By the time I read an ebook, I've usually forgotten what the blurb said that made me want to get it. And with no covers on ebooks, I tend to go into a story with pre-knowledge that lies somewhere on the spectrum between zero and not very much. I can reveal I don't even remember requesting this one or what it was going to be about.

I went in totally blind.

I have nothing in common with the women of Pineapple Street, and yet somehow, the author sucked me into their world. They're not especially likeable characters, and yet somehow, she sucked me in and made me care about them.

That's pretty good going. I tip my hat to Jenny Jackson.

Pineapple Street features three women living rather privileged lives, surrounded by a cast of supporting characters - parents, co-workers, partners etc. Two are sisters. The third is their sister-in-law, a woman of much more humble background.

The sisters, Darley and Georgiana, have never wanted to for anything. Their material lives are supported by generous trust funds and their lives are nudged in the right direction by wealthy and controlling parents. Darley has given up her own trust fund, the contents passing to a trust for her children because she refused to ask her husband to sign a prenup. See what I mean about controlling parents? Georgiana is single, working for a charity, and has fallen in love with a man she should have avoided. Sister-in-law, Sasha, has moved into the parental home (they've moved out to another of their properties) and is living as if in a Stockton Family museum. Her husband, Cord (seriously, where do the rich come up with these stupid names), doesn't really support her, putting his family ahead of his wife.

It's a great book. Not a lot of action occurs, but we get to take up residence in the minds of women very different from ourselves. The writing is of a high standard - it's no sunbed and airport book for those who don't really like to read - and it opens our eyes to the challenges that go with extreme wealth. I have to be honest, my heart doesn't bleed for their troubles, but I can see that with great wealth comes some responsibility.

Well worth a read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

A well-observed dry witty account of three sisters and their experiences around money and wealth. I liked the characters, they stood out and were three-dimensional. . The relationship for each of them with money and their proximity to it, their benefits from it and their desire to have more or less of it was well written and engaging.
An entertaining summer read!

Thank you for allowing me to review this new book. I felt the story focused on three main characters, 2 sisters and the sister-in-law. The sisters had been born into a very wealthy family and had no idea about how most people lived. The sister-in-law married their brother, after growing up in a middle class family who all worked for their living. Whilst the characters were well written, the story was lacking something. I didn't find that it flowed very well, nor did I particularly enjoy it.

This societal novel rooted in the concepts of old money and entitlement offers plenty of room for thought. The family dynasty depicted here consists of Chip and Tilda Stockton, who are the ‘old money’ and reside in the Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood of New York. Darley is their eldest daughter who has renounced her inheritance in order to marry the man she truly loves. Her younger sister Georgiana has not yet found her place in life, and the final important female character, Sasha, is a sister-in-law to them both who has moved into the substantial family home but cannot penetrate the complex and tight family relationships, however much she tries. More a series of character studies than a novel with a plot, this was an engaging insight into the effects that wealth and entitlement can have on individuals. I found the character development of Georgiana from spoilt brat to much more reflective and mature woman particularly intriguing, although the most likeable character must surely be Sasha, who joins us readers as outsiders looking in on the family.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for the free ARC that allowed me to produce this unbiased book review.

The story of a family - particularly 3 women within the family, and their relationship with money, how it defines them and their relationships.
The Stockton family are 'old money' Brooklyn Heights establishment. Darley, daughter of Chip and Tilda, refuses to sign a prenup so is reliant on her husband, married with 2 children. Money is ok, if sometimes tight, when her husband has a good job.
Georgina - the longest of the Stockton siblings, initially seems a spoiled brat. But her work and her relationships with colleagues force her to reconsider how she uses her wealth.
Sasha - married to Cord (the 3rd sibling) - signs a prenup and moves into the family home, which marks her out as a gold-digger to her sisters-in-law. With a different upbringing she struggles to fit in.

I enjoyed this novel and the characters grew on me as the story progressed. An interesting novel with plenty of scope for discussion

This story follows a bunch of rich people living their lives, worrying about thie fortune and the people that might try to take it. Kind of. I really enjoyed this story but I dont actually think anything happened.

A wasp-y version of "Crazy rich asians". A light entertaining read which definitely delivers a bit of escapism in these depressing times. A peek into the first world problems of an old money intergenerational family of New yorkers and a thouroughly enjoyable light read.

I needed something to pull me out of my reading rut and Pineapple Street achieved that perfectly. I loved hearing about the 3 women and their lives and I absolutely loved the Brooklyn setting. I think the book was the perfect length and a nice easy and enjoyable read.

An absorbing family tale primarily about wealth, generational wealth in particular.
Reminded me a lot of Cynthia D'Aprix The Nest!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It’s a warm, shrewd and engaging story about class, culture and above all, family and what it means to be a family. It follows female members of an affluent family in Brooklyn Heights as various occurrences lead them to question their status in society and in the family.

All of the characters are incredibly well drawn and by the end of the novel I felt sad to say goodbye to them! It’s a book that draws you into a cost familial embrace whilst also challenging you and making you think about the structure of modern society.

