Cover Image: Ghosts

Ghosts

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Was this review helpful?

I waited way too long to read this. It was so beautiful. In just two novels, Dolly has made it on to my list of auto buy authors. In my Dolly era indeed.

Was this review helpful?

This book didn't have as much romance as I expected but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was definitely a character driven book, which I liked. It was a little too heavy for me at times with the dementia parts for personal reasons, but overall it was a fairly good look at being a single/trying to date woman in your 30s.

Was this review helpful?

Dolly Alderton has quickly become an auto-buy author for me. I loved her memoir, Everything I Know About Love, and her novel, Ghosts, was a fantastic debut. It is rare for a book to have me laughing out loud but this one managed to do just that. I loved the character of Nina and Lola had me cracking up. From online dating, to aging parents, to the shift of all your friends getting married and having kids, this book did such a great job of making you love the characters, cry with them and root for them.

Was this review helpful?

Thirtysomethings feeling like their life is merely passing them by, regardless of where they seem to be at from the outside... will resonate with this one in a big way. Ever witty, heartwrenching, and whimsical as ever, Alderton does not disappoint.

Was this review helpful?

I really loved the premise of this book and hence why I decided to read it.

Nina, a successful food writer, is at a point where she needs some change in her mid-30's. Even with a new boyfriend, she sees all the people around her moving on, feeling the people of her life slowly becoming ghosts.

I really wanted to get into this and enjoy this more, but something about this hit too close to home.

I did love Nina's wit and Dolly navigating through everything that truly is what a mid-30's adult would.

Thanks for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Omg so much fun! Ghosts! What an awesome story! I loved the main character! So relatable! Would love to read more books like this

Was this review helpful?

This one I felt hard. I could relate to the MC with having to date. It’s so hard. And to have someone just disappear all the time out of nowhere. It turns your heart inside out and stomps on it. I was very happen once the neighbor had more of a role other than just the noisy neighbor

Was this review helpful?

I can’t tell if I love that online dating is a shared experience or hate it, but this book had me feeling a sense of camaraderie because of it. Please check in your single friends and also your friends who are moms. Seems like none of us are okay.

Was this review helpful?

This book was a sleeper hit for me! It's like a modern day Bridget Jones. It has America Ferrera's Barbie monologue vibes.

Was this review helpful?

Ghosts was unexpected - much heavier than anticipated. I was expecting a light rom com read but this book was not a romance with a HEA. Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

It's tough out there for 30-something single women and Dolly Alderton's novel is a unflinching look at the dating world of 2 women in London. Nina and her friend Lola are trying all the apps, have found success and have been ghosted by men they trust. This story tells of their spirit to go on and their friendship. With side stories of their married friends and parents getting older, "Ghosts" is a quick but very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

For the love of all that is holy, Publishers stop marketing contemporary fiction as romantic comedy that are not! You do such a disservice to your authors and readers. Romcoms and romance novels in general conjure expectations in the minds of readers. Labeling something as a romance or romantic comedy implies a contract between author and reader around plot and (most especially) the HFN/HEA, which is not supposed to be a HFN/HEA with oneself.

Is this a reflective, poignant journey of self-discovery? Sure, and that's the only reason for a rating as high as I'm giving it. Is it a romance? Absolutely not. I would argue it isn't even a comedy. I certainly wasn't laughing.

If you are looking for and enjoy contemporary fiction, you may very well like this. I do not and never would have picked this up if it had been marketed correctly. If you are looking for a romcom, run, don't walk, as far away from this book and disappointment as you possibly can.

Was this review helpful?

Ghosts was very relatable. The beginning was a little slow and there were a few slow spots throughout, but overall I really liked the book.

Nina’s ex is getting married, her dad has dementia, her childhood best friend is pushing her away and she has just signed up on-a dating app. She has a lot going on and when she meets this great guy, Max, life gets even busier. And then when she thinks it’s going great, Max just ghosts her. And everything else in her life is amplified. She has to admit there’s something seriously wrong with her father, her best friend doesn’t relate much with her anymore and what’s wrong with her that Max would just ice her out with no explanation.

Nina is very real in her actions and this could easily be anyone of us in real life. It’s why this book is so relatable and easy to read. There were many laughable parts and others that were sad and maybe make you want to shed a tear. I think it’s why I genuinely liked this book so much.

***Thank you Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

Was this review helpful?

As a "romance", this was a bit too slow for me! I'd like to pick it up again some time in the future as I liked the author's writing style.

Was this review helpful?

The beginning is of this book is mainly exposition, and it didn't grab my interest. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Was this review helpful?

This blew my expectations away!

LIKES:
1) it felt real and relatable. Nina was me. Trying dating apps, getting ghosted, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. It’s painful but necessary for growth and for us to realize that we aren’t alone being a 30 something dater.
2) friendships were messy. They had some hard conversations and I likes that Alderton didn’t shy away from the ugliness and jealousy that can occur
3) family drama. After losing my dad this past year I could relate with the struggles that Nina face with her mom and the new role she has to play as caregiver. Where this was exactly my situation it felt relatable, again.
4) it made me laugh. Finding humor is this mess called life is what keeps us going and I really appreciated that these book gave me more perspective

DISLIKES:
🚫

Was this review helpful?

Ghosts is a funny, tender, and insightful novel about the messy, beautiful, and sometimes painful realities of modern life. The story follows Nina Dean, a 32-year-old woman who is trying to navigate the treacherous waters of online dating, the challenges of caring for an aging parent with dementia, and the changing dynamics of her long-term friendships.

Alderton's writing is sharp, witty, and full of heart. She captures the nuances of female friendship and the complexities of modern relationships with unflinching honesty. Ghosts is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and think. It is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt lost, confused, or alone.

Here are some specific things that I loved about the book:

- The characters are well-developed and relatable. I found myself rooting for Nina and her friends, and I felt their pain and joy as if it were my own.
- The writing is sharp, witty, and full of heart. Alderton's words paint such a vivid picture of Nina's world, and I felt like I was right there with her on her journey.
- The themes of friendship, family, and love are explored in a nuanced and sensitive way. I learned a lot about myself and my own relationships while reading this book.
- The ending is both heartwarming and hopeful. I felt like I had been on a journey with Nina, and I was so happy to see her find her way.

Overall, I absolutely loved Ghosts. It is a funny, tender, and insightful novel that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book! Fresh, real, biting, I hadn't read a novel that left me feeling so seen in ages. If you want a book about relationships that leaves you reliving your past heartaches viscerally, this one is for you.

Was this review helpful?

Sometimes a book comes along that you wish you could recommend to a younger version of yourself--this was that book for me. Alderton has created such vivid, realistic characters that allow the emotional core of the story to really resonate. I know too many women who could relate to Nina. A timely, effective story that had more to it that I had initially thought. It stuck with me. I recommend it to my readers often.

Was this review helpful?