review

It took me a long time to review this ARC even though I read it some time ago. The words just did not come effortlessly for this one. That happens when I’m really underwhelmed by a book.

Carnegie Hill follows Pepper as she tries to find meaning in her life. She joins a co-op board. But even if she’s the central character, the story is as much as about her neighbors as it is about her. And unfortunately for me, I didn’t find a single character worth rooting for.

Let’s start with Pepper. She’s a heiress, and her problems echo that of someone just out of college, not in their thirties. The only difference is that she has a fiance she’s very serious about. Not that I have any problem with the idea of what the synopsis labels ‘belated coming-of-age’. My problem lies with all the bark and the little bite Pepper has. She spends all her time being indignant and outraged about everything, and does very little to change things. I also found her to be very intrusive, with little respect for personal boundaries. Over the course of the book, she kept growing on my nerves.

There’s a fiance who Pepper seemed to be obstinately holding on to. The little I say about him, the better. He’s even more unlikable than Pepper.

We also get POV of other residents from Pepper’s building. The three couples that Pepper looks to for answers about marriage are Georg and Birdie – who are trying to navigate their lives after a sudden retirement for George; Francis and Carol – who are suffering due to Francis’s secrets about his health; Caleb and Sergei – the everyday life couple whose lives and views are a little too simplistic. The switch from one character to another took away from the writing. The story was disjointed. And it didn’t help that I found most of the characters to be tiresome caricatures, who only tested my patience.

Books like these make me want to be more selective about requesting for ARCs.

Carnegie Hill offers a glimpse into lives of the residents of a New York coop. It felt like I was walking down a street and peering in their windows, and it is a great reminder that people’s lives are not always what they seem. While I found many of the characters unlikeable, I found the narrative to be engrossing.

I read this as a light summer read and that is probably the nicest thing to say about it. The characters are very two dimensional and relatively unlike able. Good depiction of the neighborhood in NYC, but the main character is immature and comes to maturity on an unlikely path while the rest of the cast (because I am sure this was written with television in mind) are uninteresting with sparse back stories. Disappointing on the whole.

I tried with this one, as there were a couple of characters that I liked, and the overall concept had promise, but the follow through just wasn't there for me. The multiple POV was helpful, and I thought that by giving Rick a POV the author was trying to give Pepper's husband some kind of redeeming qualities, but instead he just showed how much of a jerk he was, and I lost what little respect I had for Pepper by staying with this guy. The same for the other residents of the building, as much as they liked to gossip, you would think they'd know about Patricia's situation and cut her some slack, but most of them didn't. I guess what I'm saying is we were all over the place with the story, and the characters, and in the end it came together but by then it was a little too late for me.

Carnegie Hill, by Jonathan Vatner, is set in a co-op in New York City. Penelope, AKA Pepper, and her fiancé/husband move into the co-op which is a bit past its prime in terms of culture, community, and shareholders. Pepper and Rick, still in their mid-thirties, are a stark contrast to the majority of residents, who are mostly elderly. In addition to being white and wealthy, all of them seem to share a propensity for whining…constantly. The elderly fret about their health and relationships while Pepper, whines about everything. She seems to be fully supported by spouse and parents, has no responsibilities, sees her spouse only in terms of what he can do for her and suspects him of foul play at the slightest opportunity. I don’t think I have seen a character more entitled since Scarlett O’Hara.

Vatner can write. His storyline about the two staff members who fall in love was touching and inspiring. I also empathized at times with some of the elderly residents. But, Vatner’s talents and time seemed wasted on the creation of the unengaging Pepper.

Although this was a long and torturous read for me, I may be the outlier reviewer. Regardless, I thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hilarious and easy-going read! This story focuses on the Upper East Side: society, wealth and all that comes with it. I truly enjoyed this fun read!
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

2.5 stars.

I don’t regret reading through to the end to give this a “fair chance,” but it certainly didn’t make me like the characters any more than I initially did. As a social commentary, I can see this book’s merits; as an engaging story, I’m not a big fan.

While it's not inherently a problem that I actively disliked pretty much every single character, they felt like caricatures rather than people. So their relationships didn't ring true, and I just wasn't emotionally invested. The drama was interesting to observe, but I didn't really *care* about them.

