Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this novel for my honest opinion. It is published now so go get yourself a copy of this great book.

"It All Comes Down to This" is a slow burn of a family drama that centers around three sisters who are trying to follow their mother's final wishes. As in real life, their own lives sometimes get in the way of honoring their mother.

Not super fast paced, but that is OK. That is real life. I enjoyed this novel and recommend it for your summer reading.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. It was not for me so I won't be leaving a full review.

Dramatic, sentimental, and sweet!

It All Comes Down to This is an intricate, engaging tale that takes you into the lives of the Geller sisters, Beck, Claire, and Sophie, as after the death of their mother, they must confront the past, accept the things they cannot change, take chances, repair fractured relationships, and embrace the future.

The prose is smooth and fluid. The characters are stubborn, troubled, and independent. And the plot is a tender tale about life, loss, forgiveness, secrets, responsibilities, familial drama, friendship, hope, second-chance romance, and sisterhood.

Overall, I found It All Comes Down to This to be an optimistic, nostalgic saga by Fowler that drags slightly in parts but overall does a lovely job of reminding us that life is messy and complicated, especially when it comes to family.

“It All Comes Down to This” is a perfectly fine book, but not one that I think will be particularly memorable. It started off well, but I think it got bogged down in the middle of the story and became rather boring. This was a decent read, but not one that left me excited or likely to recommend, Accordingly, this is a 3 star ⭐️ rating for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

The characters on this family drama, kept my attention. I liked the sisters' dynamic and the storyline. I would recommend.

This was my first time reading Therese Fowler's work. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I think I did like her writing style and will try her previous book Good Neighbors. In this book, I thought the plot and basic storyline were good, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters - they all fell flat to me. With a little more character development, or maybe just more likeable characters?, I think this would have been much better. There are some great bones here though.

If you were to look up the word dysfunctional in the dictionary you would probably find the names of the three sisters featured in Therese Anne Fowler’s IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS. First there’s Beck, 44, eldest daughter and freelance journalist whose all-consuming ambition is to write the great American novel. Next we have Claire the pediatric cardiologist, successful in her profession but not in her love life. Third is Sophie the beautiful blogger who survives in her lavish lifestyle by utilizing her charm and wits, not to mention her over-used credit cards and the hand-outs and support of friends…..when they can afford to be generous. All of the sisters have secrets they’re not going to share with the others since none of them has ever been particularly close………. much to the chagrin of their mother Marti.

When Marti, a widow, succumbs to her stage 4 cancer she leaves the family beach cottage in Maine to the girls instructing them to sell the property and split the money between them. Of course, one sister is anxious to get her hands on the cash since she views it as the solution to all her financial problems while another insists on keeping the property but does not have the cash to buy out the other two.

Needless to say, there are the predictable sibling dynamics and love interests in the lives of all three women and the resolution of the tale can also be categorized as predictable.

An okay read, but nothing to lose sleep over.

This book was well-written, but I found a lot of it seemed a bit too coincidental, particularly in the romance storylines. Still it was an enjoyable read.

This multigenerational family drama is about three grown sisters that are coming to terms with the death of their mother and the sale of their family summer house on an island in Maine.

My only criticisms are, that the story did take a while to get moving, and that I felt disconnected not only to the characters, but to the plot. Nothing overly interesting happens, it just meanders. I can see why Fowler's writing is compared to Ann Patchett's, but it lacks the intrigue.

Therese Anne Fowler is a “new to me” author whose books I’ve heard good things about but never got a chance to read. When I heard she had a new book out and I happened to get approved for an ARC, I figured now would be as good a time as any to acquaint myself with Fowler’s works. Now having finished this book, I’m thinking I probably should’ve started with a different book of hers, as this one turned out to be a huge disappointment.

While the premise had sounded interesting, I quickly discovered, a few chapters in, that this book would be different from what I originally expected. To me, the basic gist of this book could be summed up this way: a bunch of privileged, self-centered people endlessly try to justify the foolish (and at times downright stupid) life choices / decisions / actions that they may (or may not) regret making. None of the characters were likable (and that’s putting it mildly) — nearly every character was whiny to the point of grating on my nerves and the more they complained about their messy lives (and even messier relationships), the less sympathy I had for any of them. The only character I was able to tolerate (and probably the only character I didn’t find annoying) was 10-year-old Arlo— unfortunately, his scenes were too few and far between.

In terms of the writing — well, let’s just say that it left much to be desired. There were way too many instances where scenes and dialogue were drawn out unnecessarily in what I would call “stating the obvious” type of writing (“he picked up the newspaper, opened it, read it, folded it back up, put it back down” — not a direct quote, but it conveys the general idea) — which, of course, is the type of writing I absolutely cannot stand.

