Going to miss many of these characters and keeping my fingers crossed that a binge-worthy series comes out of this AND QUICK!

I suggest going into this one (especially if it's your book club pick) with the knowledge that it's an ongoing story, not a find-out-all-the-secrets story. If you are familiar with the author then you know what to expect on a general level. I was surprised that it wasn't exactly what I expected, but loved it.

I flipflopped between 4 and 5 stars on this; 4-star if you are looking for a book to devour, 5-star if you are looking for one to soak in and experience (and not soon forget.)

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

I have loved Cecily von Ziegesar since I was a preteen devouring her Gossip Girl series so when I found out that she was writing another book I knew I had to read it. It was an absolute joy to read her again & feel some of the joy she brought me over a decade ago now as a twenty-something. What a joy to fall in love with her writing all over again! I cannot wait for my sister, friends, & followers to be able to read this!

I was very excited to read this book as I was a huge “Gossip Girl” fan in my adolescence and “Cobble Hill” sounded like the perfect place to be transported to during quarantine.

While reading the first half of “Cobble Hill” I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down. I truly enjoyed all the story lines and wanted to know how they were intertwined. The characters were each eccentric as well as the Cobble Hill neighbor.

However, after a third of the way through the book I couldn’t figure out where the story lines were going and if they had a purpose. I only kept reading because I was confused and wanted to know the ending.

Overall, I liked a few of the quirky characters but this was not a book that I would recommend to a friend.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital copy of “Cobble Hill” in exchange for my honest review.

I had a thoroughly good time reading this book!

There isn't much of a plot, rather it's a year-in-the-life of a cluster of families in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn just dealing with the ins and outs of life - marriage, family, career, love, crushes, growing up etc. I enjoyed some of the characters and their storylines more than the others, but I was always happy to pick the book back up. Most of the characters were pretty selfish, but no one was all good or evil and they all had redeeming qualities.

If you are looking for a tightly woven plot connecting all the characters together, this book might not be for you, but if you enjoy slice-of-life stories with humor and heart, check it out!

COBBLE HILL by Cecily von Ziegesar is a fun, light hearted novel about the intertwined lives of four families residing in the Cobble Hill neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York. I liked the distinctive quirks of each character but they were all almost caricatures. There were definitely some funny moments but overall I found this book to be trying too hard to be witty and came across as pretentious. It’s all about these rich white people and the only black character in the book is called Black Ryan but it’s acknowledged in the book as not racist so that’s okay. So many things in this book rubbed me the wrong way: child neglect due to drug use, the “fat kid”, and one woman faking having a disease just to name a few. All of the characters were unlikeable. They all had a flippant, careless attitude that overshadowed any charming or endearing qualities. Nothing happens in this book. There is no mystery or drama which I think is really needed. I liked the tidy ending though.

Another one I really wanted to love but it just fell flat. Plus, the number of characters felt chaotic at times, and made it hard feel invested. I had high hopes (I mean, it is by the author of the Gossip Girls series, after all) but was disappointed. Too weird for me, and not in a charming way.

As a new parent about to live in Brooklyn AND a lifelong Gossip Girl fan, this book fulfilled a lot of my wishes. I enjoyed the writing, dynamics between the families, and depiction of a neighborhood I love.

This was a bit off, or strange, but still enjoyable! A quick read, which was funny, weird, and just a good escape from the world! Not sure what I expected, as I’ve only seen Gossip Girl, but know I got a few good laughs, loved the quirky writing, and was able to finish it relatively fast! I definitely don’t think it’s like Gossip Girl TV show, so if that’s what you’re wanting, I don’t think this is it; but if you would like a funny, fast, weird story, then grab it! Overall, I recommend to those looking to get a bit of an escape!
Will buzz around platforms and use lower amazon reviewer number on release date!

I ended up DNFing this book. I think other reads might enjoy it, but it wasn't working for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved the Gossip Girl series, so I knew I had to try this one immediately. This was a fun book with really interesting characters, and I could recognize many of the neighbors in my own neighborhood.

I really, truly loved this book so much. I've always lived in smaller towns, so I was always obsessed with the idea of neighborhoods in big cities and all of the personalities within those neighborhoods. This was so quirky and full of fun.

I'm of two minds about Cobble Hill--I definitely didn't hate it, and I read it fairly quickly, but ultimately, I don't know if I can say that I liked it. There were a few niggling little things that bothered me, primarily the weird fatphobia and the wholly white main cast, minus the character named 'Black Ryan', which says it all, really. Though there is a short discussion on why 'Black Ryan' should just be called 'Ryan', that doesn't negate the author's choice to have him be called that. Maybe she was trying to make a point about the insidious nature of racism, but it felt more like trying to evade criticism to me. The adults in the book are all white, which seems improbable for a supposedly diverse New York City neighborhood. And Mandy, who is supposedly plus size (though I think we only learned this like 2/3 of the way through the book), feels negatively about her body. This isn't to say that we shouldn't have a character with complicated feelings about her own body, but that this read to me more like the author's thoughts on fat bodies. It was really, really weird and only popped up in one scene, but the comments were so vitriolic, it really shook me. I don't know. This was an entertaining enough book to spend a few days reading and I definitely enjoyed parts of it, but it felt a bit like vegetarian chick'n nuggets--a pale imitation of something much tastier.

