Love and Other Words

I felt that the story was too slow and painfully predictable. It's obvious even from the blurb how the main characters are going to end up. Then there's a painfully slow buildup to finding out why they got separated in the first place, for unknown reasons it takes them forever to finally come clean about their breakup, and when the author finally shines light on that night the whole thing is too predictable.

I think I had high expectations from this book due to my two previous experiences with this author duo, and the extremely high rating for this one on Goodreads , and that's why I am pretty disappointed. The story has two of my most favorite tropes ever - childhood best friends to lovers and second chance romance - so it was disheartening not being able to feel the joy that I expected.

The story alternates between the present and the incidents leading up to their separation eleven years ago. I do often enjoy plots being told in two timelines, but it was just too much here. Every single chapter is alternated, right up until the end, which prevented me from completely connecting to either the young Macy and Elliot or the adult versions of them. Also, the whole “no communication” thing during their years of separation felt very unrealistic and too convenient for the plot.

I loved the way the friendship between Macy and Elliot developed since their teenage years. She was a grief stricken, emotionally closed off girl and I think Elliot did help her open up a little through their shared love for the written word. They understood each other at a deeper level and I could really feel that soul deep connection. I completely believed that they were in love and would be forever, and was very interested to see the reason for their breakup. But I did get an inkling of it early on and turned out I was right - which is not inherently a bad thing - but having to wait 90% of the book to reach that point definitely hampered my enjoyment.

It was the adult part of the story set in the present that I really didn't enjoy. Their is hardly any development of their relationship after they accidentally run into each other. I know that we are expected to believe that they still love each other and I could feel that their intense connection is still present, but it's totally unbelievable how the story wrapped up in a bow. It's not easy to fathom that Elliot - who loves Macy so deeply that he could never be in any other meaningful relationship during the decade - didn't try hard enough to find her or her father. In both timelines, Macy is reeling from the death of a parent, so there is an undercurrent of grief throughout the book. I do enjoy some angst in my romances but this book had too much of everything - too intense all consuming love, too much longing and the too emotionally closed off Macy. Despite reading the whole book in her POV, I don't think I got to know her really well, just like the friends in her life. Elliot also remains as this book loving character who loves her too much, and nothing else.

The one thing I really enjoyed about Christina Lauren's previous two books was the fully realized side characters which was really missing here. We get some glimpse into the MCs relationships with their parents, but it's too fleeting. In the past timeline, they both are in high school but we don't know anything about their individual lives and their friends are only mentioned in passing. We know absolutely nothing about their decade of separation, except that they really missed each other. The present introduces us to some of their friends, but not in more than couple scenes. The whole conflict with Macy's fiancé Sean was resolved so conveniently, the whole engagement felt totally unnecessary to the overall plot.

I feel like I've only listed the negatives but I can't deny that the writing was very captivating. The whole past timeline was full of wonderful conversations about books and words and I loved it. I also wanted to live in the closet library in Macy's bedroom. I still believe that this book will be very appreciated by readers who love a lot of angst and all consuming love, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

The is my second Christina Lauren book and another very enjoyable read. I liked reading Macy and Elliott's story and seeing them grow up together and fall in love. I did think the ending was a bit much. I don't see how they can get past the events of 11 years ago but books can be more hopeful than really.

My spoiler alert is based on some of the negative reviews. Everyone has different tastes obviously, and you like what you like. But specifically citing Elliott's lame or pathetic excuse for sleeping with Emma just hits me wrong. Imagine their genders are reversed. A girl is severely intoxicated, to the point of being passed out at the start of the encounter. No one would care what excuse she makes, most readers responses would be, “Honey, it's not your fault, you were assaulted.” Unconscious people do not consent to sex. And in fact, Elliott was so traumatized after that he didn't sleep with anyone for years. And freaked out the first time he did. His rationalization may seem lame but I'd guess it's even harder for a guy to deal with being raped. Just something to think about.

Esse é meu primeiro livro das autoras. Confesso que às vezes evito livros escritos por mais de uma pessoa... Não sei bem o porquê. Mas a verdade é que esse livro, embora em alguns momentos eu sentisse essa diferença de narrativa, tudo é tão coeso e amarradinho que eu con certeza vou ler mais das autoras.

