A review by sri_savita
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
4.0
3.5 stars.
The more I think about it, this story is fucking weird.
“Favorite word?” he whispers.
I don’t even hesitate: “You.”
So, this started out promising for anyone who swoons for bookish-themed romance, however, by the end there was a lot more wrong for me than was right.
1) WAY too much angst for so little payoff, I mean yes, the twist near the end as the past is FINALLY revealed was heart-wrenching - but Elliot and Macey are just SO INTENSE FOR THE WHOLE BOOK. Their anxiety provokes anxiety in the reader. In Macey's case, I understand the toll grief takes and that might be why she bottled it all up inside but I wish she had been given better support to talk openly with more than just Elliot. That's a lot of pressure for them both to ONLY rely on each other.
2) Macey and Elliot are both very YA-style characters, at first you're like "aw childhood loves" but the whole "you're my everything" just wasn't romantic to me. People need their own friendships and other relationships. You can't fault other people and just throw yourself into one single person to be everything for you. I found their dynamic more and more unhealthy as the book went on. Very co-dependent. And yes, Macey may not have had many role models but that only adds to how strange it is that Elliot encourages this idea that he can be everything for her and that didn't sit right for me. I don't think he was explicitly taking advantage of her naïveté and sheltered nature, but y'all need other friends or this shit is going to get old fast. I do LOVE Elliot's patience and direct honesty, and he was just a really compelling character in other ways for sure.
3) Every. single. interaction. is. so. damn. wrought. with. overthinking minutia. Just CHILL. Stop being consumed by this other person and act like goddamn adults. You're 28/29. COMMUNICATE. Ultimately as with most rom-coms it's a whole lot of resisting an inevitable conclusion and then feeling instantly, infinitely better and wondering why you didn't do that in the first place when there was no real reason keeping you apart. Duh. This book could have been shorter. Had there been a convincing conflict keeping them apart for 11 years it would have been believable, instead Elliot broke up with his girlfriend THE SECOND HE SAW MACEY AGAIN. That is unhinged my dude.
4) I don't care that they were kids, the woman on woman hate with terms like "skank" just sticks out horribly now. Don't do this and say you can't connect to other women.
5) I may have to re-read this part but it seems like with the whole Elliot and Emma misunderstanding
The more I think about it, this story is fucking weird.
“Favorite word?” he whispers.
I don’t even hesitate: “You.”
So, this started out promising for anyone who swoons for bookish-themed romance, however, by the end there was a lot more wrong for me than was right.
1) WAY too much angst for so little payoff, I mean yes, the twist near the end as the past is FINALLY revealed was heart-wrenching - but Elliot and Macey are just SO INTENSE FOR THE WHOLE BOOK. Their anxiety provokes anxiety in the reader. In Macey's case, I understand the toll grief takes and that might be why she bottled it all up inside but I wish she had been given better support to talk openly with more than just Elliot. That's a lot of pressure for them both to ONLY rely on each other.
2) Macey and Elliot are both very YA-style characters, at first you're like "aw childhood loves" but the whole "you're my everything" just wasn't romantic to me. People need their own friendships and other relationships. You can't fault other people and just throw yourself into one single person to be everything for you. I found their dynamic more and more unhealthy as the book went on. Very co-dependent. And yes, Macey may not have had many role models but that only adds to how strange it is that Elliot encourages this idea that he can be everything for her and that didn't sit right for me. I don't think he was explicitly taking advantage of her naïveté and sheltered nature, but y'all need other friends or this shit is going to get old fast. I do LOVE Elliot's patience and direct honesty, and he was just a really compelling character in other ways for sure.
3) Every. single. interaction. is. so. damn. wrought. with. overthinking minutia. Just CHILL. Stop being consumed by this other person and act like goddamn adults. You're 28/29. COMMUNICATE. Ultimately as with most rom-coms it's a whole lot of resisting an inevitable conclusion and then feeling instantly, infinitely better and wondering why you didn't do that in the first place when there was no real reason keeping you apart. Duh. This book could have been shorter. Had there been a convincing conflict keeping them apart for 11 years it would have been believable, instead Elliot broke up with his girlfriend THE SECOND HE SAW MACEY AGAIN. That is unhinged my dude.
4) I don't care that they were kids, the woman on woman hate with terms like "skank" just sticks out horribly now. Don't do this and say you can't connect to other women.
5) I may have to re-read this part but it seems like with the whole Elliot and Emma misunderstanding