Very slow start, but promising. The author is vivid, descriptive and fun and offers you a real look into the Manhattan elite world.

This book is not a comedy. It's basically a narrative about a bunch of people that live in the same building in New York, and all their first world problems. I couldn't relate to the characters at all.

I LOVED this book!! I love books about NYC and this one was different than my usual NYC books but in the best way. It was real life with good life lessons and still a great story!! I got really inspired reading this book!!

I really enjoyed this book! I would put this in the "chick lit" category, fun and lighthearted with detailed insight into New York society. Lots of characters with varied backgrounds including different socioeconomic classes. There is a lot going on in this New York city building!

Carnegie Hill was an interesting read. I found that the book started out at a rather slow pace and it was difficult to keep my attention focused on the book. I guess this is one the reasons why I would rate a bit low. It picks up mid way and once it does it is hard to put down. There is a lot going on with many people's lives intertwined. Sometimes however it was hard to tell which character was being talked about as the author moved to another scene rather abruptly.
I did like the way the dynamics between the people in the complex evolved. How neighbours became closer and drifted further based on circumstance.

Oh my. It feels like this book was written by Pepper herself. Pepper is the main character in the book. She is one spoiled little brat who has nothing better to do than to mop around the multi-million dollar apartment and be depressed. She has no vocation, no hobby. She has nothing to do. She is constantly depressed. She sees therapist for years. She can't clean, cook or do anything useful even for herself. She is reflecting, over-thinking and over-exaggerates absolutely every little thing.
That's why her perspective is askew, flawed and unbelievably boring for people who actually do things and are interested in things.
Carnegie Hill is a very long, complicated, over-detailed story of an apartment block in Manhattan. There are several couples whose lives reader can see unfold and either ruin or succeed.
By the end of the book I felt like killing them all off. There are old guys who are extremely paranoid and take their inadequacies to one very high level. There are aging beauties who want much more in life than they have. There is Pepper and her long-suffering husband. Even the whole story of Pepper-Rick relationship is told through such a broken mirror that it is ridiculous. People do not really behave like this or do they?
Do you stay or do you go? That was the whole point of the book, in my view. Do you stay in the relationship? Do you fight for it? Or do you go? Do you simply tell your husband off and run away into the apartment he bought and shut the door in his face. As you can see I found Pepper really annoying and superficial.
Do you stay with the book? Or do you leave it?
If you have time for all these revelations you must be a Manhattan Therapist. But then you are paid handsomely for it.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the storyline. I found it unique to the point that I have not read anything quite like this recently. Looking forward to more such books.

While I could appreciate the writing of this book, it was just not at all what I had expected from it. Where I thought it would be more of an upbeat, fun look into the lives of the people living at Carnegie Hill, I got political games and childhood trauma's. Because of that, I did not enjoy this one as I thought I would. That's more to do with my expectations being let down, than with the book itself, though, I think.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Have you ever walked along the streets of Manhattan's Upper East side,, looking up at the stately Condo buildings with WASPy sounding names, hoping for a glance into the lives of its inhabitants? If so, this is a book for you. The concept was good, but parts of the book were too stilted. The fact that I didn't care much for any of the characters made it challenging to get to the end of the book, to se the end result.

This book was an entertaining story of a group of people living in the upper east side of NYC. Their stories are told with a good amount of description to help visualize the various characters and settings. I enjoyed reading about their trials and tribulations. At times the author went back and forth from one set of characters to another with no transition which created some confusion especially in the last two chapters. Aside from that the book was a nice light read. Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Carnegie Hill is a light read that has it's ups and downs. While I found the character's stories interesting, I struggled to connect with the characters. The writing was good but this story wasn't for me.

Carnegie Hall is about an apartment complex in Upper East, I think, side of Manhattan aka the whitest neighborhood in NY city.
We see the story through the eyes of the members on the board of the apartment complex. While the story had some funny moments I found the overall effect sad.
Sadness from their situations despite the money and comfortable lifestyles. It was like watching mediocre reality television.

WOW! Carnegie Hill is a quirky read. It did take me some time to finish it but it was fresh read after a very long time..
I enjoyed this one.

I actually didn't finish this book. Not my style and characters weren't relatable to me. I don't think I'd recommend this book to my friends unfortunately.

I loved the cover and title; this is what attracted me to this story. I grew up in New York City and was looking to connect with some childhood memories of the Big Apple. This certainly scratched some of my nostalgic bone, but not all.

I thought it was well written, but plot and charachters were simply not to my taste. I like more of a pace and found that this sort of fermented in parts. The starting chapters were great, as well as the different view points and perspectives added depth. I just couldn’t relate to the characters, and the city didn’t standalone as a character to make up the difference.

If half a star were possible, I would rate it 3.5.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC.

I REALLY liked Carnegie Hill! This book is perfect for readers who loved Matchmaking for Beginners, Where'd you go Bernadette and Other People's houses.

