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Carnegie Hill
Deception is just another day in the lives of the elite.
At age thirty-three, Penelope “Pepper” Bradford has no career, no passion and no children. Her intrusive parents still treat her like a child. Moving into the Chelmsford Arms with her fiancé Rick, an up-and-coming financier, and joining the co-op board give her some control over her life—until her parents take a gut dislike to Rick and urge Pepper to call off the wedding. When, the week before the wedding, she glimpses a trail of desperate text messages from Rick’s obsessed female client, Pepper realizes that her parents might be right.
She looks to her older neighbors in the building to help decide whether to stay with Rick, not realizing that their marriages are in crisis, too. Birdie and George’s bond frays after George is forced into retirement at sixty-two. And Francis alienates Carol, his wife of fifty years, and everyone else he knows, after being diagnosed with an inoperable heart condition. To her surprise, Pepper’s best model for love may be a clandestine romance between Caleb and Sergei, a porter and a doorman.
Jonathan Vatner's Carnegie Hill is a belated-coming-of-age novel about sustaining a marriage—and knowing when to walk away. It chronicles the lives of wealthy New Yorkers and the staff who serve them, as they suffer together and rebound, struggle to free themselves from family entanglements, deceive each other out of love and weakness, and fumble their way to honesty.
At age thirty-three, Penelope “Pepper” Bradford has no career, no passion and no children. Her intrusive parents still treat her like a child. Moving into the Chelmsford Arms with her fiancé Rick, an up-and-coming financier, and joining the co-op board give her some control over her life—until her parents take a gut dislike to Rick and urge Pepper to call off the wedding. When, the week before the wedding, she glimpses a trail of desperate text messages from Rick’s obsessed female client, Pepper realizes that her parents might be right.
She looks to her older neighbors in the building to help decide whether to stay with Rick, not realizing that their marriages are in crisis, too. Birdie and George’s bond frays after George is forced into retirement at sixty-two. And Francis alienates Carol, his wife of fifty years, and everyone else he knows, after being diagnosed with an inoperable heart condition. To her surprise, Pepper’s best model for love may be a clandestine romance between Caleb and Sergei, a porter and a doorman.
Jonathan Vatner's Carnegie Hill is a belated-coming-of-age novel about sustaining a marriage—and knowing when to walk away. It chronicles the lives of wealthy New Yorkers and the staff who serve them, as they suffer together and rebound, struggle to free themselves from family entanglements, deceive each other out of love and weakness, and fumble their way to honesty.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2019
234 people are currently reading
3784 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Vatner
7 books109 followersJONATHAN VATNER is the author of THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION (St. Martin's Press, 2022) and CARNEGIE HILL (Thomas Dunne Books, 2019). His fiction has earned praise from People, Town & Country, The New York Post, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. He is the managing editor of Hue, the magazine of the Fashion Institute of Technology and teaches fiction writing at New York University and the Hudson Valley Writers Center.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
August 5, 2019
This is going to sound weird but for so much of this book the characters felt much more like characters in a fictional book rather than people. I don't need to have anything in common with a character in a book or even necessarily like them, but I do need something that feels real to me. This is the 2nd time in the last few weeks I have read a book in which the story is decent, but most of the characters fall flat. I will say things did come together in the last quarter or so of the book and there were some good moments but I wish it wouldn't have taken so long to get to that point.
Thirty-three year old Penelope “Pepper” Bradford lives in Chelmsford Arms, a NYC apartment building for the wealthy, with her fiancé Rick. She doesn't have a job or career so she pretty much has a lot of free time on her hands. And because of that she gets to know some of the other residents in the building quite well including some of the older couples in the building. The story bounces back and forth between some of the residents as well as staff and primarily focuses on each person's love life.
Even though multiple characters are featured in the book, I think you could easily argue Pepper is the main character. Unfortunately she is just not the easiest character to understand. She feels rather pointless for so much of the book which can make for a frustrating read. The other residents in the building aren't much better. By far, Caleb and Sergei are the best characters in the book and are the main reason I didn't quit and give up on the story.
On a positive note, towards the end of the book you are able to understand better what the author was trying to accomplish with the story and there are some good moments. And that's why I ended up giving this 3 stars. It was an okay read but most of the characters needed some work in my opinion.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
Thirty-three year old Penelope “Pepper” Bradford lives in Chelmsford Arms, a NYC apartment building for the wealthy, with her fiancé Rick. She doesn't have a job or career so she pretty much has a lot of free time on her hands. And because of that she gets to know some of the other residents in the building quite well including some of the older couples in the building. The story bounces back and forth between some of the residents as well as staff and primarily focuses on each person's love life.
Even though multiple characters are featured in the book, I think you could easily argue Pepper is the main character. Unfortunately she is just not the easiest character to understand. She feels rather pointless for so much of the book which can make for a frustrating read. The other residents in the building aren't much better. By far, Caleb and Sergei are the best characters in the book and are the main reason I didn't quit and give up on the story.
On a positive note, towards the end of the book you are able to understand better what the author was trying to accomplish with the story and there are some good moments. And that's why I ended up giving this 3 stars. It was an okay read but most of the characters needed some work in my opinion.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
July 26, 2019
I’m not sure what the author was trying to accomplish here. We have a 33 year old main character that has yet to grow up. She doesn’t have a job, just recently moved out of her parents’ house and is in therapy. She's mad at her parents, who don’t trust her fiancé. But he is suspect, the kind of guy that admires his friends’ ability to hide his infidelity.
We hear not just from Pepper, but Rick, her fiancé, also other residents of the Chelmsworth Arms and a porter there as well. As the blurb spells out, Pepper seeks confirmation that long term, happy marriages are possible. But as she discovers, it’s not easy and her older neighbors all have their problems. It deals with love and forgiveness (of self and others).
This book just dragged for me. I’m not sure I can blame the pace of the book so much as my lack of interest in the characters. It wasn’t that they were likeable or unlikeable, I just couldn’t get invested.
