Book Review: Love and Other Words

Love and Other Words

by Christina Lauren

I received a free e-copy of Love and Other Words from the publisher (Gallery Books) and Netgalley.  All opinions expressed below are my own.

Love and Other Words was the first novel by Christina Lauren that I read.  I've heard about many of her novels, but I just recently became more interested in the "romance" genre.  This one was available for request on Netgalley, so I figured it would be a good time to give it a chance - and I'm so glad that I did!  I adored this novel! 

It is so much deeper than I thought a romance would be.  The premise of the story is that Macy runs in to her childhood BFF and first love (first EVERYTHING), Elliot, at a coffeeshop while she is in her medical residency in Berkley.  We don't know what went wrong - only that Macy still has major feelings for Elliot but there are some pretty big reasons that she hasn't talked to him for forever.  The story is told with flashbacks to when Macy and Elliot's relationship first began and took its big downfall.

I'll admit it - I totally cried when we found out why Macy totally cut Elliot from her life.  Man, this girl had it rough and it really made her life decisions make so much more sense.  I like that this information was kept from us as a reader while we explored Macy and Elliot's current lives and their past relationship.  Of course, this was a love story, so while not giving away any spoilers, I must say that I loved the ending as well! 

Overarching thoughts - I really enjoyed this one - it made me cry but also picked me back up and left me feeling happy.  I definitely recommend this for fans of more modern romantic reads!  I'll likely be checking out more of Christina Lauren's (Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) other works!  4.5 stars rounded up for the pleasant surprise!