Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Okay, there are a lot of things I liked about Love and Other Words and then there are some things I have questions about. This is a really sweet, romantic book with a lot of elements that I think readers in the romance/lighter fare women's fic genre will enjoy - but I do think that readers who are looking for a little more depth will see this as some sort of lightweight Nicholas Sparks novel - elements of The Best of Me come to mind.

I won't go too much into synopsis here - if you're reading this review you likely already know the premise of this book. You know that Macy and Elliot spent their adolescence together, they were best friends who became more than friends and then something happened that caused Macy to completely drop Elliot from her life. Eleven years after the thing they run into each other and it completely disrupts their lives.

Things I liked:

-Elliot obviously. What's not to like about the super sweet book boy who's always pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose or how he listens so intently to Macy and gives actual quality feedback. He's basically a unicorn and he's the sweetest.

-All the chapters that take place in the past. I really enjoyed Elliot and Macy's friendship, how comfortable they were with each other. I think that many aspects of their relationship will be relatable for people and this relationship is believable.

-Pacing and writing style. This book is about 400 pages and is a very quick read. I read the majority of it in a day. And that wasn't me sitting around all day long doing nothing. The writing is good, very accessible and didn't feel the need to roll my eyes.

The Things that don't work for me:

-Macy in the present. Okay, this might be an unpopular opinion - but come on girl, you can't go from zero to sixty in the matter of a week. Part of my issue with this is that we know that something really bad happened in the past, but we don't find out what it is until almost the last chapter of the book. So I get that it's been eleven years and she was heart broken all that time and couldn't get over the thing, but I feel like we should have had more internal conflict here or something because even though we get the back story in the end it felt really clichéd.

-Convenience. So let me explain. I felt that the supporting characters were a little flat and conveniently moved the story in one direction. Especially Sean. There's supposed to be conflict throughout this book, but everything happens so conveniently for the characters. I wanted there to be a little more conflict and emotional toil.

-THE THING Okay, it's not necessarily the thing itself (that was bad though) - it's that we don't know what exactly happened until the end of the book! And then I'm supposed to believe that after the air is cleared everything is just okay? Just like that? IDK. I have a hard time believing that after eleven years of holding onto the hurt and heartbreak she would just let it go so easily. But that's just me. Also this is the MAJOR CONFLICT of the book and it seemed resolved very easily with little processing on either party's behalf. In my opinion this would have been stronger if we would have been able to watch the characters work through this.

So, overall this isn't a perfect book in any way, but I did enjoy reading it. I think that there is a certain group of readers who will really love this - it'll be right in their wheelhouse and that is amazing. I enjoyed the book and would definitely pick up another Christina Lauren novel - but I can't overlook the areas that suffered in this one. If you're looking for something with a little more depth and emotional pull to it, I would probably pass on this. But if you're looking for something that is sweet and quick - check this out.

Bookgawker's Buy it or Borrow it Suggestion: Borrow It

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Friday Reads: The Foxe & The Hound by R.S. Grey

Everyone knows that I love a good Romantic Comedy. These are some of my favorite types of books, just because they're fun, light and entertaining. So when I'm looking for a good rom-com, one of my go to authors is R.S. Grey. She writes the best banter, loveable characters and just plain fun stories. Her last book, Anything You Can Do, is one of my favorites ever! You can find my review of it here.

So I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of her latest novel, The Foxe and the Hound. I had planned to read the book over Memorial Day, but couldn't wait and instead finished it the same day I received the galley. That's how fun her books are you guys!

The Foxe and the Hound is a standalone romantic comedy about Madeline Thatcher. If you read Anything You Can Do you'll remember her as Daisy's best friend and Lucas' sister. Both Daisy and Lucas made appearances in this book - so while you don't have to read their book first, I would because 1) It's hilarious and 2) Spoilers.

Madeline Thatcher is a hot mess.

