This was a cute romance story which also tackled some difficult and serious topics.

It gave me major gossip girl vibes with the drama and for that I absolute loved reading the story. I also enjoyed the writing as well as the characters. I also found the plot twists interesting.

However, I was slightly weirded out about Ben's hyperfixation on Olive. It just didn't sit right with me. I did enjoy the character development of these characters towards the end though!

Also this cover is gorgeous!!

Thank you netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange of my honest review.

First thank you to NetGalley & Sydney and Madison for an ARC of this fun read for an honest review!

This story was not your every day college basketball romance. This was truly an angsty, guilt and grief riddled, complex story of love and loss and navigating those difficult feelings while going through college. It explores difficult family and friendship dynamics while also staying within a surface level vainness like Gossip Girl. While I don’t love the angsty rich kid type of story, I do think they made up for it in beautiful one liners and deeper emotions. This is a story I’ll recommend to certain friends who I know love a slow burn, college basketball, and potentially unlikeable characters (at first). However let me be very clear, I thought Ben and Grant were two of the sweetest characters I’ve ever read. 💕

Imagine this: gossip girl meets one tree hill meets college sports romance, he’s her boyfriend’s brother, grief, difficult friend and family dynamics, slow burn, and mental health emphasis! If you like any of these things, I’m fairly certain this will become one of your go to romances!

And because I finally learned how to mark quotes on my kindle, here’s one that really stuck with me:

“Did Harold ever get back to himself?” “There was nothing to get back to. Only somewhere to go, Olivia.” 😭

Also can we just take a moment for the BEAUTIFUL cover art?????????😍😍

Thank you again Sydney Madison for reaching out and for granting me this early copy of your debut novel! Really beautiful job!

ARC - PUBLICATION DATE 7TH FEBRUARY 2024

4 ☆

『 tropes 』
•college romance
•brothers rivalry
•slow burn
•secrets
•boyfriends brother
•forced proximity
•sports romance
•mental health rep

『 plot 』
olivia wants it all, the picture perfect relationship, the high ranking at college and popularity and she has the means to do so, she’s smart, funny, beautiful, witty but she’s also a little broken, a little caged and a little standoffish and her relationship isn’t as perfect as it seems on paper. she wanted it all, but she also wanted her best friend alongside of her when she did so. but loss has a way of changing you.

on the surface will is arrogant, bitter, toxic and just not a great guy, but he’s carrying so much more beneath the surface, he’s hiding something, he’s struggling, he’s hurting and he’s losing himself but he’s what olivia wanted so she stays with him, then comes along ben, will’s older brother, who has been absent for 2 years, dealing with his own struggles and just when olivia doesn’t think her life could get any more messy or complicated, she starts to feel things for her boyfriends brother.

『 my thoughts 』
i really enjoyed this, the dynamic between ben and will, was somewhat similar to nathan and lucas’ relationship in the first couple of seasons of one tree hill, and i am all for that. the rest of the story, the friendships, the drama, the secrets, the need to have a good image, all gave off gossip girl vibes, and once again, i’m all for that! it was a great read.

whilst the drama was top notch, i really appreciated how the author dealt with more sensitive topics and themes throughout this book, complicated relationships with parents and how that affects a person, dealing with grief and loss, the complexity of mental health and anxiety, of how a person can seem strong, independent and fierce but is being treated like less of a person, how codependency in a relationship can be unhealthy and toxic, and how even though a person in that relationship knows this, they stay regardless. this story was so much more than the drama and secrets and i loved it.

Instagram Post Review of Astor Hill by Sydney Madison

If you, like me, grew up watching Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill, Astor Hill will feel like a homecoming—yet with a new, electrifying twist. It’s a story that lingers in your mind, tugging at you to find out what happens next. There’s a mystery that everyone seems to know about… everyone except me and Liv. The suspense, the big secret—it’s everything I wanted and more!

This book had me laughing, crying, and grinning like a fool. The "reformed playboy" trope isn’t usually my thing, but here it works. Ben’s focus on mental health and the raw way the characters deal with grief and loss felt so real. Every scene had me turning pages faster and faster, wanting to soak up more of these characters’ lives.

I read it in a day, and my only regret? It ended. Thank you to NetGalley and Sydney Madison for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! (Fair warning: if themes like panic attacks, loss, and hints of cheating aren’t for you, just keep that in mind!)

⭐️ 5/5 big stars
🌶️ Just the right spice
🫶 OTH and Gossip Girl fans, this one’s a must!

I'm going to keep this one really short and to the point - I wasn't expecting much going into this one. I'm not sure why lol, I just anticipated that it was going to come across a little shallow as far as the plot was concerned especially with the comparison of 'For fans of Magnolia Parks, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill'

I've read a good amount of love triangles and cheating tropes and I'll say - as long as I feel like there's some depth to the characters and there's an extenuating circumstance for the cheating (please don't come for me) then I can rock with the story and relate in some way to the characters. Hey, we're all human and make mistakes, right?

