Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren: Book Review

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren was a very sweet story. I laughed, I cried, it was fun. But even so, I noticed several things that just weren’t that great (spoilers galore).

But first, a spoiler-free version: I was initially enamored with this book, but the more I read, the more I felt like the author(s) added stuff just for the drama. It felt very cheap, unrealistic (but not in a romantic-escapism type of way that I like), and overall just not my thing at all. It’s still a beloved book, so it might just be me!

• My rating: 2.5 ⭐
• Heat level: 2 🌶️
• Standalone or series? A standalone. 
• Page Count: 432 pages
• Read if: You love childhood sweethearts separated by time and circumstance finding each other in the present.

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Okay, so to handle the big thing first: the reveal. I hated it. It was so dramatic and huge (just one bad event piled on top of another). It sucked. I’m not sure whether he cheated or he was raped (I really couldn’t tell. We don’t get the story from his perspective so I’m not sure if he’s lying or not). And it ruined the whole thing for me.

And then her father’s death — you can’t tell me that the people he was friends with for 5 years didn’t find out that he died. Over the news, asking around, anything. Like how? These things get around super quickly.

The next thing: I didn’t really like the smut/romantic scenes. They were awkward (not realistically awkward, more like they were trying so hard to be romantic/sexy and failed terribly).

It was so cheesy at some points. In the present time, the main guy sees the heroine for the first time after 11 years and breaks up with his girlfriend immediately. Then he tells her he loves her. Then he says that he wants to be with her forever (or something). All of this after not seeing her for 11 YEARS. People change man. (in their teen years, he proposes to her when they’re 18 which was just… cringe).

The synopsis says that they fall in love again in the present time, but they don’t. They hit the ground running already in love. What? Why?

Then at the end, there’s this awkward scene where they have sex in some orchard. And then they fight a bit. And then he leaves and acts like a jerk to her in front of other people. And then he goes to her and they make up.

Guess what happens next? The epilogue! Everything is fine, people are happy, and they’ve moved in together. The end. Nothing is properly resolved. It feels like the authors just wanted the book to end already, so they ended it there.

If you want some really good romance books, check out my favorites here.