despite time apart. This novel made my heart ache at times, but mostly made it almost beat out of my chest with all of the love and feels! I enjoyed the shifts between time periods, but mostly fell in love with the outstanding writing, characterization, and emotion. I highly recommend this one!

*Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!