Carnegie Hill is a character-driven story about the residents of an exclusive apartment building, the Chelmsford Arms, in New York City’s Upper East Side. Pepper Bradford is a newlywed who has moved into the building. She is attempting to establish a relationship with her neighbors and also figure out what she wants to do with her life. Married to a successful financial advisor, Pepper begins to question everything she has held dear - her love for her husband, her job skills and her somewhat tenuous relationship with her parents.

Moving throughout the story are the residents of the Chelmsford Arms. George and Birdie, a retired couple struggling with depression. Francis and Carol who are dealing with medical issues. Patricia, the long-time residents’ association president whom Pepper challenges. And, Sergei and Caleb, employees of the Chelmsford Arms, who fall in love. Their stories are multi-generational and timeless.

This book is an interesting story, told from several points of view. While portions of the book seemed to drag a bit, overall it is a well-written story of people who are trying to define or reinvent themselves. It will make you smile and it will make your heart ache for the individuals who find themselves in situations they never expected. In the end it is an uplifting story about the human spirit, its resilience, and its capacity to heal and forgive. I recommend Carnegie Hill. I’m bumping my 3.5 star rating to 4 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This was a fun read, but it wasn’t believable. I didn’t feel like the characters could be real people, and so I found myself a bit disconnected.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Carnegie Hill is an incredibly light read centering around the lives and relationships among various New Yorkers who assemble in a co-op board of an apartment building in Upper East Side, Manhattan. Featuring Penelope "Pepper" Bradford as the center of the story and following her late coming of age story at the age of thirty-three, I initially expected more depth and sincerity from her, or for any other characters, really. Unfortunately, what I was hoping to be a story of candidness, life struggles, and inspiring resolution, turns out to be flat and easily forgotten.

After reading the blurb, I was asking myself, what if I become Penelope in the future?, which shoved me immediately to read this debut from Vatner. I regret to say that I couldn't relate to Penelope and her life crisis, moreover the other older couples that she looked for. I couldn't spot any chemistry among them and the relationships almost feel too forced for the sake of the story, that it left such a bitter after taste.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

An incredibly humorous look at life on the Upper East side and the life of the elite who dwell there.

Marriages of all sorts are the theme of this comedy of manners debut novel. Many of the residents of New York’s Chelmsford Arms on Carnegie Hill are not very likable, but in a like-able way. Penelope “Pepper” Bradford” and her finance Rick are Chelmsford Arms’ newest resident. Pepper, is a soon to be married 32-year-old pretending to be an adult although she doesn’t feel like one. She has decided that an adult act would be to join the Arms’ board of directors only to discover that the President, Patricia, does not want any changes, running the board with an iron fist. Eventually, Pepper befriends two other resident couples, George and Birdie, and Francis and Carol. The chapters alternate between the lives of these three couples along staff members Caleb and Sergei.

This is an amusing and engaging yet still serious look at marriage and relationships both good and bad. The writing is witty, and the author seems to truly like his flawed characters and presents them in an honest, but sympathetic light. A delightful read for contemporary fiction fans.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I had to force myself to finish it. There were no characters that I connected with or found myself rooting for. I love the premise of the book but it's missing the mark and fell flat for me.

The cover is adorable, but sadly I can't say the same about the story itself.

A story about an upscale apartment building in New York city, Carnegie Hill uncovers a ritzy lifestyle and exposes its skeletons – religious differences, racial disparity, sexual identity, mental health, troubled marriages, class differences, and more. The story starts at a more superficial level – a newly engaged woman from a prominent family sits in on the building’s board meeting while her handsome fiancé works long hours in finance. The board decides the fate of those applying to be tenants, and those not dripping with wealth or people of color need not apply. But the bigger issue on our heroine’s mind? Wedding plans. I couldn’t stand the saccharine, privileged tones (and interspersed microagressions from the characters), and more than once desperately thought, “is this a parody?” The themes slowly became more serious, and the drama gathered more depth, and the characters took on a more realistic, but flawed, presence. While I ended the story not entirely hating it, I had a hard time enjoying it.

I’ll be honest. I almost gave up on this book after the first few pages. I was not ready to read what I expected to be yet another novel about privileged New Yorkers and their so-called problems. I’m so glad I stuck with it and came to know Penelope and Rick, George and Birdie, Frances and Carol and Sergei and Caleb. Although most of these characters are indeed privileged New Yorkers, Jonathan Vatner has written fully rounded people whose lives are relatable. The novel is set in a co-op on New York’s Upper East Side, where the about to be newlywed Penelope and Rick have just moved in. As Penelope (belatedly) begins the process of growing up, she becomes entwined in the lives of her mostly elderly neighbors whose marriages, careers and health are in their own varying degrees of disarray.

