As a kid from the 80's this story held a special appeal. Nina Jacobs is just graduating high school in 1986 in Manhattan, NY and determined to lose her virginity the summer between graduation and heading off to Vanderbilt for college. Nina is relatable with her introverted nature and desire to fit in, along with a different home life from her peers. You see, her mom suffers from severe depression and is verbally abusive whenever she manages to stay awake. As many youths of the time, she turns to alcohol and drugs to self medicate, and help her become more extroverted.

Gardner Reed is supremely handsome, and newly single. All the girls wants to be his girlfriend (or at least sleep with him)... especially Nina. She is hellbent to be noticed by him, but at what cost? Her newfound bestie encourages her, and keeps her in a steady supply of cocaine. And once Nina is noticed by her crush, she realizes this may not really be what she wants and he may not be who he seems.

This was a captivating story, though I felt the way it ended was rushed. I would have liked to have read a bit more about how other aspects of her life wound up.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing and Cynthia Weiner for the eARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Crown Publishing and Cynthia Weiner for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of A Gorgeous Excitement.
This is a beautifully written debut novel set in the 1980’s New York about a young woman’s summer of ups and downs, tragedy and adventure and I am so glad I am not walking down that road again! This brought back lots of memories of a time period which all girls seem to go through of finding our strengths and weaknesses and making our first life decisions. Lots of drama with friendships, drugs, alcohol, boyfriends and going to college. You name it and our main character struggled with it.
This was a rather bleak and depressing story, many mental health issues and multiple trigger warnings. Add to this list are family difficulties and a few crimes.. I do like gritty, dark stories but this might even be over the edge for me.
The story was a bit repetitive and I needed a break from the nonstop drama. Our main character had little guidance and was struggling through without much success. The ending was on a better path but I needed some time to recuperate from the roller coaster ride.

This was so good! I felt like I could have known Nina. She was written so well, and I felt such a connection to her: New York definitely seemed like the other main character in this book. I have never been, but I felt like I was there!

Thank you NetGalley,Crown Publishers and author Cynthia Weiner for her first novel,A Gorgeous Excitement for the opportunity to read on an ebook. This was a coming of age story with many different characters coming from NYC private schools who are very upper class along with those of middle class and public schools educations. As they spend their last summer, before heading off to college, at a local bar a lot of unexpected drama happens among the group of friends and acquaintances which includes lots of alcohol,sex and cocaine.The main character is a sweet,smart girl with a totally mental ill mom where a lot of humor is brought into the novel unexpectedly. Didn’t see the story come to the end as it did. I would be interested in reading future books by C.W.
Book on sale Jan.21,2025

A GORGEOUS EXCITEMENT had me from its 80s New York city setting and echoes of the notorious 1986 preppy murder. Weiner's protagonist Nina is a young Jewish woman hanging out at an Upper East Side bar modeled on Dorrian's, the notorious WASPY Prep school hangout where Jennifer . Levin encountered her killer, the devastatingly handsome but lethal Robert Chambers. Like Levin, Nina is a fish out of water among the preppy set. Like Levin, she gets entangled with the preppy God of that set, a troubled and popular Chambers-like character named Gardner.

There is a ticking clock in A GORGEOUS EXCITEMENT that compelled me to keep reading: The ticking clock of the summer before college, the ticking clock of Nina's crush on Gardner. Will Nina finally get Gardner to notice her--and take her virginity--before the start of college? The ticking clock of Gardner's increasingly erratic behavior. Is Nina in danger? The ticking clock of Nina's family imploding: What will happen with Nina's mother, whose behavior is getting more erratic? What will happen with Nina's grandfather, whose dementia seems to be getting worse after the death of his beloved wife? And most compellingly, how will Nina, without the support of her mentally ill mother and distracted father, navigate this fast-moving drug=fueled 80s bar scene?

As soon as she meets the charismatic Stephanie, also an outsider to the preppy, rich Upper East Side world, also from a troubled family, we can see the train wreck start to happen: the cocaine, the night clubs, the association with Stephanie's toxic boyfriend, coupled with an intense camaraderie. Along the way, the reader is treated to all the 80's nostalgia: the songs, the well-worn Lacostes worn by Nina's crush Gardener, a stand-in for Robert Chambers, the drinks (I hadn't thought of Slippery Nipples since the 80's), the Kissing Potion! This book was equally parts thrilling, poignant and nostalgic. I cared about Nina and her friends, and worried for her.

