This was an interesting book. I would call it more of a contemporary fiction than a romance book.

The book switched viewpoints between chapters chapters from the main character in the present and in the past. I found myself rooting more for her and her husband in the past than the current story unfolding in the present.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced release copy

3.5 Elissa Sussman is, as always, a solid story teller. This book overlaps and intertwines with the story from her other novel Funny You Should Ask told from the perspective of that MMCs sister instead and is focused on her life. This story is told in alternating timelines, one occurring in the past as we watch her relationship with her late husband bloom and grow. The other centered in a present whirlwind romance, that starts out largely physical, with a movie star. Oddly, I found that I was soooo much more drawn in by the part of the book exploring the past and her love story with her late husband, which really does not bode well for my satisfaction lol. we know how thats ends. It was overall and entertaining read, well written, and it thoughtfully explored grief and renewed hope. It just wasn't a bullseye hit for me. I do recommend though, and I'm grateful for the ARC!

I’m a big Elissa Sussman fan so I was excited to receive an ARC for this book! I liked that it expanded the universe from her previous books. The book itself felt heavier than her previous books but still a cute romance at its core.

I enjoyed "Funny You Should Ask" so I was excited to see "Totally and Completely Fine" was on here. I really wanted to love this one, but something fell short. I liked the flashbacks of Lauren and her late husband, Spencer. I liked the idea of Lauren and Ben in present day but something about them just doesn't sit right. I wanted more of a middle-aged woman getting her comeback and happy ending and while I guess she got it, it wasn't feeling real.

Totally and Completely Fine picks up where Funny You Should Ask, Gabe and Chani's story, ends. That is Gabe returned to his hometown of Cooper, Montana to reopen a rundown theatre and produce a show starring Hollywood's newest heartthrob, Ben Walsh. This time the story is about Gabe's widowed sister, Lauren and her hinted at romance with Ben who is ten years her junior. This book is smaller in scale focused on Lauren's current life with her daughter and looming romance with Ben and the past with her dead husband in Cooper.

Too be honest this book is kind of boring. It doesn't have any of the excitement Funny You Should Ask has and fails to stand up in comparison. Both deal with past trauma and grief, but the way the characters experience the emotions are different. For Gabe it was through addiction and for Lauren it's through avoidance. She's avoiding, pushing and pulling at her feelings for Ben the entire book, which is a real thing that happens but the way it's written doesn't feel satisfying to read. Plus the hero is plagued with 'loves her for no reason' syndrome wherein Ben the hottest man alive is just immediately in love with Lauren after they bang one time. For a book that spends a lot of time making the experience of grief so relatable to the reader, Ben's intractable devotion to her feels unearned and unbelievable in context especially since we the readers don't get to read about their sexual connection until the end. If we'd gotten a scene earlier in the book it would have shown why Ben and Lauren are falling in love. There's some humor and sitcom level shenanigans to even out the disjointedness, but overall meh.

Totally and Completely Fine is one of those books that perfectly captures the messy, unpredictable reality of dealing with life when it feels like everything is falling apart. Elissa Sussman writes with a raw honesty that makes the characters feel incredibly relatable, especially the protagonist, who’s trying to convince everyone (and herself) that she’s totally got it together. Spoiler: she doesn’t. The story balances humor and heartbreak really well, and I found myself laughing one minute and feeling genuinely emotional the next.

What I really loved about this book is how it doesn’t pretend that healing is a straight line. The protagonist’s journey toward figuring out what she really wants – and how to be okay with wanting it – is messy, real, and full of setbacks. Sussman’s writing is witty without being cynical, and she really nails the feeling of trying to keep it together when your world feels like it’s spinning out of control. If you’re into contemporary fiction that’s equal parts funny and poignant, this one’s worth picking up.

This book was not totally and completely fine. In my opinion it was just meh. Over sexual prose and instalust just doesn’t do it for me. I felt like I was reading two different books at times when we were going back and forth. The author tried to add emotional depth to the book with the grief but then we would get pulled right out with the cringy over done lust. Hated the way she portrayed the mil. Hated that there wasn’t more of a slow burn and did t really like the Mfl or mml. The chemistry they supposedly had never came through for me unfortunately. I don’t think this author is for me.

A story about family and grief and learning to live life after tragedy. As a 25 year old girl I'll admit I might not be the target audience-- I've never been married, had a child, or widowed. Regardless, this was heartwarming while still be so raw about how messy life can be, how messy being a teenager is, and how messy relationships are.

There was a pretty large portion of the story that featured and referenced Gabe and Chani from Funny You Should Ask. As someone who had barely remembered their story I was still able to follow along, however I would recommend freshening up on their timeline to throughly enjoy the book.

Totally and Completely fine is not complex, its not hard to understand. It brings you into an emotion we have all had, grief, love and excitement. This book looks into the truth many of us have felt, but try not to think about it as often because well its sad. Losing someone and trying to go on with life after they are gone, the thought that in some way you are sullying their name, you feel guilt because how can you move on when they can’t.

