while this novel was well-written, i found it a bit difficult to empathize with any of the characters. additionally, the plot was simultaneously implausible and predictable,

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. I think this book just wasn't for me, I tried to start it several times and just couldn't get into the story. I am sure others will enjoy.

I did this one on audiobook a while (few months) ago and I thought I had reviewed it and apparently I had not. My review will be more of a grasping through memory of the book and it's events. Now that I'm thinking about it all, I remember the conflicts between the sisters after the death of their mother and I remember the need to keep a property and I cannot remember the ending. However, interesting enough, I do remember potential affairs or love interests that kept me intrigued. I also remember that I wasn't blown away like A Good Neighborhood. A few months later, I'll say it's a solid book, with good characters and enough tension and intrigue to keep you interested.

This novel rotates between the perspectives of five characters - sisters Beck, Claire and Sophie whose mother dies at the beginning of the book leaving instructions for them to sell her vacation house in Maine, Beck’s husband Paul, and CJ who has just arrived in Maine after prison and whose story takes a little longer to intersect with the rest.

There is a plot to the book, but I’d say it’s more a character driven dysfunctional family novel - more about how the characters re-define themselves and their relationships to each other in the wake of the mom’s death (or getting out of prison in CJ’s case). Fans of family dramas from authors like Emma Straub and Laurie Frankel should enjoy this one. It wasn’t a 5 star book for me like Fowler’s previous book A Good Neighborhood, but it was still a great read.

Really enjoyed this one. The family dynamics were surprising and interesting throughout. Would reco.

It All Comes Down To This, another great story by Therese Anne Fowler, I really love her way of keeping us immersed in her stories and characters, after reading "A good neighbor" I became a fan of her books and this new was not the exception, but the same gripping moments that will keep you wanting more.

Marti is dying she has been very ill with cancer and is about to put her three daughters on a crazy journey as soon as they read what she expected from them. A story that will keep you wanting more and will unveil many secrets the three sisters didn't even know.

It is a story full of secrets that will start to unfold sooner or later revealing the cold hard truth, three sisters Sophia, Beck, and Claire seem not even alike and don't even trust each other, their relationship is somehow broken or needs to be mended. Beck wants to keep the house now she will have to convince her sister to do this.

Good story, with great characters I did enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of It All Comes Down To This in exchange for my honest review.

Three sisters, one dying mother and a plan she made for them after her death sets this book in motion. Each sister could not be more different and have ties to the cottage their mom wants them to sell. Old secrets are revealed and though the sisters may be different their bond is strong.
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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review .

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay read for me. I liked some of the characters a lot but ended up being mad at Bec most of the time. I thought she acted immature for her age throughout the book. I thought the story was very predictable in parts. I was not a fan of the brother-in-law and sister-in-law storyline.

In 2021 I really enjoyed Therese Anne Fowler’s writing in A Good Neighborhood, even though the story itself left me both sad and frustrated. While a family drama, the plot involves societal expectations of people, especially as neighbors. Engaging and thought-provoking, the book was a go-to recommendation for me, and it just barely missed making my top reads list for the year. Because of this, I had extremely high expectations for It All Comes Down to This. Unfortunately, my expectations were too high to be met.
It All Comes Down to This is a family drama that left me wanting more. I was hooked in the beginning of the book, learning about the Gellar sisters. As I continued to read, my interest level dwindled, and I took a 2.5 month break from the book. When I finally resumed this past week via audiobook, I remembered exactly where I’d left off, and I was happy to finish the second half of the book. Other than a feeling of completion (for me) and the resolution of much of the drama, the book didn’t leave me with anything like the deeper commentary on social issues that A Good Neighborhood included.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion - this one is available everywhere now. It reads as a beach read family drama, so I think you’ll enjoy it more if you go into it with those expectations.

This is my first time reading a book by Therese Anne Fowler, and I enjoyed it. I like character-driven novels about messy lives. Thanks for letting me check it out!

I started out engaged and wanting to know more about the Geller sisters, but the longer I read, the less I cared. While I don’t have any siblings, it seemed far from what a normal adult sibling relationship is like.

I was slightly disappointed since everyone was raving about the author. I did like her writing style and will give her another chance.

It All Comes Down to This is the story of three very different sisters who come together after their mother’s death. Beck is a freelance writer with kids and a seemingly happy marriage though she suspects her husband might be gay. Claire is a doctor in Duluth who was recently divorced by her husband and is navigating this new life with their child splitting time with her and his dad. Sophie is single and an influencer in the art world, traveling and living the high life, posting it all on social media, and glossing over the hard facts of her life.