But the way this story is laid out ... no. The cheating and the lying all for literally no reason other than the other tells us this is the way it's going to be. Everything is all very surface level and formulaic. It's predictable. All telling and no showing.

I didn't care about a single one of these characters because they were all cardboard cut outs. There was no depth to them, no life to them. I really wanted to poke them and say come on do something.

This story was messy for the sake of being messy. It didn't need to be. The 'reveals' and 'gossip bits' aren't even juicy. It was like, all of this bc of that? Meh. Not impressed.

Anticipated Release Date - 2/7/25

╰⪼ 🍁Boyfriend's Brother
╰⪼ 📚He Falls First
╰⪼ 🧡Love after Loss
╰⪼ 🍁Lies & Secrets
╰⪼ 📚Found Family
╰⪼ 🧡Mental Health Rep
╰⪼ 🍁Messy & Full of Drama

✨ Many thanks to NetGalley and Sydney Madison for the advanced digital copy - all thoughts are my own. ✨

This book had a lot of potential, and while it wasn’t perfect, I ended up really enjoying it. The dual POV was a bit of a gamble for me, since I’m usually not a fan, but it actually worked here. Ben and Olivia had some great chemistry, and I liked how their relationship developed, though I do wish we got more of Olivia’s character outside of her romantic entanglements. The romance was definitely the highlight for me—slow-burn and emotional, just the way I like it.

That said, I can see where others were coming from with the pacing issues and the lack of depth in certain areas. The emotional beats were there, but some of the side characters felt a little underdeveloped, and some plot points didn’t feel as fleshed out as I would have liked. Still, I couldn’t stop reading, and I think this is a great choice for anyone who likes messy, heartfelt romances.

Thank you to NetGalley & PS Published for gifting me the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I found myself wanting to pick this back up and continue reading anytime I wasn't. I enjoyed the character development and the mental health rep with Ben's navigation through dealing with anxiety. I found myself frustrated with Olivia's character the first half of the book and how she's portrayed as this tough, takes no shit, can handle herself woman, but yet allows Will to treat her the way he does for so long; however, it is a very real life depiction of a toxic, codependent relationship. The end of the book was great and I want more. I didn't find it as predictable as I thought I would. I would recommend this book to any romance lover and possibly even reread myself. I'll be watching for more from this author duo!

tropes:
⤍ he falls first
⤍ boyfriend's brother
⤍ forced proximity
⤍ mental health rep
⤍ gossip girl vibes
⤍ sports romance
⤍ dual pov
⤍ slow burn
⤍ grief

spice: 2/5

thank you to NetGalley & Sydney Madison for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my original & honest thoughts.

anticipated release date: 2/7/25

Are you obsessed with Gossip Girl? Did you read and love the Magnolia Parks series and are now lost, trying to find something similar to it?

LOOK NO FURTHER.

Astor Hill is centered around a group of young adults, set at Astor Hill (their college). The drama is messy, but the people are messier. And I mean that in the best way possible. The POVs are from our FMC Olivia and MMC Ben. It all starts at a party Olivia's freshman year, that she attends with her best friend Lily. This is where Olivia meets Will, Ben's brother (yep, DRAMA). Two years after this party, where the book truly begins, we start to figure out that Olivia hasn't fully processed the loss of her best friend that night after the party. She struggles with the fact that she lived in Lily's shadow, and feels guilty for resenting her in some ways. In walks Ben Cabot (aka Green Flag, loml, emotionally available king). The only problem is that she is with Will, his brother.

Cue drama. Secrets are uncovered. Feelings are there that shouldn't be. Things are said but aren't meant. There are fistfights. Drunken confessions. Secret rendevous.

And I gotta say I ATE IT ALL UP.

I love how the flashbacks to the past help forward the plot and give us a clearer vision of why the characters feel the way they feel. The journey that these characters take on emotional healing healed ME in the most unexpected ways. I love that the authors wrote each character at seemingly different stages of emotional health and healing.

This book has all the elements of a drama and tension-filled romance, and I'm here to say it's absolutely DELICIOUS. I could not put it down once I got about a third of the way through. I'll say this once and I'll say it again: I LOVE reading characters who are messy because those are the ones that feel real.

This book is full of questionable decisions and sometimes made me want to scream (in a good way, kinda?). But these writers are going places. Seriously. The way they perfectly captured the feeling of grief and anxiety, while also simultaneously writing poetic love confessions and deep-rooted feelings, JUST BLEW MY FREAKIN MIND.

And GOODNESS ME, THANK YOU FOR WRITING BEN CABOT. THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT.

