This is actually just adult GOSSIP GIRL and I loved it. All the characters' stories wove together so intricately and hilariously and I'd happily devour another ten installations.

I think a lot of readers will jump right into this expecting another form of Gossip Girl, and in that I think they will be disappointed. That being said, I went in with no expectations and I absolutely loved the book. It had the satirical, elevated qualities of "Where'd You Go Bernadette,' and captured the Brooklyn baby-boomer, hipster crowd in a gloriously accurate but funny way. Each one of these characters, most specifically the parents could have their own novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it to many friends, but with the caveat that this is not a YA novel. This is adult, it is smart, it is funny and it is, in my opinion, a home run.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

I was very excited to read this book as the concept sounded very interesting. However, I was very disappointed. I did not find any of the characters likable nor was I invested in learning more. I ended up skimming most of the second half of the book.

This would make a great television series, in my opinion. Kind of like a more hip Knots Landing (I am dating myself with that comment!). Very interesting characters in a cool neighbor, and their intertwining lives. It made me think about how my life might intertwine more than I realize with my neighbors. I normally read more “chick lit” or suspenseful novels, so this was a nice change for me.

Cobble Hill is a fun read. It's a group of electric people who live in Brooklyn. Each chapter was a guess: who would have an issue or problem this time. I think the author does a good job displaying people's angst and foibles, it makes them more personable. Readers will enjoy diving into this city romp of characters.

I looooved Gossip Girl, so I was excited to read this book! Unfortunately, it fell flat. The concept was solid - neighborhood drama, lots of interwoven characters - but the execution was just meh. None of the characters are very likable, but they also give you next to no reason to be interested in them. I picked this up and put it down several times and ended up skimming the last quarter or so.

Cobble Hill is a Small Brooklyn neighborhood, and everyone Who lives there has their secrets. The book centers are under four couples are all struggling on their own way. Through the book you see how these couples and their families lives are all intertwined.

The book was a little slow in parts. Several of the characters are well written while I feel like others could have been given more. This book definitely pulled me in and made me want to read more. I am intrigued and I hope we get to have another book about the people of Cobble Hill.

Even in a city as large as New York City neighborhoods can feel like a small village. Cobble Hill is just that, a small village where the residents are drawn together to live life with all the messy mistakes and failures and successes and celebrations.

Small Brooklyn neighborhood, and everyone has their secrets. Four couples are all struggling on their own with their families, but somehow everyone ends up connected to each other in some way or another. Fires, illness, lust, and a little bit of crazy all come together in this one!

3.5 stars. A new book by the author of Gossip Girl? Sign me up! I was so excited to see what Cecily did in an adult space! I will say the first half of the book, I was struggling. I enjoyed some of the story lines, but didn’t really see how everything was connected. The second half of the book picked up a lot for me though. In the end I enjoyed this one, but it didn’t quite bring the gossip girl vibes I was hoping for. I did love doctor feel good though!

Thank you so much #NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC

I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It helped remind me that not all people are perfect and that there truly are some messed up people out there (but in a good, relatable way!) We journey inside the lives of four families and all that makes them tick. There is some suspense on things which I don't want to go to much into because I don't like to give the plot away.

Thank you!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

I am, to put it mildly, a HUGE fan of the Gossip Girl series. I have all of them on my bookshelves as I type this. I was SO excited to read this. What is not to like about the misadventures of spoiled rich people?
I wanted so badly for this to be better. But it started off slowly and dragged a lot. I am a VERY fast reader and this took me almost 5 days to finish. I felt like there were a lot of good plot ideas that never really went anywhere. The whole thing was very disconnected. It was kind of jumbled and just... not good. I didn't like any of the characters, and I really disliked the hell out of Mandy. I also cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would still be with Elizabeth.
2 stars / would not recommend.

3.5/ 5 stars


I was a big Gossip Girl tv show fan. So I was excited to read a book by the author who created that world.

Cobble Hill is divided into five parts. The book focuses on four families who live in a Brooklyn neighborhood.

There is Mandy, her husband Stuart (was in a popular band) and their young son Teddy. There is Peaches (the school nurse), her husband Greg, and their son Liam. There is Roy (a famous writer), his wife Wendy, and their daughter Shy. Then there is Tupper (inventor) and his wife Elizabeth (artist).

We get 3rd person POVs of most of these characters.

I'm not exactly sure what genre to call this book. It is sort of a cross between Women's Fiction and General Fiction. There are quite a few male POVs, so because of that it felt less like Women's Fiction.

There were definitely a lot of interesting characters in this book. Roy Clarke had written a bunch of best selling books. But he was struggling to write something new. His writing process, and the story that he was working on were really bizarre.