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

I'm on holiday and I'm in the mood for books that are well written and entertaining.
This book is perfect, well written and entertaining.
I liked the style of writing, the character development, the plot engrossing and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Penelope “Pepper” Bradford moves into the Chelmsford Arms with her fiance' Rick, who is a wealthy financier. She joins the co-op board, and starts making friends among her neighbors. Her parents meet Rick for the first time and compare him to a used-car salesman and beg her not to marry him. They threaten to boycott the wedding, so Pepper stubbornly digs her heels in and plans an even larger wedding than she had originally wanted. Once married, she discovers married life isn't all she thought it would be, and she wonders how all of the older couples that she lives near have managed to do it.
This book gives you a behind-the-scenes look at all the marriages.... a kind of voyeuristic look at how all the marriages are really holding up behind closed doors. This was so much fun to read. I highly recommend it!

Really cute with a bit of serious. Just enough to keep you on the hook for the entire story wondering what becomes of the building and each of its interesting residents!

As Jonathan Vatner's debut novel, Carnegie Hill, opens we meet 33-year-old Pepper or Penelope trying to find some meaning in her new life; she's recently moved into an apartment in the expensive Chelmsford Arms in Carnegie Hill, near Central Park with fiance Rick where she's joined the building's co-op board to give her something to do while she plans her idyllic wedding to Rick, in a small ceremony in the park as soon as the weather improves.

Things start to get complicated when Pepper's parents refuse to give their blessing to the wedding unless they delay by another year; to try and cajole her parents into attending the whole event explodes into a huge, elaborately coordinated event which takes over Pepper's whole life. With Pepper's life taken over with wedding preparations a slightly neglected Rick starts to get messages online from Molly, when Pepper sees these she's so caught up in everything else she's chooses to ignore the feelings that her parents may have had a point regarding how quickly their relationship had moved. Caught up in the whirlwind the wedding goes ahead but can she overcome the seeds of doubt that have already been planted?

We follow several other couples centred around the Chemlsford Arms, mostly wealthier elderly couples who are coming to terms with retirement and in some cases their own mortality as well as a newly blossoming romance between two of the staff, which were personally my favourite characters.

I found myself getting quite frustrated with quite a few of the characters here, particularly Pepper I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Pepper/Rick's backstories as I really couldn't buy into their relationship which meant that ultimately the big question of will they stay together or not I was completely not fussed by. Not ever lived in an apartment I'm also not entirely sure how co-op boards work so there's a fair amount of elections/board politics etc which weren't completely lost on me but were slightly out of context and possibly a lot more important or poignant than I interpreted them. It's quite a character-driven novel, focusing more on character and relationship development than plot so if that's your kind of story then this is possibly for you.

I struggled to get through this book. It took me weeks of start, stop, repeat. In my opinion, there was not a liable character that I wanted to root for, connect with or care about. These are not nice people and in my opinion have no redeeming qualities. They are bigots, racists, back stabbers, have serious narcissistic characteristics and are bullies and like nothing better than belittling each other to make themselves feel better. The main character Pepper is a child and a people pleaser most often to her own detriment. Her parents have always belittled her and she has happily gone along afraid of making waves. She is engaged to a class A jerk. He is only interested in what she can do for him, his career and what makes him look good and actually seems to care little about her as a person. The regard he has for others who do awful things is disgusting. He does not deserve Pepper a woman who so desperately wants to please him, though clearly he will be able to do and get away with anything as she will always blame herself for his bad behavior. He will blame her too and take no responsibility. Sadly, she will never be happy until she recognizes that she is good enough. That was sad and reading about her constantly trying to make everyone else happy and like her became redundant and annoying. Other residents are much the same, only in different stages of life. These couples may talk, but they do so at each other rather than to each other. It was overall a sad, boring and depressing read. Then came the epilogue which very quickly and succinctly wrapped everything up in a nice bow. Really?
I do like the writing style of toggling back and forth from different peoples perspective and experiences.
I am glad I pushed through it because I committed to doing so, but wouldn't mind getting all the time I spent forcing myself to finish back. This just was not for me, but maybe because I know people like this like or respect them all that much either.