A fun intimate look into teenage life in the 1980s in Manhattan. Weiner paints a thorough picture into the life of several main characters and their brief relationships before a tragedy. Most of the novel is daily descriptions of the main character's life, and is told from her perspective. I found myself wanting more of a plot and disappointed in the rushed ending.

It was really difficult to get pulled into this one. It feels like a perpetual loop of settings and events -- going to the bar, pining over this terrible guy, doing coke -- without the character development to really justify the repetition. The only real shift in circumstances is the fictionalized insertion of a real-life murder in the final chapters of the book. Considering how little of the book remains at that point, the intention doesn't really seem to be to show how that murder affects our characters, and if that is the intention then it doesn't sufficiently achieve that. The main character's actions and attitude do finally shift, but it feels a little too fast-paced at that point. I commend the novel for successfully cultivating such a specific vibe (though it's one that makes me very glad to not live in 80s NYC): much of it feels like an exercise in tone and setting and I have to imagine it's quite an accurate portrayal. But, while there is something affecting to Nina's evolving relationship with her mother, I largely didn't find anything to grasp emotionally. I don't know if the book fully escapes the shallowness of the world it portrays.

I was so grateful for the chance to read this ARC. I live in NYC and am always interested in some of the "old New York" tales - this one was especially interesting with the link to what many women in modern day feel in terms of fear and uncertainty around safety when alone at night.

This book gave us a really great glimpse into an interesting main character who is far from perfect, very stuck in her own head, but has desires that so many of us have had. It was a great coming of age story bridging the gap between high school and college, giving us a glimpse into the less mature impulses for very mature things (drugs, sex, etc.) I only deducted a star because of the somewhat incessant amount of the pining and yearning for Gardner and cocaine. Change seemed somewhat sudden instead of growth that occurred over time.

This book also gave a great look into the impacts of mental illness and complicated family relationships and responsibilities. Honestly, there were just so many great themes packed into a normal-length book. I would definitely recommend it!

'A Gorgeous Excitement' is a novel with nostalgia. Picture it: NYC in the 1980s. So much culture. What a time to be a teen growing up amid it all!

Cynthia Walker, a fresh voice in the literary world, delivers a captivating narrative. Her engaging prose brings the characters to life from the very first page, making them feel like familiar friends with her detailed descriptions.

Through Walker's writing, I felt like I was with the FMC, Nina, walking without fear and full of excitement. Nina's life is very complex; she's not an ordinary rich teenager. Rather, she's lived a life full of emotionally and developmentally stunting challenges, such as the death of her grandmother and the tumultuous relationship they shared.

My only criticism is that while the novel is a very interesting read, I found myself sometimes finding something else to do while consuming it. However, with some adjustments to pacing and foreshadowing, 'A Gorgeous Excitement' has the potential to keep the reader fully engaged and provide a more immersive experience.

3.75 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC.

A Gorgeous Excitement by Cynthia Weiner was an interesting coming of age book sent in 80s in New York City. It follows Nina as she does temp work, hangs out at the neighborhood bar (that doesn't card), and navigates the summer before she starts her freshman year at Vanderbilt. As someone who graduated high school in the late 80s it was a fun read, even if I didn't completely connect with the story, all of the late 80s references were appreciated. I never really was sure where it was going, but I enjoyed finding out. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced reader copy.

This was a wonderful debut that really captured the spirit of New York City in the 1980s, including openly underage drinking, lack of parental responsibility, easy access to hard drugs. Nina was a great character to follow, as she's both an insider (has enough wealth to live on the right side of Manhattan and attend a private school) but is also an outsider (is Jewish and still looking to lose her virginity at a time when her peers are easily hooking up). The addition of her personal losses--her grandmother's death, her grandfather's mental decline, and her mother's mental health issues--adds up to a poignant, at times devastating, read.

A “Gorgeous Excitement” by Cynthia Weiner is the story of Nina Jacobs enjoying her summer before heading off to college. It sheds a light on the ease of cocaine use and partying that took place in Manhattan in the 80s. Nina has a crazy home life. She is desperate to fit in with those she hangs out with and catch the eye of the boy she is in love with. Suddenly all in one night things change for Nina. A girl is found murdered in a park. Overall this was a good book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing this book.

I finished it but took me awhile to get thru it. Very disappointing. Just a rambling teenager amd her thoughts. The beginning of the book was too drawn out and the end seemed rushed with no idea of what happened to the "murderer ".

Sadly this was a major disappointment for me…almost 400 pages of teenager’s internal rambling thoughts. Stating her mother’s severe mental illness was depression is an injustice for all suffering from mental disease. There wasn’t any depth to the plot or any character development. Maybe I’m not the right target audience for this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.