This book was bleh.

I loved the cover and that’s what grabbed my attention, but it didn’t make it long in my good graces list 🥲

Honestly, I didn’t like any of the characters, I didn’t find any of them a bit original and the plot was definitely not plotting. I could see a bit of Brooke Davis, mixed with Summer and some times Rory Gilmore in Olivia’s character, but being any of them made me mad cause I just couldn’t understand her character arc, development, motivations and blah blah blah.

Plus, I rather have an enemy than having Olivia as my beat friend. Wtf bro? The girl griefs for her bff for years but the only thing she can say about her is how she undermined her? Olivia is a selfish, jealous girl who unfortunately was portrayed being very shallow as well.

The thing about the plot not plotting is not even that big of a deal of for me if I can relate to any character in the story. Unfortunately- again - this was not the case and that’s why my rating 😓 I wish I could have liked it, but I just got mad that I needed to finish this book to start my next one.

When I read that Astor Hill was like Gossip Girl, Magnolia Parks and One Tree Hill wrapped in one perfect sized novel, I ran. I was intrigued and my interest was peaked. I loved the drama and relationship developments in those shows/ books so the expectations going into this one was at an all time high; and it didn’t disappoint.

Tropes;
• Boyfriends brother
• He falls first
• Found family
• Mental health and grief
• Secrets & Lies
• Navigating love after loss

I found the FMC Olivia quite relatable in a sense where she often compared herself to others and her best friend. That she felt as though she wasn’t as likeable, beautiful or good enough. For so many of us that’s a day to day battle, and seeing an FMC struggle with that alongside what else she did it was reassuring and comforting.

I also respect that the MMC’s in this book were insightful and very vulnerable when it came to topics of mental health. That they broke through the stigma of men not having emotions or even showing those but allowed them to confide and communicate that.

There’s complications, love triangle, secrets and deep emotions, packed on with sensitivity and a beautiful story on grief. It’s quite the read, and beyond a sports college romance

3.5/5⭐️

this book was great! it was so atmospheric & i think the way grief was explored was really well done. it was complicated and difficult but it was presented very accurately.

i also think the relationship between ben & will was great as well - so many books so sibling rivalry but they never capture it as well as this one. like they might not get on, but they’ll always defend each other and be there for each other.

however, i did think it was a little superficial? the vibes were all there but i don’t think we got deep enough into the characters as i expected. but i think that might’ve been the comparison to magnolia parks that disappointed me - while i can see where the comparisons come from, my experience with astor hill was nothing like magnolia.

finally, i do think this book dragged a little towards the end, which is the main reason it isn’t a full 4 stars, but i did enjoy it nonetheless. i will definitely read the next book!

I was kindly gifted this book as an Arc reader from NetGalley. I didn’t have much expectations going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised. The cover of this book is absolutely beautiful. There are a few tropes which I don’t like in this story but I felt they were handled quite well, like the cheating trope, love triangle and overall just messy! I love the way the topic of grief and how it affects your mental health was handled. I feel we also got how the grief affected the supporting characters as well as the main characters. I loved the healing of the relationship between the brothers! The only way this book fell down for me was I found our female main character Olivia to be quite annoying. Overall if you interested in a romance story that has lots of other topics to give it depth then I would recommend this! But just be sure to check up trigger warnings before going into this!

Astor Hill: Book One by Sydney Madison is a fast-paced mix of mystery, drama, and layered relationships that immediately reminded me of Veronica Mars and One Tree Hill. The main character, with her sharp investigative skills and close friendships, brings to mind Veronica Mars, especially with the small-town secrets and twists that keep you hooked. The complex relationships in the book also echo the dynamics of One Tree Hill—especially the complicated bond between Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton, where family ties and friendships are constantly tested.

Ben, one of the standout characters, really drew me in. His blend of charm, vulnerability, and intensity adds depth to the story, making him one of those characters you can’t wait to see more of. The mix of romance, betrayal, and suspense in Astor Hill creates a gripping narrative that keeps you turning the pages.

