This Chick Read: Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman

Lauren Parker has gone through a few iterations in her life. Teenage hell-raiser, sister to a movie star, and tragically widowed single mother. When she and daughter take a trip out to California to visit with her brother on his movie set she meets actor Ben Walsh. They have instant chemistry and Lauren takes that chance to have that moment for herself and be seen. When their sexy encounter becomes something more Lauren has to decide if there’s room in both their lives for this relationship. He star is rising and she lives in a small town in Minnesota.

Elissa Sussman uses flashbacks about Lauren’s relationship with her childhood friend/husband Spencer as a way to show the reader Lauren is still working through her grief, while at the same time explaining a spirit within that never truly died out, even as she had settled down with her husband and started a family. This “explanation” helps the reader make that jump into how a small town mother can hook up with a beautiful movie star who is more than ten years her junior. That rebellious nature hasn’t completely died out despite her being a single mom raising a teenager who is quite spirited herself.

The relationship between she and Ben was lovely and not to take anything away from the romance of it, stands on its own. However, it’s what she learns about herself as she’s exploring that relationship is the heart of the story. Her grief is balanced by her will to live a full life. She and Ben’s exploration of each other and a possible future relationship is a way to move on from the very loving marriage she had with Spencer. The dual nature of this author’s storytelling was deftly written and really showed Lauren’s growth in all aspects of her life.

I haven’t read all of this author’s novels, but as I was reading I was reminded about how much I enjoy her style of writing. I need to go look at her backlist and see what I’ve been missing out on! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Totally and Completely Fine

Copyright 2025 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick’s Audio Review: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Writer Chani Horowitz is tired of writing puff pieces when her friends are getting book deals. She is offered the chance to interview the hot, high profile action star Gabe Parker, who just got cast as the first American James Bond. Hoping she can get info from this very private actor that will help catapult her career, she arrives at his home and is struck dumb. By his good looks, but also because he sticks to the answers about his life that everyone already knows. She is ready for failure when he invites her to accompany him to a movie opening that night that then stretches to spending the weekend together.

Ten years later, she is offered the chance to interview Gabe Parker again. This time she is a well known writer and has something different to prove, but also, does he ever think of that weekend they spent together?

I saw this novel on a “best of 2022” romance novel list and had added it to my audiobook TBR. Narrated by the very talented Kristen Sieh whom I have enjoyed listening to before, I was quickly dropped into Chani’s story, liking her character right from the start. Her inner narrative on meeting a very attractive movie star funny and very real. I mean, who wouldn’t stumble their sentences? Gabe, too, was really easy to relate to and his secretive moments made me more curious about what he was hiding. As the story moves forward and you can see their personalities click you want to jump to those moments in the future and find out why they ended up married and divorced to other people. Elissa Sussman did a great job of casting that lure because I was caught and was looking for more info on my new favorite characters.

I don’t want to give away any of this plot because it was written so well, dropping moments on the reader that all added up to a wonderful conclusion, but I will say that the story is told with flashbacks to what happened in the past and when they meet up again in the future. I usually hate flashback stories but there was something about this narrative that really captured my interest. More than likely it was the fantasy that all women have about meeting their favorite movie star and catching their eye. This story goes a step further and gives us amazing dialog that is both funny and heartbreaking, and a cast of characters who support our main protagonists with humor and love.

The problem with listening to a great book is that you never want to take out those earbuds and get back to your real life (hello job!). This novel was so good that I found myself plugging myself back into it at every free moment, waiting for that slow burn romance to reach its conclusion so that these two characters I’ve grown to love finally (finally!) have their satisfying happily ever after. Guys, if you haven’t read/listened to this book yet, you need to give it a go. It is wonderful!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Funny You Should Ask

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.