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fictionbrarian's review
5.0
I received a copy of this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I already loved Ruthie Knox's books, but this one will hold a special place in my heart. I cried through a good portion of the end. Worse, I cried at work. Seriously. Geez! But some of the issues and quandaries faced by the characters resemble those I'm tackling now, and the way that adults transition into new phases of their lives isn't easy to portray well. Knox hit it out of the park. I know I'll be rereading this one as I fumble my way through the next steps in my journey, and it gives me hope that I too can find a happy and satisfying ending.
I already loved Ruthie Knox's books, but this one will hold a special place in my heart. I cried through a good portion of the end. Worse, I cried at work. Seriously. Geez! But some of the issues and quandaries faced by the characters resemble those I'm tackling now, and the way that adults transition into new phases of their lives isn't easy to portray well. Knox hit it out of the park. I know I'll be rereading this one as I fumble my way through the next steps in my journey, and it gives me hope that I too can find a happy and satisfying ending.
prgchrqltma's review
3.0
Knox does a good job of writing complicated and messy characters in complicated and messy circumstances. In this case, the situation is the emotional aftermath of surviving an avalanche on Everest. The characters are a climber with messy reasons to climb, and a member of a sherpa family with messy reasons not to climb.
beckymmoe's review
4.0
"The main thing I figured out today talking to Bill was that I'm going to love you no matter what you do, and I'd rather love you and have you than love you and lose you just because I'm not willing to deal with exactly who you are and support whatever it is you want."That, my dear friends, is what we call a grand gesture...
Completely is the final book in Ruthie Knox's New York trilogy, and though reading the other two first will definitely give you a fuller picture of who everyone in the "very big, very weird family of Wisconsin people" (Kal's description--it's pretty darn apt) is and what the heck they're alluding to throughout the story, you could get away with just reading Rosemary and Kal's book. You'll be cheating yourself, though--because those weird people are a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with. Just sayin'.
And while you're at it, read [b:About Last Night|13414764|About Last Night|Ruthie Knox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327173323s/13414764.jpg|18714133], too, just for the heck of it. Nev and Cath will wander in at some point here as well.
Completely grabbed me from the beginning--who was Rosemary again, and why was she climbing Mount Everest? (It seemed like [b:Madly|21953036|Madly (New York, #2)|Ruthie Knox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423964100s/21953036.jpg|41259542] had come out ages ago--I could have used a quick Cliff Notes refresher...) and Kal at first seemed like a most unlikely partner for her. But surviving a disaster can make you look at things differently, and though at times Kal and Rosemary were practically kicking and screaming in their attempt not to look at things differently than they thought they wanted to, Ms. Knox did an amazing job of bringing them back together in the end, both finally pointing in their own right directions, going forward together.
Though at times I was a bit frustrated with their obtuseness, and OMG their black moment fight was absolutely awful, those touches are what made this story seem all the more real. I'm sad to see this series end, but maybe a Beatrice of a few years in the future could pop up in another series? Fingers crossed...
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
afoolsingenuity's review
4.0
I will forever be ashamed I didn't read this sooner but I'm also glad I waited until I was totally in the mood for a romance read as this book was a perfect example of romance done right.
I had some doubts. I loved the idea of the book and everything is hears about it but remembering what I knew of Rosemary from the last book I wasn't overly enamoured with her and wasn't sure I'd enjoy a book focused on her and her journey. Turns out I'm an idiot because I loved it.
The thing is, this is a romance. It has an utterly brilliant romance between Rosemary and the slightly younger Kal (yay for an age difference romance which doesn't feature an older man everytime) but it's way more about Rosemary finding herself and who she is it's her journey to who she is and also Kal's journey to regain his focus. Along the way the two just happen to fall in love and I love them for it.
This was a brilliant romance. I expect no less from Knox and I totally enjoyed every page.
I had some doubts. I loved the idea of the book and everything is hears about it but remembering what I knew of Rosemary from the last book I wasn't overly enamoured with her and wasn't sure I'd enjoy a book focused on her and her journey. Turns out I'm an idiot because I loved it.
The thing is, this is a romance. It has an utterly brilliant romance between Rosemary and the slightly younger Kal (yay for an age difference romance which doesn't feature an older man everytime) but it's way more about Rosemary finding herself and who she is it's her journey to who she is and also Kal's journey to regain his focus. Along the way the two just happen to fall in love and I love them for it.
This was a brilliant romance. I expect no less from Knox and I totally enjoyed every page.
chymerra's review
3.0
I have not read a lot of books with hiking Mount Everest as a focal plotline focus. So when I read the blurb for Completely, I had to download it. Since I had read Madly, I figured that Completely would be good. Add in the Mount Everest angle, and I felt that the book would be gold. Saying that I was disappointed was an understatement.
