It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler
2 Stars

As a big fan of the author, I was so excited to receive an ARC through Netgalley from St. Martin’s Press of this book. Out of almost 120 books, I considered A Good Neighborhood to be the best book I read in 2020. I recently read and adored A Well-Behaved Woman. I expected to be similarly pleased with It All Comes Down to This. Unfortunately, I was not.

In her acknowledgements, Fowler calls this a “messy-families dramedy”, adding another genre to her belt alongside historical-biographical and literary tragedy. It may be partly that I don’t tend to be drawn to family dramas, but I also missed any comedy aspects entirely. The story follows the three Gellar sisters following the death of their mother, Marti. Marti has stipulated that the family’s vacation home on Mount Desert Island (MDI) be sold, and the proceeds split between the sisters, Beck, Claire, and Sophie. Marti also shares a long-held secret posthumously that reveals that the girls are more connected to the island than they knew. As they sort through their feelings about their mother’s death, her secret, and the sale of the house, the girls are also forced to look more deeply at their own lives and are brought closer together. Meanwhile, we also get the story of CJ Reynolds, recently released from prison and searching for a house on MDI, where he befriends an orphaned boy named Arlo. His story feels only loosely connected to the three sisters, and the three sisters all seem to be lacking in maturity: Beck is struggling to write her novel and thinks her husband is secretly gay, Claire is a working doctor getting a divorce after admitting to a long-held infatuation with Beck’s husband, and Sophie is working in the art world and living and dressing like the big names she comes into contact with but is actually homeless and deeply in debt.

I’m not really drawn to family dramas, but was surprised the author termed this story a “dramedy” and remarks on how it is “upbeat” in her acknowledgements. I missed any comedy all together. I don’t necessarily need to like the characters to enjoy a book but these characters didn’t stir any feelings in me at all. I kept hoping that what felt like discordant snippets of the four characters’ lives would come together into something more resembling a cohesive plot, but it never did so in a satisfactory way. Not only was the story a disappointment, I didn’t even feel that I was reading the same author’s writing. I was distracted by an overuse of parentheses and metaphors.
I don’t normally give less than three stars because I DNF books that warrant poor reviews, but as I received an ARC I felt obligated to finish the book. I will continue to read Fowler’s future books, but this one was really not for me.

I SIMPLY LOVED Therese Anne Fowler’s prior book A Good Neighborhood. It was in fact one of my favorite reads of 2019.
It All Comes Down To This was just as good, I think that Therese Anne Fowler is a beautiful storyteller.

Beck, Claire and Sophie are sisters dealing with their mother’s death. Fortunately she saw to every detail for after her death, including that the house on Mount Desert Island, Maine. During a video at the reading of her will, she reveals a secret about herself and requests that the girls go back for one last weekend.

Beck is a freelance writer whose husband is more like a roommate.. Claire is a pediatric cardiologist whose is newly divorced because she is in love with the wrong man. Sophie has an exciting life full of glamorous fashion, art and celebrities. What these three also have in common is that they each have secrets holding them back from living their best lives.

I really enjoyed A Good Neighborhood so I couldn’t wait to read It All Comes Down to This but this one fell short for me. I liked the characters and the storyline but it was lacking. I feel like we could have gone deeper into so many aspects…like the secret that their mother revealed. It was mentioned and then, nothing. I feel like more back story or a longer bit of tidying up would have been helpful. 3.5⭐️

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This novel is characterized by Fowler's graceful writing, and her typically insightful characterizations--in masterfully differentiated voices--of the three Geller sisters. Beck, Claire and Sophie are very different adults, each plagued by self-created problems of the upper middle class, but they're very much drawn together by the death of their mother Marti, first unwillingly and later surprised by their emotional ties.

I was particularly moved by the relationship of the ex-con and the eight year old orphan, Arlo.

This is a lighter read than Fowler's last book in my opinion, and she gives the reader a very feel-good ending that's perhaps more neatly red-bow tied than life ever is, but that may be just my preference for realistic endings as opposed to happily ever after ones, and this is definitely a good read that will have earned the popular success I expect it to have.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley to review. 4.5 stars.

I always get super excited when Therese Anne Fowler comes out with a new book! Her books always take me through all the emotions. This one was another winner and I cannot wait to see what she writes next! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review early!

I enjoyed this enough that I also listened to the audiobook version. It's the classic telling of a family's reckoning with their lives after a loved one passes away, with a modern edge to it. Yes, it is a bunch of white people with resources/privilege to take the time to re-evaluate their lives, but still well done.

ARC from publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

It All Comes Down to This is a memorable book that will have you pondering your own life and state of happiness.

Three very different sisters from Manhattan are faced with losing their mother to cancer. They all have great careers (journalist, doctor & assistant at an elite art gallery) but as the women reunite to grieve, they discover they are each hiding secrets. The secrets started long ago with their mother. As they make sense of their mother’s past, they encounter CJ Reynolds. Reynolds is a trying to navigate life after being released from jail recently. Will the characters be able to make sense of their past, forgive each other, and make choices to live fulfilling lives?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves an easy, family drama!

I have become quite a fan of Therese Anne Fowler. I thought A Good Neighborhood was exceptional. I also read one of Fowler's historical fiction novels, Z, and enjoyed it immensely. I was thrilled to see another novel and be granted an advanced galley.

