Nina is a successful food writer who is facing some challenges. Her father is suffering from dementia, her mother is in denial, her downstairs neighbor plays extremely loud music, and she feels like she and her best friend are growing apart. After a break from the dating scene, Nina signs up for online datin, and connects with man she meets, only for him to ghost her. I appreciate the way the author protrays Nina. She is going through a tough time, but she is a competent human being and her life does not completly fall apart.

Nina Dean is a thirty two year old single woman surrounded by friends who are getting married and having babies. While she tried to navigate her friends, her career and her ailing father, she also decides to try on-line dating. Enter Max, the handsome, independent match that takes Nina on a romantic whirlwind, until he disappears. So while Nina tries to fix her relationship with her parents and her friends, she also has to worry about Max and if/when he will come back. Readers will find themselves rooting for Nina to not only find romantic love, but to find self love as well.

Several months ago my favorite bookpusher led me down the NetGalley rabbit hole in an attempt to score an early copy of this upcoming release . . . . and then she never read it . . . . And yet I still love her anyway. Mainly because even though she is a contributor to my paltry review ratio she is pretty good at picking stories I end up enjoying. Thus was the case here. While the title and synopsis would lead most to believe this was going to be a story all about ghosting, it ended up being so much more than that. Basically, this was a year in the life of Nina Dean. Her 32nd year, to be precise. A successful food writer about to release her second cookbook/memoir, Nina has nearly everything she wants in life – a career she loves, a new mortgage on an East London flat, a great best friend (oh my word how much I loved Lola). The only thing she’s missing is a love interest, but thanks to a new dating app “Linx” that introduces her to Max, that status may be changing as well. Until Max ghosts her, that is.

Pretty much this was a book about how life happens while you're busy making other plans. It featured light-hearted issues like navigating the waters of “smug marrieds” while being a 30-something single as well as heavier topics like having a parent in the early stages of dementia. I laughed out loud more than once and I got a little verklempt a time or two as well.

If I were to compare this to anything else I’ve read, it would have to be <i>Bridget Jones</i>. And while I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two types of people in this world, I remain firmly planted on Team Bridget 4 Eva so that is one of the highest compliments I can pay this story. I will gladly pick up whatever Dolly Alderton comes up with next.

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!</i>

I have heard about this book from lots of book bloggers online; unfortunately I was a little underwhelmed by this one. It seemed similar to quite a few books I've read in the last year or so.

Is this book loosely based on my 30s? This was a fun, entertaining, lovable story of a single woman in her 30s. I really enjoyed it, everything from using dating apps, being ghosted and the main characters relationship with her ailing parents.

Dolly Alderton has written a novel that should be mandatory reading for anyone who identifies as a female (and honestly, everyone too). This book is the first I have read where the protagonist is a messy, loveable, and entirely unclichéd woman in her thirties. I had high hopes for this book but they were surprisingly exceeded (something that doesn't often happen). It is Bridget Jones's Diary for 2021 and it is remarkable. If you want to feel seen and heard as a woman dating in the era of ghosting and apps this is for you. This book had me laughing, cringing, and crying all by the end (and yes, I read it essentially in one sitting because it is hard to put down). Might be my favorite of the year!

Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for the ARC for review.

I think this book will make all the readers more grateful for their circumstances and will enable them to develop an understanding of adjustments that are crucial to leading a healthy and balanced life.

I generally enjoyed this book--it was easy to read, with a nice breezy style, amusing insights, and nice little touches of British life. At times it felt more like a slice of life type of book without much of a plot, and I found it a bit slow in portions. Having read a review which mentioned an unlikely occurrence towards the end of the book, I figured out what that would be and thought, no, absolutely not, that will ruin it--but to my surprise, I found it kind of worked and I rather liked it. Overall, I would recommend this book and I thank Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-ARC.

4.5 stars! Thank you for this wonderfully relevant read, I appreciate the chance to read and review Ghosts from Dolly Alderton. I am looking forward to considering this for my women's group bookclub at work as I felt it had a lot of themes women connect with and some relevant themes on feminism and identity.

As a developmental scientist who teaches adult development, I also applaud this book for highlighting all of the experiences adult women experience, from navigating single life (thank you for making it realistic and comfortable for a woman in her 30s to be herself and also have a relationship that was messy), to experiencing that sandwich generation issue of caring for older parents and issues with friendship strain in adulthood, I could and do relate to so so so many of these themes. This book won't be for every reader as I think it is best understood by those who are navigating this time in life or who had similar experiences in their younger adult years and appreciate a sense of being understood and seen.

Ghosts is about people who disappear from one’s life, whether a boyfriend who suddenly stops calling or texting to a father with Alzheimer’s who is disappearing from Nina’s life in a very different way. I had a hard time getting into this novel. It might have been the writing style or the fact that it was very slow moving or that I never really connected with the characters or that it was a bit of a downer. While I thought about stopping reading Ghosts several times, I persisted nonetheless. For me the best part was Nina’s relationship with her parents, especially the scene where they have a real down-to-earth discussion about what the future holds for the three of them. The novel is bookended by Nina’s 31st and 33rd birthdays with the Epilogue showing Nina surrounded by those she feels closest to: her parents, her two best girlfriends (Katherine and Lola) and her ex, Joe. While I can see how this might appeal to Millennials, it was not my cup of tea.

