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A review by aksmith92
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Yikes, this novel is about a lot of grief and disappointment and two people trying to make their way in a world after some tragedy. Macy and Elliot had known each other since they were 13ish, when Macy and her father, Duncan, moved into a second vacation home outside of San Francisco during some weekends and summers, right next door to Elliot's family in wine country, CA. The whole story is about Macy and Elliot - from their initial meeting and instant friendship, mainly because of their love of books, to their eventual love and falling apart. The novel takes place in then and now, which I enjoyed, and after reading many dual-POV stories recently, I enjoyed this book's one POV from Macy. While I'm SURE it would have been interesting to read from Elliot's POV, I did enjoy the flow of this book. Basically, we get to meet teenagers Macy and Elliot, and we get to meet almost 30-year-olds Macy and Elliot.
I sometimes get a little uncomfy with second-chance romances, especially when other significant others are involved. Macy being engaged in this when she stumbles upon Elliot again made me a bit wary of this book at the start. Eleven years later, Elliot was basically shoving his love in front of Macy as if no time had passed, and it was somewhat odd. However, I will say that Sean (fiancé) and Macy acted like adults and managed to communicate better than I anticipated during this second chance trope. The way Christina Lauren was able to wrap some of the emotional baggage and understanding into their relationship made some sense. It was refreshing to see someone become self-aware of some of their nuances. Elliot and Rachel....not so much...
On another note, I adored getting to know teenage Elliot and Macy - the awkward blushes, the funny emails that Christina Lauren worked hard on to make it seem like 13/14-year-olds wrote them, the subtle questions like "Do you hang out with boys?", and the answering questions with questions to ensure not to share feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the two main characters and seeing flashbacks of their important moments.
Ugh, as much as I didn't want this to influence my review because I've tried to separate realistic experiences/my experiences with ones in books, but romance can annoy me. Christina Lauren did an excellent job at truly painting these two characters as soul mates and showing that this "bind" connected them. Who am I to say that stuff isn't real? But, realistically, this all seems a bit far-fetched. The two fell in love at 16-18 years old, did many things that high school kids do, experienced traumatic events, and then went their separate ways. While I appreciated the slow burn in this book to make it a bit more understanding in the then timeframe, it all seemed pie in the sky. I mean, these flawed main characters never really experienced love again, and they said nothing to each other or saw each other for 11 years!!
This instant love again after years apart and dealing with some of their challenges was perplexing to me, and it is the main reason I couldn't give this a full five stars. With that said, I must admit, I didn't see the slight twist coming near the end, which made me understand Macy SO much more. I enjoyed the flow and that Macy and Elliot connected with their favorite words. I wouldn't describe this book as "cute," but I really enjoyed this coming-of-age story with young love and having a second chance romance as older adults. Additionally, this book kept me invested, and I FLEW through it because I was engrossed in the story. All things considered, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others looking for a romance that also deals with overcoming some horrible events.
PS...Low key...when young 14-year-old Macy read her mom's letter about starting her period for the first time. OH MY GOD I WISHED my mom would have done something like that. How empowering. How helpful. Ugh. It made my heart ache in the best ways.
I sometimes get a little uncomfy with second-chance romances, especially when other significant others are involved. Macy being engaged in this when she stumbles upon Elliot again made me a bit wary of this book at the start. Eleven years later, Elliot was basically shoving his love in front of Macy as if no time had passed, and it was somewhat odd. However, I will say that Sean (fiancé) and Macy acted like adults and managed to communicate better than I anticipated during this second chance trope. The way Christina Lauren was able to wrap some of the emotional baggage and understanding into their relationship made some sense. It was refreshing to see someone become self-aware of some of their nuances. Elliot and Rachel....not so much...
On another note, I adored getting to know teenage Elliot and Macy - the awkward blushes, the funny emails that Christina Lauren worked hard on to make it seem like 13/14-year-olds wrote them, the subtle questions like "Do you hang out with boys?", and the answering questions with questions to ensure not to share feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the two main characters and seeing flashbacks of their important moments.
Ugh, as much as I didn't want this to influence my review because I've tried to separate realistic experiences/my experiences with ones in books, but romance can annoy me. Christina Lauren did an excellent job at truly painting these two characters as soul mates and showing that this "bind" connected them. Who am I to say that stuff isn't real? But, realistically, this all seems a bit far-fetched. The two fell in love at 16-18 years old, did many things that high school kids do, experienced traumatic events, and then went their separate ways. While I appreciated the slow burn in this book to make it a bit more understanding in the then timeframe, it all seemed pie in the sky. I mean, these flawed main characters never really experienced love again, and they said nothing to each other or saw each other for 11 years!!
This instant love again after years apart and dealing with some of their challenges was perplexing to me, and it is the main reason I couldn't give this a full five stars. With that said, I must admit, I didn't see the slight twist coming near the end, which made me understand Macy SO much more. I enjoyed the flow and that Macy and Elliot connected with their favorite words. I wouldn't describe this book as "cute," but I really enjoyed this coming-of-age story with young love and having a second chance romance as older adults. Additionally, this book kept me invested, and I FLEW through it because I was engrossed in the story. All things considered, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others looking for a romance that also deals with overcoming some horrible events.
PS...Low key...when young 14-year-old Macy read her mom's letter about starting her period for the first time. OH MY GOD I WISHED my mom would have done something like that. How empowering. How helpful. Ugh. It made my heart ache in the best ways.