i loved this book. Immediately I was gripped by Nina's story and all the characters were fab. It was quite a depressing view of life and love but Dolly Alderton writes so well that I didn't mind that at all. I laughed and cried. Only thing I found a little random was the final sex scene with the neighbour which felt a bit hacked on.

“On the day I was born, 3rd August 1986, ‘The Edge of Heaven’ by Wham! was number one. Since I can remember, an annual tradition was playing it as loud as possible as soon as I woke up. I remember all the birthdays of my childhood through the sound of George Michael’s defiant “yeah, yeah, yeah”s in the opening bars—jumping on my mum and dad’s bed in my pyjamas, eating sprinkle sandwiches for breakfast. It is why my middle name is George—Nina George Dean.

This mortified me throughout my adolescence when my flat chest and certain jaw gave me a masculine enough energy without also being named after an ageing pop star. But like all abnormalities and embarrassments of childhood, adulthood recalibrated them into a fascinating identity CV. The weird middle name, the birthday breakfast sandwich spread thick with margarine and dipped in hundreds of thousands—all of it strung together to form my own unique mythology, which I would one day speak of with bewildered pride to airtime and intrigue.”

Nina Dean is not especially bothered that she’s single. She owns her own apartment, she’s about to publish her second book, she has a great relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and enough friends to keep her social calendar full and her hangovers aplenty. And when she downloads a dating app, she does the seemingly impossible: She meets a great guy on her first date.

When Max ghosts her as soon as he’s said ‘I love you’, Nina is forced to deal with everything she’s been trying so hard to ignore: her father’s Alzheimer’s is getting worse, and so is her mother’s denial of it; her editor hates her new book idea; and her best friend from childhood is icing her out.

Sharply-observed and gorgeously written, ‘Ghosts’ is an effervescent and entertaining romantic comedy. Alderton examines loss and grief but with the lightest of touches. Nina is a sparklingly original, unforgettable protagonist. ‘Ghosts’ is joy on a page.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @aaknopf for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book even though parts were slow to me. I would recommend this book. It was my first book to read by this author.

I found this book charming, and reminiscent of Bridget Jones’s Diary. It was enjoyable to read, but as my dating years are well past me, I think this book is better suited to a younger audience. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 Stars

I just couldn't finish this. It wasn't terrible, it was just okay but with no purpose I could see. Better luck next time!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I ended up liking this book, though the beginning was so slow for me, I almost gave up. Wondered why it was called ghost esp as the first ghosting happened pretty early on. I thought about her family and his disappearing in Alzheimers as a way of becoming a ghost. She is likeable and her friendship are realistic and her analysis of the difference between men and women in relationship and the biological unfairness of it all.

Great concept. I’m an older reader, but there were still some plot devices I could engage with. I think it will resonate with younger readers.

This book is perfect if you are looking for a summer read that's light and funny. The main character is easy to relate to and the description of her relationships is on point. The book is well-written, but the story, at times, is overly predectable.

Dolly Alderton writes well, and Ghosts is the sometimes witty, sometimes acerbic, and other times sad commentary on dating relationships and marriage. Told in first person. Many thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book. I think we have all experienced being "ghosted" at least once in our lives. For me, it was never a love interest, but I have been ghosted twice in the past few years by women who I thought were good friends. I was left feeling confused and somehow to blame, had I said or done something that caused these women to just so completely and permanently withdraw from my life without a single word of explanation?

This book tackles the feelings that are experienced by the person left behind when a love interest seemingly drops off the face of the planet. But beyond that, the book also examines other ways we might feel left behind. The struggle of an adult forced to come to terms with a parent's dementia and the loss of that parent even while the parent is physically still there. The natural yet painful distancing of friendships throughout the changes of life when each friend takes a different path. The struggle of coming to terms with what we each actually want from our lives - whether that be love, marriage, children, stability, career, friendship, etc.

Overall, a solid story that I gave 3.5 stars. It kept me engaged and was both amusing at times and heartbreaking at times. Very relatable characters. I would have loved to see the main character give Max a piece of her mind though - especially in terms of empowerment. She does so for her friend but not for herself. That was the part that would have bumped this up to a 4 star for me.

Definetly a different kind of story, after reading the prologue I thought maybe this wasn’t a book for me, but it was a good book. The main character definitely has issues and overthinks everything way too much. She loves her dad, her mom drives her crazy, has 2 really good friends and zero luck with men. She sorta goes on a journey and just learns to live in the moment. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Dolly Alderton's Ghost was not my cup of tea. I had a very hard time staying focused on it. I thought it was going to be about dead people. It was really about people disappearing from your lives "ghosting" you. I am sure that is a book that has an appeal for a younger generation. Due to its s limited storyline, I only gave it two stars.