This isn’t a bad book, it’s just not a particularly good one. One of the plotlines designed to allow Pepper a peek into her neighbors’ lives was positively gimmicky.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
We hear not just from Pepper, but Rick, her fiancé, also other residents of the Chelmsworth Arms and a porter there as well. As the blurb spells out, Pepper seeks confirmation that long term, happy marriages are possible. But as she discovers, it’s not easy and her older neighbors all have their problems. It deals with love and forgiveness (of self and others).
This book just dragged for me. I’m not sure I can blame the pace of the book so much as my lack of interest in the characters. It wasn’t that they were likeable or unlikeable, I just couldn’t get invested.
This isn’t a bad book, it’s just not a particularly good one. One of the plotlines designed to allow Pepper a peek into her neighbors’ lives was positively gimmicky.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
July 1, 2019
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
How was this tagged as a romance? I guess train-wreck was too on point. Seriously though, I ended up loathing 99 percent of the characters in this book. Even the one person I didn't loathe, I seriously disliked because he outed someone. I am surprised this wasn't an Oprah Book Pick since every time she loves a book I usually have this reaction to the book.
"Carnegie Hill" follows the residents and a man who works at a co-op in New York. Yeah. I am trying to come up with something pithy here, but that's all I got. Vatner switches POVs from various people throughout this book. We have Pepper (trying to go as Penelope) Bradford newly engaged to Rick. We have Pepper and Rick's next door neighbors, Birdie and George. We also have Francis and his wife Carol. We also follow a porter that works at the building, Caleb.
Pepper was exhausting. She is an heiress based on context clues and doesn't have a job. Though she's had other relationships end due to her parents commentary, she's happy and in love with Rick. Moving into Carnegie Hill she has a chance to prove to them that she can do something meaningful and joins the co-op board. Of course she finds out that the board is full of a lot of elderly residents who seem okay with the co-op being predominantly white. Pepper is what I call white outraged. Angry about it, but really doesn't try to do anything except complain about others. She's also beyond exhausting about people having "secrets." This is mentioned throughout the book. I really wanted to tell Pepper that's called boundaries and mind her own damn business.
Pepper's fiancee Rick was a hot mess. No spoilers, but what the hell. At one point I wondered if this author was taking a jab at therapy or what because what some of them were saying had me going the hell.
Birdie is trying to get her recently retired (or told to retired or be fired) husband George to take an interest in his life again. She wants them to move back to Canada or just do anything else. Instead George spends a lot of his time sleeping and avoiding leaving their apartment. I don't even know what to say. Birdie read as heartless and George was a confusing character to me. I don't know what he wanted exactly. I get feeling like it wasn't fair that he was pushed out of his job and then the next one he took he was fired from due to him not getting technology. But the spiral felt so fast to me as a reader. And then it just continues for about a year.
Francis, also exhausting. He's similar to Pepper wanting to complain about the rich and elite but not do much about it. Him trying to get Caleb to read books and acting as if he understood his life was....well it was something.
Caleb seemed to be there to give the everyday man's perspective, but I found his world view to be too simplistic too.
There are secondary characters in this one (too numerous to count) and they jumble through the characters stories. Everyone started to read as a caricature to me after a while. I really started to cringe every time Pepper and Rick popped up because I just needed a break from that slow moving disaster.
I have to say that the writing wasn't that great. I think switching from Pepper, to Birdie, George, Francis, Rick, and Caleb didn't help. I honestly had no energy for half of the characters and the lies and mess they were telling themselves and others. The whole book felt disjointed and read like a bad play. I don't know if Vatner was going for something humorous or what. Or was trying to say something pointed. Whatever it was, it flew over my head. Oh wait, it made marriage seem like a hellscape of never ending snide remarks and anger that the person that you married isn't doing exactly what you want in the moment though you are constantly changing your mind.
The flow was not good. The character POVs were lopsided. We spent most of the book with Pepper. I don't know if this could have been fixed if we just stayed with Pepper and Rick or what. Everyone was so underdeveloped.
The book takes place in New York over the course of a year I think. Though a few places are mentioned like Central Park, for the most part the book doesn't do a great job of exploring New York. Everything felt claustrophobic after a while since everything takes place in apartments or at therapist offices.
The ending felt unfinished to me.
How was this tagged as a romance? I guess train-wreck was too on point. Seriously though, I ended up loathing 99 percent of the characters in this book. Even the one person I didn't loathe, I seriously disliked because he outed someone. I am surprised this wasn't an Oprah Book Pick since every time she loves a book I usually have this reaction to the book.
"Carnegie Hill" follows the residents and a man who works at a co-op in New York. Yeah. I am trying to come up with something pithy here, but that's all I got. Vatner switches POVs from various people throughout this book. We have Pepper (trying to go as Penelope) Bradford newly engaged to Rick. We have Pepper and Rick's next door neighbors, Birdie and George. We also have Francis and his wife Carol. We also follow a porter that works at the building, Caleb.
Pepper was exhausting. She is an heiress based on context clues and doesn't have a job. Though she's had other relationships end due to her parents commentary, she's happy and in love with Rick. Moving into Carnegie Hill she has a chance to prove to them that she can do something meaningful and joins the co-op board. Of course she finds out that the board is full of a lot of elderly residents who seem okay with the co-op being predominantly white. Pepper is what I call white outraged. Angry about it, but really doesn't try to do anything except complain about others. She's also beyond exhausting about people having "secrets." This is mentioned throughout the book. I really wanted to tell Pepper that's called boundaries and mind her own damn business.
Pepper's fiancee Rick was a hot mess. No spoilers, but what the hell. At one point I wondered if this author was taking a jab at therapy or what because what some of them were saying had me going the hell.
Birdie is trying to get her recently retired (or told to retired or be fired) husband George to take an interest in his life again. She wants them to move back to Canada or just do anything else. Instead George spends a lot of his time sleeping and avoiding leaving their apartment. I don't even know what to say. Birdie read as heartless and George was a confusing character to me. I don't know what he wanted exactly. I get feeling like it wasn't fair that he was pushed out of his job and then the next one he took he was fired from due to him not getting technology. But the spiral felt so fast to me as a reader. And then it just continues for about a year.
Francis, also exhausting. He's similar to Pepper wanting to complain about the rich and elite but not do much about it. Him trying to get Caleb to read books and acting as if he understood his life was....well it was something.