If you're a fan of Veronica Mars or One Tree Hill, this book offers that same addictive blend of mystery, emotional drama, and unforgettable characters. I’m excited to see where the rest of the series goes!

This story takes place on a college campus and looks at love, life and grief in the lives of college students. Two years after the start of Olivia and Lily's freshman year at Astor Hill everything has changed. Lily's gone, Olivia's relationship isn't the perfect one she thought it would be and things become even more complicated when her boyfriend Will's older brother comes back to campus after disappearing.

While I still haven't dove into the Magnolia Parks world, I can concur that this one reminded me of Gossip Girls and The American Royals, toxic relationships and all. This one definitely read more YA than it did adult, but it could probably be classified as New Adult. None of the characters were really that likable (except Ben), but that was the point.

The relationship between Olivia and Lily was confusing, and I was surprised by some of the twists. I expected a little bit more from the initial events, given the aftermath it triggered. More flashbacks with Olivia and Lily could have been helpful and provided more background into the complicated nature of their relationship. I think the character development could have been laid out better all around. Some of the characters felt a little inconsistent as the book went on.

This one ultimately met but did not exceed my expectations. It was a fun setting and an exciting premise for someone who re-watches Gossip Girls semi-regularly. I'm looking forward to Gen and Grant's book and am a big Grant fan thus far! I would definitely pick up another Sydney Madison book - could they be the next Christina Lauren? Only time will tell!

Astor Hill gives Gossip Girl x One Tree Hill in a new Era. The author blends drama, romance and self-discovery in this book which is set at the Astor Hill College.

The FMC Olivias life has been turned upside down, she grieves the death of her bestfriend, while also beeing in a toxic relationship with the star basketball player Will Chapman. The drama gets bigger when Wills stepbrother appears.

While the pacing could have allowed more room for character development, the vivid prose and Olivia’s emotional journey keeps you hooked. While reading this book I realized for myself that I think I moved on from college romances but that is my personal experience.

The storyline centers around loss, love and self-worth which are all very resonant topics, making this book a satisfying read.

read if you like:
- he falls first
- mental health rep
- boyfriends brother
- college romance
- forbidden love

Last but not least, thank you to the author for providing this ARC! All opinions are my own

*arc review*
(3.5*)
ngl.
I had such a good time reading this one, I had high expectation
at first I wasn't really feeling it, right off the prologue I didn't like out fmc, but I waited and trusted the process. I very happy ! did it! this was a very past paced book, and the writing kept me hooked to the story.
olivia wasn't what she shows people, I actually liked being in her head. she was fierce and still felt insecure once alone, she's literally just a girl and had a pretty decent development throughout the book. I was so sorry she didn't had better people in her life. I wanna start with lily, I don't like her and I don't think she's a good person. I'm pretty happy to see her where she is now and I wouldn't change a thing (I'm sorry I held grudges). will, omg I hated him so deeply. I couldn't stand to read about this person but l'm pretty happy with his development (I think he was interesting to explore his side of grief and wanted more details) but I still don't excuse his behaviour and all the pain he put olivia through. as for ben, my little golden boy, his chapters were the most deep to me since the start. his love for olivia was a little too insta-love to me, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoyed. I loved the way they actually talked and got to know each other before something actually happened between them, and the chemistry was there! they were very cute together.
I also really liked the side characters, grant was such a funny guy and is very sweet, he was such a good friend to both liv and ben, sloane (grant's sister) is such a free spirit and I would have loved to see more about her!! and for Genevieve, she's the kind of character you dont like at first but you know something is up and need to have her background!! I'm genuinely so excited for her book and know it's going to be even better than the first book in this series.
the book was good and i liked the plot-line (even if it was a little easy to predict) but I was expecting more details, on everything, the characters' depth, the mental health representation and the plot. I guess I did want a longer book because some things felt rushed but it's a very entertaining read, if you love drama, old money and boyfriend's older brother, you'll have a great time :)
a big thank you to Sydney and Madison for sending their arc to me <3
olivia and ben's story will be out in February 2025, mark on your calendars guys !!

