It turned out this wasn’t a book for me and I couldn’t work my way through it. I know several patrons who will love it, though, so I’ll be purchasing copies for the library. Thank you

I really think this book will be liked or disliked depending on the reader and what stage of life he or she is in. In my case, I really liked it. I found the characters so relatable as they are living in today’s world.

Our main character, Nina is so relatable, I guarantee each girl has related to her at some point in her life. It was so easy to find those memories of my own to pinpoint her feelings and transport to that state of mind.

It wasn’t really a romance, there’s more to it than family and friends, it was just life. Sure, parts of the book were boring, but that’s life! And sure, Nina’s life felt a little jumbled or clunky at times, but who’s life operates in a straight line?

I really didn’t expect this book to be as serious as it was. Friends getting married and pregnant, dating apps, neighborly disputes, declining health of a parent, and figuring out how to navigate your path in life.

This book made me laugh, it made me roll my eyes, but most of all, it made me thankful for my friends, family and the life I have.

Big thank you to Net Galley and Knopf Doubleday for the e-ARC!

Content warnings: chronic illness, dementia, toxic relationship, grief

Max and Nina meet on a dating app. He plans, what turns out to be, the perfect first date for Nina. Max is decisive and charming and quickly becomes all that Nina could ask for. Nina is trying not to fall too hard too fast, while Max continues to hit the gas saying and doing everything she’s trying to avoid.

Things with Max are going great until one day, nothing. All she gets from him is radio silence. Nina calls, leaves messages and sends texts with no response. Nina finally begins to heal and move on with her life, without Max. Unfortunately for her, the nightmare is just beginning.

I found Nina incredibly relatable in the beginning. Most of her friends are settling down and starting families yet she remains single. She finds herself almost having to defend her life from that one friend (Kathrine) who believes everyone else around them should be in the same place. Meanwhile, Nina is simply living her life and thriving in her career.

I have mixed feelings about this book as there were parts that I thoroughly enjoyed but others made me cringe causing it to fall flat. However, it was well written overall and the end is not the typical happy ending and I think that was what made me appreciate it.

Voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and the author, Dolly Alderton.

3.5/4 stars. Her writing is beautiful and relatable and insightful. I love Nina and her friends and her family and all their messiness and complications. I believe this book was promoted as a romantic comedy but honestly, the romance was the part I enjoyed the least. I hated some of her heart-led decisions particularly with Max. My favorite characters were her parents - for different reasons they have stayed with me after finishing this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It was unfortunately not for me. I found the characters unlikeable and that always makes it harder for me to enjoy a book.

Ok, I enjoyed this book, it made me mad at times, like the characters were very ingenuous, but overall was a very good quick book to read.

This was my first time reading this author. I found the story easy to read and humourous at times. The characters were interesting and unique. Very enjoyable read.

Ghosts is a well written, contemporary exploration of a single woman in her thirties that gets "ghosted". While not completely relatable for older generations, the friendship and relationship with her Dad was relatable.

I loved the Alzheimer's part of this book. I though the author done a great job portraying life lived with an Alzheimer's parent. Nina George Dean is in her 30's and feeling like she's searching for her mate. She finds Max on Linx, an online dating app, and about the time she thinks things are perfect in her life, things change. I thought the idea that Nina's middle name was based from the artist George Michael who had a #1 song the month Nina was born was a really fun fact thrown in the book. The book was full of humor, love, and fun as well as loss, tragedy and sorrow. My one quirk with the book was foul language. For someone who didn't have issues with quite a bit of foul language this could be a 5* book. Thanks for a great book Ms Alderton!
Thank you to NetGalley, Dolly Alderton, and Knopf Doubleday publishing for allowing me this arc ebook version to read in exchange for my review.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars

This novel is basically “a year in the life” of two single women in their early 30s in London, Nina and her best friend Lola. I nearly DNF’d it midway, as nothing much was happening. It’s not really a spoiler (due to the title “Ghosts”) to say that their status remains single at the end of the book, due to their experiences with commitment-phobic men.

There was some very good writing around a side issue of Nina’s dad, whose early-stage dementia got more pronounced over the course of the year. Having had some experience with a close relative with dementia, the portrayal of Nina’s dad struck me as an honest one, as well as her mom’s reaction to the situation.

I never really warmed up to Nina as a person; she was very catty about other women, for example, and her interactions with her Italian neighbor was just too weird. I did sympathize with Nina and Lola and laughed while reading about the awful “hen-do” weekend (which I guess would translate to a bachelorette weekend/bridal shower in America), but that wasn’t enough to salvage this book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ghosts was a insightful book that looks into the plight of thirty something single women. Not only do their married and "coupled" friends assume they're miserable because they are single, their parents are always ready to pounce at the first mention of a date and they live with fear that their few remaining single friends will find someone and leave them to navigate the minefield solo.

Nina Dean is a successful food writer, However, other parts of her life aren't necessarily going as well. Her father is ill and it's affecting not only him, but also her mother. Her relationships with her married friends is feeling strained. To top it all off, she can't find her way through the minefield of dating into a successful romantic relationship. Her ex-boyfriend (who she's remained good friends) just might be getting engaged to his girlfriend. Her long-time best friend and rock seems to be the only person she has left to share thoughts and feelings with, grab a drink with or find support from.