Caleb seemed to be there to give the everyday man's perspective, but I found his world view to be too simplistic too.
There are secondary characters in this one (too numerous to count) and they jumble through the characters stories. Everyone started to read as a caricature to me after a while. I really started to cringe every time Pepper and Rick popped up because I just needed a break from that slow moving disaster.
I have to say that the writing wasn't that great. I think switching from Pepper, to Birdie, George, Francis, Rick, and Caleb didn't help. I honestly had no energy for half of the characters and the lies and mess they were telling themselves and others. The whole book felt disjointed and read like a bad play. I don't know if Vatner was going for something humorous or what. Or was trying to say something pointed. Whatever it was, it flew over my head. Oh wait, it made marriage seem like a hellscape of never ending snide remarks and anger that the person that you married isn't doing exactly what you want in the moment though you are constantly changing your mind.
The flow was not good. The character POVs were lopsided. We spent most of the book with Pepper. I don't know if this could have been fixed if we just stayed with Pepper and Rick or what. Everyone was so underdeveloped.
The book takes place in New York over the course of a year I think. Though a few places are mentioned like Central Park, for the most part the book doesn't do a great job of exploring New York. Everything felt claustrophobic after a while since everything takes place in apartments or at therapist offices.
The ending felt unfinished to me.
July 23, 2019
Liking or disliking characters has very little to do with how I liked or disliked a book. Honestly. If disliking characters means that I automatically dislike a book, then I would have had a book burning in the center of the street for Gone Girl. I've never hated a character so much. I loved the book.
I clearly did not find some of the characters in Carnegie Hill very likable. In fact, they were absolutely annoying, like nails on a chalkboard. It really is the sign of a great writer when they can create a character that you despise. Jonathan Vatner is an excellent word sculptor. He assembles sentences that are rich, juicy and funny. His characters may not all be likable but they are definitely eccentric and peculiar. I truly enjoyed their company and I enjoyed the book.
This is exactly the type of book that screams, pick me up, read me, and escape.
Thank you to Jonathan Vatner, Thomas Dunne Books and Goodreads Giveaway. It was a delight winning this book.
I clearly did not find some of the characters in Carnegie Hill very likable. In fact, they were absolutely annoying, like nails on a chalkboard. It really is the sign of a great writer when they can create a character that you despise. Jonathan Vatner is an excellent word sculptor. He assembles sentences that are rich, juicy and funny. His characters may not all be likable but they are definitely eccentric and peculiar. I truly enjoyed their company and I enjoyed the book.
This is exactly the type of book that screams, pick me up, read me, and escape.
Thank you to Jonathan Vatner, Thomas Dunne Books and Goodreads Giveaway. It was a delight winning this book.
June 17, 2019
I went back and forth on this book. There were times I found the plot / characters interesting, and other times when I was so bored. I found most of the characters to be really unlikeable, except for a few gem moments for each. Francis, in particular, was thoroughly obnoxious, and I wanted Carol to leave him almost as soon as we met them. In all, I was glad to finish the book and get some resolution, but didn't love it enough to really recommend.
May 6, 2020
Let me start off by saying that I won this book through a giveaway in exchange for an honest review....
While I did enjoy reading this book and learning about all of the different characters that lived at the Chelmsford Arms, I just kind of felt like it didn’t go anywhere. And the ending....like what? It just stopped. I mean, yeah, I guess it was a happy ending, and it did explain how everyone was...but I don’t know. I just didn’t like the way everything was left so open I guess. I don’t know if that makes sense.
As for the author’s talent though, this is certainly a five star read if i were to judge based on talent alone! She definitely has a way with words and amazing imagery! I literally felt like i was sitting in a room with these characters throughout most of the book! And i love how the author brought up touchy issues as well! Way to represent! I would like to read more from this author in the future!
While I did enjoy reading this book and learning about all of the different characters that lived at the Chelmsford Arms, I just kind of felt like it didn’t go anywhere. And the ending....like what? It just stopped. I mean, yeah, I guess it was a happy ending, and it did explain how everyone was...but I don’t know. I just didn’t like the way everything was left so open I guess. I don’t know if that makes sense.
As for the author’s talent though, this is certainly a five star read if i were to judge based on talent alone! She definitely has a way with words and amazing imagery! I literally felt like i was sitting in a room with these characters throughout most of the book! And i love how the author brought up touchy issues as well! Way to represent! I would like to read more from this author in the future!
September 16, 2019
My thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy. This work of fiction started out like gangbusters and left me feeling confused in the end. What the heck is the author’s purpose here?
The premise is that Pepper, the child of hugely wealthy, influential parents, has left home to live an adult life without her mother’s interference. She meets a man from a working class background and they fall in love; they purchase an apartment at the prestigious Chelmsford Arms, and the ancient chairman invites her to join the building’s board of directors. She likes Pepper’s pedigree, and the board is comprised entirely of elderly people, so it’s good to have some fresh perspective. Or so the old lady thinks.
At the outset, I think this will be a satirical poke at the rich, and as the story unfolds it is on its way to being just that. We see the building through Pepper’s eyes, and we see it through the eyes of the door men that work there. The only people of color here are employees, and Pepper’s effort to create a more diverse community meet a wall of resistance. And Pepper’s fiancé, whom her parents distrust, turns out to be untrustworthy. There are several places that make me laugh out loud, and I have high hopes.
But as we move on, the message becomes muddy and the pace slows considerably. Pepper’s fiancé has his own concerns, and we see things through his perspective—all points of view are told in the third person omniscient. Part of the time he seems to be exactly the dirt bag that Pepper’s parents say that he is, but part of the time he is just a loving, misunderstood guy. Ultimately, after a plot that goes all over the place with no apparent destination, it is he that proves to be the most dreadful racist of all of them.
When the board meets, Pepper makes the acquaintance of two other couples, both of them elderly, and both apparently in content, long-term marriages, and she believes they will be her role models, since her own parents are divorced. However, neither couple is happy, and we see their relationships deteriorate. Indeed, the healthiest relationship she sees is between two of the doormen, who are closeted at first, but later come out.