Madeline is twenty seven, barely making her rent payments, single AF and just adopted a puppy that won't stop growing. Mouse, the not so little puppy, is a rambunctious mass of fluff and slobbery kisses. While Madeline loves the big goofy dog, she's a little behind on her obedience training with him and when he takes off to chase a squirrel on the way to the vet and knocks over a handsome stranger in the process, Madeline is horrified. Hopeful that she never sees him again.

Adam Foxe is not having a good day.

Adam Foxe recently moved to Hamilton, Texas and he hates it. Having taken up residency as the new veterinarian in town, he's trying to move on from his past and make the best of his current situation. Things were going alright, until he was mauled by a giant, unruly dog this morning on his way to work. His morning only goes downhill when he realizes that the dog that knocked him over and his pretty owner are his first patients of the day.

Awkward encounters and hilarious exchanges ensue as Adam and Madeline continually run into each other around town. Things really heat up when Adam makes a deal with Madeline - she comes to a family function with him as a date, he'll let her sell him a house. With rent overdue, and her job on the line - Madeline accepts but will they be able to stand each other long enough to actually close the deal?

This book was so much fun, and easily received a five star rating from me. I loved the banter between the characters, the moments in the book that actually had me laughing out loud, and the cute storyline that had me hooked from the beginning - I'm a sucker for anything with a lovable mutt in it! This is a perfect fun, flirty choice for your reading list this summer.

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Anything You Can Do by R.S. Grey

Well, this novel really was delightful.

I’ll be honest with you – I read this book as a rebound after finishing a crime novel that totally freaked me out.

{Book Confession: my husband does not like it when I read crime novels because they actually give me nightmares and I wake up thinking someone is trying to murder me in my sleep. That is not a joke. I’m a wuss.}

So it’s like the time I watched Rock of Ages – and was so totally disgusted by Stacee Jaxx (aka Tom Cruise) that I needed to watch Top Gun in order to restore him (aka Tom Cruise) in my mind. Mind you - I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but I love Top Gun, it's my favorite.

 

If you’re not a fan of Top Gun – leave now. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

So that’s what this book was for me; a way to get rid of all the icky feels and replace them with warm fuzzy thoughts. And it totally worked!

Anything You Can Do by R.S. Grey is a super cute, witty romance (ie: there are steamy scenes, please be advised) novel that is just so fun that I read it in a day. Daisy and Lucas have been at war with one another since they were kids; their long-standing childhood and adolescent rivalry is legendary in their small Texas hometown and after graduating high school they are going to get as far away from one another as possible. Years pass as Daisy and Lucas attend colleges on separate coasts – each drifting apart but never forgetting their undying hatred of the other. Now, after years of schooling and medical residency, Daisy is returning home to take over the small family medical practice in her hometown. What she doesn’t know: Lucas has come home too and he’s going to be working right beside her in the same practice with the same goal of taking over when the current owner, Dr. McCormick retires. Witty banter, hilarity and some pretty steamy scenes ensue.

Think: Grey’s Anatomy’s On Call Room + No Strings Attached + Hart of Dixie’s small town charm and you’ve pretty much got this book.

As you can imagine – this book is incredibly predictable. But as with most romantic comedies, it’s the journey, not the destination, right? We all know where this is leading – but the fun part is getting there. I thought the banter between Lucas and Daisy was hilarious, the chemistry was off the charts and this book was just so fun. Daisy is a total knothead – I wanted to smack her in the face with her own book a few times, but she comes around eventually. Lucas is almost too good to be true, but for the sake of fictional characters in this genre, he’s better than most so I’ll take it.

Here’s the thing, in my opinion, most romance novels are not well written (please see: Fifty Shades). There is only so much steamy, instalove, spontaneous shagging one can take – and so often I veer away from this genre, but this book was actually well written and smart! The fact that this was well written yet very readable, had me actually laughing out loud and was fun made this a great read for me.

If you’re looking for a book to clear out the scary remnants of the last freaky crime novel you read – add this book to your TBR. It’ll do the trick, I swear.

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(if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription - it's free!)