Love and Other Words
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: April 10, 2018
Pages: 432
My Rating: ★★★★★

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. Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).
A girl runs into her first love years later as an adult.
This is by far my favorite Christina Lauren book so far. I have not been this emotional about a book in a very long time. Love and Other Words kept me up until around 4 AM. I read it in one whole sitting it was that good. I laughed, I cried, and I even became angry but in a good way several times throughout the book. It is one emotional roller coaster ride of a book. This book is everything that I want out of a contemporary romance novel. The writing is absolutely beautiful and pulls on your heartstrings. Christina Lauren is easily one of my favorite authors. I love this book so much!  

The book alternates in time. It shows the main characters, Macy and Elliot in the past falling in love for the first time. Then, later on in the future after they run into each other after many years apart. Sparks immediately begin to fly once again. The book shows the importance of family and how valuable love is in life. Ultimately, that love conquers all. 

It deals with tremendous grief in the best way. How overtime you grow as a person. The story flows so beautifully. It never once felt forced. I cared for the characters so much. I don't think I have cried that much while reading a novel ever. Many times, I was at a loss for words because it was so mesmerizing. 

The novel showed the awkwardness of falling in love for the first time. Even how awkward it is to lose your virginity. It was very easy to connect to the plot and characters. The whole thing was extremely relatable. The past and the present are equally intertwined. I love stories about having a second chance at a love that was lost. 

I was not expecting the heart-wrenching ending. It came out of nowhere but in the best way possible. The novel had one of the most beautiful endings that I have ever read. Despite this being a romance novel, it has a lot of substance. Everyone needs to read this book! Love and Other Words shows how forgiveness is achieved over time. 

I am keeping this review pretty brief as I do not want to spoil anything. It's better to go into the book without knowing much as I did. It made the story all the better. Everyone will benefit from reading this book. It's so much more than just a love story. It has a great way of showing life's many ups and downs and how to move on. Easily a five-star book! I did not want this story to end.
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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. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)