None of these characters is developed much, but the one that seems least credible to me is Sergei, who does a complete turnabout in his willingness to come out of the closet and be in a public relationship with Caleb. We don’t see any kind of struggle on his part and the change is abrupt. Given the importance that Vatner attaches to these two men, I would have thought we would see much more of Sergei’s perspective leading up to the transition.
The worst part for me is that in the end, all of the characters seem much more equal to one another, the filthy rich having their share of misery and the working class being content. Give me a damn break.
Despite this rant, it’s clear that Vatner has talent. There are several passages that make me sit up and take notice. The challenge he faces is in creating a bigger picture with better developed characters, and better pacing. Since this is his debut, he has plenty of time to grow, and I look forward to seeing what he publishes in the years to come.
The premise is that Pepper, the child of hugely wealthy, influential parents, has left home to live an adult life without her mother’s interference. She meets a man from a working class background and they fall in love; they purchase an apartment at the prestigious Chelmsford Arms, and the ancient chairman invites her to join the building’s board of directors. She likes Pepper’s pedigree, and the board is comprised entirely of elderly people, so it’s good to have some fresh perspective. Or so the old lady thinks.
At the outset, I think this will be a satirical poke at the rich, and as the story unfolds it is on its way to being just that. We see the building through Pepper’s eyes, and we see it through the eyes of the door men that work there. The only people of color here are employees, and Pepper’s effort to create a more diverse community meet a wall of resistance. And Pepper’s fiancé, whom her parents distrust, turns out to be untrustworthy. There are several places that make me laugh out loud, and I have high hopes.
But as we move on, the message becomes muddy and the pace slows considerably. Pepper’s fiancé has his own concerns, and we see things through his perspective—all points of view are told in the third person omniscient. Part of the time he seems to be exactly the dirt bag that Pepper’s parents say that he is, but part of the time he is just a loving, misunderstood guy. Ultimately, after a plot that goes all over the place with no apparent destination, it is he that proves to be the most dreadful racist of all of them.
When the board meets, Pepper makes the acquaintance of two other couples, both of them elderly, and both apparently in content, long-term marriages, and she believes they will be her role models, since her own parents are divorced. However, neither couple is happy, and we see their relationships deteriorate. Indeed, the healthiest relationship she sees is between two of the doormen, who are closeted at first, but later come out.
None of these characters is developed much, but the one that seems least credible to me is Sergei, who does a complete turnabout in his willingness to come out of the closet and be in a public relationship with Caleb. We don’t see any kind of struggle on his part and the change is abrupt. Given the importance that Vatner attaches to these two men, I would have thought we would see much more of Sergei’s perspective leading up to the transition.
The worst part for me is that in the end, all of the characters seem much more equal to one another, the filthy rich having their share of misery and the working class being content. Give me a damn break.
Despite this rant, it’s clear that Vatner has talent. There are several passages that make me sit up and take notice. The challenge he faces is in creating a bigger picture with better developed characters, and better pacing. Since this is his debut, he has plenty of time to grow, and I look forward to seeing what he publishes in the years to come.
March 2, 2019
When reading a book, a lot of readers, myself included, often take into account how likable a character is when it comes to whether or not they enjoyed the book. The thing about this book is well, none of the characters are likable, and they're all insufferable. Taking into account who Vatner is writing about, I'd have to say his depiction is fairly accurate.
"Carnegie Hill" tackles the lives of several characters and as supporting characters, their spouses, Chelmsford Arms, an expensive apartment building on the Upper East Side. First up to the plate we have Penelope "Pepper" Bradford, the most recent addition to the building. I spent a few chapters wondering if Pepper had a job, until it finally it dawned on me she doesn't nor does she need to. She is unemployed and directionless but thankfully, newly engaged and more importantly, has the support of her wealthy, well-known parents to give her another leg to stand on. (This sounds about right for mothers in upper echelon territory of Manhattan). As far as Pepper goes, as a perennially unhappy individual, it's unlikely that a relationship will ever satisfy her. No matter how hard Rick, her husband, tried, she wouldn't budge to meet him halfway. We watch her meander through the book trying to do things and trying to push for the right thing but as Rick asks, does she want to do the right thing or look like she's doing the right thing? One thing this book significantly focuses on is optics and in an authentic way.
Next up is Francis, a teacher who lucked into the apartment when Carol, his wife, inherited the apartment from her grandmother, followed by Birdie and Georgie, longtime residents of the building, and Sergei and Caleb, a clandestine relationship between a doorman and a newly hired porter, and the relationship I was most interested in but I felt the most lacking. I thought that not enough pages were devoted to this couple. Though the book is set in 2014, then and now, it's clear that their relationship would fall under a lot of scrutiny. Growing up and living near Sheepshead Bay and with Russian parents, I know that particular community isn't particularly welcoming to gay couples.
The novel focuses on marriage and relationships. It doesn't offer a blueprint for what makes a relationship successful and just because a couple has been together for 4 decades, it's not an indicator that they're in a fulfilled relationship. At first, I was on the fence about Birdie and Georgie because I didn't understand what this relationship added to the novel but now I'm starting to understand. Birdie had tried for years to make the relationship with Georgie work and at a certain point, she had to throw in the towel because he wasn't doing the same. Despite the length of their relationship, she decided it wasn't too late to leave, which is an important lesson and also question. At what point, is it okay to leave? I will say that the end of their relationship was a cop-out and I wish it ended differently.
I thought the writing in the book was realistic, both about the characters, their motivations, how they spoke and related to each other. Growing up in New York, it hit home. While these characters weren't likable, they felt human to me. I'm thankful to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy. It's out on 08/20/2019.
"Carnegie Hill" tackles the lives of several characters and as supporting characters, their spouses, Chelmsford Arms, an expensive apartment building on the Upper East Side. First up to the plate we have Penelope "Pepper" Bradford, the most recent addition to the building. I spent a few chapters wondering if Pepper had a job, until it finally it dawned on me she doesn't nor does she need to. She is unemployed and directionless but thankfully, newly engaged and more importantly, has the support of her wealthy, well-known parents to give her another leg to stand on. (This sounds about right for mothers in upper echelon territory of Manhattan). As far as Pepper goes, as a perennially unhappy individual, it's unlikely that a relationship will ever satisfy her. No matter how hard Rick, her husband, tried, she wouldn't budge to meet him halfway. We watch her meander through the book trying to do things and trying to push for the right thing but as Rick asks, does she want to do the right thing or look like she's doing the right thing? One thing this book significantly focuses on is optics and in an authentic way.
