Love and Other Words
Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: April 10, 2018
Genre: Romance
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.

This story was so emotional and encompasses over a decades worth of time between characters. I really liked the way the authors wrote this story, because it gave us a better sense of the main characters. The chapters alternated between the past and the current time. So we were witness to the first time that Elliot and Macy met, all their weekends and summers together, as well as watched them grow up to young adults. We were privy to their puberty changes, the conflict of living separate lives while away from each other, as well as understanding their deep bond. I think without the past aspect of the book, the present would have felt superficial and lacking.

Because we had the history connecting everything together, Macy’s response seemed normal. Heck, even Elliot’s over the top immediately falling in love with her seemed natural. Mainly because, you realized that she was not only just his first love… but his only love. He never stopped loving her. If I’m being honest, reading about Elliot and Macy’s story was sad. Both of these characters went through a lot. You know a huge falling out happened with them eleven years ago, but when it’s revealed, it’s a bit shocking… and I won’t lie, I cried.

As always, Christina Lauren wove a beautiful story that followed two children into adulthood and showed that there can be such a thing as soul mates. While I do wish the author maybe brushed up on the big controversial part in the story (sorry, no spoilers), I still really enjoyed the story as a whole. This author duo always knows how to reel me in with a good romance filled with depth and emotion. This story was no different.