“Cobble Hill” is not in the category of books I usually read, but with the “pandemic” and being stuck at home, I was looking for something different, something fun and easy to read; this certainly fits the bill. The characters are certainly crazy and yet funny and enjoyable. It is a world I certainly do not often visit in my reading, but I enjoyed the diversion. Rich kids in Brooklyn can be compelling and hilarious with their own drama and trauma. Things happen, and I kept reading to find out what might happen next. I laughed, I cringed, and I turned the pages.

I received a review copy of “Cobble Hill” from Cecily von Ziegesar and Atri Books. It was more than I expected, and yet just what I needed to read.

Cute little book but not very well edited. I enjoyed several of the characters and the overall storyline was interesting.

This is what I imagine the Gossip Girl books would be like if the characters were all grown up and had families and kids. While I loved the fast pace and high drama, some of the character development felt a little lacking, like the story was more important than rounding out the characters. Enjoyable and would read a sequel.

I was excited to read this because I was a fan of Gossip Girl! I enjoyed the Brooklyn setting, and the attempt to look at the flawed lives of a group of neighbors. Overall, I struggled with the large cast of characters.
If you’re interested in character studies with quirky, flawed characters, this book might be right for you!

I really, REALLY wanted to LOVE this book. As soon as I heard it was even a thing, I was counting down - as a HUGE Gossip Girl fan, I was ready. I even binged the whole tv series as an ode to the past because thanks to the pandemic I had nothing but time to do so.

I was THRILLED when I was approved for an advance readers copy of this one, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting the 4 families to have MORE entertainment, more interesting subplots but it just felt a bit flat for me.

I was interested in checking out Cobble Hill mostly because I was a fan of the Gossip Girl series in my teens and wanted to see how this author would fare with an adult fiction novel. Luckily, this book ended up being a diverting listen! Cobble Hill is simply about the residents of a particular Brooklyn neighborhood and their daily lives. Truthfully, I’ve always been fascinated with stories that focus on odd, eccentric or bumbling characters who don’t always make the best or right choices as they struggle to get their lives in order. And Cobble Hill fits that bill perfectly. It was really entertaining to discover the secrets and stories that belonged to each individual, as well as to witness the shenanigans that ensued during many an encounter. There were quite a few things that happened to amp up the drama, but von Ziegesar still managed to maintain a very ‘slice of life’ vibe in her storytelling. She also captured the feel of New York City with her words, even though I’m only speaking from my own experience (which is very much outside of Brooklyn). While the details of this novel likely won’t stick around in my mind, it was still fun to read (or listen to, in my case), and I’d still say it’s worth checking out if it sounds like your cup of tea.

I am so grateful to net galley for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately for me, this book just didn't hit the mark. I was very excited to pick this up because I do love Cecily Ziegesar and was a big fan of gossip girl (show and books). It might have been the time that I read it, but I just could not get myself invested in the characters. This book was filled with a lot of quirky characters and the ways their lives intertwined. The connection to all families and people is an elite school. I love the premise and everything but I think ultimately because I could not get myself to care about the characters, it just fell flat.

Cobble Hill, a suburb of Brooklyn, New York, is home to an eccentric cast of characters: former rock band member Stuart Little, and his wife who is faking MS, Roy Clarke, a famous novelist who moved to the US from London for his wife’s new magazine editor job (and from which she ultimately gets fired), Tupper, an artist and his often absent and eccentrically-eccentric wife Elizabeth, and Peaches, the school nurse who doesn’t love her job, but thinks she loves Stuart Little and her husband, an elementary school music teacher. There are also the kids who are as eccentric and neurotic as their parents.

I’m not quite sure of the whole main point of the story unless it was to get to the last line of, “the ending’s happy, I promise.” Was it Roy struggling with his new novel? Was it Tupper and Elizabeth’s relationship? Was it Peaches unrequited love for Stuart? Was it Stuart finding out about his wife’s fake illness? Was it that everyone was too busy being neurotic to realize how unstable their kids were? Was it to reinforce the stereotypes of rich, white, “artistic” city people? Quite frankly, for me that is what it was - I didn’t find depth or any real likability for any of the characters and I kept looking for a common thread between the families other than their neighborhood. This was a story of how slightly crazy, self-centered, rich white artists lived and how they interacted with each other.