Next up is Francis, a teacher who lucked into the apartment when Carol, his wife, inherited the apartment from her grandmother, followed by Birdie and Georgie, longtime residents of the building, and Sergei and Caleb, a clandestine relationship between a doorman and a newly hired porter, and the relationship I was most interested in but I felt the most lacking. I thought that not enough pages were devoted to this couple. Though the book is set in 2014, then and now, it's clear that their relationship would fall under a lot of scrutiny. Growing up and living near Sheepshead Bay and with Russian parents, I know that particular community isn't particularly welcoming to gay couples.
The novel focuses on marriage and relationships. It doesn't offer a blueprint for what makes a relationship successful and just because a couple has been together for 4 decades, it's not an indicator that they're in a fulfilled relationship. At first, I was on the fence about Birdie and Georgie because I didn't understand what this relationship added to the novel but now I'm starting to understand. Birdie had tried for years to make the relationship with Georgie work and at a certain point, she had to throw in the towel because he wasn't doing the same. Despite the length of their relationship, she decided it wasn't too late to leave, which is an important lesson and also question. At what point, is it okay to leave? I will say that the end of their relationship was a cop-out and I wish it ended differently.
I thought the writing in the book was realistic, both about the characters, their motivations, how they spoke and related to each other. Growing up in New York, it hit home. While these characters weren't likable, they felt human to me. I'm thankful to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy. It's out on 08/20/2019.
September 10, 2019
When Penelope "Pepper" Bradford moves into an exclusive apartment complex with her fiancé Rick, she believes their love is so strong they will live happily ever after. But when Rick's "fidelity" choices prior to their wedding as well as other issues begin to way on Pepper's mind, their relationship becomes far from happy. It actually turns destructive for both of them.
As Penelope integrates herself into the apartment complex she decides to join the co-op board to keep herself occupied. She begins to make friends with some of her neighbors and what she uncovers is that no one has the perfect life.
Patricia, the president of the board whose decisions seem to be those all must agree with, has many issues with apartment applicants as well as with board members becoming too friendly with the apartment staff, although she herself does not need to follow her own rules.
Francis and Carol who have been married and arguing for over 50 years both must face life-changing health issues which they choose to handle differently. Can their relationship survive?
Birdie and George, another elderly couple also face a marriage crisis. George has been deeply depressed since his retirement and Birdie can't seem to get him to do anything about it other than take pills. She feels it may be time for her to move on and begin a new life.
Sergei and Caleb met working at Carnegie Hill and have fallen in love. Sergei cannot fully allow his feelings for Caleb to be known. Caleb wants to shout how happy he is from the rooftops. When Caleb does something without thinking it out, can Sergei forgive him?
Pepper looks at her neighbor's relationships and realizes she too has big decisions to make. How can she become the person she wants to be without hurting the ones she loves.
I would say Carnegie Hill is an updated version of Peyton Place, for those old enough to remember the show which was filled with eccentric people and drama galore.
Carnegie Hill is a terrific story with much drama and many laughs.
Thank you #NetGalley #CarnegieHill #JonathanVatner #ThomasDunneBooks for the advanced copy.
As Penelope integrates herself into the apartment complex she decides to join the co-op board to keep herself occupied. She begins to make friends with some of her neighbors and what she uncovers is that no one has the perfect life.
Patricia, the president of the board whose decisions seem to be those all must agree with, has many issues with apartment applicants as well as with board members becoming too friendly with the apartment staff, although she herself does not need to follow her own rules.
Francis and Carol who have been married and arguing for over 50 years both must face life-changing health issues which they choose to handle differently. Can their relationship survive?
Birdie and George, another elderly couple also face a marriage crisis. George has been deeply depressed since his retirement and Birdie can't seem to get him to do anything about it other than take pills. She feels it may be time for her to move on and begin a new life.
Sergei and Caleb met working at Carnegie Hill and have fallen in love. Sergei cannot fully allow his feelings for Caleb to be known. Caleb wants to shout how happy he is from the rooftops. When Caleb does something without thinking it out, can Sergei forgive him?
Pepper looks at her neighbor's relationships and realizes she too has big decisions to make. How can she become the person she wants to be without hurting the ones she loves.
I would say Carnegie Hill is an updated version of Peyton Place, for those old enough to remember the show which was filled with eccentric people and drama galore.
Carnegie Hill is a terrific story with much drama and many laughs.
Thank you #NetGalley #CarnegieHill #JonathanVatner #ThomasDunneBooks for the advanced copy.
September 9, 2019
I absolutely loved this book and admire the depth this author went into with all the characters. He made every one of them so very interesting!
So many unreliable narrators in this story!
It was fun to read the totally different points of view. Jonathan Barnet has nailed the personalities of New Yorkers and I loved all the descriptions of familiar places around the Upper East Side.
This novel is completely character driven - there really is not that much action and the drama comes from interpersonal relationships.
Some of the dialogue is so satisfying, like the way Penelope holds her own against the head of the co-op, and some scenes are cringe-worthy ( just about any chapter her swarmy fiancée is in).
I also really felt for the older, disallusioned couples, trying to connect.
The only critical judgement I have is that the summary did not do the book justice - it is more quirky than funny, in a good way, and a lot deeper than the light, quick read the summary suggested.
So many unreliable narrators in this story!
It was fun to read the totally different points of view. Jonathan Barnet has nailed the personalities of New Yorkers and I loved all the descriptions of familiar places around the Upper East Side.
This novel is completely character driven - there really is not that much action and the drama comes from interpersonal relationships.
Some of the dialogue is so satisfying, like the way Penelope holds her own against the head of the co-op, and some scenes are cringe-worthy ( just about any chapter her swarmy fiancée is in).
