Love and Other Words

By: Christina Lauren

Narrated by: Erin Mallon

The heart may hide, but it never forgets. The first women’s fiction novel from New York Times and number one international best-selling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You/Hating You).

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 teen 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 reading 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.

©2018 by Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. All rights reserved.
(P)2018 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Beautifully heartbreaking! I cried endlessly at the end

I am never one to leave reviews! But gosh I have the paver back and read this before I got the audiobook, so I was already in love with Macy and Elliot. Somehow the audiobook was able to also wreck me in the same way the book did. This is my favorite romance read and I just love it so much I wish I could read this for the first time again!!!

Love it!!

Love this characters and their history with all my hearth!
I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it.

So sad... so sweet.

If you're ok with angst then you should listen. such a sad sad sweet story!!!

Amazing Story!!!

Macy thought she had her life all planned out until her past comes walking in. Elliot was her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first love and he is the one person who broke her in ways that even he didn't know. As their story unravels by going back into the past we see how their story started and how it ended. I was floored by the twists that I never expected. This book brought me to tears with a story that simply was perfect. I loved Macy and Elliot and I truly hope they show up again in another book. They truly are characters that will stay with the reader for years to come. The narration of this book was right on track. Erin Mallon took the reader on this journey and through this world that Christina Lauren created perfectly. Her tone and emotion just enhanced and already amazing story. I highly recommend this book and especially the audio version.

Beautiful second chance romance.

What did you love best about this story?

Christina Lauren are those kind of authors whose books I read without reading the synopsis—yes, I’m not afraid to say this, it’s just a fact about myself, I try my best not to do this with other authors and books, but with CLo I feel safe enough that they will deliver the best book for my heart—and Love and Other Words was a big surprise for me. I always have sexy, funny and romantic books from Christina Lauren, and this book was so much different from that. Yes, it’s romantic and has its funny moments, but this book is so much more emotional than their previous books and that’s exactly what I loved most about it.
In this book, Macy and Elliot were best friends and then fell in love with each other when they were teenagers, but sadly their relationship ended abruptly and they lost all contact. So many years later they found each other and Elliot wanted, above all things, reconnect with Macy and get back together, but she was so afraid to let that happen and she had her reasons.
The way this book was written was perfect to reveal why Macy never contacted Elliot again, why it was so hard for her to open up to him, despite her obvious feelings toward him and why she needed to forgive herself and him and move on from the past and finally be together.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were so many emotional moments in this book. I cried so much while listening to it, my heart felt so much for Macy and when I finally knew what really happened all those years ago, my heart ached so much for her and I wanted to take her out of the book and hug her forever. Thank God Elliot was there for her to hold her and support her and help her move on, but mostly to love her with all his heart, that was the most beautiful thing in the world.

What about Erin Mallon’s performance did you like?

Erin’s performance was perfect, just perfect. She did the best Macy, with a soft voice and an emotional reading to make the audiobook experience more intense. I loved her inflections and how this audiobook didn’t have a boring moment, making not want to stop listening to it.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. This is a beautiful story of second chances, forgiveness and true love.

I was waiting for it to get there... and then it did

Wow.... it’s been a while since I just COULDNT stop listening to a book but this is definitely one of those books. It hit me for a lot of personal reasons and just really pulled me in. Christina Lauren are my favs because the stories are ageless but always with a fresh new twist. This book does not disappoint at all . Loves every minute.

Y’all I cannot stop crying

The last hour will give you such a pit it’s late and I’m tipsy and I cannot stop crying

🥰🥰

Love her books. The passion she is able to portray grouch her writing is amazing. This book was good but nothing beats her first series.

Everyone needs an Elliott

What's your favorite word has become my thing at work now. We have several book worms. Everyone is loving it. This was a great book!!

I can’t rate it high enough!!

This book made me sob. It was every teenage girl memory I’ve ever had mixed with the grief and heartbreak Macy and I share PLUS the first love stuff! These words were so comforting, even as they tore your heart apart. Please don’t ever stop writing books, and always let Erin narrate them!!!