As someone who grew up watching and reading Gossip Girl, I was instantly excited to read Cecily's upcoming novel Especially as it focused on adults rather than high schoolers.

Although the characters were interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how their stories wove together, I was overall a bit disappointed. I don't know if I was simply expecting it to be similar to Gossip Girl, but the story just seemed a bit dull to me. There wasn't really any humor or grit to get me excited about the read. I definitely agree with the others that this would have been a really interesting TV show rather than a standalone book. Overall, it was an enjoyable read but not one that I will likely re-read.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!

Thank you to Netgalley and Cecily vonZiegesar for my copy of Cobble Hill, for an honest review. Cobble Hill is the story of 4 families in Cobble Bill Brooklyn, who during one year interact each other, in all different ways. They all have a connection and as the year plays out, we see how their lives twist and turn together. The writing is very good and the character develop is excellent, I just felt that this one fell flat for me. It seemed to take forever to come up to speed and when it did.. there wasn’t much that happened. I did enjoy it but it was only a 3 star read for me. I featured it on my Instagram page and shared my review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Cecily definitely has a unique way of writing and I really enjoyed Gossip Girl and would be interested in reading other books by her.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Cecily Von Ziegesar’s latest novel, Cobble Hill, in exchange for an honest review.

In tony NYC neighborhood of Cobble Hill, four very different middle-age couples find their lives intersecting.

Stuart is a has-been rockstar who is struggling with his wife Mandy, a former groupie, who has become mysteriously ill. When a lice outbreak happens at his son’s elementary school, Stuart meets Peaches, the attractive nurse. Peaches is stunned by Stuart, whom she has been obsessed with for years. Even Peaches’ husband, Greg, a mild-mannered music teacher, has a man-crush on Stuart, although this turns complicated when he suspects that his wife has been cheating with her crush. Best-selling British author, Roy and his magazine editor wife, Wendy, are recent additions to the neighborhood. Roy meets Peaches at a local bar that is owned by the eccentric, and often MIA, avant garde artist Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband Tupper is an inventor, who feels disconnected from his wife and is having trouble coming up with a new product.

Von Ziegesar is famous for the Gossip Girl books. I never read the Gossip Girl books, but I was a fan of the television series, and I was pleased to see the same type of humor in Cobble Hill. Much like Gossip Girl, Cobble Hill makes New York City another character and I love how the story has such a strong sense of place. Who doesn’t adore New York City?

Cobble Hill explores adults in a mid-life crisis. Three of the main couples are raising children, yet often the lines are blurred between adult and teenage behavior. The adults unleash their inhibitions, acting-out as if they have nothing to lose. It very much reminded me of the 1997 film, The Ice Storm, where a massive storm prevents travel, keeping several parents overnight at their “key party",” where they let loose, while the teenagers are stuck with their friends. Von Ziegesar shows us teenagers who witness aspects of their parent’s behavior, such as using marijuana, excessive drinking, and kissing other people, and how this impacts them. At one point a child’s life is in immediate danger due to poor parental choices. It’s horrific.

Overall, I enjoyed Cobble Hill. Being a similar age to the adult characters, I could relate to the feeling of wanting to have the freedom to make reckless choices, like a teenager, but I could also definitely see the enormous consequences of some of their actions. I liked living vicariously through them, until it became obviously harmful.

The ending wrapped up a little too neatly, maybe a little too sweet as well. It ended with a theme of everyone loving the eccentricities and imperfections of their neighbors. It’s a nice idea, but I’m not sure it fit with the overall tone of the novel. Although there was plenty of humor, I felt the negative behavior of the adults became increasingly dark and less humorous as the story progressed. I’m not sure that the message in the end was the big take-away from the story. Cobble Hill was much heavier than the ending conveyed. I think Von Ziegesar sold herself short with the ending, which minimized the meat of the story.