I also really felt for the older, disallusioned couples, trying to connect.
The only critical judgement I have is that the summary did not do the book justice - it is more quirky than funny, in a good way, and a lot deeper than the light, quick read the summary suggested.
May 24, 2019
I won this book as a free giveaway. The book is about a group of wealthy but secretly miserable people living in a luxury apartment complex in New York City, and a few of the staff that hold secrets of their own. The book is entertaining enough and a fairly light read. The only thing I didn't like was that the characters were all utterly miserable for almost 300 pages, and then everything was suddenly solved in the epilogue. Endings are hard and it can be difficult to wrap up a long story, but it was a bit disappointing to have characters suddenly change in the last few pages.
June 30, 2019
A story that centers around Chelmford Arms on the upper east side of New York.
The Characters in this story, mostly older couples and the youngest, Penelope and Rick. Penelope wants desperately to get on the Board of Directors for the complex.
A lovely story were neighbors share their thoughts and feelings of love and the not so loved .
I won this free book from Goodreads First reads.
The Characters in this story, mostly older couples and the youngest, Penelope and Rick. Penelope wants desperately to get on the Board of Directors for the complex.
A lovely story were neighbors share their thoughts and feelings of love and the not so loved .
I won this free book from Goodreads First reads.
January 20, 2019
I had high hopes for this book. I greatly enjoy anything set in New York City, especially tales that center around the city’s storied apartment buildings. Unfortunately, my hopes were immediately dashed when I started reading Carnegie Hill.
Penelope Bradford, also known as Pepper, comes from old money and she’s engaged to Rick who is a self made man with no discernible pedigree. In the first few chapters it’s clear that Pepper is head over heels for Rick, and he for her. However, it’s unclear what brought the two of them together besides their bank balances. At once Pepper is a rather flat, unlikeable character who does little to endear herself to the reader. Rick presents as nothing more than a jet setting money monger. All they talk about is money and their stunning new apartment in Carnegie Hill.
When the point of view shifted to the other occupants of the building I had hoped I might find a character I could invest in but I couldn’t. Every successive character was more insipid and immature than the next. Birdie, Pepper’s nearest neighbor and seeming confidant, is an ice princesss with a severely depressed husband of whom she is completely embarrassed but we only ever scratch the surface of their relationship, seeing Birdie throwing repeated tantrums because her husband is too depressed to get out of bed. Francis, Pepper’s only ally on the coop board that she decided to join, hates everyone and everything. He is an impossible little man who finds joy in nothing except perhaps sticking it to Patricia, the board president whom he despises. He and his wife Carol barely speak except to needle one another. The remaining cast of characters is simply window dressing for a story that barrels through multiple plot lines that barely seem to connect.
I found myself skimming a great deal of this book looking for something better that never arrived. If I hadn’t been so determined to find a plot twist, I would have put this book down after the first few chapters.
Penelope Bradford, also known as Pepper, comes from old money and she’s engaged to Rick who is a self made man with no discernible pedigree. In the first few chapters it’s clear that Pepper is head over heels for Rick, and he for her. However, it’s unclear what brought the two of them together besides their bank balances. At once Pepper is a rather flat, unlikeable character who does little to endear herself to the reader. Rick presents as nothing more than a jet setting money monger. All they talk about is money and their stunning new apartment in Carnegie Hill.
When the point of view shifted to the other occupants of the building I had hoped I might find a character I could invest in but I couldn’t. Every successive character was more insipid and immature than the next. Birdie, Pepper’s nearest neighbor and seeming confidant, is an ice princesss with a severely depressed husband of whom she is completely embarrassed but we only ever scratch the surface of their relationship, seeing Birdie throwing repeated tantrums because her husband is too depressed to get out of bed. Francis, Pepper’s only ally on the coop board that she decided to join, hates everyone and everything. He is an impossible little man who finds joy in nothing except perhaps sticking it to Patricia, the board president whom he despises. He and his wife Carol barely speak except to needle one another. The remaining cast of characters is simply window dressing for a story that barrels through multiple plot lines that barely seem to connect.
I found myself skimming a great deal of this book looking for something better that never arrived. If I hadn’t been so determined to find a plot twist, I would have put this book down after the first few chapters.
September 8, 2019
Carnegie Hill is wonderful. It is on a basic level centered on a young woman, Pepper, in her early 30s and her experiences on the board of the exclusive Chelmsford Arms, a Carngie Hill coop. But that is the mere framework. The novel consists of engrossing portraits of ten or so residents and two employees of the building—and more importantly, it focuses on their romantic relationships. He movingly describes the struggles, misunderstandings, and, yes, love. The book is also a flawless portrait of Manhattan at the current moment thanks to Vatner’s ability to perfectly capture details, foremost among them the politics of coop boards, but also streetscapes of revolving businesses, society fundraisers, and even asides about particular restaurants (Masa’s, Emack & Bolio’s). They effectively set the novel in its time and place without it ever feeling forced.
I have one major problem with the book: the way it was marketed, from the whimsical cover illustration to the “charming and hilarious” quote right above the title on the dust jacket. It is charming and hilarious, but I think some may judge this book by its cover and assume it’s an updated Sex and the City, portraying a world of wealthy Manhattanites who subsist on cupcakes and cosmopolitans.
It shares that basic setting, but what makes Carnegie Hill so much more is the complexity and depth of Vatner’s characters. Their lives are not interesting because of their privileges, but because Vatner portrays the lies, deceptions, disappointments, and loneliness, even in marriages that have lasted for decades. I glanced at a few other reviews and saw occasional comments that the characters aren’t likable. I couldn’t disagree more. All of them are flawed, but it is those flaws that, for me, made them feel human and fully developed. It is what kept me rooting for them in their struggles to build and sustain marriages, even when their choices are cringe-worthy, and turning the pages to find out how each story would end.
I have one major problem with the book: the way it was marketed, from the whimsical cover illustration to the “charming and hilarious” quote right above the title on the dust jacket. It is charming and hilarious, but I think some may judge this book by its cover and assume it’s an updated Sex and the City, portraying a world of wealthy Manhattanites who subsist on cupcakes and cosmopolitans.
