What a brilliant light read and as a single woman in her early 40's very relatable haha. Love everything about Dolly Alderton

If you are a fan of Dolly Alderton’s work already, you will love this novel. If this is your first experience of reading Dolly Alderton’s writing, then you are in for a treat. She has a unique voice and uses it throughout this story about Nina, a food writer in her early 30’s who has decided she is ready to start dating again. This novel is a perfectly observed snapshot of living in London in your early 30’s - it is funny, relatable, entertaining and authentic. Ghosts deals with the high and lows of dating and falling in love. When describing the early days of dating with a new partner she says that they were “sexed up to saturation point, therefore trying out the novelty of being humdrum” which I thought was sheer perfection. The novel also explores the realities of changing friendship dynamics, endless weddings/hen parties/naming ceremonies, how your peer group changes and the challenges of dealing with ill-health of parents. There were so many lines I savoured and it is all underpinned by genuine, relatable experiences - while reading this I felt outraged and indignant on Nina’s behalf, I agreed wholeheartedly with her on so many points, I felt at times she was being overly harsh and I genuinely worried for her at other points just like you would with a real friend. I couldn’t put it down. I loved it.

Dolly Alderton is fantastic! I love her work and have been eagerly awaiting this novel... she did not disappoint!

This was an emotional rollercoaster. I love Dolly’s raw, authentic way of describing feelings and life. I was worried that this could have been a fiction memoir of ghosting stories but it’s so much more than that.

I have so much highlighted but on the theme of ghosting, this needs a PSA: “You know, every time you “change your mind” in such an extreme way, it takes something from a woman. It’s an act of theft. It’s not just a theft of her trust, it’s a theft of her time. You’ve taken things from her, so you could have a fun few months.“ People changing their minds/feelings so quickly, or just not communicating it [enough] are the one thing that I do not understand and this articulates it.

Also “I’ve found everything really difficult recently. And I can’t work out if this is just a tricky period or whether this is what adulthood is now – disappointment and worry.” “I’m worried I’m not going to live the life I always thought I’d have. I’m worried I have to come up with a new plan.” sums up my current mood.