Basically, I could not get into this one at all — many of the scenes (in fact, the plot in general) felt contrived, the characters were frustratingly whiny, the writing felt stilted and rudimentary — so much so that each time I put the book down, I dreaded picking it back up again. I did end up finishing this one (I’m the type of reader who finds it extremely hard to DNF a book once I start it), but not without A LOT of skimming through nearly 50% of the book. While I don’t intend to write Fowler off based on this one experience, I’m not necessarily in a rush to read another book of hers yet either, as I need some time to get the bad taste from this one out of my system.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

This is a engrossing family drama that starts off with a mother finding out her cancer treatments are at an end and going home to tell her 3 daughters, Beck, Claire & Sophie, and then putting her affairs in order. One of those long put off things she did was record a video explaining some family history previously fictionalized for her family as well as a directive to sell the vacation cottage on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The daughters all have their own lives and issues and have never been especially super close but going through this together brings them closer. Beck the oldest doesn't want to sell, she wants to live there full time, and divorce her husband as well. Claire is already divorced but she is a busy pediatric cardiologist with a child and part time custody. Sophie is more of a fly by the seat of her pants type...no home or significant other. She works with an art gallery and over 3 million followers on Instagram but her world is crashing as well.

Then there's CJ Reynolds. He came to MDI, after serving 3 years for "attempting" to kill his father, to buy a home and live full time and do what he always wanted, which is paint. He is staying at a friend's house while he house shops and his friend's elderly aunt shows up with 8 year old Arlo in tow. Arlo's parent's recently died in a plane crash and his grandmother (the elderly aunt) is now his guardian.

The story just flowed so smoothly for me which made this so easy to read and enjoy. If you like family dramas I can HIGHLY recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Therese Anne Fowler for a free eARC of this book. It was amazing.

The Short of It:

My expectations for this one were high but it fell short for me.

The Rest of It:

Meet the Geller sisters: Beck, Claire, and Sophie, a trio of strong-minded women whose pragmatic, widowed mother, Marti, will be dying soon and taking her secrets with her. Marti has ensured that her modest estate is easy for her family to deal with once she’s gone––including a provision that the family’s summer cottage on Mount Desert Island, Maine, must be sold, the proceeds split equally between the three girls.

You’ve probably read a story like this one before. A family home, filled with memories suddenly goes up for sale and there is the last “hurrah” of all the family members getting together to say goodbye to it. I was eagerly looking forward to this one because I loved Fowler’s A Good Neighborhood. But this one left a lot to be desired.

For one, I didn’t care for any of the characters. I found it hard to relate to any of them. As sisters, they didn’t seem to be all that close and honestly, there was little to be sentimental about in regards to the house. However, I liked it enough to give it a chance and although the three sisters didn’t work for me, some of their individual stories were interesting enough to keep me reading. I expected it to be quite compelling given my love for her previous book but it just landed too softly for me. Plus, I finished the book and then a week later couldn’t remember if I had read the ending so read it again. It left my brain that quickly.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Just what I enjoy - a family drama with a twist! When the Geller matriarch dies, her secrets are finally exposed and her three daughters are left to pick up the pieces. Loved the different storylines and characters in this book.

I was a fan of "A Good Neighborhood" and it quickly became a book club favorite so I was anxious to read this - and I think the same will be true of this book. The loss of their mother brings 3 sisters back together in a way they hadn't been in years to fulfill her final wishes. Along the way each discovers more about herself and her sisters. This is about relationships, family secrets, love and loss - things we can all relate to.

This is one of those novels that at a surface appears to be somewhat predictable, but if you look close enough, or read between the lines, you will see that there is more than what is at the surface. To me, that demonstrates talent and is impressive. Unfortunately for me, I just did not get to truly appreciate that because I was in a reading funk and needed something quick and easy. Lucky for me, though, is that there IS that surface layer that did tell a story that was just what you read, you do not need to delve deeper than what you want to. I always enjoy books about families with complex relationships and/or issues, and this one fits that perfectly. I love the storyline and concept, as well as the characters, but this is a case of me “It’s me, not you”, I just couldn’t give the true appreciation for this book that I think it probably deserved.

I enjoy reading a great family saga but this one just wasn’t for me. I had trouble with the story keeping my attention and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I ADORED “A Good Neighborhood” rating it 5 stars so I can’t wait to see what Therese Anne Fowler releases next!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always up for some dysfunctional family drama and this one did not disappoint. This is the story of 3 sisters and their own drama while they simultaneously deal with the loss of their mother. I love books about relationships and deep character studies. While each of the sisters wasn’t necessarily likeable, I did like how the author presented their life story and issues

This was a very well written book.. I liked the whole premise of it and loved the sisters stories. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

I enjoyed this book and the characters. The writing flowed easily but I did find the beginning a little slow. It picked up and I couldn't put it down.

I really enjoyed this book and definitely a new fan of this author. Loved the characters, I cared about the characters. 3 sisters and their relationships with each other and the baggage that they carry from their personal lives, and their mother who is dying. I especially enjoyed the return of the adult siblings to each other and their Mother. As a Mom of 4 adults, i definitely could identify.