Review: It All Comes Down to This

Review: It All Comes Down to ThisIt All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler
Published by St. Martin's Press on June 7, 2022
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 352
Goodreads
two-stars

FINAL DECISION: The book is well constructed from a technical standpoint, but I think I am exhausted with these three women at a change of life women’s fiction books. Nothing about this book was exciting or extraordinary to me. Just banal from the first page to the last, with the exception that part of the story was just terrible in my estimation. If it was an attempt at a happy ending, it was entirely unbelievable and demonstrates selfishness rather than love and caring.

THE STORY: The death of their mother brings a surprise for three sisters when a provision of her will states that the family’s summer house in Maine is to be sold with each sister getting an equal share. Each sister is facing something significant in their lives. Beck, the oldest, is a journalist jolted by the news because she had a vague idea that she would use the summer house to write the novel she has been thinking of writing. She also is having trouble in her marriage. The middle sister, Claire, is a doctor who is divorced and has a thing for the wrong man. The youngest sister Sophie has a glamorous life that masks her financial woes. A stranger also comes into their lives at this same moment when things are falling apart for each sister.

OPINION: I found almost all of these characters uninteresting and unlikeable. In committing to a book like this, I like to find some people I enjoy reading about. Instead, there are a bunch of awful people who do really bad things, and somehow, the book wants to explain their bad behavior. I don’t really think that I would like to know these people and thus, I don’t really want to read about them.

Because the book can’t express the emotional depth of these characters (indeed, most of them are pretty shallow and selfish people who are quite satisfied to harm even their closest relatives), it instead tries to keep secrets from the reader from saying nevermind and putting down the book. Because to be honest, if the reader knew from the beginning how amoral and unlikeable these people are, they wouldn’t continue with the story. The story drags because it ultimately relies on a “keeping secrets from the reader” premise instead of exploring the depths of the characters.

Definitely not worth my time in reading.

WORTH MENTIONING: I read this book as part of a book club, so it wasn’t something I would have chosen myself. Judge my opinion accordingly.

CONNECTED BOOKS: IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2 stars.

two-stars

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