O amor e outras coisas é um dos melhores Friends to Lovers que já li (amei quaaaase tanto quanto EMMA) e tem tanta emoção e delicadeza que me peguei chorando como não fazia há muito tempo.

A escrita é linda. Achei alguns trechos tão emotivos e puros que tinha que parar a leitura e dizer “uau” a cada momento.

Fiquei encantada com a protagonista. E é sempre uma grata surpresa amar a personagem principal. Enfim, amei e quero mais.

⭐ Ponto positivo: A escrita, o plot, a profundidade dada aos protagonistas.

❌ Ponto negativo: eu queria um pouco mais de tempo pra digerir o plot twist do final. Foi um soco e eu não esperava... Queria um capítulo mais.

“I like your kind of quiet. Your heart isn't quiet.”

What is it about?
It's a friends to lovers, second chance romance trope. Elliott and Macy found their way back to each other's lives after eleven years. They have a lot of baggage to unpack now. It is told from two timelines, then and now, how their love started and what they would do now.

What did I think about it?
Well, I like the friends to lovers trope rather than the enemies to lovers. This book made me feel like I was falling in love the same time as the characters. I loved how Elliott is written, he is the best example of a book boyfriend. This is a slow burn romance and I think it went on a bit too slow for me that's why I knocked a star off. It's still a good rating considering I don't really like romance. 

My heart broke when everything wrapped up. I won't put any spoilers bit if you've read this I think you know what I mean. 

I had put off reading this for so long and finally gave it a chance and am so happy I did. This was so good. Elliott is perfect and so sweet and tender to Macy and I loved watching them grow up together. Friends to lovers is my favorite trope and this was so great, with the alternating then and now chapters. I loved the mentions of familial love sprinkled throughout and I lost my mind reading how her dad died all those years agoI can very very rarely get through a romance book, and it's even more rare to give a perfect rating. This book felt like a hug and I'm so glad I finally read it. 

Let yourself fall in love, a love that can also be true or just another fairytale, a movie love that you can see being a true one as well.
Because truth being told we run and hide from our feelings, from our truths and most of the time we don't give the others the chance to explain to say their own side of the story and this will lead to misunderstandings.
Read it, listen to it. Let it make you want to fall in love again.

4.5

This was very sweet and cute. I really liked the childhood friends to lovers in this; I liked the flashbacks to their childhood where we got to see them become best friends, have that very close-knit friendship, and grow up together even though they didn't see each other all the time. I really liked Elliot, especially as a child; he was so cute and nerdy & the perfect friend that Macy needed at the time.
Some of the scenes from the childhood timeline when they were older were kind of cringe to me though, and I liked the scenes from their younger years a lot better.

I also thought this was a very realistic look at a childhood romance - the way there was romantic interest between them but they also didn't want to ruin anything and ever not be best friends. I liked learning about how they lost touch but then came back together after all those years, and I am glad we got the dual timeline to see both their past and their present.

This was well-written, but I don't love the ones that jump back and forth and build to the conflict, mainly because it seems harder to tie it up on a good note. That's how I felt about this one. Once it was all out, it seemed to just wrap it up, and it was too jarring. I didn't leave feeling swoony.

I have to give up on Christina Lauren. I haven't enjoyed any of their last few releases and this was the final nail in the coffin. I loved the beginning of this book, I especially enjoyed the flashbacks to early Macy and Elliot but the ending truly sucked. Maybe other readers would have seen the reason for their break coming but I really didn't. The whole incident was handled poorly and the authors didn't treat it with the sensitivity it deserved.

2.75/5

Highly disappointed. Coming from Christina Lauren, i had good expectations because even if the book is mellow, their work is always fun to read. This was...not it. I hd to drag myself to get to even half of it and maybe that had to do with the fact it was dual timeline and i dont like such books.

The plot twist was lazy in my opinion. It's your good ol' cheating and excuses it to being drunk. It was pathetic.

I'm sad it took me as long as it did to finally sit down and read this....

It was BEAUTIFUL. I absolutely loved this book. Honestly, I pictured young Elliot as a baby Spencer Reid and adult Elliot as Sam Winchester???? Please tell me if you did also!!!

This was a second chance romance, childhood friends to strangers to lovers and it was BEAUTIFULLY written.

I loved the back and forth between past and present to learn about how they met, how they grew and bonded together and how they re-bonded and became friends again.

Also.....

Favorite word?