Reviews with content warning for Rape - Love and Other Words

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

106 reviews

khopes's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jasmine1911's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I liked the first half of the book. I like watching their friendship build up to what it was and also reading about what they meant to each other however we didn’t learn much about Elliot, which I know is emphasised in the past but even in the future we don’t get much substance from him. I was hoping for more insight on him as a person rather than an extension in a sense of Macy. Some things that did bother me in the past were that

Macy’s aversion to becoming a couple didn’t make much sense to me as they had already crossed a line which they couldn’t go back from such as kissing, basically having sex etc. I also hated how she would badmouth and slut shame any girl that was involved with Elliot however I was willing to give her some grace as she was younger and you see her grow out of this when she gets older.

The point where the book started to fully make a turn for the worse was the ending where we learn why they haven’t spoken in a decade. There was a lot of foreshadowing to what had happened however I think it could have been dealt with better

He gets raped by one of his closest friends but it’s framed more as cheating, which is glossed over and not looked into at all. Some therapy on his end could have helped him deal with the situation and maybe come to terms with it. Furthermore even though it is framed as cheating the author does not seem to care about the fact that he cheated and the one thing that was emphasised was that they love each other, or at least how much he loves her, which is not really sufficient enough for a relationship to succeed etc.

The book had potential if it explored certain things in more depth and truly improved manner.

Better recommendation with similar vibes and similarish MC’s and better writing: People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I heard a lot of good things about this book. I wanted to read it ASAP. When I had the opportunity, I grape it with excitement.

The book is narrated from Macy's point of view in a dual time (then and now). Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's father buys a vacation home. There Macy meets her neighbor Elliot, and they begin a friendship.

Macy has an emotional dependency on Elliot. He becomes her emotional support and therapist at times. The relationship gets complicated when both fall in love. They got scared of ruining their friendship or being rejected by the other. This situation led them to misunderstandings, angst, and entanglements.

Elliot and Macy meet one day by chance after spending 11 years without speaking to each other. This encounter shakes them to their core. Macy realizes that her relationship with her fiancé Sean is not making her happy. She doesn't love him. They are together because the relationship is easy for them.

Elliot dumps his girlfriend as soon as he sees Macy. I would have liked to see Elliot's relationship with Rachel, his girlfriend. She was the person who helped him deal with the aftermath of his breakup with Macy. I dislike the way Elliot handled things with her. Rachel deserved better.

The thing about the adult Elliot is that we don't know anything about him. We know the sweet and thoughtful teenager Elliot. But Adult Elliot is a complete mystery.

The conflict drags on unnecessarily. Elliot and Macy could have worked out their problems from the start. Unfortunately, this harms the reading because once the truth comes out. What happened to them that night is intense, and we don't have enough time to process everything. As readers, we only have a little time to digest and deal with that information.

The climax of the conflict wasn't well handled. We find out that Elliot cheated on Macy with another girl. When Elliot explained the situation, it became clear that he was sexually assaulted. Elliot was so drunk that he couldn't consent to having sex. Emma preyed on him. Even more, considering how confused he was that he thought he was with Macy. Consent works both ways!

At some point, he admitted to having a breakdown while he was with a girl. That is PTSD!

It is a pity that the authors didn't treat the scene as it was. What happened to Elliot is as important and traumatic as what happened to Macy.

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kimmberr's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked it but the conflict felt half-baked to me…then I got really sad (page 381). overall it was a decent story

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danajoy's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I LOVED the first two thirds of this novel. The two timelines, then and now, watching Macy and Elliot fall in love and come back together. They are so clearly drawn to eachother. I loved how all in he was.

I still enjoyed the rest but I personally don't like

when characters have PIV sex for the first time without a condom. Especially when these characters are teenagers. Yes she was on the pill. Would it have been so hard to have him carry one around just in case? Or for her to have some hidden somewhere? It hindered my enjoyment. Especially when they did it again in the present day storyline. Where was the conversation about it?
I also find his explanation of what happened 11 years ago to be odd and very unsettling. Seems like he was raped and yet it gets glossed over. The revelation about it is quickly followed by her dad's death and we dont return to it other than for Macy to say she isn' mad about it.

This is angsty, full of pining and gets sad.

I found all the fascination with his zipper repetitive. It felt weird getting graphic sex scenes when they were 17.

It was annoying that they didnt communicate better as adults. I get that she's a busy paediatric resident at a hospital but surely they could've discussed the things that have kept them apart so long earlier. Especially somewhere that isn't his brother's wedding where there is both a potential audience and alcohol. But *drama*.

Overall I still really liked this book. It could've been a 5 star so I do leave it feeling a little disappointed.

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bakingbookworm's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is about the complicated relationship between Macy and Elliot, and it sounded like a sweet read (and, at times it was) but my feelings for this book are all over the place.

The story is told using two time frames - when Macy and Elliot were kids and later when they reconnect after being apart for over a decade - for reasons yet unknown to the reader. Their bond and interactions over the years were cute, touching and a bit melodramatic and I loved that they were both book lovers and word nerds. Their beginning was my favourite part of the book where we see the sweet relationship between Macy and Elliot as kids and teenagers. The banter, their understanding of each other and chemistry between them started this book off strong.

But as the story progressed, the pacing slowed considerably, the plot became underwhelming, and the reasons for their issues felt contrived. By the halfway mark I was skimming the story, hoping we'd get through the angst, pining and dancing around their true feelings and what happened to separate them years prior. But when we're finally given the reveal (which came very late in the story), it was abrupt and while readers are given reasons to understand Macy's side of things, Elliot's trauma was shockingly left unexplored. Considering the topic and his experience, the lack of recognition and exploring the issue was disappointing.

This is a sweet second chance romance/friends-to-lovers romance between two book lovers who have known each other since childhood that features themes of love, loss and trust. Christina Lauren's books are hit and miss for me and this book falls in the middle of the bunch.

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