Book Rating: Three Stars.

Book Blurb

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Review

Love and other words was a story that I was supposed to love. Unfortunately, love is not the word I would use to describe how this story made me feel. Frustrated. Angry. Disappointed. Those are some of the words that stick out.

From the first moment I read the blurb of this book I was very very excited to dive in. I consider myself one of the biggest fans of the friends-to-lovers and second chance trope, so this book seemed right up my alley. There was no doubt that love and other words was a story that I was going to love. Supposed to love. The reason I found this book underwhelming is solely because of the end, which I will mention further on. But prior to the ending, I did love this book. Especially the flashback chapters that focused on the younger version of Macy and Elliot. I would even say that if this book was written only within the past time frame, rather than going back and forth, it would have easily been a five star read. There was something special about young Macy and Elliot right from the beginning. They were charismatic, interesting, awkward, and had the same juvenile sense of humor and love for books. Reading about the progression of their friendship, and seeing how their worlds changed whenever they were with one another, filled me with great delight. They were just very cute and silly, yet serious when they needed to be.

* SPOILERS *Sadly, my love for this book slowly started to fade towards the endspecifically when the audience finds out why Macy went years without speaking to Elliot.The whole book I kept guessing what could have caused the fall outand after finding out the truth I was confused and angry.My confusion stemmed from the fact that Macy’s grudge was based on a situationthat looked a lot like sexual assault to me.My anger was a result of the author ghosting over this situationwith another twist rather than developing the scene to provide more clarity.Therefore, this book left me disappointed.

As I said earlier, I still loved parts of this story.

Who should read this book:

Regardless of the mishaps, this book still had many praise worthy moments. So If you’re interested in frequent flashbacks, angst, childhood friendships, and books that talk about books, this one is right for you.

Who shouldn’t read this book:

This book deals with heavy themes, in particular: death. If you’re looking for a light or easy feel-good book all the way through, you should avoid this one until you’re ready.