All That Life Can Afford

While enjoying this entire book immensely, I questioned exactly why. My author brain was fully engaged, analyzing the elements that made this offering so captivating. And then I realized. Usually we speak of a trifecta, the perfect mix of three items. I’m going to define a new term, quad-fecta, because it was the mix of four things that made this story resonate with me on a deep emotional level.

Character, plot, setting, and language. Each played a pivotal role in my overall enjoyment of the story. From Anna, Liv, Andre, Pippa, Faye, Theo, and Callum, each had their own unique personality that shone through their perspective on developing elements of the plot.

Speaking of plot, there was always a new question being asked, something that I was dying to discover as the reader, leading me to turn pages with that “just one more” mentality. And as an author, I recognize this as a coveted mindset to induce in anyone reading a story. If there was one criticism to make about this novel, it would be in the realm of plot, where just when you didn’t think things could get any worse, they did. Repeatedly, almost too much to the point of feeling unrealistic, but that’s probably being nitpicky.

Setting is an area that surprised me. Not because I haven’t experienced well done settings before, but it took the well-designed combination of all four elements–setting included–that helped me appreciate just how much the visual imagery supplied by an author can add new depth to a story.

Finally, there is language. While there was down-to-earth dialogue and realistic verbiage, there was a poetic and literary element to the prose that made the pronunciation of the actual words in my head a genuine pleasure to read.

Aside from all the technical elements, the underlying themes of living true to yourself and what’s important to you and not someone else carry throughout the duration of the story to a satisfying and happy ending. The way Ms. Everett introduces little breadcrumbs along the way, tiny red herrings of sorts that help you realize when something appears right, but deep down, you have an innate feeling that it’s decidedly not so.

It reminds me that the journey of life is about discovering the truest version of yourself through the experiences and relationships we embrace along the way. “All That Life Can Afford” is a perfect reminder that we probably already know what we need deep inside, and while the journey to get where we need to go might meander, it makes the eventual arrival there feel like we’re coming home.

Dave’s Rating: ☕️☕️☕️☕️

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