Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

18 reviews

hannalizzy's review

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

I loved this book. The romance was so wholesome and pure and I loved watching their friendship evolve as they grew up together. It felt really authentic to each age when it was a reflection chapter, it reminded me so much of my own firsts. 

I would defo categorize this one as a slow burn because it took foreverrrrr for them to finally admit feelings. Best friends to lovers. Second chance romance. 

I felt like

Macy breaking up with Sean was really anticlimactic. It felt too easy and not relatable. I also felt like Elliot gaslit Macy about Emma the whole time and he never really acknowledged or apologized for that. That’s my reason why I couldn’t give it five stars. And sometimes their arguments just circled back around and they repeated things unnecessarily. 

Other than that, this book was so incredibly cozy and cute. I loved the focus on family and holidays (I’m totally gonna reread this one around Christmas and Thanksgiving in the coming years) and the romance was adorable. Elliot is swoonworthy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Vomit, and Mental illness

stllyltc's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I wasn't particularly fond of how the character was written. As an individual, it flowed how there was so much more to unpack. The intense avoidant detachment coming from it was insanely unhealthy for the sake of so-called friendship. Reading this has made me realize once again why the romance genres are so not my type of reading. Reeling away from processing grief, not facing reality, steering to convenience rather than actually living and not just merely passing by time, knowing someone just at arm's length, and settling for less—it follows a concept of the character's journey towards her perception and life in general. As the experience she endowed was distraughting enough, it's good overall, but it was icky for some reason. It's a shame I had to skip some parts because it just wasn't it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Pregnancy

strayedthoughts's review

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Medical content, and Vomit

abigail_hos's review

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is so good. I read 350 pages yesterday and finished it this morning. Yes I read it fast because I’m returning it (long story) but also cuz it’s really so so good. It’s so easy to just keep reading, to say hmm just one more chapter. I love how I got to see them grow up it’s so beautiful the way they communicated. Their honesty, I just love everything about it. All their inside jokes, the favorite word, the dragon porn. Love it. I love their little closet library and how he always brought her his books. It was just so cute and I love it. I love the mom’s checklist thing, and the daughter dad dynamic. I love Elliot’s family, literally everything about this book I love so so much. It’s so cute. 5/5. This kinda felt like a Colleen Hoover book idk why. The favorite word thing reminded me of their little jokes in it ends with us which is a good thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Vomit, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Vomit

Minor: Blood and Pregnancy

thefatpaperback's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

While this book has romance elements (childhood friends to lovers and a happily ever after) this book is fiction. It’s specifically marketed as “women’s fiction,” but I don’t really care for that genre name category so I’m going with fiction. And damnit this book is good. It feels nostalgic, mainly because the chapters alternate between the present and the past. I loved the tension between  Elliot and Macy, and “soulmate” quality of their relationship. I’ve read a couple Christina Lauren books that I’ve enjoyed, but this one is the best I’ve read by them. I want more fiction works from them with  romance elements, rather than just purely romantic stories. They captured so many emotions in this book, that I’m already tempted to read it all over again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault

There is a scene where a character describes having sex with someone while intoxicated. They thought they were consenting to sex with someone else, rather than the person performing the acts. This event happens off page, but the discussions of the trauma the event caused happens on page. Therefore, I’ve marked the book as moderately depicting sexual assault.

christinemcgoveran's review

funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a delightful and fun read. It was hard at points because it does deal with death and loss. I liked the idea of the two timelines, past and present. The story of Elliot and Macy going through their teenage years together and how they reconnected was really touching. I loved how books, reading, and words plays a role in the story. I will remember this books and recommend it to other people. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Abandonment, Car accident, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death

rafa_y's review

emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent

chasejoychanise's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the only book I’ve ever read where chapters switching from preset and past don’t bother me. It’s perfect, tells the story so we’ll. Sad and hopeful and reflective and inspiring. Snatches you in and makes you root for the main characters. Great exploration of young love and grief. Makes you value time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Car accident

Moderate: Abandonment and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Toxic friendship