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A review by thatswhatshanread
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
I think I can officially say that the duo of Christina Lauren has successfully infiltrated my heart into the deepest, most emotional parts.
I feel numb after finishing this one, because I felt everything else while reading it. It didn’t take me long at all to pour through it, but somehow I’m left thinking I’d been inside those words for years and years. It was so comforting, real, sweet, honest, deep, heartbreaking… and other words.
To say this is a ‘great romance’ is doing it a disservice—it is an overwhelming portrait of every pulsing vein that makes up a contemporary romance. The chemistry between Elliot and Macy, built up so naturally, stretched into an aching slow burn, the intensity of raw hurt and mixed signals, dialogue dripping with honesty, the painful passage of time lost. Short chapters switching between “then” and “now” made it all the more heart racing. Would love prevail?
This isn’t a romcom, like the other books by Lauren that I’ve read. I adore romcoms, but I adore real stories even more. Real characters, real emotions, real loss, real situations. And this is real, this is all-encompassing, this is love.
Lauren’s full-hearted leap with this romantic drama is an instant winner for me. Hard to believe it was their first foray into women’s lit. What a home run.
I feel numb after finishing this one, because I felt everything else while reading it. It didn’t take me long at all to pour through it, but somehow I’m left thinking I’d been inside those words for years and years. It was so comforting, real, sweet, honest, deep, heartbreaking… and other words.
To say this is a ‘great romance’ is doing it a disservice—it is an overwhelming portrait of every pulsing vein that makes up a contemporary romance. The chemistry between Elliot and Macy, built up so naturally, stretched into an aching slow burn, the intensity of raw hurt and mixed signals, dialogue dripping with honesty, the painful passage of time lost. Short chapters switching between “then” and “now” made it all the more heart racing. Would love prevail?
This isn’t a romcom, like the other books by Lauren that I’ve read. I adore romcoms, but I adore real stories even more. Real characters, real emotions, real loss, real situations. And this is real, this is all-encompassing, this is love.
Lauren’s full-hearted leap with this romantic drama is an instant winner for me. Hard to believe it was their first foray into women’s lit. What a home run.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Cursing
Minor: Addiction and Pregnancy