Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
Summary
The story of the heart can never be unwritten.
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.
Book Setting: San Francisco, Berkeley, Healdsburg, CA
Saul’s Deli - Where Macy runs into Elliot for the first time in 11 years.
Healdsburg, CA - The town the vacation house was in.
The Russian River - The river their vacation house was near/what the town was known for.
Berkeley, CA - Where Macy and her dad lived full-time.
Toad Hollow - The winery where Miss Dina worked.
Goat Rock - The beach where Macy and her dad loved to go.
Mission Bay, USCF Children’s - Where Macy works.
Nopalito - Where Macy and Elliot meet for dinner.
Golden Gate Park - Where Macy plans a picnic with Sean, Elliot, and her friends.
Santa Rosa Junior College - Where Elliot began taking college courses when they were young.
Tilden Park - Where Elliot and Macy meet up to talk.
Madrona Manor - Where Elliot and Macy attend Andreas’ wedding.
Reviews
“A book like this deserves a thousand word review, but all I have to say is how grateful I am that stories like this have been written - stories that create an honest moment of beauty and love - and make the world just a little bit better, just a little bit more lovely.”
— Jessica (GoodReads Review)
“Love and Other Words is an engaging contemporary that will have you smiling and sobbing as you watch Macy fight her way through memories, misconceptions, and heartache to her way back to life and love.”
— Smexy Books
“I love how both characters are simply meant for each other and how our two main characters know each other better than anyone else in the world. I love how this book proves that once again childhood-friends-to-lovers and second-chance-romance are superior.”
— Read By Tiffany