Enjoyed the storyline and the characters.
Only problem I found is once I get through the very detailed section of what they look like or where they were etc, the conversations between characters are mixed in with it so, was finding myself re-reading alot of the same section just to understand what's being said.

But couldn't put the story down as was drawn to the characters and their unique personalities and connections with each other. Especially between the two main characters Olivia and Ben but also found Grant intriguing and can't wait to read his story.

“I want you now, I want you tomorrow, I want you always, anyway that you are”

Okay so full disclosure this cover was 90% of the reason I chose this arc as the cover is stunning 😍

This book was a very angsty college sports romance and tackled some heavy topics. I can definitely see the OTH and Magnolia Oarks influences in this.

My only thing was at the beginning it was hard to tell who’s perspective it was and who’s point of view was being portrayed. Also although I loved Olivia at the end she make me want to throw my kindle at the beginning of this book.

Astor Hill has such a captivating start. We have a dual point of view book about Olivia and Ben. Olivia is a college junior that attends Aster hill and Ben is a senior who just arrived back at Aster hill after taking a two year break from college. There is tension, drama, and secrets all throughout the book. Olvia is going through her friend's recent death and has built a tough exterior but things start to fall apart for her as she learns the truth. I found multiple parts between Olivia and Ben to have such raw emotions. These characters are addicting to read about because they have such human elements. I am absolutely swooning over these characters. The dialogue is impeccable. I could not get enough of the characters and the challenges they face. Olivia is a character that is raw because she knows that she is stuck seeing herself one way. It is not until Ben that she can truly embrace herself and see that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. By facing the truths that they were both avoiding. Also, a bonus is that the book shows the text messages between characters and I love when books do this! This book will give you everything you want out of a college romance but definitely expect to feel a lot of emotion from this book.

🌟 3.5 Stars 🌟
Thank you to Sydney Madison and Netgally for this ARC.
Astor Hill touches on a lot of my favourite tropes. Sports romance, college setting, found family but I was surprised to discover it is not a light hearted romance. It also goes into more serious themes of grief, anxiety, and emotional abuse.
Overall I enjoyed the characters Olivia and Ben, but I really loved the secondary characters and can’t wait for the next book in the series to read more about Grant (major golden retriever vibes).

I enjoyed this book, but GOD I didn’t like Olivia…! It sort of felt like drama was being created for the sake of it sometimes which I found a little frustrating, but I did overall quite like this. I enjoyed the mental health representation (always so important!) and I enjoyed the relationship dynamics and how they changed throughout - I’m just not convinced it was my favourite romance ever. It was giving Gossip Girl vibes!

I had the chance to read an e-ARC for this book through net-galley. First of all, the cover is fall coded, and the perfect fall vibes read. I thought that the toxic relationship focus of the story was interesting, and there was certainly DRAMA throughout the story. I enjoyed the text conversations that were featured throughout the book, and I felt that they really added input into the characters personalities and development. I felt as though the story was predictable, but it was comforting at the same time as I was reading to have an idea of how it would end. Thanks for the read!

The story follows Olivia, whose life is turned upside down following the unexpected death of her lifelong best friend. A couple of years later, she finds herself still struggling with the grief but holding herself together as an accomplished student journalist and girlfriend of star basketball player, Will. However, when Will’s older brother Ben returns to college after a prolonged and unexplained absence, Olivia is forced to put herself first and face some realities she has been trying to avoid.

