I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This took me 3 months to read, not cause it was bad, cause i devoured it past 50%, but because since it dealt with grief and had a child, I KNEW i was going to cry and I do not like to feel. Sure enough, by 85% onward I was BAWLING my eyes out.

This book deals with grief. Lauren had a rough start after her father died at I want to say 11 or 13. The book is split between the past with growing up after the death of her father, and the start of her relationship with Spencer. The present deals with her meeting actor Ben Walsh. Chapters go back and forth until we get to more than halfway and then it sticks in the present, and her growth with dealing with a teenage daughter dealing with the loss of Spencer. This also shows the timeline of Gabe's addiction from Funny You Should Ask.

Anyway, this book is SO GOOD. Sussman seriously captured grief so well in this story. This is her 3rd book and I have loved her writing in all of them. Not many authors can handle a then and now kind of storyline but this author does it so well. I loved reading this book even though it took me a bit to get through, my bad. But I cried so much and I am so happy I got through it with her.

I’m fine. I’m completely fine. Totally and Completely Fine was a wonderful and heartwarming read from Elissa Sussman.

In the town of Cooper, Montana, Lauren Parker is a grieving widow trying to make the best of things with her teenage daughter.

The “then” chapters took us back to a romantic story where Lauren and Spencer were raising their daughter and enjoying life together. The author let you into their home and their lives with tremendous warmth.

The “now” chapters returned to the struggle of day-by-day life while the memory of Spencer was always present.

Lauren’s movie star brother Gabe, was larger than life and really brought the big bro vibes to the story! On set in Philly, Gabe introduced his costar Ben to Lauren and the romance/adventure began.

I really enjoyed the characters brought to life in this book. It showed the love of family, mother/daughter, friends and partners and the work it takes to get there.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this!

This heartbreaking tale of love, loss, and family both found and by blood, will reel you in and keep you reading! This book made me cry and filled me with hope.

The last quarter of this book is a great mediation on grief, second chances at love, and family. However, until that point, I was having a hard time buying the romance and enjoying the characters.

I really wanted to like this book because I enjoyed Funny You Should Ask (I even did a reread to get pumped) and this book fell so flat in comparison.

I didn’t really like the characters. They didn’t feel like real people to me, just caricatures or tropes. The flashback chapters were unimpactful and boring. The bow chapters were so over sexualized that I didn’t want to continue reading.

I’ve read a few books where the main theme is grief and I would reccomend those over this book any day of the week.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This companion novel to Funny You Should ask leans heavily towards women’s fiction rather than romance. In it, you follow Lauren, a 41 year old widowed single mother. The story is told in now and then chapters. The then chapters highlight her relationship with her late husband. The now chapters follow Lauren’s relationship with Ben, a movie star she meets on set while visiting her actor brother, Gabe, on set. Unfortunately, I found the romance to be incredibly half baked. I didn’t understand what Lauren and Ben saw in each other outside of sexual attraction and the fact that they both liked food.

I really loved this book. I'm so glad I got to read it early. I was really excited to read a book about dating later in life and it not be about how everything is great. Lauren is a great character. Grieving the loss of her husband, while trying to raise a teenage daughter - that's a situation I understand (although my perspective is from the grief of losing a marriage, not a husband), but I don't have a wealthy benefactor to pay all of my bills for me, so that's different. I liked the side stories of Lena and Eve, and Gabe and Chani, and I liked the flashbacks to get the whole story of how Lauren and Spencer came about, how Gabe evolved, and how Lauren's life changed so much within the confines of the very small town she is still existing in. I really appreciated that we got a whole picture of Ben, not just as a love interest or a movie star, but as a flawed person, a "queer elder" (IYKYK), someone with a background and baggage and a history worth learning about. I also very much identified with the trappings of religion and the judgy people who will try to tell you who and how to be. Overall I really liked this book, and will recommend it far and wide.

Funny, emotional, spicy, poignant, heart-wrenching, enjoyable. Sussman doesn't disappoint! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This tender and powerful story is about grief, healing, and the fear of moving on. Sussman does a great job with the complicated mother-daughter relationship.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the e-arc of this book, that I had shelved in my tbr and I was very excited about.