TROPES & TRIGGER WARNINGS: Love triangle, second chance, grief, male anxiety rep, forbidden love (possibly?). This book does talk and describe anxiety attacks briefly.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sydney Madison for this eARC in exchange for an honestly written review!

no thanks, I'm good

has insta-love, an insufferable and unlikable female protagonist, and reeked of a third act breakup

let's not make the boyfriend's older brother trope a thing, pls.

astor hill was such a journey of growing up, betrayal and honesty shocking events that I would have never predicted.

plot ―୨୧⋆ ˚ it was so so well paced and I really loved the whole concept, I lived for the drama and toxic mess that was astor hill. I felt some moments were a little bit unexplained and didn't fully leave me feeling satisfied with the information I got but it was something that was easy to look past. the idea that this book was meant to be a gossip girl meets one true hill was so intriguing and it really delivered in those aspects with so much drama, lies and betrayal I could not put it down.
the plot also lended itself to an emotional undertone that bubbled over toward the end that had me sobbing over Olivia's realisations and revelations.

liv + ben ―୨୧⋆ ˚ I absolutely loved seeing their relationship grow slowly, the fact that this was dual pov just made it so much better because we got to see the amount of pining they did for each other despite the tricky situation their relationship would land them in. i adored the maturity they had when dealing with their relationship and their willingness to communicate was so refreshing.
there is a 3rd act breakup but I felt it was justified and made complete sense considering everything that happens over the course of a few chapters

overall, I loved this book and enjoyed reading about the drama and lies that these characters were tangled up in. I absolutely cannot wait to gen and grant in the next book ⭐️🥲

another quick mention of my fave chapter of this whole book when we go back in time into Ben's pov when he first sees Liv and we realise she's the shining star this whole time and she's not realised ❤️‍🩹

Sweet baby Jesus. This pulled on my heartstrings very unexpectedly but in a good way. I loved this. It’s a very raw take on toxic relationships.

The overall book wasn't bad. I personally didn't love it or any of the characters, but I wouldn't judge someone who did.

The development of the characters and the plot was quite stunted, and this became clearer as the book went along. I didn't feel this *magical* connection between Ben and Olivia and was just generally irritated by her. It seemed like everything happened to her, and she didn't take an active role in anything.

Major plot points, like arguments and characters falling out, were just brushed over really quickly too. Also, how can Olivia be some investigative journalist when she barely asked him any questions at all and only worked on one story throughout the entire book?

One thing that really did annoy me too is the repetition of the characters' names during every conversation. In reality, you wouldn't constantly repeat someone's name every single time you make a statement. It just felt really unnatural. Within one conversation, Olivia's name was mentioned 14 times - and it was a pretty short conversation - sometimes twice in one speech.

I think with some heavy editing and more focus on the characters, it could have been a really good book. I just didn't feel the chemistry between any of them, and I don't particularly enjoy female characters staying with a guy who just walks all over them before they suddenly break up. It just feels formulaic, like the author needed a reason why the main characters couldn't be together yet and decided not to give Olivia any self-respect.

On a more positive note, I really like the cover!

I stopped properly reading at 20% and then skimmed it to the end.
The moment i decided i cant finish it and enjoyed it was after what it felt 100th of time of one of the main character mentioning that the MMC is indeed 6’4” and his brother is 6’2” amd FMC is 5’8”, its not the heights i have beef with, actually i rly enjoy tall female characters as I’m myself 6ft tall woman, but i need to hear it once, after that descriving it as tall is enough…still annoying if constantly repeats, but I can live with that.
Then the death of Lily, i truly needed more time on page with her to believe the friendship she had with Liv and their dynamics. But what i saw i didnt really believe that she was a good friend to Liv, and then she was dead.What actually happened to her? Noone knows because it wasnt explained. 20year olds just dont die, was it sudden medical thing? That’s what my guess was atleast.
Then the love story, i didnt enjoy the toxic relationship one bit. And then she went with the better mentally balanced brother and everybody is just okay with it? Or more why Will is okay with it, and Liv okay with him having lied to her the entirety of their relationship….if this would be my ex and even dating his brother now, i couldnt be in the same room with the guy….
And yea Ben is a decent guy, but the drama just took me out of the what might have been a cute story otherwise

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This story was not what I expected it to be because I thought it was going to be a cute fluffy sports romance like the other sports romances I’ve read. The unforeseen beginning of this book makes me feel intrigued to continue reading the book and I was well interested. Generally, it was a beautiful but messy love story with complex characters and relationships. I really feel the One Tree Hill vibes with this book which is great because I’m currently watching that show.