Lauren is a newly single mom who has to live life without the man she grew up with. Not only that but the worst is she has to parent a preteen, if I know anything from my preteen years, its hard out there for her. But soon she not only is being a single mother trying to navigate through grief and loss she remembers she is also a woman who loves and she deserves it. Through it she questions her life without her husband who was kind and caring. The question is “ am I allowed to move on so quickly?” Then it became "what will people think when I move on?” Lauren has been there for those she loves and the answer is everyone deserves to be loved and to love. No one should feel shame or guilt for wanting to give their hearts another chance, because one of the worst pains can be losing someone you once thought you’d get the chance to grow old with. We sometimes think death is the end of life, but what if it's just the beginning of a new one.

Elissa Sussman really put me in my feelings with this one, I didn’t lose a spouse but a mother of sorts. I questioned a lot of things when I lost her, I gave up trying, and sometimes I know she wouldn’t have been happy with me about it. This book put it into perspective that life continues and those we no longer can see may still be there cheering us on. We can still stop every now and then and drop of flowers and talk to them. Some way there will be a sign, or a person who can give us a new meaning.

I really enjoyed Lauren as the main character. Age gap relationships can be tricky but really enjoyed this one. It was realistic the way each family member has dealt with grief of a loved one.

- Lauren Parker, 40, widowed single mom to a teen daughter & Ben Walsh, early 30s, rising Hollywood movie star
- Lauren is Gabe Parker's sister; Gabe was the MMC in Funny You Should Ask. Ben Walsh is Gabe's friend and costar
- Dual timelines: the start of Lauren's relationship with her husband (now deceased) and her relationship with Ben.
-Some of this book happens in the same timeline as Funny You Should Ask
🌶️: yes, but limited, mostly off page

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I haven’t read an ‘Elissa Sussman’ book I haven’t liked. This book had me in tears at the end.

This story falls Lauren as she navigates grief after losing her husband. The story hops back and forth between her time with her husband Spencer and her present. In present time, it’s been three years since Spencer passed. Her daughter Lena is still struggling, and Lauren is figuring out how to live again- especially after meeting Ben.

I thought the representation of grief was beautiful, as well as, Lauren getting to fall in love again. AND watching Lena heal herself as well as her relationships with her mom and uncle.

Such a nice, emotional, romantic read. Loved getting to revisit Gabe and Chani too! Full of complexity and emotion, family and friends. Very solid read

This book really ran me through the ringer of emotions. Devastating, funny, full of love.

I enjoyed how it flashed back to when Lauren was in school, first with Spencer, through Lena’s childhood, and when Gabe took his first interview with Chani. I loved the connections made throughout the book, tying it together with “Once More with Feeling”.

I felt like Lauren being emotional through the book gave a sort of realness to her and everyone around her. I felt those emotions while reading. I could connect with her through her loss and love. I felt her grief and joy in the best way possible.

I was able to take my time with this and enjoy every minute. 4.5 stars :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an early arc!

Lauren's learning to live with the grief of her husband's sudden and unexpected death while running a business and raising her teenage daughter. While on a trip to visit her brother on his movie set, she meets Ben - the mysterious actor staring in the film.

What started off as a casual fling quickly turns way more complicated. Lauren has a past and lives in a very very small town. Ben is an A-lister and has a reputation of his own. Using a dual timeline, we see all the events that had made Lauren into the woman she is, and how she processes love and loss.

To say I adored this novel would be an understatement. Elissa Sussman has become one of my favorite authors! I immediately fell in love with her writing style and quickly become completely immersed in her stories. She has you rooting for her characters from page one.

Totally and Completely Fine is a companion to Sussman's novel Funny You Should Ask and follows the same timeline, but from the point of view of Lauren (Gabe Parker's sister). I recommend reading (or in my case re-reading) Funny You Should Ask first to get the full experience and to fully enjoy this love story.

HUGE thank you to Elissa Sussman, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a 5 star read for me - I couldn't put it down!

I thoroughly enjoyed Sussman's newest novel. She handles the deep topic of grief with care while wrapping it in a wonderful love story. I fell in love with the characters and didn't want this one to end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elissa Sussman, and Random House - Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

So far, I have loved all of the books by this author and this one is no exception!
Totally and Completely Fine was a very heartfelt, moving story about grief and love. I love the way Elissa writes and builds these characters. I found myself wishing the "Now" relationship had more depth to it earlier than it did, but overall I truly enjoyed this one. This book was definitely emotional, but not in a way that felt heavy handed.

I liked so much about this book. The brief flashback chapters, how it handles grief, sexuality, and family. But what surprised me was, n my opinion, a lack of connection between the MCs. Yes, they had chemistry out the wazoo, and it was hot. But I struggled to find their deeper relationship. But that nitpick aside, I loved everything else and flew through this book in a few short hours. Thanks to Dell for the ARC.

Don't worry- everything is 𝐓𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 (Pub 07.08) Based on the cover (yes- I know better), I was expecting a lightish rom-com. What I got was a poignant look at grief and starting over while finding the courage to love again. It's a "romance with heft" and I loved it.

MORE: Small town Montana
13 yr old daughter
Her: Widow
Him: Actor
Then & Now structure
Emotional & captivating
Sizzling chemistry/Open Door
Companion novel to 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘴𝘬 (I read FYSA but had book amnesia and still enjoyed T&CFine)
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This book is filled with heavy themes of grief and identity. It felt a lot more about the characters than the plot, like crawling into their lives and sitting with them for awhile. I can see this book being very poignant for someone processing grief themselves. I don’t think it carries the same feel as Funny You Should Ask, however. 3.5 stars overall.