Elissa Sussman writes a genre of romance that I always have a good time with, her characters are part of the movie/theater scene, and I always enjoy a celebrity romance kind of vibe.
This time we find a main character who is going through grief, and juggles all kinds of relationships: mother-child, sister-brother, widowed daughter in law-mother in low, love, lust, friendships.
One thing that was impressive in this book, is how you get to know the main character in relation with all these different characters, and by the end of this story, it felt fulfilling.

I couldn’t give this more than 3 stars, because the age gap kind of bothered me, but also the ending was a little too cheesy for me.

I would say tho that grief and love for someone who died was represented in a very heartfelt way, it was very quiet and very real.

I know I’m not supposed to quote anything from an arc but I hope this will stay in the published version:
“Love is a shape-shifter.”

It’s safe to say that Totally and Completely Fine was… completely fine. I found it to be weirdly shallow feeling, which is surprising considering some of the subject material, but I just think the author tried to incorporate too many stigmatized character traits into the cast of characters that none of them felt fully explored and fleshed out, and neither did the characters themselves feel fully fleshed out or unique in any way. For the most part it felt very run of the mill, each character fulfilling the role assigned but not really accomplishing much aside from the predictable “healing journeys” set out for them. I felt the same for “Funny You Should Ask” as well, though I did enjoy “Once More With Feeling”, so I am not sure of my full opinion on Sussman’s books, but I am leaning towards them being quite average and that they could use a lot more character work in terms of depth and feeling real, and work on less cliche feeling attributes seemingly only provided to add complications, not to actually fully expound upon with nuance. None of the characters felt unique in any way, or like real people at all, and the story felt like a jumble of anecdotes interspersed with overdone romance scenes and very sudden spicy moments that felt out of sync with the rest of the story honestly. I can see Sussman’s attempts at destigmatizing things like grief, alchoholism, promiscuity, etc. but it made each character just feel like a disorder given a name to fill a quota of diversity and not a genuine three dimensional character. There’s more I could elaborate upon but truly, as I said, it was just fine.

Lauren Parker, once a rebellious teen and now a widowed single mother, finds herself adrift in her small Montana hometown. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Ben Walsh, a charming actor and her brother's co-star. Their instant chemistry challenges Lauren to confront her grief and consider the possibility of new love. As their relationship deepens, Lauren must navigate the complexities of small-town gossip, her daughter's unpredictable moods, and the complications of Ben's fame. The narrative alternates between Lauren's past with her late husband, Spencer, and her present with Ben, offering a poignant exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery.

Reading this felt like an emotional journey through the intricacies of grief and the courage it takes to embrace love again. Sussman masterfully balances humor and heartache, crafting characters who are both flawed and endearing. The dual timelines enrich the narrative, providing depth to Lauren's character and highlighting her growth. While some readers noted a desire for more development in the present-day romance, the overall story delivers a touching and authentic portrayal of healing and second chances.

This book was written for you if:
- You're drawn to stories that delve into the complexities of grief and second chances.
- You appreciate narratives that balance emotional depth with moments of levity.
- You're looking for a contemporary romance that offers both heartfelt connections and personal growth.

I have been recommending Elissa Sussman since first picking up Funny You Should Ask a couple years ago. Her books are witty and fun but also emotional and raw and seem so real, even when a celebrity/normal person romance feels so far fetched. Totally and Completely Fine follows in that same vein. Movie star Ben and single mom Lauren feel worlds apart from each other, and yet they work. Both touched by the loss of a parent and a family history of addiction, the two feel connected on a deep level, even without really speaking about it. While this book is about them and their love story, it’s more about complicated family dynamics, parenthood of a teenager, and living after loss and grief. I smiled; I swooned; I cried. Elissa Sussman has done it again, and I can see that I will continue to recommend her books as long as she continues to write them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Dell for the ARC of this book!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this one. It was fun to return to the world of Funny You Should Ask and get to know some of the peripheral characters as well as seeing the main characters in supporting roles. I enjoy the way this author writes. She is able to imbue a story that has difficult issues with the right amount of humor and levity.

Thank you NetGalley, Elissa Sussman, and Randomhouse Publishing Group for this ARC!

