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A review by tessa_talks_books
It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler
3.0
What's it about (in a nutshell):
It All Comes Down to This is a story about sisterhood, family, grief, and the many secrets we hold dear, even from loved ones. It uses dramatic irony effectively to tell a story of many twists, turns, and revelations.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I love that this book is written by an NC writer. The cover looks like a water painting of a coastal area complete with a sailboat, which attracts me as I love a setting with water. I noticed that the UK cover is different, which always intrigues me. The UK cover is more like a photo and depicts a mountain cabin on a lake. It's a very peaceful cover, while the US cover is a bit disjointed and requires study to figure out what you're looking at. This makes me uncertain about what to expect since the two covers are so different. From the blurb, I understand that the family's cottage in Maine is at the heart of the story and must be what's depicted on both covers. I imagine there will be dissent among the sisters as to what to do with the cottage and that it will play an essential role in their grief over their mom's passing and toward getting their own lives back on track.
Actual Reading Experience:
My actual reading experience was close to my initial expectations. What I did not expect, however, was my feelings about one of the earliest secrets revealed. This secret and the fact that it carried through the whole book left a bad taste in my mouth. Just imagining it in anything outside of a soap opera is too icky for me to stomach. I love dramatic irony, but not when it crosses that line where it begins to feel in too dark of a morally gray area. Other secrets were more relatable, though not as relatable as I expected. I would have loved for the house to play more of a role, but it sat calmly and quietly in the background for most of the story.
Now that I got all that off my chest, I want to look at what's good about this story.
The many secrets made the story flow and remain compelling from start to finish. How would they be revealed, and what would the consequences be kept me glued to the page. I loved the pace of the revelations as they came one after another at just the right time to hasten the pace.
The sisters lose their mother at the story's beginning, and I loved how their grief was handled. It felt very authentic. At first, I was doubtful, but as their grief progressed, I could more clearly see how each action and feeling is as genuine as any of us experience in such a situation.
I also loved that storytelling plays such a prominent role, especially in the writing and editing worlds. I always love a book about books, and stories play a much more central role than even the lake cabin in Maine. If that beautiful setting couldn't play a more prominent position, I'm glad storytelling had such an integral place.
Characters:
The characters are well-detailed and individualized. I loved that the three sisters are each so different. I can't say that I could relate to any at a level where I could feel empathy for their plight, but I was okay with that. I don't always have to have a character I like and/or can relate to if the story doesn't have room for such a character.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you love family stories about secrets and adore dramatic irony and soap opera-like revelations, It All Comes Down to This is a book you will want to consider this summer.
It All Comes Down to This is a story about sisterhood, family, grief, and the many secrets we hold dear, even from loved ones. It uses dramatic irony effectively to tell a story of many twists, turns, and revelations.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I love that this book is written by an NC writer. The cover looks like a water painting of a coastal area complete with a sailboat, which attracts me as I love a setting with water. I noticed that the UK cover is different, which always intrigues me. The UK cover is more like a photo and depicts a mountain cabin on a lake. It's a very peaceful cover, while the US cover is a bit disjointed and requires study to figure out what you're looking at. This makes me uncertain about what to expect since the two covers are so different. From the blurb, I understand that the family's cottage in Maine is at the heart of the story and must be what's depicted on both covers. I imagine there will be dissent among the sisters as to what to do with the cottage and that it will play an essential role in their grief over their mom's passing and toward getting their own lives back on track.
Actual Reading Experience:
My actual reading experience was close to my initial expectations. What I did not expect, however, was my feelings about one of the earliest secrets revealed. This secret and the fact that it carried through the whole book left a bad taste in my mouth. Just imagining it in anything outside of a soap opera is too icky for me to stomach. I love dramatic irony, but not when it crosses that line where it begins to feel in too dark of a morally gray area. Other secrets were more relatable, though not as relatable as I expected. I would have loved for the house to play more of a role, but it sat calmly and quietly in the background for most of the story.
Now that I got all that off my chest, I want to look at what's good about this story.
The many secrets made the story flow and remain compelling from start to finish. How would they be revealed, and what would the consequences be kept me glued to the page. I loved the pace of the revelations as they came one after another at just the right time to hasten the pace.
The sisters lose their mother at the story's beginning, and I loved how their grief was handled. It felt very authentic. At first, I was doubtful, but as their grief progressed, I could more clearly see how each action and feeling is as genuine as any of us experience in such a situation.
I also loved that storytelling plays such a prominent role, especially in the writing and editing worlds. I always love a book about books, and stories play a much more central role than even the lake cabin in Maine. If that beautiful setting couldn't play a more prominent position, I'm glad storytelling had such an integral place.
Characters:
The characters are well-detailed and individualized. I loved that the three sisters are each so different. I can't say that I could relate to any at a level where I could feel empathy for their plight, but I was okay with that. I don't always have to have a character I like and/or can relate to if the story doesn't have room for such a character.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you love family stories about secrets and adore dramatic irony and soap opera-like revelations, It All Comes Down to This is a book you will want to consider this summer.