Stuart was a famous musician. Many of the neighbors in Cobble Hill were big fans. His wife Mandy just wanted to stay home and do nothing. Her story-line ended up being quite crazy. The stuff with the food on the porches was my favorite part of her story.

There was the new school nurse Peaches. She was Liam's mother. I thought that the lice story-line was funny. And I enjoyed seeing her job.

Elizabeth and Tupper were definitely the strangest neighbors. Her art was so weird. I can't even describe how creepy she was.

There were so many intriguing things going on in this neighborhood. So many of the characters had really interesting stories. However, while reading this book I was not really sure what the book was actually about. There was very little romance. There was no mystery. It was basically just looking at the lives of these four families over a one year time period. And I'm not sure that was enough for me.

I enjoyed the book while I was reading it. I just wanted a bit more.

I was so excited to see the author of the gossip girl series, Cecily von Ziegesar, has a new book out called Cobble Hill. Her latest book is set in the Brooklyn nieghborhood of Cobble Hill and has a large cast of families at the center of the story. There’s a famous writer, musician, school nurse, artist and more. I usually feel ensemble novels don’t do a good enough job telling me who each character is they often rely on archetypal sketches, but von Ziegesar has written fleshed out characters with secrets, quirks and many reasons to love and dislike them! I read this book morning, noon and night sneaking in extra chapters after I should have been fast asleep because I wanted to know what would happen next! This is a must read for fall! The next time von Ziegesar has a new book out I’ll be the first in line to read because of how much I loved Cobble Hill!

Fun book about a bunch of weird couples living in Cobble Hill Brooklyn and the odd things that bring them together (the school, a bar that is only sort of open, a very strange artist couple and a famous writer). They all interact in strange ways but find strength in the community.

In Cecily von Ziegesar’s new book, Cobble Hill, you can escape to one of the trendy Brooklyn, NY neighborhoods (a change from all those books based in Park Slope), and spend a year in the life of a cast of characters. With an emphasis on the word characters.

The book centers on four families: Roy and Wendy, and daughter Shy; Peaches and Greg and their son Liam; Stuart and Mandy and their son Ted; and Elizabeth and Tupper. There seems to be more of a focus on Roy and Wendy. He’s a British writer and author of several published books and she’s an American working in publishing. The family moved ton Brooklyn from London at Wendy’s instigation and they’re adjusting to the differences between the two cities. Roy spends most of the book anguishing over his new book.

Elizabeth and Tupper just didn’t work for me, but the other main characters are interesting and well developed. The author does a good job with the storylines that intermingle their lives in an often humorous manner, incorporating themes of marital challenges, child rearing, deception, and some dysfunction, of course. And there are even a few pyromaniacs.

Cobble Hill does read like a Netflix/Hulu script, perhaps not surprising given the author’s prolific work on The Gossip Girls. It also could definitely have benefited from some diversity - the closest she gets is a friend of Liam’s and Wendy’s gender neutral colleague, both very minor characters. It was a three star read for me and thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read Cobble Hill in exchange for an honest review.

Another disappointing title which made me really sad since I loved the entire Gossip Girl series and her previous work. I wish this was more like that, but I found the characters to be flat and the story line just was not compelling. I did not find myself caring about anyone in the book and I just could not finish it.

If you know me, you know I am really bad at remembering people’s faces and names and I have been training myself to be better at it for years. This book really challenges me on it. There are so many characters and so many things going on. When I was 90% into the book, it still took me a second to react who is who and where is what. With that said, this book is about everything that happens in a neighborhood in Cobble Hill. What I like about it though is that everything in this book is so unique and so New York. The people living in the neighborhood, the things they do, and happening to them. Since I live in New York City, I especially enjoy when she describes places in the city, where they go, the subway, and the food they eat. It gave me a strong visualization of those scenes. There are also parts where I just laughed and thought this is the weirdest thing ever but so New York.

Thank you, Atria Books, for sending me an advanced reader’s copy! I was so thrilled to find out the author of Gossip Girl is coming out with another book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC of Cobble HIll

I struggled with this book. I muddled through. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. This was my first book by this author and I feel I should try her others. I felt as if all the things that were said as Roy was writing his latest novel where about this book.

Meh. It was okay I guess. I didn't really like any of the characters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the creator of Gossip Girl, Cobble Hill, by Cecily von Ziegesar, follows a strange cast of characters set in a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Like GG, none of the characters are especially likable, but they become lovable against our better judgement. The story lagged a bit through the middle, to the point that I almost gave up, but it redeemed itself with the last section. I would love to see this play out on screen.