Totally and Completely Fine is the first novel I’ve read by Elissa Sussman, and it certainly won’t be the last. The story follows Lauren Parker, a widowed single mother navigating life in her small Montana hometown. Sussman masterfully delves into the complexities of grief, portraying Lauren’s journey with authenticity and emotional depth.

The novel’s structure, alternating between past and present, allows readers to intimately experience Lauren’s memories with her late husband, Spencer, and her evolving relationship with Ben Walsh, a charming actor she meets on her brother’s film set. This dual timeline perfectly illustrates how grief intertwines with the process of starting over, highlighting the challenges and hope that come with opening oneself up to new possibilities.

Sussman’s writing is both heartfelt and nuanced, capturing the rawness of loss and the tentative steps toward healing. Lauren’s interactions with her teenage daughter, Lena, further enrich the narrative, showcasing the multifaceted nature of grief and the strength found in familial bonds.

While the romance between Lauren and Ben adds warmth to the story, it’s the exploration of self-discovery and resilience that truly stands out. As someone who met the love of their life at 19 and has built the life of their dreams with that person, I deeply felt for Lauren’s loss of Ben and empathized with her moving through her grief to find herself again. Totally and Completely Fine is a beautifully crafted novel that resonates with anyone who has faced loss and sought the courage to embrace life anew.

It was a fantastic romantic read that also spoke honestly about grief and how to move on afterwards. Revisiting familiar characters and learning more about the extended universe was also a fantastic touch.

Plotting was good and the pace of the novel felt lived in. Would absolutely recommend to purchase for library!

I really loved this one and I loved the descriptions of grief and moving on while not really moving on. Lauren and Ben were such well fleshed out characters and I loved their relationships with each other and those around them. I loved getting a little sneak peek back into Gabe and Chani’s relationship and seeing Gabe continue to be able to make amends for his past with those around him. Even Lena’s storyline just warmed my heart so much. I deducted a star because I just wish there was a smidge smidge more back story with Ben and Lauren besides just one almost hookup and one serious hookup in his trailer. It felt like maybe I would have bought into them saying I love you if they had met up a couple more times prior. But otherwise just loved this one. Thanks for the ARC!

Totally and Completely fine is the sister novel to Funny You Should Ask also by Elissa Sussman, and follows Gabe's sister Lauren while she navigates raising her daughter, grief, loneliness and dating after losing her husband. Told through two timelines; Then - Lauren growing up, meeting, and falling in love with her late husband and Now - A widowed Lauren meeting and falling for the famous and younger Ben. We're talking age gap (older woman, younger man), we're talking 40+ yo FMC, we're talking hot, Irish, dirty talking MMC, we're talking small town vibes (the good and the bad). This book has it all!
This book is full of great new characters and old (that we met in Funny You Should Ask) - and I loved being on the other side and seeing the continuation of Gabe and Chani's story. And as always, Sussman wraps heartache in humor and the sweetest romance.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!
4.5/5 stars

loved this romance and finding love and remembering love before the one. love the friends and the chemistry between the couple was on fire and loved the banter.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this!

This story is a romance between a celebrity and a 'normal person' but its so much deeper than that, as you realize early on how gritty and messy Lauren is, and in turn SO relatable. In the current timeline, 3 years off the unexpected death of her husband, Lauren is a single mom trying her best to navigate living in the shadow of her famous brother, small town, and less-than-virtuous past. She has an instant-chemistry with Ben, the next James Bond, and has to handle the duality of their attraction for each other physically and her barriers to opening up emotionally. In the past timeline, we get these beautiful glimpses of her romance with Spencer, two complete opposites who find stability and love together. It's heartbreaking since you KNOW how it ends, but also really lovely.

I love everything about this: it's deep dives into parenthood, small-town gossip, death and religion, sobriety, grief, LGBTQ+...this touches on some serious topics with a sense of realism and care that really work. I thought the relationships in this, particularly those outside of the romance, were beautifully done. Lauren and her daughter are struggling but also so understanding and nurturing of each other. As a child of an alcoholic, the conversation between Gabe and his niece WAS my family life. It felt like looking into a mirror.

I wanted the slow burn to move a bit more quickly and I think I really wanted even MORE of Spencer/Lauren finally coming together in the past storyline, but it was truly moving from cover to cover.