This book was received as an ARC from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was not expecting the direction this book was going. I was very intrigued by the concept of this book being a modern concept that the teens are very familiar with and that I see and read in almost everything. At first I thought someone dies and is their guardian ghost and then, when I read the first few chapters and see that Nina and Max are having this perfect relationship, then I begin to see the concept of the book...Ghosting. When someone does not contact you for a while and they are alive and well especially on social media, that is what ghosting is and ever since Max ghosted Nina all terrible things come up in Nina's life and she can't help but think that there are many signs. I know our library community will really enjoy this book once I explain the concept of ghosting to them.

We will consider adding this title to our Adult Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Nina Dean is 32, owns her own flat, and is about to publish her second book. She meets Max and their relationship takes off. I enjoyed this modern tale.

This book was phenomenal, and so multi faceted it actually caught me off guard. I related in so many ways to what Nina was experiencing in her life at the time- the pull to find someone to settle down with, and as a result making a million excuses for bad behavior. Having a parent whose health is declining, and that switch in roles from being taken care of to taking care of them. The pressure of all the preconceived notions about what your life should be, when in reality the future is very different from everyone and we should try to force ourselves into a certain box. I couldn’t get enough of this book, at any given point I could be seen laughing or crying which certainly says all you need to know about the quality of writing; it takes a special storyteller to run the full length of these emotions and it was definitely accomplished here. Don’t hesitate- just read this one!

Having not been single since my early 20s, I thought that I wouldn't be able to enjoy this book as much as others who have had the pleasure (or displeasure) of using dating apps and dealing with these situations, but I loved Ghosts! I loved the premise, and the characters, including Max. The ending was worth the stress!

What a great book! I feel like the story is very relatable for single women in their 30s. I love the bits of feminism that got sprinkled throughout the story. I love Nina and Lola's friendship dynamic, as well as Nina and Joe. I wish I could be friends with Nina.
Great ending, great characters, awesome book! 5 stars, definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I've previously read a book about "ghosting" as it's being called. Ghosting is when a person , usually someone you thought you had a relationship with, simply quits responding to your messages and "disappears". The last story I read was so frustrating, but I was happy I pushed through with to the end. SO , I was a bit nervous this was a copycat story. I was pleasantly surprised when it was not!
This story had multiple stories/issues in addition to the terrible cowardly act of ghosting. Nina is a young woman, reaching her thirties, friends getting married and having babies, so needless to say she is feeling the pressure to have a successful relationship with a man. While meeting and losing this coward of a man, she is also dealing with a rocky career, the loss of an old friendship and her father's quickly progressing dementia.
As frustrating as it was to "live" through Max being a coward and feeling Nina's pain, this book was really well developed and felt true to life. I could understand Nina's actions and feelings clearly and felt totally invested into this story.
The ending left me feeling content ! I have to say it was pretty realistic. And not every story is a fairy tale.
Definitely recommend this one to fans of romance and womens lit. Just hang in there to the end, I felt it was worth the frustration.

This was my first book written by Dolly Alderton, and she grabbed me in from the first couple of pages. Cute, funny easy read for the summer. Dolly tells a realistic story of what it is like to be dating as a single woman in her early 30's. Loved the characters in this story, even the ones you were meant to hate. Family, friendships and her struggles felt so real, I could imagine some of them in my own life. I absolutely recommend this book!

Nina has a busy life, a job she loves, a house she owns, friends, a Dad with dementia and a Mom making over her own life. She doesn't need a man, but a friend convinces her to try a dating site and she meets Max. Max seems different from the other men she knows and things progress quickly. And then things change. A story of love and relationships

Thank u NetGalley for kindly providing ARC

First time reader of author: Dolly Alderton
Nina is the female protagonist to this story and even though it's Romance genre it seemed to lack romance.
Max is the potential love interest and they didn't have any chemistry!
I tried to like it and kept reading but for the most part Nina spends the whole of the book criticizing her family and friends.
There is too much "garbling" (rambling on for those who are not sure what that means)~That's another thing, geographically neutering the story may kill it before readers even get to the juicy parts because of sentences like:
"I wish more than anything, that I could buy a Durex for her heart."
I'm no author by ANY means but I do think the story should be relatable in general terms.
Lastly, is the term 'Ghosts' or 'ghosting'?

All respect to Ms. Alderton but as much as I love the Xploration of a new mind through their written word I must regretfully decline the possibility of another go!

Love Nina’s story. Dating must be horrible nowadays- glad I’m not in it. Great lessons on friendships and relationships. I really like how it ended. Realistic.