It shares that basic setting, but what makes Carnegie Hill so much more is the complexity and depth of Vatner’s characters. Their lives are not interesting because of their privileges, but because Vatner portrays the lies, deceptions, disappointments, and loneliness, even in marriages that have lasted for decades. I glanced at a few other reviews and saw occasional comments that the characters aren’t likable. I couldn’t disagree more. All of them are flawed, but it is those flaws that, for me, made them feel human and fully developed. It is what kept me rooting for them in their struggles to build and sustain marriages, even when their choices are cringe-worthy, and turning the pages to find out how each story would end.
August 26, 2019
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.
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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.
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June 1, 2024
men shouldn’t write books from a female pov
February 19, 2024
3.5. Was a 3 but the last paragraph in the book made me aw out loud
September 16, 2019
I love books with ensemble casts of characters, and I really enjoyed this one. The world in this story is confined to one upscale building in New York and its co-op board and tenants. Pepper is in her early 30s and engaged to Rick, but they are the youngest tenants by an average of 40-50 years. Pepper wants a marriage and life like all the older couples she meets in her building, but as we meet each couple we see how they are all struggling to keep things together.
Some reviews have mentioned unlikable characters, but what I saw were just deeply flawed individuals, most of whom understood their flaws but who struggled to deal with them. Patricia is probably the most problematic, and although she is given a very sympathetic back story, her circumstances don’t really excuse racism. As well, I found it hard to believe that Pepper just suddenly notices the inherent racism in her rich white life, when it’s the exact same life she’s been immersed in since birth.
Two of my favorite characters were the only other younger couple, Caleb and Sergei, who work in the building. Unfortunately, they are given the least attention but I still enjoyed what we are given of them.
Overall I thought the characters were very interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how they struggled with their long relationships and the changes that being older bring. Some deal with loss of their work lives along with their identity, and many deal with health issues. Carnegie Hill could be seen as a very sad story, but it is also about life. I was mostly heart-warmed watching them all deal with love and loss and learning to live the best lives they can.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I understand why this wasn’t a hit with some readers, but I enjoyed it and it earns five stars from me.
Some reviews have mentioned unlikable characters, but what I saw were just deeply flawed individuals, most of whom understood their flaws but who struggled to deal with them. Patricia is probably the most problematic, and although she is given a very sympathetic back story, her circumstances don’t really excuse racism. As well, I found it hard to believe that Pepper just suddenly notices the inherent racism in her rich white life, when it’s the exact same life she’s been immersed in since birth.
Two of my favorite characters were the only other younger couple, Caleb and Sergei, who work in the building. Unfortunately, they are given the least attention but I still enjoyed what we are given of them.
Overall I thought the characters were very interesting, and I enjoyed seeing how they struggled with their long relationships and the changes that being older bring. Some deal with loss of their work lives along with their identity, and many deal with health issues. Carnegie Hill could be seen as a very sad story, but it is also about life. I was mostly heart-warmed watching them all deal with love and loss and learning to live the best lives they can.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I understand why this wasn’t a hit with some readers, but I enjoyed it and it earns five stars from me.
January 2, 2020
Not an auspicious start to 2020. In hindsight I would have stopped reading the book but on some level I did get sucked into the lives of all of these unlikeable characters. And the lives of the ultra privileged are not super interesting. At least not this group.
Read
January 9, 2022it wasn’t terrible but it also wasn’t great? i think the characters fell a little flat to me and it all felt a bit pointless. i also felt like the social commentary was so forced from the author like idk
August 20, 2019
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.
Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC
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.
Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC
August 29, 2019
This book about people living in an upscale building in NYC is a debut for this author. It's full of interesting but quirky people, some of whom were very difficult to like. There is a bit of humor and a lot of angst as the main character tries to grow up at 33 years of age.
Two main things that make up the theme of this book:
-Just because someone is rich, doesn't make them nice, kind, honest or happy.
-It's never too late to grow up but to do so, you need to cut the ties that bind you to your parents.
-You should follow your gut feelings about important things in life like getting married. If you don't think it's the right thing to do, cancel the wedding even though all of the plans are made.
It is very difficult to love a book when you dislike most of the characters. I found Pepper to be spoiled and out of touch with reality. Her finance Rick was only worried about himself - his needs for sex and more money. Her parents were rich snobs as were most of the people in the co-op. The only couple that I really liked were Sergei and Caleb, a porter and a doorman who were in a relationship. I would have enjoyed reading more about their story and less about the vapid rich people in the apartment.
Overall, I thought that this was an interesting look at how the rich live in NYC. I am looking forward to future books by this author - I think that he has a lot of promise as a writer.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Two main things that make up the theme of this book:
-Just because someone is rich, doesn't make them nice, kind, honest or happy.
-It's never too late to grow up but to do so, you need to cut the ties that bind you to your parents.
-You should follow your gut feelings about important things in life like getting married. If you don't think it's the right thing to do, cancel the wedding even though all of the plans are made.
It is very difficult to love a book when you dislike most of the characters. I found Pepper to be spoiled and out of touch with reality. Her finance Rick was only worried about himself - his needs for sex and more money. Her parents were rich snobs as were most of the people in the co-op. The only couple that I really liked were Sergei and Caleb, a porter and a doorman who were in a relationship. I would have enjoyed reading more about their story and less about the vapid rich people in the apartment.
Overall, I thought that this was an interesting look at how the rich live in NYC. I am looking forward to future books by this author - I think that he has a lot of promise as a writer.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
December 11, 2019
This book was cute. I wanted to like it more but I can't figure out why I didn't. I would call this one of the light hearted no-brainer reads that I like to delve into after an intense read.
**Goodreads win**
**Goodreads win**
November 17, 2024
(2.5 stars) 300 pages of losers getting married for fun. Whatever.
August 18, 2019
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 voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 11, 2019
what a fun read
April 7, 2019
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Dunne books for an advance copy in exchange for honest and unbiased opinion.
I wavered quite a bit with this book. It's an easy read, with no mind-enhancing or lesson learning plot themes. However, I doubt the author intended for there to be.
