3.75⭐️
1.5🌶

Olivia is trying to make the best out of her college experience despite missing her best friend Lily, who died tragically before they even started their freshman year. On paper her life is perfect. She is Astor Hill's "IT" girl- beautiful, smart, vying to be the next newspaper editor and dating the Basketball Captain, Will Chapman.

Is everything as perfect as it seems? An unwanted assignment from her editor and the reappearance of Will's estranged brother, Ben, immediately destabilized her already toxic relationship Will. And Olivia's undeniable attraction to the mysterious brother Ben definitely doesn't help matters.

This book was really interesting because it wasn't at all what I expected. I was anticipating lots of college-esque drama- cheating, too-faced girl besties, hidden motives and bro battles. And while the book did have those things, it also had mature moments dealing with grief and loss, mental health and external pressure, and what it really means to "grow up".

I found a lot of this book rather surface level. I wanted more depth in the characters, more detail in the discussions the characters had surrounding the heavier topics of the book and if I'm being honest more overall drama.

This is not the ultra-spicy, drama-filled book I was expecting... but I enjoyed it a lot! And I'm sure it will find the right people to read! The set-up for book 2 in the series, and the characters involved, have me intrigued... I will definitely be checking out that book also!

Thank you to Netgally and the authors for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It tells the story of a girl heartbroken over the sudden death of her best friend and how that ends up affecting her in her life. We meet her 2 years after loosing her and the relationship she finds herself in. It was so relatable given that me as a woman have found myself in a relationship where it's hard to leave not because you necessarily love the other person but because you are afraid of being alone or are trauma bonded with that person. The things Olivia went through, the positions she allowed Will to put her in were so reminiscent of relationships I've been in that it was so easy to relate to her. With the help of Wills brother she finds her own strength to leave Will and finds what real love is.

Astor Hill by Sydney Madison did not connect with me. I’m not sure if it was the tone or the characters, but it was all too juvenile for my taste. The characters were deeply flawed, and unfortunately, they didn’t redeem themselves by the end of the book. While the premise had potential, I found myself struggling to engage with the story. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

What I Loved:

Character Depth: Olivia is complex and relatable, navigating loss, ambition, and love in a way that feels raw and authentic.
Ben Cabot: He’s the quintessential bad boy with layers, bringing both tension and heart to the story.
The Drama: The emotional stakes are high, and the twists kept me invested until the very end.
Atmosphere: Astor Hill is richly depicted, giving off the same elite vibes that make Gossip Girl and Magnolia Parks so addictive.

❌ Why 4 Stars:
While the drama and tension were gripping, some plot points felt a bit rushed, leaving me wishing for more time to delve deeper into certain relationships and events.

Well, I was not expecting this book to effect me quite the way it did. The mental health representation was done so well and respectfully - as someone who deals with depression and panic attacks, this was greatly appreciated. The character growth from will and Olivia was absolutely wonderful. I loved these characters, it was impossible not to feel for them.
Can't wait for the next book!

This book had all the right elements: grief, family drama, romance, but it felt a little surface level, and I found it hard to fully connect with the characters.

The emotional depth was lacking a bit, which left me wanting more substance to ground all the tension and drama. While certain moments stood out the story overall felt like it stayed on the surface rather than diving deep into the characters and relationships.

The slow-burn tension between Olivia and Ben was a highlight of the book, and I loved how he made Olivia feel seen and understood in a way Will didn’t.

If you’re into stories with high stakes relationships, messy emotions, and all of the drama, Astor Hill might be worth picking up.

A big thank you to NetGalley and PS published for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

small spoilers!! 3.5⭐️


This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, with Olivia at its center. At first, I loved her confidence and self-assuredness, but as the story progressed, I started to question the relationships around her. Will was initially intriguing, but his mixed signals had me doubting his true intentions, while Ben became a more complicated character as the plot unfolded.

One of the standout moments is when Olivia finally stands up to Will—it felt like a powerful turning point in her journey. But the emotional twists don’t stop there. There are several shocking revelations, especially about Lily’s past, that completely shift the story’s dynamics. That‘s why for me the pacing of the story really picked up from page 200 onwards.

The heartbreak hits hard, especially as Olivia struggles with feelings of betrayal and her own self-worth. Her journey of growth and learning to love herself before she can love anyone else is poignant and relatable. The final emotional gut-punch involving best friends left me reeling, but it wrapped up the book’s themes of trust and healing beautifully.

So much drama!!! And I’m here for all of it!!! When I tell you this book is packed from cover to cover in scandalous stories and it’s just the start! There is a whole series following this!!! Yes please I definitely need more!!!