I loved this book — it is an easy five stars for me. It feels like an injustice to Sydney and Madison’s work to only label Astor Hill as a romance book. Don’t be mistaken; the romance is masterfully executed. It is slow burn, captivating and engaging throughout. Ben’s hard-earned emotional maturity perfectly accompanies the discomfort that Olivia feels when diverting from her preplanned life, and this makes for a love that you can’t help but root for. However, there is so much more to this story. There is a focus on love outside the romantic kind that results in such dynamic, well-rounded characters. The prestigious college setting puts an emphasis on how status can impact your self-worth. Olivia depended on Lily, Will depended on his position as team captain, and it’s clear that many of the supporting characters — who I cannot wait to learn more about in the future. I’m looking at you, Gen — would be lost without each other. When something like loss forces you to get to know yourself as an individual, it can be messy and confusing, and this book captures what it means to be a human in this way.

I could not recommend this more! thank you to Sydney and Madison for the ARC and for talking to me for an interview on The Romance Report — https://www.theromancereport.com/articles/wa5m0n4dcsa3qlnkldod5dflxgrv5y . Releasing 7th February!

"Life is filled with realization after realization that the people we love the most have an immense capacity for being shitty to us".

'Astor Hill' will hopefully become one of the most popular contemporary romance series of 2025. Grief, a love triangle, a story of self-discovery and moving on with life within a college setting—readers will find lots of relatability within the characters of this book. The romance is good and steamy, with the right amounts of smut.

For fans of the 'instant-love' trope, Ben will be an absolute favourite. The authors took time to build the characters' psyches and make them more human and approachable, as opposed to the entitled, sort of bratty behaviour they depicted in early chapters.

*Arc provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*.

Book Review: Astor Hill by Sydney Madison

Rating ⭐️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicy 🌶️: 🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review 💖

🚨Spoiler Alert 🚨

This book was a love triangle between two brother and one girl. He falls first, for his brother girlfriend, while he might have loved her first before they got together. This book was sow at the start and a bit confusing but once I kept reading I was hooked because of the plot twists.

This story is about Olivia who lost her best friend Lily and became trauma bonded with Will who loved Lily but didn’t tell Olivia that they had been a couple. There is loads of secrets and Will is not faithful and treats her like shit, when his brother Ben come back to college after two years off due to his mental health and he hates the way his brother treats Olivia.

Olivia is the newspaper writer for her school and has to write a story of why Ben left school two years ago and because of this they fall in love.

I found this book well written, there was a lot of flirting and banter that kept me hooked. Highly recommend.

Astor Hill is an impressive debut novel by two best friends. The story delves deeply into the emotional weight of grief and its profound effects on young people, exploring how loss can drive us to act in ways that feel both strange and deeply human.

One of the standout aspects of this book is its portrayal of family dynamics. From the outside, the families in Astor Hill might appear picture-perfect, but as the layers peel back, we see the fractures and struggles that make them so relatable.

The relationship between Olivia and Ben is an absolute highlight, balancing witty banter with heartwarming, tender moments. Their dynamic feels natural and vibrant, drawing you into their every interaction. Meanwhile, the connection between Olivia and Will remind me of like Magnolia and BJ, but in many ways, it feels like a more refined, emotionally resonant version.

I look forward to reading the rest of the series as it unfolds and seeing the stories of various side characters develop further.

Thank you NetGalley & Sydney Madison for the ARC.

Astor hill is a kinda sports romance but with a gossip girl twist IMO.

You definitely won't like all the characters but you will def like Ben. Olivia is stronger than me, that's for sure haha. If my man did half the stuff she had to go through I would've dumped his a$$ real quick.

If you like secrets, that's a story for you!
I'm giving this book 3,5 stars because i saw the plot twist coming from miles away, but it is a good story with good writing. I liked to growth of the characters even tho I still hate Will. Ben is chef kiss tho.

I would recommend, it's a quick and easy read.

I did not vibe with this writing. I felt like the jokes didn’t land and it was just confusing jumping from one thing to the next with no explanation. It’s just did not work for me.