It follows Olivia Beckett who is a junior at Astor Hill College and dating the captain of the basketball team, Will Chapman. Their relationship was really toxic to the point that I was mad at her for staying with him for that long. He is literally a walking red flag. Something happened two years ago that affected both of them which I still am quite confused tbh because it happened quite abruptly and they didn’t really say much more about it throughout the book. This tragedy didn’t just affect them, but also another character, Ben Cabot, who is the MMC but also Will’s stepbrother (you know where this is going) and he went MIA for two years before coming back to Astor Hill to finish his senior year. I really like how they portray Ben’s character (such a green flag) with the mental health representation and I actually feel more connected with Ben than I do with Olivia. Ben and Olivia’s relationship seems a bit iffy to me at first (no cheating btw, just saying) but it kinda grew on me but I wish there would be more groveling hehe.

Other than that, I love the newfound relationship between the girlies - Olivia, Genevieve and Sloane, but again I would love to see more of how this relationship evolves into something stronger. I’m guessing we can see more of this aspect in the next book? So can’t wait for the next one with Gen and Grant!

P.S. Thank you to NetGalley, Sydney Madison and PS Published for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

He’s a good man Savannah, a GOOD MAN!!😂 anyways y’all Astor Hill was a cute College Romance/Forbidden Love with only a few cons (imo) those being 1.Grammar Errors 2. At some parts it was hard to follow who was speaking 3. I would have love to see more of a backstory on our MCs🤷🏾‍♀️ but besides that I absolutely loved it!🥰 I enjoyed the way the authors shed light on teenagers/young adults navigating through life and realizing that we all have different perceptions on how we not only view our/others lives but each other in general🙌🏾 validation and mental health💕I enjoyed watching the character development of our MCs Olivia and Ben, and banter of course🤭 along with our side characters as well🫶🏾 overall this was a cute cozy read with a little bit of spice🌶️🌶️that will make you smile but also make you wanna slap a 🐶 …😂 10/10 recommend friends!🩵

thank you to netgalley and p.s. published for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
This is one messy, emotional and twisted story....but i loved it anyways. I think that the start was just too much happening too fast and I hated the relationship between will and olivia. I'll be honest I skipped a few chapters because I wanted to see if it would get better and, much to my shock, it did!

At first I hated Will but now I understand him. His actions were not okay but I do get it. Ben is the greenest flag you will ever see, and Olivia...well she's just Olivia I guess.
Now I'm not saying this is a perfect love story- I mean she went for her boyfriend's brother so it was bound to be toxic but most of the characters in this have some sense of toxicity to them so just be aware.

One thing I truly loved was the writing style. Even though I didn't necessarily like the story at first I absolutely love the writing and the way the authors' words flow together! I especially love Ben's declaration of love (ifykyk) because it warmed my heart.

One thing I will say is....this is very messy so just proceed with caution.

"don't leave." "never."

thank you sydney madison & netgalley for this arc! a story filled with grief, self-discovery, and self-forgiveness bundled into one. astor hill takes an inside look into the it-couple of the college and explores their "more than meets the eye" story.

while I loved the story towards the end, it was almost hard to read about the toxic relationships in the beginning. but I LOVED how it wrapped up, not a perfect bow, but it is something that gives everyone a redemption (or potential redemption) arc! extremely excited for book two because I love LOVE the one character in it! ben cabot you are a literal gem of a human & liv beckett I am happy you found a way to love yourself! will chapman, you have some making up to do...

Just Ben reading a book and entering the literature class is a green flag to me 🤭

But I still don't get it what is the reason why Lily is dead 😞

Also, I'm disappointed at what Olivia did in THAT one chapter. And yes, her intrusive thoughts won.

thanks to ps publishing for approving me an advance copy!

once I got started with this book, I finished it in less than 24 hours. astor hill is fast paced with a dual pov, a lot of mystery and angst, and parts that had me putting my kindle down asking ‘why would he say that!?’

with that being said, I wish we saw more flashback scenes of olivia and lily to really get an idea of their friendship beyond the excerpts already provided

I enjoyed reading this and I’m excited for the next instalment!

3.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Sydney Madison, and P.S. published for this e-ARC

A love story with complex characters, secrets, and traumatic childhoods.

Compared to magnolia parks, one tree hill and gossip girl. I would agree with one tree hill and gossip girl, but I’m not sure magnolia parks fits. Instead, I would say I got more maple hill series by Hannah Grace vibes. Just take hockey and make it basketball! 🏀

I love the mental health representation right from the get go and the love Ben had for Will, despite their upbringing.

I wanted more from the character development. The secret that was held onto by Ben and Will felt anticlimactic. But if it truly was such a big deal to Olivia, I would have liked to see some more groveling.

I’m also not a fan of love-at-first sight. Even still, I can buy into sometimes if it’s well explained. But then he left for two years right after? It didn’t fade after only meeting her one time?

For these reason the romance fell a bit flat for me.

There was some beautiful lines in this book about life, loss, and love that had my tearing up.