It All Comes Down to This was not quite what I was expecting and doesn't stand up against her other novels.

What I liked:
-This novel focuses on three adult sisters who rekindle their relationships with each other after the death of their mom forces them to. I think Fowler did a great job depicting what adult sisterhood looks like.

What I didn't like:
-We are introduced to Marti, the mom of the Geller sisters, early on in the novel and her death was seemingly significant event to the characters, but I didn't really sense that the sisters were grieving her death, just inconvenienced by it.
-The novel's pace was pretty slow and ending was just fine- not great not terrible. But left me a little unsatisfied
-I didn't care for the sister's blasé attitudes toward divorce

4.5 stars

There's a quote toward the end of this that sums up the plot to me, and I'm not quoting the NetGalley ebook I was given, but Mick Jagger.

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find
You get what you need."

This comes at a turning point for Beck, one of the three sisters whose life, at middle age, is changing too quickly, with too many surprises, which she's not used to. Actually all three of the sisters, after just losing their mother, are experiencing changes; but it all seems too unfair to Beck as she's used to always having her way.

This book! I can credit it with finally getting me out of a two month long reading slump. I will say it's unlike the Fowler books you may have read in the past. It's a warmer lighter read, more similar to an Elizabeth Berg offering, but a real page turner too. I predicted how it would end for all of them, but it was satisfying and reassuring to me in this case.
I highly recommend.

Thank you to @StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #ItAllComesDownToThis. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I enjoyed Fowler's previous book "The Good Neighborhood" so I quickly requested this ARC when it came across my screen. And I wasn't disappointed.

The book centers on the Geller sisters - Beck, Claire and Sophie - who reunite in New York following the death of their mother. Her will calls for the sale of the family's vacation cabin in Maine which sets the drama in motion.

This is not intense family drama - it's enjoyable/amusing family drama. Everything was resolved pretty neatly which was a little unbelievable, but overall, I liked the characters and the story.

Therese Ann Fowler writes books that pull reader’s emotions. I enjoyed this story of family relationships. The sisters and their challenges were interesting and kept me engaged. Another thought provoking novel by the author.

Thank you St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy

This is a very good family saga that will capture your interest and keep you reading. There are three main characters that are well developed, along with some side characters that come and go that are also well written. There are lots of twists and turns, and complicated family undercurrents. Each of the sisters present one life to the outside world, while slowly disintegrating or stagnating in their real lives. I enjoyed this book.

This story is about family drama, love, and conflict among three sisters. Each sister is uniquely different. They struggle through the death of their mother and each sister must find their direction to move on. My favorite character in this book is CJ who is rebuilding his life and wants peace and tranquility and maybe love in the future. I didn't love the sisters they all had messed up lives but that's the story. There is love, betrayal, personal growth, and the search for personal answers. Thank you NetGalley, and publishers. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC I would recommend the book to those of this genre’

Very appreciative to have received a copy of this ARC from the publisher as part of their influencer program.

While I was drawn in by the simplicity of the cover and the premise about sisters coming together in the wake of their mother’s death, I couldn’t connect at all with the book.

Had this been more Marti’s story, I probably would have been more emotionally invested, but the sisters were ultra privileged and unsympathetic and their chapters meandered (as did the other multiple POVs) so much, that I would myself skimming just to see if it would ever tie together.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me and though the author’s writing is lovely, I don’t think I would seek out her other books.

What I liked best about this book was that it was a really good story. The author wrote it during the height of the pandemic. She wanted to write a feel good story and she succeeded. At the beginning of the book, a mother of three grown daughters dies. The story goes from there telling each daughter’s story. I really enjoyed the stories of how Beck and Claire dealt with their problems. Sophie’s story was a bit difficult for me. She’s in her mid thirties, but her story sounded more like someone in their twenties. The sisters’ problems are a bit too easily resolved, but I always enjoy a happy ending!

It All Comes Down to This is the first book by this author I have read. I was expecting a novel about sisters dealing with the death of their mother, and I guess it was but the first several chapters about each daughter just rambled on about things that didn't have anything to do with their mother (like their sex life). To be honest, I skimmed through these chapters because I was bored with the book already. Thanks to author Therese Anne Fowler, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this ebook for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The plot didn't grab me in quite the same way as her previous novel A Good Neighborhood did, but the characters were well drawn, and I thought the multiple points of view were woven together effectively. Fowler is a very skilled writer, - one of the relatively few whose books are an automatic read from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance!

This is a story focusing on sibling (sisters) relationships. I appreciated the honesty of their interactions.

this book is about 3 sisters dealing with their mother dying. I have seen where lots of people had a hard time getting into it, but I enjoyed it.

3.8. I really loved Ms Fowler’s earlier book on Alva Vanderbilt, A Well-Behaved Woman, so I was very excited to receive an advance copy of her new book from NetGalley. The novel had an interesting premise of three adult sisters with little in common and how the impact of their mother’s recent death impacts them all, and somehow ties them together. It involves secrets, heartbreak, love, and loss It also well exemplifies family dynamics. I didn’t love the book although the writing was very good. I found it hard to get engaged in the plot. I received an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased and candid review.