Our central character is a 33-year old woman named Pepper (she does start to use her given name "Penelope" to give herself some weight). Pepper wants for nothing, yet is continually confused about what she should want for. A string of going nowhere jobs, a gorgeous, loving, and rich husband, and most importantly - a condo in a co-op in the nicer part of Manhattan. The co-op is a study in relationships, one which we get to view through many lenses, which I was thankful for. I enjoyed reading about all the other relationships, although I thought the relationship between black porter Caleb and closeted Russian Sergei could have been given more airtime. There are decades long relationships, both crumbling and not,
The wavering and aggravation is due to Pepper. I understand that technically she's a millenial, so there had to be some highlighting of that, but for the most part, she was unbelievably annoying. I've read other reviews by other millenials where the reviewer is happy to see that the same problems that plague the middle class also plague the uber-rich. Here's the glaring difference between the two: Pepper doesn't need to work! She bounces from job to job, and widely laments it, but then goes home to her million dollar+ and picks out a $50,000 bottle of wine to drink from her husband's wine fridge. I can't relate to having that problem, nor can most millenials. This reads like a coming-of-age novel about a woman in her 30s.
I can't recommend reading this unless you're taking a super long flight somewhere and also have wine to drink. There are better stories about coming into one's own. Read those.
I wavered quite a bit with this book. It's an easy read, with no mind-enhancing or lesson learning plot themes. However, I doubt the author intended for there to be.
Our central character is a 33-year old woman named Pepper (she does start to use her given name "Penelope" to give herself some weight). Pepper wants for nothing, yet is continually confused about what she should want for. A string of going nowhere jobs, a gorgeous, loving, and rich husband, and most importantly - a condo in a co-op in the nicer part of Manhattan. The co-op is a study in relationships, one which we get to view through many lenses, which I was thankful for. I enjoyed reading about all the other relationships, although I thought the relationship between black porter Caleb and closeted Russian Sergei could have been given more airtime. There are decades long relationships, both crumbling and not,
The wavering and aggravation is due to Pepper. I understand that technically she's a millenial, so there had to be some highlighting of that, but for the most part, she was unbelievably annoying. I've read other reviews by other millenials where the reviewer is happy to see that the same problems that plague the middle class also plague the uber-rich. Here's the glaring difference between the two: Pepper doesn't need to work! She bounces from job to job, and widely laments it, but then goes home to her million dollar+ and picks out a $50,000 bottle of wine to drink from her husband's wine fridge. I can't relate to having that problem, nor can most millenials. This reads like a coming-of-age novel about a woman in her 30s.
I can't recommend reading this unless you're taking a super long flight somewhere and also have wine to drink. There are better stories about coming into one's own. Read those.
January 24, 2019
Carnegie Hill is like a soap and. Essentially, it is the various love stories about the people who live in this apartment building. A lot of variation just like life. Different races, sexual orientations, levels of commitment etc. I found it entertaining and well written. The characters are likeable and relatable. It's a good read overall. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
January 22, 2020
I picked this up because I didn't have an audiobook hold available from the library, and this was available.
I felt that the author tried to touch on many controversial topics - racism, homophobia, classism, suicide, etc - and did none of them well. There were too many characters to cover in such a short book.
Also, the editor needed a little help with the hospital scene. The description of the oxygen mask and respirator made very little sense. Also, he was sent from the ICU to the ICU ? It didn't make a lot of sense all around. A little bit of research would have made a world of comprehension.
Did we really need the food descriptions to be so detailed.? Who cares what the characters had for breakfast?
I wasn't thrilled about the way the author wrote a lot of the female characters as jealous. Each time a man didn't answer his phone, the female character assumed he was out cheating. Most women wouldn't necessarily assume this. Dead on the street somewhere, sure. But ourt cheating? Not the first thought unless she had a guilty conscience herself, and not one of the female characters did, other than one who flirted a little with a doctor.
I rated it with 3 stars because with a little more editing, and a longer story, it could have been good. It just missed good and hit ok.
I felt that the author tried to touch on many controversial topics - racism, homophobia, classism, suicide, etc - and did none of them well. There were too many characters to cover in such a short book.
Also, the editor needed a little help with the hospital scene. The description of the oxygen mask and respirator made very little sense. Also, he was sent from the ICU to the ICU ? It didn't make a lot of sense all around. A little bit of research would have made a world of comprehension.
Did we really need the food descriptions to be so detailed.? Who cares what the characters had for breakfast?
I wasn't thrilled about the way the author wrote a lot of the female characters as jealous. Each time a man didn't answer his phone, the female character assumed he was out cheating. Most women wouldn't necessarily assume this. Dead on the street somewhere, sure. But ourt cheating? Not the first thought unless she had a guilty conscience herself, and not one of the female characters did, other than one who flirted a little with a doctor.
I rated it with 3 stars because with a little more editing, and a longer story, it could have been good. It just missed good and hit ok.
March 10, 2019
3.5 stars
Everyone who knows me is completely aware that Carnegie Hill isn't necessarily my genre; however, times being what they are, escapism is the new reality. Rainbows and unicorns and all that.
When I started reading the digital version of the advance copy, courtesy of NetGalley, my eyes immediately started to roll. Frankly, I thought, "There's no way I'm going to like this Pepper chick." (lol) But I stuck with it and am glad for having done so because there are some great characters in this novel, and in the end, I did come to like Pepper.
So what I would tell you is this: If you're looking for a good beach read; a decent book where you won't have to think too hard; a novel that has characters with stories you'll come to enjoy, then Carnegie Hill is definitely worth picking up.
Everyone who knows me is completely aware that Carnegie Hill isn't necessarily my genre; however, times being what they are, escapism is the new reality. Rainbows and unicorns and all that.
When I started reading the digital version of the advance copy, courtesy of NetGalley, my eyes immediately started to roll. Frankly, I thought, "There's no way I'm going to like this Pepper chick." (lol) But I stuck with it and am glad for having done so because there are some great characters in this novel, and in the end, I did come to like Pepper.
So what I would tell you is this: If you're looking for a good beach read; a decent book where you won't have to think too hard; a novel that has characters with stories you'll come to enjoy, then Carnegie Hill is definitely worth picking up.
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