Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Love and Other Words, by Christina Lauren {ends 5/8}

It doesn't set off alarm bells in my head, sure, but it doesn't send goose bumps across my skin, either. It doesn't make my chest ache so deliciously I'm nearly breathless. I don't feel urgent, or desperate, or too hot in my own skin because I'm so hungry for him. And in a tight gasp that Sean reads as pleasure, I worry that Elliot is right and I'm wrong and—like always—he's taking care of both of our hearts while I flop around, trying to figure it all out. 

I feel my thoughts circling something, the same thing over and over, how Elliot went home after seeing me and broke up with Rachel.

He only had to see me to know, whereas I can barely trust a single feeling I have. 

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Christina Lauren's books—I've reviewed most, if not all, of them. This is their first foray into fiction, since their other books are probably classified as more "New Adult," and it's a great read.

Official synopsis:

Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).

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.
We all have that one person from our high school years that we either had a crush on, or whom was our "first love"—in Macy's case, that boy was Elliot. She was very close with him when she was in high school, even though she didn't attend the same school as him, but in the present, she hasn't seen nor spoken to him for eleven years. When she sees him at a local coffee shop and realizes that they now live in the same town, her distance is immediately shattered, and her memories cause her to evaluate all of the relationships in her life, including the one with her fiancee, Sean, whom she's only been dating for a few months.

I loved this book—the ending is predictable-ish but how they get there is surprising. The novel is told from two time periods: the present, where Macy is a doctor and about to marry Sean, and the past, where we see Macy growing up with just her dad—her mother died of cancer when she was younger—and where her best friend is Elliot.

Fans of Christina Lauren will definitely enjoy this book, and I'd recommend it for anyone who likes a good love story, as well.

5 stars out of 5.
{click here to purchase}

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Love and Other Words!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, May 8th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Paperback copy of Love and Other Words, by Christina Lauren