‘Money, money, money
Must be funny
In a rich man’s world’ …. and the Stocktons have plenty of it. The matriarch and patriarch are Tilda and Chip, let’s just describe them as powerhouses with Tilda having an obsession with tennis and tablescapes, whatever that is! Darley their eldest daughter passes up her inheritance for love of Malcolm and motherhood.
Sasha marries in and comes from much humbler origins; she and Cord live in a four storey limestone on Pineapple Street that belongs to Tilda and Chip and they are NOT allowed to change a thing. Sasha doesn’t fit in and no matter how hard she tries she cannot penetrate the close family unit. Then there is the youngest, Georgiana, utterly coddled and totally spoilt but maybe, just maybe there’s hope for her.

This is a very incisive character driven study which shines a spotlight on a life of indulgence especially via the female line of the Stockton family. Tilda focuses on her favourite sport and shopping and simply airbrushes anything unpleasant and surely has to be the cause of so much dysfunction and tension! They are a strong unit probably because of the iron clad control and it’s no wonder Sasha finds it all very bewildering and although you wish she wouldn’t try so hard, she is genuinely likeable. On several occasions I want to yell at Cord for his words and actions and there’s even a bit of fist clenching from me!!

The character studies are excellent you realise beneath surfaces some are really messed up as you view their life and loves, their ups and downs. The story is told via Darley, Sasha and Georgiana and the three female voices seem very separate, even disparate but that is entirely the point as they have learn to plough their own furrow. You witness hurt, pain, sadness, hypocrisy and joy all told with humour and dry wit. It gets very lively when Darley’s children Poppy and Hatcher (???) are around as they are so funny!

It’s not especially fast of pace but it is an easy read and a good one at that. There are some are some uncomfortable moments especially around their enormous wealth but the author counterbalances that well with the developing storyline putting things into some kind of perspective.

I really like how it ends and overall enjoy spending time in and around Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K./Cornerstone for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is a really enjoyable book regarding a rich family in New York. It’s certainly baffling the amount of wealth these people are living with on a day to day basis. The characters are well drawn and very relatable - despite their extreme wealth.

In the Miranda Heller Crowley, Tuffy Brodesser-Akner vein- classy but thoughtful women in testing circs.
Nice observations and gently amusing but it never took off for me- felt the hard work rather than the joy.
Thank you for the copy.

A family saga shedding light , including the ups and downs of a well to do family living what to a casual observer would appear to be a life of privilege. Using separate chapters the reader is introduced to siblings, their partners and the affluent lifestyle of families where money or lack of it has never ever arisen. Where we’ll connected families are assured of entrance to all the bast schools, universities, parties, the clubs and social circles that strengthen relationships and ensure that future partners stay within the acceptable inner circle of their sort of people. Yet several unexpected developments upset the equilibrium; an unexpected addition to the family from what to them is considered to be the wrong side of the tracks, unpredictable tragedy, unemployment and the trials of everyday life intrude on their gilded lifestyle creating friction and fractures within the family unit. A beautifully written book demonstrating that even with the luxury of untold wealth happiness is never guaranteed and misfortune is equally as debilitating. The story unfolds as we the reader becomes familiar with each background story, the trajectory of relationships nurtured, broken, and rebuilt like every family from all stations in life. A subtle addictive window into a period in one families life that leaves the reader a guilty observer of events that demonstrate the real strength and character of individuals. Many thanks to author publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

At first I really didn't think I was going to enjoy Pineapple Street because the main characters seemed pretty unpleasant and it's such an American story that I had to keep Googling things I didn't undrstand but I was so wrong. The characters are so authentic, the story so beautifully written with such attention to detail I was soon drawn in.
A story of family relationships, family values and family money, this would make a great television series.

A zippy story of a rich family beginning to come good to themselves and society. This felt strangely inessential, and I know no book is essential but this was ok to read but not a huge amount more, despite the growth depicted.

I really really enjoyed this story. I thought all of the characters were really authentic and realistic. I could imagine them all existing in their crazy mum foot rubbing family dynamic! I found it interesting to read all about their separate relationship dynamics and felt very invested in the outcome for each of them. It felt like a fascinating insight into life as one of the old money families of New York and it was totally enthralling- I read it all in a day!

Pineapple Street is set in Brooklyn - New York and features a blue-blood family comprising of Darley, Georgiana, and Sasha - with their parents and respective partners.

Georgiana is the baby of the family - gets herself involved with rad at work only to learn that he has a secret of his own.
Sasha marries into the Stockton family and feels like she never fits in - is nicknamed the Gold Digger by Darley and Georgiana.
Darley - the eldest child - has given away her inheritance for love when she marries Malcolm - a high-flying businessman.

Each of the female protagonists has their own battle and at times, their stories are intertwined, making for a lovely if not at times cringeworthy (the money aspect) read.

For a long time while reading this I was completely baffled by the lack of any discernible plot- though still aware that it was well written and fast-paced. It was basically as if someone had just written down everything that has ever happened to the main characters and it was often funny or sad and generally interesting but there was no plot thread for me to follow; it was like a series of vignettes. That said I did start to find the characters more likable and appealing about 3/4 of the way through and thoroughly enjoyed the last quarter of the book.

It was OK, not my normal type of read so possibly a wrong pick for me. I lived in the states for 5 years working as a nanny so the wealthy NY elite was a bit of an odd flashback!