A review by jasmine1911
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

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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