Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Love and Other Words

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

256 reviews

meroei's review against another edition

emotional 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

1.5

It’s a cute book at first. I liked how Macy and Elliot got along, and the progression of their relationship. I found Elliot to be refreshingly open and honest, and yet an awkward teen at times, while Macy was earnest and shy.

I really did not like the end—the pace significantly slowed around 2/3 through, and it felt like the suspense was contrived. The reveal ruined my opinion :/

Elliot was raped, and except for a throwaway line about Macy knowing it wasn’t his fault, the story just moved on. Worse, it left the blame mainly on Elliot!

I disliked Macy, perhaps because we spent the whole time in her head. She was very tentative, constantly waffling about what she wanted from Elliot and her life, and pushed off the big conversation until the very very end. I did enjoy Elliot’s character, however.

Content Warnings

slahlum's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

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

3.0

SPICY

Content Warnings

siareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

2.75

At first I really loved this book. The depiction of grief really broke me, the author really nailed the feeling. I would’ve loved to know what made Macy chose her field of work since there was no indication of her going into it and she never really spoke about it at all minus sharing some of her weekly activities. I felt like a lot of times them as kids talking sounded more like adults. Felt really icky/disturbed after learning about what kept them apart for a decade.

It was definitely sexual assault/rape but never explained in that way. They framed it as his fault.

I got super frustrated with the author not explaining that especially after it was clear that

Elliot had PTSD from the experience, saying he broke down sobbing after having his first sexual encounter with someone after that.

It brought down the rating of the book for me.

Content Warnings

bubblybuttercup's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

i recommend! its an easy read. its emotional, but with a hopeful tone and happy ending. the grief and parental loss is handled well. the main character’s adolescent, friends to lovers origin story is excellently done. you definitely feel the weight that them not being together has. the main character is multidimensional and has depth. finally, the side characters are also so endearing and charismatic.

All in all, this was an wonderful read.

Content Warnings

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

shasta_queen_of_hell's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

4.5

Content Warnings

lyndsay_bibliophile's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No

2.0

I have mixed feelings… the dual timeline kept this book fast-paced, but I also had a strong desire just to be done with it. The relationships are unhealthy.

Descriptive teen sex without condoms and Elliot is obviously raped. I had an immediate ick that Macy moved in with Sean after the first night she slept with him. There is also a harmful reference to drug addiction - “At what point will Sean be forced to tell his perfect kid that her mom loved drugs more than she loved them?” - this is harmful and minimizing - addiction is a disease and the MC is a medical doctor, so this didn’t sit right with me. The story is predictable and I struggled to get into it at first, but it did get better.

Content Warnings