A review by danajoy
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

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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