Spoilers in this review.
Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman hits the following romance tropes:
Small town widow with teenage daughter meets Hollywood heartthrob in chance encounter in the big city.
Sparks ensue.
Small town widow runs a bookstore/craft shop in the small town.
Hollywood heartthrob comes to small town.
Hollywood heartthrob and small town widow decide to make a go of it.
Hollywood heartthrob gets called away by his career.
Hollywood heartthrob realizes widow is more important than career and small town life is for him.
This could be a Hallmark movie, right? I mean, it is most Hallmark movies. Just add in a Christmas fair.
But, Totally and Completely Fine turns the romance trope on its head.
Heroine Lauren lost her husband three years earlier in a car accident. She and her 13 year old daughter are still deep in mourning for him. Both of them are just starting to come back to life.
Lauren meets hero Ben when she is visiting her brother, who is a huge movie star -- along with the substance abuse, body dysmorphia, and unpleasant paparazzi that come with that gig. Lauren and Ben hook up, and it's magical. She returns to her small town happy to have had a fling.
And, honestly, her small town kind of sucks. I mean, it has the Hallmark stuff like everyone knows each other, small locally-owned businesses, etc. But it is also gossipy and judgmental and often religious in the you're going to hell way. Lauren had a reputation as a slut when she was a teenager and no one has every forgotten that.
The bookstore / craft store is adorable, but it's also funded by Lauren's brother, who has movie star money. I love that. I hate books where there's a fundraiser for a local bookstore and now it's going to be just fine. No! That's not how retail works!
When Ben unexpectedly shows up in the small town, Lauren and her daughter both have a lot of deep unfinished emotional work to do over the death of Lauren's husband before she can consider being with Ben. When he suddenly decides to leave for a job, it's because he needs the big money the big movie role will bring him for reasons that kinda sorta make sense and don't make him an asshole. When he decides to stay, it's actually beautiful.
Great book, great writing.
Note from Jasmine Gold: As the name of this blog indicates, I write erotica. Check out my dark, dystopian novel about naked sex slaves, Mindgames. Your darkest fantasies, with a phenomenal plot and characters you will come to think of as beloved friends. Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. Or read my book of short stories about hot, consensual sex, The Mature Woman's Guide to Desire, available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
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