Review: Completely

Completely by Ruthie Knox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whew, how to describe that?

I love Ruthie Knox, her books defy description. I just wish I could remember that whenever I start a new one as they are inevitably so 'different' that I put them aside where they languish for weeks if not months. So was it with this book. I didn't even start properly reading my ARC until the release day despite downloading it back in June!

So, this book features Rosemary Chamberlain (the ex-wife of Winston from the second book in the trilogy, Madly). Rosemary left her husband and teenage daughter to 'find herself' which involved joining a group of women who intend to climb all seven of the highest mountains in the world. Rosemary is the classic British upper class blonde, the other climbers even call her princess behind her back. Then the camp is hit by an avalanche and Rosemary is rescued by the sherpa the other climbers call Doctor Doom.

Doctor Doom's real name is Kal Beckett, the son of two famous mountain climbers. When he and Rosemary eventually get off the mountain they fall into bed together and strike up an unlikely friendship the following day when Kal discovers his kit and all his money has been stolen. Both faced with the reality of their mortality Kal and Rosemary travel to New York to reconnect with family.

This third book in the New York trilogy cements the move (for me) from romance to women's fiction. Rosemary has to confront what made her so unhappy in her marriage and what she really wants from life. Her plans have gone awry and on some level that makes her happy. But will a relationship with Kal simply lead to another unhappy marriage?

Kal has his own issues. His parents had a very bad relationship, some people even speculate that his mother killed his father, he was once idealistic with plans for the welfare of Nepal but since then he has become disillusioned. He has said that only two kinds of people climb Everest: megalomaniacs and the walking wounded. Why would he want to start a relationship with either?

This was as much about a woman's place in society as it was a romance where opposites attract. Rosemary draws upon the experiences of her former mother-in-law, her daughter, her ex-husband's fiancee, her ex-husband's fiancee's parents, Kal, Kal's mother and Kal's family to see the world and her life through a different lens.

Maybe that all sounds a bit worthy, a bit depressing, a bit dull. But I promise it isn't. It's funny. It's sexy and it tackles real problems without a magic romance sticking plaster which miraculously fixes everything with three little words.

I have loved all three of these books, they are all very different but they are fun reads, this may be my favourite.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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