Messy. Toxic relationships. College romance. If I’ve caught your attention - this one’s for you!

Unfortunately, this one WASN’T 100% there for me. Less than a handful of likable characters and instalove that was mildly nauseating. The YEARNING and the TENSION though - those I’ll keep.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have to start off by saying… wow. This was not what I was expecting at all. (In a good way.)
This book has college/sports romance, a love triangle (they’re brothers!) but it also has topics on grief, finding self-worth, parental expectations, love and loss. The story is more about character development rather than the characters getting together and that’s the end. It highlights the many, normal flaws and issues that people go through.

The story is pretty complex with the dynamics each character has with one another and how each character is affected by the death of Lily, Olivia (the FMC)’s best friend.

The story feels pretty fast paced but doesn’t feel rushed and I feel like the authors did a great job with the characters and their stories. I will admit the first chapter or two seemed a bit confusing (how Olivia felt about Lily, why Will was acting like that, how Olivia lets him treat her, etc) but it all made sense in the end.

The only thing I didn't like as much was that most of the interactions for the characters or events were at parties. Party after party, but I guess that's college life for some people.
There also was a small typo in the epilogue where there was a space before a comma. I believe there might have also been a typo when mentioning the bandaid. It was spelled "bandaid" and "band aid" in the same sentence.

The ending was good. There was redemption, closure and a great hook into the next book.

Astor Hill was… fine. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t particularly good. The story felt messy for no reason, like it was trying to juggle too many elements at once without tying them together in a satisfying way.

The premise had promise, but the execution fell flat. The characters were decent, but I found it hard to connect with them. The plot tried to do a lot, and while some moments worked, others felt like they were thrown in just to add drama—drama that didn’t really lead anywhere.

I will say, Sydney Madison has a nice writing style, and there were a few standout moments where I thought, “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.” But then the story would shift gears again, leaving me more confused than invested.

Overall, Astor Hill wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t leave much of an impact, either. It’s worth a read if you don’t mind a chaotic plot, but it’s not something I’d be rushing to recommend.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. While I enjoyed certain aspects of the story and found moments where the authors' writing shined, especially in the second half, and I appreciated the exploration of complicated grieving and female friendships, I had a lot of issues with the book as a whole. There was a lot of telling and not showing, and the pacing and plot were off. The best part of the book is Ben and Olivia's relationship, but even that fell a bit flat for me. It would have been easier to buy into their insta-love soulmate-type connection if Ben at least had a conversation with her before pining after her for years.

I think maybe these authors have a way to go in terms of their writing, but I could see a lot of potential. Also, the cover for this book is absolutely GORGEOUS. 2.5 stars rounded up.

I had good hopes for this book, the synopsis feel right into some of my favorite tropes and storylines but something in this fell flat. It took me awhile to get through it due to the lack of attachment to really of any of the characters, the sheer messiness of the dynamics for what seemed to be for not and the lack of buy in to what was going on. I think this story could have been even better without a lot of the drama and extras added in and more character development to get readers to love them, while being more open to excusing some of the imperfections.

Thank you to Netgalley & Sydney Madison for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This book has been compared to Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill and I can definitely see that. I enjoyed this story with the insta love and mental health rep.

I was here for the love triangle and felt for all the characters. I will definitely read the next book.in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

First, the cover art is stunning! Love the fall portrayal and kind of wish I had read this during the cozy fall season to up the vibes. It took me a minute to fall in to this book - but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Astor Hill was a cute college romance that tied in a lot of different aspects. I loved Liv and Will and how Lily hung out throughout the story. Definitely recommend giving this book a chance and adding it to your TBR.
Favorite Quote: "I want you now, I want you tomorrow, I want you always, anyway that you are.”

This is not your typical college romance and even in the first chapters, drama has ensued.

Plot:
It was a drag in the first 40% of the book. A drag not because of the slow burn, but because the toxicity in Liv and Will's relationship was frustrating. I just want to shake Liv up to wake up and leave! The repeated cycle of her relationship was making me mad. Then enter Ben who made the next half of the book much more bearable.

Trigger: Loss of loved one, Cheating, Relationship abuse, Miscommunication

Main:
Plus factor for me though- the book was beautifully written. Not cringy, not flowery, nor flat. Ben's words were raw and genuine, and pulled off the butterflies perfect for romance. I actually connected more with Ben than Liv. Liv, I try to understand her character, but there was a part of me thinking Ben deserves someone better. The emotions were high in this book, yet it showed more of the deeper intricacies oft5 relationships. Ben, on the other hand, his anxiety was established well in the book, I felt seen through his character - his panic episodes, vulnerability,
Supporting:
What slightly stole my attention from the main was Gen and her character reveal. I thought at first she's annoying and stealer, she burst through in the last half of the book with her character growth.


Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

While diving into Astor Hill, I found myself captivated by the familiar themes of college-age romance, but with a deeper layer woven in—grief and mental health. As we peel back the layers of the main characters, one common thread ties them together: pain. Each character grapples with their inner struggles, and it’s this turmoil that fuels the drama and conflict throughout the story.

However, the love story left me wanting more. Olivia is portrayed as a strong, commanding presence who won’t tolerate nonsense, yet she tolerates Will, who, quite frankly, is infuriating. Even after uncovering the trauma that shapes his actions, it’s hard to excuse his behavior over the two years they’ve been involved. Then there's Ben, whose character seems to embody the cliché of insta-love. He quickly dives headfirst into the relationship without a solid foundation, and while they develop a bit of friendship, it hardly evolves into the kind of bond that inspires true love.

Overall, Astor Hill has its merits, but it does leave some important aspects of the romance feeling a bit empty. I wished for a more nuanced exploration of the relationships to create a more satisfying emotional journey.

Thank you Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me this opportunity to read this story!

Unfortunately, this one did not hit for me like I had hoped. I expected some drama but not to the extent that I read. Some topics were also a big triggering for me and I just couldn’t get past it. Other than that, everything is written in a nice flow and I think so many readers will enjoy it. Like the synopsis says, it gives magnolia parks and gossip girl vibes for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity to read this novel early. I’m very grateful.

This one’s for the og fans of the Gossip Girl / One Tree Hill universes with the Maxton Hall vibes! My cup of tea 👑

I used to be a huge fan of college romance a few years ago, but this trope didn’t hit as hard for me as I grew older… Astor Hill though, is in another league 🏆

The characters are surprisingly mature even through all the drama (love that). Real and sensitive topics like grief and mental health weave the story altogether and it was beautifully done! ❤️‍🩹

For the romance addicts here on booksta, this one’s main tropes are boyfriend’s stepbrother (hello one tree hill) and a bit of sports romance (hello one tree hill🏀). I would have loved if there was a bit more spice, but the tension between the characters was still unreal 🔥

Astor Hill is projected to be the first book in a series of interconnected stand-alones and I just can’t wait to see what the authors have in store!! 🫶✨

2 stars ✰
ꕀ this was not my cup of tea.. unfortunately.

tbh. im not going to fault the author for why I could not entirely connect with this—it’s more so a me problem, and my personal taste. the tropes were not for me, I don’t like cheating or lying, or lack of communication between characters. and that’s literally all this was.

🤎 my thoughts 🤎

🍂in general. obviously, when I heard it was going to be similar to ‘gossip girl’ and ‘one tree hill’ I know I was gonna deal with some controversial complex characters, but i expected them to have a redeeming quality. something to make them likeable or make me root for the couple and see that they’re meant to be, but i genuinely had no hope. they were just horrible people, and I did not want to see them happy 😭

💔the cheating. okay so there wasn’t any actual cheating, in terms of physically, but olivia knew she had feelings for ben, but whenever will (her literal BOYFRIEND) called her out on it, she would gaslight him into thinking he was crazy for even thinking that and would LIE, LIE, LIEEE. also ben is not the best brother considering he was literally pining over his bro’s gf with no shame. flirting endlessly, trying to get close to her.. what is wrong with them ohmygosh.

🩰 the romance. im not gonna lie, the cheating wasn’t even worth it. like sometimes you’ll see it in a show or something, and they cheat but they’re so clearly made for eachother, im just like they’re clearly soulmates and while they shouldn’t have done that i still want them to be together. but I didn’t even see the love between ben and liv. IT WAS SO DEAD. atleast give us a good couple if you’re gonna make them shitty human beings 😭😭 idk it definitely lacked.

📚writing & world building. this was the only good part of the book. for 200 pages, there was a lot of story. I don’t wanna spoil but I just expected the depth of the story to be very-surface level and shallow, but in that aspect the author really excelled. the writing also wasn’t cringe at all, I think it was really done well for a debut (??) author. I just didn’t like the characters, the couples, or anything really LMAO or I would’ve appreciated it a bit more bc I think she has potential. so if u like the premise of the book definitely go for it!

🫂 conclusion 🫂

i really don’t like being a hater, and i hate writing negative reviews they make me feel so guilty. but in the end, i said I would give an honest review and i definitely did! im not opposed to checking out this author’s other future works bc i did like the writing, but this book was not for me sadly ❤️‍🩹

thank you to netgalley and PS published for this arc in exchange for an honest review!!