I loved the Gossip Girl books and tv show, so I was very excited for this book! It was definitely an eclectic group of characters in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill. However, it felt like nothing really happened in the book - there wasn't a romance, mystery, or really much development of the characters. It was almost just following these characters over the course of a year. While I enjoyed reading it, I was hoping for more.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quirky and fun book that perfectly captures the essence of the new Brooklyn. I was extremely excited to read this book, because I used to live in Carroll Gardens on the border of Cobble Hill. When I moved there, the neighborhood was mostly an Italian neighborhood that was more affordable than Manhattan. By the time I left, it was heading fully in the direction this book describes of celebrity, new money, and hipster adults with their kids.

Cicely von Ziegesar, who wrote the Gossip Girl series, proves that she can write adult fiction that is just as juicy. The characters in this book are a hoot. My favorite character was Stuart Little, a member of the rap group Three Blind Mice who I thought was pretty clearly based on Mike D. of the Beastie Boys (a famous former resident of Cobble Hill, where he lived in and renovated a brownstone). Stuart is married to his high school sweetheart but also develops an infatuation with his kid’s school nurse, who naturally is named Peaches. I loved Peaches, even though she was not the world’s most sympathetic character. The other characters are just what the neighborhood attracts these days: a pretentious artist, a tortured writer, an inventor of tech surveillance and the like, and their children.

Overall I was extremely entertained by the book. There were a few stories I did not like, particularly one where a character fakes an illness for reasons that are never compellingly explained. (This isn’t a spoiler as this storyline begins at the start of the book and we are told the character is faking.) Also it must be said that the book is somewhat superficial and never really goes too deep on the issues it touches. But for what it is — a light, humorous look at the pretentious and moneyed crowd that has invaded Brooklyn — it is entertaining and compelling. It recalls Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City for the upper-class Brooklyn hipster pot-cookie set. I really enjoyed this read, which made me both miss Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, and also feel relieved I got out before it became this crazy.

Thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley and Cicely von Ziegesar for the ARC of this funny and timely read.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me.

I was expecting a grown-up version of Gossip Girl and I am still not sure what I got! A lot of convoluted and annoying characters who acted like children but were adults.

Perhaps it was just the disappointment of the book not being what I expected, but this one was just not enjoyable.

Enjoyable - I love a good book about NYC,
Parents and kids that live there -
That being said, this book was a little hard to get into at first and to keep the characters straight - recommendation is to keep pushing through, as by the end, you will be glad you did!

I had never heard of this author before but the cover and synopsis intrigued me and I found myself fascinated with the story and characters. I've felt very stuck with most of my reading and decided to start this one not thinking I'd even like it very much but I found I couldn't put it down! It was a great read that came across with certain characters as absolutely insane but also very relatable. The families and how they are were inadvertently connected in many ways and how they were getting along was a real treat of a read to be honest and I will have to go find more books by the author.

Cobble Hill
A Novel
by Cecily von Ziegesar
Atria Books
You Like Them
Women's Fiction
Pub Date 10 Nov 2020 | Archive Date Not set

Charming, fun, and entertaining book to read. Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC. I liked the book.

Thanks to Atria Books and Cecily Von Ziegesar for my gifted copy of Cobble Hill! This is a very anticipated release for me, as I am a huge fan of Gossip Girl (both the books and the show).

Cobble Hill follows four families and their children as their interactions all lead them towards a variety of events that they all attend together. You’re privy to the inner workings of the characters: their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It’s a fascinating look at family life in a variety of settings.

So, I think that one thing to remember is that this isn’t Gossip Girl. This is contemporary fiction, and shouldn’t be expected to be similar to the structure of the Gossip Girl series. Once I had that in my head, this book became much more enjoyable for me. As the relationships between the characters became more defined, I became more invested in how different situations would play out (including an illicit romance, a lie that had been going on for over a year, and a few friendships). I couldn’t put the book down in the second half.

Cobble Hill is definitely more about the journey towards one large party in the last 60 pages of the book, and then how the relationships come into play. It’s hard to describe, but if you enjoy family dynamics or a character driven book, I think you’d enjoy this book. If you’re expecting a more typical plot structure that’s clearly defined, this book may not be for you.

Cobble Hill is out on November 10th.

I was unfamiliar with this author to begin with, but am glad I took a chance to review this book!
The story revolves around an area in New York called Cobble Hill and the residents therein. The things that occur that intertwine these residents are interesting and heartwarming.
There is Peaches, the school nurse, who becomes friends with other residents through a series of interesting occurrences (lice!). The author was very skilled in creating an interesting and wonderful world for me to step into and I would be very interested to read more from her in the future.
I found the story very engaging and easy to relate to. It reminded me of the works of Jojo Moyes or Liane Moriarty in it's engagingness and all-encompassing feeling.
I highly, highly recommend this book!