Thank you #Netgalley for the read!

I thought this was a funny read following Nina Dean and her adventures in dating while in her thirties. Many of her friends have partnered up, married, have children, etc. Nina and her friend Lola are the last ones left navigating the dating world. Unfortunately Nina fell hard for her first date from an online dating site, Max swept her off her feet and she quickly became attached. Things were going great, he was saying the right things....then their communication slowly dwindled away with no explanation. Nina got her first taste of being "ghosted". This book made me angry but it does happen in real life and it was portrayed accurately. I enjoyed watching Nina grow from her experiences and seeing her life come full circle by the end.

They always say you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince. I’m happy and lucky I found my husband before dating apps and social media. Ghosting was always around we just didn’t have a name for it and no one knew unless you told them! Certainly not the case now with everyone keeping in touch through their phones, computers and iPads. This well written dazzling novel follows long time friends as their relationships change from being single, being couples, getting engaged, getting married and having babies. The single ones dating scene is both hopeful and hopeless at times. There are laughs, heartfelt moments and of course cringe moments! Great characters and wonderful interactions. A great read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.

I started reading this one and felt like it was a little all over the place. I felt as if there were way too many things going on in the main characters mind and I couldn’t quite keep track of them, even with ADHD! I stopped reading probably five or six pages in because I just couldn’t keep it all together. It might work for some people but definitely not my type of story.

I wanted to like this but it was a little depressing. I was well written, but it felt like a lot of random things were going on.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this book. Sadly I did not. This may have something to do with my age or time of life perhaps? During the early age of 'chick lit' I devoured everything I could find, especially by British authors. I loved the humor, the friendships, the meet-cute etc. However it's been a long while since I've tried anything in this genre. I may have outgrown the single-in-her-thirties hijinks trope. That said, the writing was on point, the humor sharp and crisp and the feelings genuine. I've said this in other reviews but I genuinely think that there are few bad books just books that mismatch with the reader. This was one of those for me. I would definitely recommend this to patrons looking for this type of fiction.

This is not your average British rom-com. While many of the typical tropes are there, Nina, a 31-year-old food writer living in London is no Bridget Jones. She is accomplished, has her act together, and has pretty much given up on finding love, comfortable in her independence. Much to her surprise, though, after reluctantly starting to use dating apps at her best friend’s behest, she meets Max and he is…perfect. For her at least. He is witty, mature, equally down for an adventure or a night at the pub. They start a whirlwind romance and it seems like everything is going great, until the day Max just…disappears. Grappling with the reality of being “ghosted,” Nina throws herself into her work, her feud with her Italian downstairs neighbor, caring for her declining dad who has just been diagnosed with dementia, and navigating her relationship with her mother who seems to be in utter and complete denial. Eventually, Max reappears and Nina is forced to make a choice—will she risk her heart again for a fairytale?

I have to say—When I started this I really expected it to be your typical light romance. While it does certainly have laugh-out-loud lines, what I found most entertaining was Alderton’s incredibly sharp and astute social commentary, from the eye-rolling bachelorette party to Nina’s best friend Katherine, the gatekeeper of all things marriage and motherhood. This book has incredible depth, as it explores multiple dynamics such as being single in one’s thirties, (particularly as a woman,) navigating aging parents, grief, feminism, and friendship. Nina really resonated with me as a character, as did her relationships with her friends who were in different phases of life than her. In short, I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, smart, surprising at times, and thought-provoking. If you like rom-coms but are down to try an elevated take, you will love this.

Honestly, it's been a while since I've gotten this into a book. Once I actually sat down to read the first couple chapters, I didn't want to put it down - and ended finishing it as quickly as I could manage. The main character Nina is extremely relatable and the side characters are mostly well-developed.

There is so much going on throughout the novel, yet it's all blended and paced perfectly. The author did a good job balancing the real-life feelings of comedic moments (e.g. modern dating, crazy neighbors), awkward ones (e.g. keeping up with a career, etiquette of both attending and hosting "grown-up" events), and the dramatic (e.g. gradual loss of a parent who's technically still present, navigating friendships as you grow apart).

Considering the various subplots, I think most adults could find at least something relatable (and the author's writing style is certainly enjoyable regardless) but I'd particularly recommend it for women in the "late-20s to mid-30s" category.

LOVE this was a great contemporary romance that I would give to SO many of my friends to read. As a freelancer, and someone who's dating in my 30s, this really spoke to me. So many times authors put the cheese factor to these characters, but Dolly really captured the creative's brain.