I love, love Elissa Sussman's writing. Will read anything and everything she writes as soon as I can get my hands on it (and thank you so much for the ARC). I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

As always, the writing is beautiful. It's a complicated, nuanced picture of grief, parenting, and what moving on can look like. I loved the Lauren/Lena dynamic, and the last act of the book really hit for me.

I believed in Lauren and Ben's chemistry, but at the end of things I was craving more of each of them sharing their inner lives with each other -- another few conversations that felt like they were really connecting. The "Past" sections were powerful and good but felt like they took some narrative oxygen away from Lauren and Ben, especially in the first 2/3 of the book, and Ben ended up feeling enigmatic to me. Lauren trying to avoid Ben early on also contributed to the feeling of knowing him less. It was an interesting contrast from "Funny You Should Ask," where Chani's whole job was to try to figure Gabe out, and she was paying very close attention and describing him in her piece -- I felt like I knew him much better.

Things that really hit, though: the pizza dough, the kitchen conversation, fixing the chairs, the Montana stars, the almond extract scene, Ollie, the return of Teddy. This one is going to stay with me.

I gotta be honest...I didn't need the sex. Or the crude references to it. I am no prude and I read my share of smut for that purpose, but I felt like the use of the F word, specifically, did not flow in this context at all. It seemed forced from Lauren's character. The language of touch would have been much more fitting, as I enjoyed that a great deal. Truly, the reference to the act was what I found crude and off-putting, not the dirty talk during.

Cuz I really loved this book in general. Like, the discussion of grief and "how" to do it was really well done. Cuz, like, there's no way to do it. It's a get through it thing. I cried in the end, more than once. I adored Ollie and Chani as secondary-ish characters. And the MCs are lovely. I love the idea of a 40-ish woman being hit on and then loved by a ridiculously hot 30 year old movie star...though I had to suspend some disbelief to get there. And the struggles of literally every character were very real and centering. I dug it. ♥

This book was a heartfelt and emotional ride from beginning to end. The chemistry between the main characters was electric, and their relationship felt both real and deeply moving. With just the right balance of sweetness, tension, and heartfelt moments, it’s the kind of love story that lingers long after the final page. Perfect for romance lovers!

Totally and Completely fine was TOTALLY worth reading! I finished this one in about 24 hours, and I cannot emphasize enough how much I absolutely adored this one. AH. All the freaking feels.

This book. Ah. It weaves back and forth from the past to the present. In the past, we learn about Lauren's childhood, teenage years, and her life with her late husband, Spencer. We grieve with Lauren as she loses her dad and faces the complex feelings of a struggling teenager. In the present, Lauren is grieving her late husband while parenting a sully, father-less teenager. Lauren is merely surviving the present with the support of her mom and her famous brother.

When Lauren and her daughter decide to visit Philadelphia, where Gabe (her brother) is filming, Lauren meets a hot younger man (Ben) who makes her toes curl.

There was so much I loved about this book. Ben and his black henleys and combat boots. Lauren's wild and scandalous teenage years. Gabe finding love with Chani. Ben not backing down.

I 100% recommend this book and hope I have a chance to review the audio version. I just adored so much about it. There was a little spice, a whole lotta tenderness. I just really, really liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 Stars! Recommend!

DNF at 30% - Grieving widow trying to move on with movie star and learn how to connect with her angsty teenage daughter. Thought I would love it but I couldn’t get into it. Dual time line one that follows her as a teenager. That may have been the problem. I really don’t love teenage flashbacks and there were some very cringy moments. Also very insta love. I get it he’s a hot movie star but...

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy. I really wished I enjoyed it more.

This book felt so different from Sussman’s others, but still an excellent read. Sussman does reflection so well— you understand her main characters’ thoughts and feelings so well without losing any of their dynamics. I will say, Ben was a little too perfect and I would have liked to see some flaws, but overall, a very enjoyable read.

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.

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!