The plotline of the book was OK. I felt that the book lost steam about halfway through. Everything up to the middle of the book was great. Rosemary’s enthusiasm for hiking Mount Everest came off the pages. That enthusiasm was carried even through the disaster that killed Rosemary’s friends. Then she and Kal slept together and bam, the book lost steam. It seemed to falter when they were in NYC and were trying to figure out what they had. It did pick back up when Rosemary got the go ahead to interview on Kal’s mother.
While this book is a romance, it didn’t come across as that to me until the end. Both characters were lukewarm with each other. They also were second guessing their feelings for each other. That drove me crazy when reading. I didn’t see any sort of relationship with them other than friends with benefits until the end of the book. Even then, their relationship came across as forced.
Like I said above, I liked Rosemary’s enthusiasm for scaling Mount Everest. I just wished that she showed that same enthusiasm for her daughter. I was very bothered by the lack of feelings that she seemed to have for her daughter. Her self-exploration in the middle and end of the book was a nice thing to read. Her near scare on Mount Everest gave her the scare that she needed. She should have known that it is impossible to have a pregnancy result within a couple of days of having sex. Even with her periods being out of whack, she should have known that. So taking a pregnancy test so soon afterward was, in my mind, for Kal’s benefit.
Kal was too Zen. I liked that he was laid back but he was almost too laid back. His laid-backness is was almost cost him a relationship with Rosemary. He also felt flat and almost…dull. I don’t know, I can’t explain how I felt when I read his scenes in the book. His scenes with Rosemary were very tepid too.
Like the characters, I felt that the sex was lacking. I didn’t get the connection from it as I do with other books. What I did like is that the author chose to make it not as graphic as some romance novels. The sex scenes were written very well. But I felt that an important connection was missing on my end.
I didn’t have any complaints other than taking the pregnancy test 3 days after having sex.
The end of the book did seem rushed. I felt that the decisions that were made were done on a whim and not thought through. If I had to take stock on fictional characters not staying together, I would say that Rosemary and Kal would lead the list. I didn’t get a sense of ever lasting love from them.
3 stars
My Summary of Completely:
I didn’t care for Completely. While I enjoyed the plot, for the most part, I felt that the characters and their romance were tepid. It was that tepidness and the fact that I could not connect with either main character that shaved points off of my review.
Will I reread: No (but I will reread other books by the same author)
Will I recommend to family and friends: No (but I will recommend other books by the same author)
Age range: Adult
Why: Language, sex
I would like to thank Ruthie Knox, Random House, Loveswept, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Completely
All opinions stated in this review of Completely are mine and mine alone
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
The plotline of the book was OK. I felt that the book lost steam about halfway through. Everything up to the middle of the book was great. Rosemary’s enthusiasm for hiking Mount Everest came off the pages. That enthusiasm was carried even through the disaster that killed Rosemary’s friends. Then she and Kal slept together and bam, the book lost steam. It seemed to falter when they were in NYC and were trying to figure out what they had. It did pick back up when Rosemary got the go ahead to interview on Kal’s mother.
While this book is a romance, it didn’t come across as that to me until the end. Both characters were lukewarm with each other. They also were second guessing their feelings for each other. That drove me crazy when reading. I didn’t see any sort of relationship with them other than friends with benefits until the end of the book. Even then, their relationship came across as forced.
Like I said above, I liked Rosemary’s enthusiasm for scaling Mount Everest. I just wished that she showed that same enthusiasm for her daughter. I was very bothered by the lack of feelings that she seemed to have for her daughter. Her self-exploration in the middle and end of the book was a nice thing to read. Her near scare on Mount Everest gave her the scare that she needed. She should have known that it is impossible to have a pregnancy result within a couple of days of having sex. Even with her periods being out of whack, she should have known that. So taking a pregnancy test so soon afterward was, in my mind, for Kal’s benefit.
Kal was too Zen. I liked that he was laid back but he was almost too laid back. His laid-backness is was almost cost him a relationship with Rosemary. He also felt flat and almost…dull. I don’t know, I can’t explain how I felt when I read his scenes in the book. His scenes with Rosemary were very tepid too.
Like the characters, I felt that the sex was lacking. I didn’t get the connection from it as I do with other books. What I did like is that the author chose to make it not as graphic as some romance novels. The sex scenes were written very well. But I felt that an important connection was missing on my end.
I didn’t have any complaints other than taking the pregnancy test 3 days after having sex.
The end of the book did seem rushed. I felt that the decisions that were made were done on a whim and not thought through. If I had to take stock on fictional characters not staying together, I would say that Rosemary and Kal would lead the list. I didn’t get a sense of ever lasting love from them.
3 stars
My Summary of Completely:
I didn’t care for Completely. While I enjoyed the plot, for the most part, I felt that the characters and their romance were tepid. It was that tepidness and the fact that I could not connect with either main character that shaved points off of my review.
Will I reread: No (but I will reread other books by the same author)
Will I recommend to family and friends: No (but I will recommend other books by the same author)
Age range: Adult
Why: Language, sex
I would like to thank Ruthie Knox, Random House, Loveswept, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Completely
All opinions stated in this review of Completely are mine and mine alone
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
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