There were some parts of the book that really bummed me out - - but it said a great deal about human relationships and how we often don't see another person's side of things. It's hard to understand a situation unless you've lived it. I believe the author did a wonderful job with this book and giving a peek into the different emotions and heartbreak that someone is experiencing.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This was a rough one for me, it took way longer than it should have to read it. I won’t say I hated it but I didn’t necessarily love it. I definitely wouldn’t classify it as a funny Rom-Com like it says.

THINGS I LIKED
•Great writing
•Satisfying ending

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
•Slow start
•Not nearly as funny as I had hoped
•Didn’t care for the characters


I really wanted to like it but it just wasn’t for me. I never felt fully invested and had a hard time paying attention.
Although it wasn’t for me I still highly encourage you to read it if it’s been on your radar. It just might be the one for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I love the idea of this book, however, "Ghosts" ended up being a bit of a hit or miss for me. Nina and Max's relationship grabbed by attention but once he disappeared, so did the bulk of my interest. I felt the wedding of Joe and Lucy and much of the middle of the novel seem just... flat. You'd think the return of Max would spice things up, grab my attention but he disappears again and then... well I was done with it. I wish I loved this one because, again, I love the idea of the book. It just didn't work for me.

One of my favorite things, is listening to audiobooks with a narrator so talented, one that tells a story so wonderfully, full of expression and tells the story just the way it’s meant to be told.
Ghosts it a witty, romantic comedy that came to life when I listened to the audiobook! It really reminded me of novels like that of Sophie Kinsella, and Sally Thorne. But also, SO relatable to life! Family that drives us crazy, friends who have their own lives, and men.. men.. welp, you can’t win them all. Am I right??
All the complicated and wonderful that comes with life is covered so humanly and relatable in this one, and I encourage you to pick it up today!
One of my favorites of the year!!

“Ghosts” was a great read! This was such a realistic portrayal of a Millenial woman, there were multiple times where I thought, “Yup, I can totally relate to that.” It is Fiction that tackles internal struggles, dating, family, work concerns, etc and did so in a real and humorous way. You follow along with the protagonist and get so into how her life develops. One of my favorite reads this year. I am anxiously waiting to try whatever Alderton does next! 4 stars ✨.Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Enjoyed the relatable book . Real life and almost everyone has been there done that type of book.Nina is single gal she doesn’t things she doesn’t usually do.

Ghosts is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but it seems more of a coming of age for a woman who is trying to find herself in the world of online dating, her dad's Alzheimer's and her mother's denial. Finding herself out of sorts because her friendships are shifting and Max ghosts her online.... Nina Dean is on her journey to self discovery - she just doesn't know it yet.

Seems like Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is one of those books where the dividing line between those who love the book and those who can't get into it is much stronger than most books. The writing felt authentic, the character genuine. The struggle as single woman in our modern world is real, and Nina reveals that world with a honesty that can turn people off. Her real voice is authentic and just shows what an incredible writer that Dolly Alderton is.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and author Dolly Alderton for this digital, free, temporary advance review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always, my opinions are mine and my reviews voluntary.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is a very hard book for me to review. I spent some time thinking about it, and I still don't really know what to say. There are TONS of great reviews out there, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. This book is supposed to be a laugh-out-loud romcom, but I didn't laugh near as much as I would expect based on that description, and it didn't really feel like a romcom to me. I really enjoyed the character of Nina, and there are definitely some funny/romantic bits, but for the most part, this felt more like a literary fiction novel/observation of life to me. The pacing felt pretty slow, and I wish there had been a little bit more pizzaz to really engage me. I did listen to the audiobook which helped, and most of the time I didn't mind the slower pacing, I just would have liked more from the book itself or at least had an inkling of what it would be like. Some books like this I absolutely love but here it felt like something was missing for me.

The audiobook is quite good and narrated by Holliday Grainger who I thought did a fantastic job. She made such a great Nina and did a nice job of bringing her character alive for me, as well as keeping me engaged in what was going on. Nina herself is a very relatable character, even if at times judgmental (aren't we all?) and someone I could totally see myself being friends with. It is always nice when you can relate to the main character, and this is another reason I wanted to keep reading. Ghosts felt very timely in the age of people online dating and being ghosted, and I really appreciated all of the different observations made throughout the book. I thought Alderton brought up some great issues, but I would have loved a more straightforward plot and more humor/romance if that's what she was actually going for. Overall though this is still a nice fiction debut and if you think it sounds good, I would highly recommend still checking it out.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ghosts takes a painfully honest look at society and the truths women in their thirties have to face and deal with daily. This book forces you to look at the mundane takes we have to do and makes you ask why? Why the hell do we put up with it? But Alderton does this is a comically beautiful way that also forces you realize the minor beauties in this.

This book is raw in the best way. It’s funny in “making fun of yourself way”. I finished this book and felt an awe at how fleeting but impactful life is. I really am not sure how many different ways I can rave about Ghosts. Not much happens but at the same time everything happens. Dolly built a really complex novel in a million ways. The characters lives are so different yet mirror each other in ways that teach lessons but doesn’t feel repetitive. Simply put: this book is incredibly beautiful and has great re-readability.

I think any and every women from 20 - 40 could find something both relatable in this book and I think we all should read it as a reminder to not take life so seriously and to remember to enjoy the small things.

A single woman in her 30’s feeling the pressure to be with a man and have a baby.
She takes the dating app plunge and meets someone, Things seem to be going well.. then they’re not.
This wasn’t a romance in my opinion.
It wasn’t comedy really.
Maybe because I identify with the character a bit. It was more of an examination of relationships in general, expectations and finding what you really want for yourself.