One more minor thing that bothered me was this running situation regarding a serial killer. A serial killer was on the loose and the news story captivated the imagination of several characters. I kept anticipating this to actually impact the story, but it was never bigger than something on the news. I felt this was akin to Chekhov’s Gun. I kept waiting for it to go off and was disappointed when nothing happened.

These issues are small, as I definitely enjoyed Cobble Hill. Von Ziegesar has crafted intriguing characters and plonked them down in one of my favorite cities. I was game for Cobble Hill and I look forward to her next novel.

As a millennial who grew up reading *yes reading* Gossip Girl, before the show, I have been a Cecily von Ziegesar fan for awhile. I also loved the show, and was looking forward to her latest release, with adult characters, as I am now an adult myself.

I did enjoy the quirkiness of the characters, and finding out how the couples overlapped, and came together to form the "Cobble Hill" neighborhood. Some of the familiarity of the upscale, New York setting, was great to see again - but it wasn't particularly funny, salacious, or riveting. I enjoyed the book, but found it to be a tad lacking and cringe worthy at times.

The rock star named Stuart Little... from the band The Blind Mice... was a strange addition. His wife Mandy was often described as "fat" or other un-flattering terms, and it made me sad for the lack of positive body representation.

I do think this book would lend itself much better to a TV show, than a standalone book, but it wasn't a favorite for me.

Thank you so much to Cicily von Ziegesar and Atria Books for my advance reader’s copy of this lovely book.

If I'm reviewing honestly, this book was hard to follow I’m still not even sure what this book was supposed to convey. I love character-driven stories and I've never thought the plot was all that important, but it kinda is- at least to certain readers. On the surface, Cobble Hill is the kind of book I love. From its description (and gorgeous cover), I was really excited about this novel. I never watched or read Gossip Girl so I am a blank slate with the author. I enjoyed the cast of characters who are all residents of Brooklyn's Cobble Hill and connected in some way. I had some trouble keeping the characters straight at first, especially the children.

I did not love Mandy's fake illness as that is a very serious illness that plagues many people every day. I understand she's a fictional character, but as a school counselor who works with children with disabilities, I was just uncomfortable with that part of the story. It gave off a laziness vibe to people who are suffering- just my opinion.

As I mentioned, the cast is at times a bit hard to keep track of. However, while each individual character’s faults are annoying at times, these are the very things that brought the realism in this book. I didn't love it nor hate it. I think there is an audience for this. I don't think it's gonna be the GG crowd, because this is grittier and a little darker, but I think again, the people who enjoy the extreme character-driven narratives will love this. That's usually me, but not this time. To each their own and I still appreciate the opportunity to read this book!

I have to say, this was a very different book than I thought it would be! I enjoyed many of the characters, but some were just so weird it honestly didn't make much sense. It was nothing like Gossip Girl- which is fine, but this one just felt off to me. Just unrealistic.

Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar is one of those books that I was excited to read. It comes from the author of the Gossip Girl series, but it's grown up - focusing on four families in Brooklyn.

This book just fell a little flat for me - more concept than delivery. I wanted more in terms of the evolution of the plot. However, if you are looking for a peek into the lives of wealthy Brooklynites, this book is one to check out.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Living in New York, I loved the idea of a book that focused on the cute Cobble Hill neighborhood. I also loved how seemingly individual stories all came together as the story unfolded so that the reader got to experience the different sides of the neighborhood. That being said, I had a hard time getting through the book. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters and found myself irritated with them, rather than sympathetic towards them.

In full transparency I did not finish this book. I got to about 52% when I realized that I just didn’t care about the characters and their secrets or what happened to them. I wanted to really love this as I am also from NY, but even with that connection the story just fell flat for me.

This book has lots of characters and gives a good picture of their lives. Just as real life can at times seem uneventful, this book has a mix of the mundane and also times of high drama. It didn’t give me any real pleasure, neither did it annoy me. I could easily have passed on it. I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

While I was a huge fan of the entire Gossip Girl and It Girl series, this book just did not do it for me. Unfortunately, it was missing a certain ja ne se quois.

I have always been a fan of Cecily and her writing and this one was another that did not disappoint. New York school systems, New York life and a British novelist thrown in (of course a writer must be in her works) A fun read I would grab to hit the beach or relax in a park!