When their mother dies, they come together for the funeral. They love each other but distantly, separated not only by distance but by age and interests. Their mother wrote in her will that the family’s cabin in Maine had to be sold. Beck imagines going there to write, but Claire and Sophie just went to sell. Before they can do that, though, they have to spend a weekend there together. And that’s when a lot of truths come out.



I was surprisingly disappointed in It All Comes Down to This. I loved Fowler’s A Good Neighborhood. I just think everything was a bit too pat. I know from her past books she can leave things unresolved, but she chose not to this time and that felt very wrong. I liked the people who felt well-developed at first. But it was just too neatly done. I also think the situation with Beck and Claire is not very credible. Not that I think two sisters cannot overcome what might feel like a betrayal, but overcoming it so quickly makes people feel emotionally shallow, as though they didn’t care. Sophie’s resolution felt too perfect. It all felt too nice.

I received an e-galley of It All Comes Down to This from the publisher through NetGalley.

It All Comes Down to This at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Review of A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Therese Anne Fowler

If I had sisters, I think we would be very much like the Geller girls! Beck, Claire, and Sophie have each taken different paths in adulthood, but it's heartwarming when they come together. The struggles Beck faces are reality for a lot of us. With her finding solace and peace, the book had the perfect ending! This was my first Fowler book, and I will be exploring her other works as well. I will be recommending this book to my reader friends.

This is a refreshing read by a new to me author. I enjoyed this story immensely and highly recommend it.

In her will, Marti Geller instructs her three daughters to gather at the family's summer cottage before selling the Maine home. Unhappily married Beck, a freelance writer, Claire, a pediatric cardiologist and recently divorced, and Sophie, a gallery assistant, living beyond her means, haven't seen one another in ten years. Will the forced reunion and family revelations strengthen the sisters' bonds? Perfect beach reading.

I respect this departure from the historical fiction I associate with Fowler, but this wasn't the right story for me when I picked it up.

This is my first time reading work from NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Terese Fowler. I like the title, the cover, and the story. The novel is classified under Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction; however, I think most people that pick up this book would enjoy it. This novel is the perfect beach/porch read. It’s big-hearted and enjoyable.

This book is about sisterhood, family, dreams, secrets, struggles, love, romance, and basically happy endings.

The mom, Marti, is dying and she is presented in a way that is calm, cool, and collected. Her organization skills, planning, and fearlessness of death set the stage for the book. This is a strong woman who is likely to have strong daughters. Speaking of the daughters: Beck, Claire, and Sophie are quite different but they are all strong in their own way. The main background for the novel is in NYC and Mount Desert Island, Maine. I have been to NYC many times but have never visited any part of Maine. After reading this story, (well honestly, I already wanted to go!), I definitely plan to visit Maine any chance I get.

It’s Marti’s wish, and part of her will, that the three sisters gather in Maine and spend time together and then sell the family cottage and split the money three ways. Just like life, things are never that simple. Marti held secrets that she didn’t reveal until after her death and as the story unfolds each sister starts to unravel their own secrets to themselves and to each other.

Filled with humor, honesty, struggle, and triumph…. Oh, did I mention a charming, handsome man who might have spent some time in prison is part of the story, and he comes with an endearing young sidekick to boot?

Interesting to me that throughout reading the book I went from five stars to four stars, to maybe threeish stars. The three stars are due to the ending, but I won’t share any spoilers! I do like this novel very much and I also recommend it. I think I’ll go with four stars.

A special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This is a beautiful look at sisterhood in all of its messiness. Beck, Claire and Sophie are all wonderfully fleshed out characters and I love the way their mother intervened in their relationships even after she passed. Fowler's writing is lyrical and descriptive but the pacing got a bit too slow in the middle and I started to lose interest. I wish it had finished as strongly as it started.

Thanks to St. Martin's and NetGalley for the copy to review.

I loved Fowler's last book but this one didn't hit the same as it did. It was slow and hard for me to enagage with.

Although there was much to like about the book, especially that it’s about sisters and their relationship, but the characters did not resonate with me. The three sisters, Beck , Claire and Sophie, were too self-centered and spoiled. Personal growth only came to one at the very rushed ending of the book, although it was slow going through most of the way. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.