Cobble Hill is filled with interesting characters. I found myself having trouble keeping some of the characters and which family was their storyline straight. Cobble Hill is in Brooklyn and I found myself using GoogleMaps to checkout the neighborhood. This book may appeal to people who live in that area or who have visited New York City.

This book was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but I think there are much better versions of this story out there. If you like multi-viewpoint stories of suburbia (in Brooklyn), then this is a decent way to pass the time.

This book follows the lives of four families living in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood and how their lives intertwine over the course of a year. I give it 2.5 / 5 stars (rounded up to three).

I liked reading through so many character's POVs and thought it was entertaining to see how each character responded to the events that transpired and how all the stories intersected. My favorite part of the book was hearing how the parents felt about their teenage kids and then reading the same scene through the kids' POV.

While I found the book entertaining, I did not find it captivating. When I put down the book, I wasn't drawn to pick it up again to see where the story was going. I thought the most compelling part of the book was near the 70% mark, so it took a bit to get to. As with all books that have so many different character POVs, it was confusing at times to figure out whose perspective you were reading from, and some storylines that were focused on simply disappeared. It would be hard for me to describe to someone what the plot of the book is, and after finishing it I didn't feel any sort of emotion or resolution.

It's been 10+ years since I read Gossip Girl, so I wouldn't be able to compare it in detail to that story. That being said, I do remember voraciously reading those books and there being more romance, drama + passion.

Thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley, and Cecily von Ziegesar for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Quirky and interesting characters, storyline is good but there are few parts that seems a bit unrealistic for me. it is an interesting and quick read and I love the cover! .

Sort of like Gossip Girl minus the things I think people liked about Gossip Girl. Instead of prim UES rich people, this is quirky Brooklyn rich people. Like Gossip Girl this features an (insanely) entangled cast of characters and has storylines about both the parents and the kids - this time skewing more heavily toward the parents. Maybe you can bring yourself to care about any of these people but I couldn't really.

This was a book full of satire, unlikable characters and no plot. I think this type of book will appeal to a specific type audience. Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review

This book is about an interesting assortment of people who live in a “cool” part of Brooklyn called Cobble Hill. Having lived not too far from that neighborhood back in the 1970s, and having grown up in a completely different part of Brooklyn, I was immediately attracted to this novel. I’m not sure how to describe how I feel about the book, however. There were a lot of different people to keep track of (and I was reading this during “election week” so was quite distracted much of the time) but eventually I kept them all straight. At first, there didn’t seem to be any characters I could really like, but as I read on, many of them grew on me. I particularly wound up liking the character of Roy Clarke, an English writer with writer’s block, who moved to Brooklyn with his wife (a native New Yorker) and their youngest daughter, a teenager. There’s a recurring lice situation which rang true, having had the horrid experience when my sons were in elementary school in New Jersey. Elizabeth, the performance artist, was extremely odd, and Mandy really annoyed me. And yet, by the end of the book, somehow I had grown fond of the whole bunch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A weird and somewhat strange look into the lives of residents of the Cobble Hill neighborhood. All the families eventually connect and seemingly random events start to foreshadow the future. I’m not really sure how to characterize this one, except perhaps as odd contemporary fiction. It’s a good distraction read and quick to finish.

This book was odd...

I should have known when a characters name is Stuart Little what I was getting into, but oh well. There were a lot of characters in this book and a lot going on, but at the same time, nothing happened. They all seemed to do strange things that didn't make a lot of sense and were never explained. ⭐⭐⭐ and definitely not what I hope for from this book.

This novel- centered around four couples and their children- will resonate with fans of the character driven book. These are privileged people living in Brooklyn who all have some sort of problem. Roy is a novelist with writers block who ends up writing an odd novel. His wife Wendy is a magazine editor and their daughter Shy is, well, 16. Stuart is a musician, his wife Mandy is pretending to have MS, and their son Teddy goes to the school where Peaches is the nurse. Tupper and Elizabeth are the artists-and the least fleshed out and relatable. They all collide first at a karaoke event (which goes on entirely too long) and then again at a Guy Fawkes party. This has bright spots and some spots that might make you laugh (especially if you are familiar with Brooklyn and its conceits) but it also gets frenetic near the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Worth a read.

I really loved this book! There are a TON of characters but I never really felt lost or confused. They are all so well developed and tell their own stories. It was SO good!

I was absolutely delighted to finally get a chance to read Cecily von Ziegesar's long-awaited follow-up to her wildly popular Gossip Girl series. Choosing to take a break from the Upper East Side and set this novel in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, von Ziegesar does still, however, deliver a cast of characters who are at times likable, incredibly frustrating, fascinating, and surprisingly normal. I'm always impressed when an author can move from one genre (YA) to another (adult fiction) well, and von Ziegesar does it with dexterity. Cobble Hill will satisfy those original Gossip Girl fans who are now adults, longing for the return of von Ziegesar's complex characters and gossip-y storylines. A delightful and substantive follow-up from a fan favorite author.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance reader's copy.