Pepper, 33, is the quintessential millennial who grew up on the Upper East Side of NYC. She has no career, no passion and no children. Just a good-hearted soul who doesn't want to live with her parents anymore and hopes she could marry Rick, an attractive but mysterious financier. Their choice of residence becomes Chelmsford Arms, and in her effort to do something meaningful with her life, she joins the co-op board. The first chapter is like fresh water splashed on your face. In Pepper's fears and dreams, I see myself. The tenor of Pepper's thoughts intimately reflected my own. Her trying out different jobs and feeling as if she doesn't fit anywhere is universal, and it's nice to see someone with money having the same struggles as middle-class me. Rick is every girl's dream - he works out, he's rich, he can afford a million dollar apartment and he loves her so completely its almost puzzling. The story starts with them but gradually gathers a few more characters into its fold. Birdie, an older woman who was the perfect trophy wife all her life and now faced with her retired, depressed husband, George at their house everyday. George, the guy who tried so hard to be enough for Birdie all his life and now left with nothing but humiliation and a bruised ego after being laid off for being old. Francis, the absolutely crazy old hypochondriac who slowly spirals into sort-of dementia and is looking for meaning in his existence, and deeper connection with his wife. Sergei, the hot Russian doorman, struggling to reveal his sexuality and Caleb, the new porter at Chelmsford arms who falls for Sergei. And these characters are the only ones Pepper could turn to for advice on her own love life. Talk about crazy!

I really like that the novel should be read in perspectives. How Pepper sees Rick is not how he sees himself. How Francis observes Caleb is not how Pepper sees him. It's a deep, realistic and moving portrait of love and marriage. How years together can affect each other's personalities in good and bad ways. It's not a plot heavy book and I'm thankful for it. We all need such contemplative books with polarizing characters. I kind of feel the author tried hard to write unlikable characters and he succeeded. Surprisingly, I still fell in love with this book. A potent dose of realism and dark humor is what this novel promises and delivers. The writing itself could be a little more literary but it gets the job done. The resolution of the various story threads was unsatisfactory because it was happily ever after for unexpected characters but that's life. Humans behave irrationally, not logically when it comes to love. I fervently believe that if this novel was marketed towards women's book clubs, it'll be a divisive but engaging discussion subject, and thereby, a financial success.

This one was okay. There was some moments that I was bored and didnt care but there were moments that I was totally engrossed and actually wanted to know. Overall it was neither good nor bad.

Felt like melrose place in the best of ways . Varying couples of all orientations and degrees of relationships living in an apartment building. A juicy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was provided this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Focusing on the parallel but sometimes intersecting lives (and loves) of residents of an apartment complex on New York City's Upper East Side, this novel reminds me of the film "Love, Actually" in its variety of characters and storylines. The reader gets a glimpse into the lives of the wealthy young couple Pepper and Rick, along with several other pairs -- old and and young, different races and sexual orientations. Thirty-three-year-old Pepper comes to learn about her fellow residents after joining the co-op board, and searches for inspiration from them to get through her own struggling relationship, when things with Rick begin to turn sour just before their wedding. Alternately funny and poignant, with characters by turns likeable and unlikeable -- no character or relationship is perfect -- these stories search for the answer to the question of when to remain in a relationship -- and when to leave. As with just about any story set in New York, the city figures largely in this book. Recommended for those who enjoy the aforementioned romantic comedy/drama, the works of Candace Bushnell, and fans of the NYC setting. A great vacation or beach read.
I received an advance reading copy from NetGalley and the publisher; this is my honest review.

When reading a book, a lot of readers, myself included, often take into account how likable a character is when it comes to whether or not they enjoyed the book. The thing about this book is well, none of the characters are likable, and they're all insufferable. Taking into account who Vatner is writing about, I'd have to say his depiction is fairly accurate.

"Carnegie Hill" tackles the lives of several characters and as supporting characters, their spouses, Chelmsford Arms, an expensive apartment building on the Upper East Side. First up to the plate we have Penelope "Pepper" Bradford, the most recent addition to the building. I spent a few chapters wondering if Pepper had a job, until it finally it dawned on me she doesn't nor does she need to. She is unemployed and directionless but thankfully, newly engaged and more importantly, has the support of her wealthy, well-known parents to give her another leg to stand on. (This sounds about right for mothers in upper echelon territory of Manhattan). As far as Pepper goes, as a perennially unhappy individual, it's unlikely that a relationship will ever satisfy her. No matter how hard Rick, her husband, tried, she wouldn't budge to meet him halfway. We watch her meander through the book trying to do things and trying to push for the right thing but as Rick asks, does she want to do the right thing or look like she's doing the right thing? One thing this book significantly focuses on is optics and in an authentic way.

Next up is Francis, a teacher who lucked into the apartment when Carol, his wife, inherited the apartment from her grandmother, followed by Birdie and Georgie, longtime residents of the building, and Sergei and Caleb, a clandestine relationship between a doorman and a newly hired porter, and the relationship I was most interested in but I felt the most lacking. I thought that not enough pages were devoted to this couple. Though the book is set in 2014, then and now, it's clear that their relationship would fall under a lot of scrutiny. Growing up and living near Sheepshead Bay and with Russian parents, I know that particular community isn't particularly welcoming to gay couples.

The novel focuses on marriage and relationships. It doesn't offer a blueprint for what makes a relationship successful and just because a couple has been together for 4 decades, it's not an indicator that they're in a fulfilled relationship. At first, I was on the fence about Birdie and Georgie because I didn't understand what this relationship added to the novel but now I'm starting to understand. Birdie had tried for years to make the relationship with Georgie work and at a certain point, she had to throw in the towel because he wasn't doing the same. Despite the length of their relationship, she decided it wasn't too late to leave, which is an important lesson and also question. At what point, is it okay to leave? I will say that the end of their relationship was a cop-out and I wish it ended differently.

I thought the writing in the book was realistic, both about the characters, their motivations, how they spoke and related to each other. Growing up in New York, it hit home. While these characters weren't likable, they felt human to me. I'm thankful to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy. It's out on 08/20/2019.