Love and Other Words

Reviews

• Laurynn

  Finished February 8, 2026

  *☆4 stars☆* Finally made my way around to reading a Christina Lauren book, and I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, but a little unsure how to feel. Childhood sweethearts and best friends, Macy and Elliott, torn apart by tragedy and a decades long miscommunication, finally come face to face with each other and their past. Once again, they must find a way to connect through words but also rehash what drove them apart all those years ago. Let me start by saying that I love Christina Lauren’s writing and if you didn’t know, Christina Lauren is a pen name for two besties who write novels together. Their writing is so emotionally driven which I love. Not only did it have me tearing up several times but also audibly laughing-out-loud. From what I’ve seen so far, they tend to write messy humans and that is also something I greatly enjoy because it feels entirely relatable. With all of that being said, there were several moments where the characters made we want to shake some sense into them. If there was ever a book to reference for a miscommunication trope, it’s this one. While I’m not an avid hater of miscommunication, because I think life is one big miscommunication, this felt a little far fetched and unbelievable at times. One thing I am starting to notice about a lot of books is that they save the last couple of chapters of a book for a wrap-up or a “this is why” pamphlet from the characters. While I understand that, I’d prefer the problems to be addressed throughout the book instead of a “oh yeah by the way” at the end. I did really enjoy this book and found it hard to give it less than 4 stars simply because the writing was immersive and beautiful, the characters messy, and the ending was a satisfying happily ever after. Highly recommend this book if miscommunication doesn’t bother you all that much, but if it does, maybe check out some other Christina Lauren books! [Find my reviews on Bookstagram too!](https://www.instagram.com/literarily_laurynn?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)

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• Acadia

  Started January 29, 2026 · Finished February 6, 2026

  Miscommunication trope is pretty hard to follow when as an adult the reality is one conversation can literally change the entire trajectory of a story. This kinda went way beyond miscommunication into zero communication territory and really pulled me from what otherwise would have been a beautifully heartbreakingly good story. I do enjoy this author duo and will not be writing them off for just this one, but this is positioned more as a romcom book and while there were some funny moments, I just did not get that vibe and fell out of attachment with these characters along the way. 🌶️ Spice was a little awkward, its a story about adults and friend to lovers, or friends turned partners, then exes, then second chance romance later in life - but a lot of the spice was when they were younger (early adults) and it just wasn't my jam.

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• julie ✨

  Finished December 1, 2025

  I wanted to enjoy this more, but the reason they broke up when they were teens was absolutely infuriating and I hate that we waited the whole book for such a bad reveal.

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• Baelys

  Finished June 27, 2023

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