This is my first book by this author & I loved it!!!!!!!!!!!! Quirky hilarious characters w/wholesome everyday problems made this book very easy to get into & relate to. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for my early review copy

Cobble Hill--this book keeps cropping up in my feed and on booklists I follow. You know those books; they sound like they might be good but the frequency with which they pop up prompts a sooner reading? That is Cobble Hill. We meet four couples in an eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood. They are, of course, interconnected, and they themselves are eclectic. There is Mandy, a mom tired out by life and faking having MS so that she can stay in bed all day. Her husband is Stuart, a famous boy band singer who has a crush on Peaches, the school nurse. Peaches is married to Greg who wears sound cancelling headphones everywhere. Roy is a famous novelist trying to overcome his writer's block and complete his next novel. His wife Wendy works as a magazine editor and was recently demoted. That job change is a secret. Finally, there is Tucker, the boring and straight laced husband of an experience artist, Elizabeth, who comes and goes as she pleases and is absolutely bizarre.

This novel works because everyone has a secret they are keeping...but secrets aren't secrets if nobody knows...so everyone has a confident or sorts. The narrative runs between characters smoothly, and while the story it tells isn't a page turner, I found myself invested in finding out how each character handled their secret being revealed. If you are looking for an entertaining read, Cobble Hill is a good choice.

So sad to admit that I DNF-ed this book! I'm shocked to say it, since I loved Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series. But this was.... boring?

The book focuses on a few different households living in the Cobble Hill enclave of Brooklyn. None of the characters are particularly likeable -- in fact, most you pity -- and there isn't a ton of plot. Everyone is just a bit down on their luck, unhappy with their current situation, or striving for something more. Rather than evoking feelings of optimism and adventure, this is sad and dowdy. And the Cobble Hill I know, one full of money and opportunity, isn't visible in this book. I didn't connect with any of the characters and wasn't engaged in their world, so I had to put the book down, something I hate to do. But honestly, it was the right decision.

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, but I have to send it didn't really live up to my expectations. I still think it's an entertaining fun read, but parts of it just felt so odd and some of it seemed to drag a lot for me.

Cobble Hill has an interesting cast of characters- all residents of Brooklyn's Cobble Hill who all end up being connected in some way. I did have a bit of trouble keeping the characters straight at first, especially in terms of which kids belonged to which parents. I was immediately sucked into Stuart Little and his wife Mandy's storyline. Mandy has been ill and unable to get out of bed for several months... But we find out early on that she has actually been faking an MS diagnosis. Other characters include Peaches, the school nurse and her husband and teenage son; Roy, a novelist from the UK, his wife Wendy, an editor at a fashion magazine, and their daughter Shy; and Tupper, an odd inventor and his eccentric artist wife Elizabeth.

The book bounces around to each of their storylines and we see how each of the character is connected in some way. There's not really a big plot to the story, but that doesn't bother me as I prefer books that are character-drive, which this one definitely is. I think my main issue is that I just didn't feel totally excited or even very interested in what each character was going through. I didn't feel connected to any of them and some of the events in the book just felt really weird and unrealistic.

I'm still happy I read Cobble Hill; It's well-written and in many ways, a fun read with a unique cast of characters... I'm just a bit disappointed I didn't enjoy it as much as anticipated.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar. I Ioved reading the first few Gossip Girl books when I was in high school so when I got the email from Atria with a widget offering the book to me was excited to read this!

I was expecting a fun, quirky, neighborhood book, but unfortunately I honestly wasn't sure what I read. The plot is set around 4 familes in a Brooklyn neighborhood and how they all interact. I didn't like any of the characters (the weird Martian book, faking MS, the setting things on fire) and honestly I'm surprised I continued reading this book.

If you like character driven books, then you'll probably enjoy this book. I've learned I need a plot to really enjoy a book and a book so focused on the normal activities of this neighborhood and the character interactions just didn't do it for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to advance read Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar. What a crazy little neighborhood book!! Apart from this story being set in Brooklyn, I could completely relate to all the chaos resulting from such a bizarre collection of personality types within a community. There was angst and flirting and so much drama!! It was just the escape-y sort of read I needed.

DNF AT 56%

I’ve never read Gossip Girl or even watched the show but because of its popularity I thought it would be fun to try this authors newest novel. It ended up being a mess.

Cobble Hill follows four families who are neighbors in Brooklyn, New York. There were way too many characters I kinda got lost but eventually, I was able to keep track of them all (but by then I realized I didn’t care). We learn about everyone’s different personalities and these neighbors lives are eventually entertwined together. I suppose this could be entertaining, if done right but this lacks a plot. There’s literally no point to this book, not even a story or lesson of friendship could be gotten from this. I didn’t care for any character, found no one relatable, and thought everyone was kind of weird but not in a good way. I was adamant to finish the book but HONESTLY once I realized I started skimming I decided to end my suffering because it wasn’t worth it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the advanced copy!

This book is about as character driven as it gets. Which, if you’re into - would be great! Unfortunately I’m not as into them.