"Ghosts" is an exploration of relationships, both old and new, and how people can surprise and disappoint us.

Nina Dean, the main character, is in her early 30s and struggling with navigating relationships as her friends all get married.

While there were one or two deeply profound moments, for the most part, the book focused on how unhappy and disillusioned everyone was with life. I found myself feeling tense, sad and uncomfortable through most of the book. Even when things were "going well," there was still that sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop, specifically for other people to leave or disappoint us.

I feel sorry for anyone who lives their life continually waiting for others to disappoint them. And this story seemed to be created for the express purpose of confirming the idea that you should never trust anyone.

I considered stopping reading it about a third of the way in, but hoped it would get better. Unfortunately, it never did...

This is a relatable read, especially if you are in your 30's. I found my laughing out loud throughout the book from Alderton's sharp wit and hilarious explorations of friendships, familial relationships, and life itself. For anyone who has encountered the woes of online dating, this will absolutely strike a chord. I loved the characters and the dialogues between Nina, Lola and Bill.

Ghosts felt like a combination of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist with a little bit of Bridget Jones thrown in. There was humor but there was also a lot of reflection on the many different “ghosts” in our lives.

Nina was funny at times but showed wisdom that surprised me. Zola was entertaining and Nina’s love and acceptance for her was heartwarming. The very serious underlying story of Nina’s dad and his advancing Alzheimer’s was well done and so relatable. Some of the “millennial” life was a turn off to me, personally, but Nina, Lola and Bill were great.
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

This is one of those books that I liked better the more I thought abut it only after I finished it. The first half was great; I enjoyed Nina and Max's relationship and how witty they were. The second half was slower but I appreciated it the more I pondered, because this is what life is really like. Our parents age and often become ill, our good friends sometimes pull away no matter what we do, and we don't always have complete control over the consequences in our lives. So I will definitely read more of Alderton as there are some lovely insights about life, love, and loss.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. All different types are relationships explored. The changes those relationships go through. From parents, to school friends, to adult friends, neighbors, and lovers.

I loved how strong Nina was in her self. While her friends tried to change her she knew who she was and who she wasn't.

The story follows Nina Dean who seems to have her life together, other than the fact that she’s in her thirties and is single. When she meets Max through a dating app, their relationship takes off and it’s not long before they use the L word.

When Max ghosts her, she’s left to face some of the things she’s been working hard to ignore. Her father’s Alzheimer’s, her mother’s denial, & her best friend from childhood is slowing pulling away.

//

Honestly, this book took me awhile to get into. I had to put it down and read other books in between. The ending pulled me in but I’m not sure how I felt about some of the character’s decisions.

Overall this was a fun read and I’m glad I pushed through and finished it.

Just finished this one. Good but depressing. #NetGalley #Ghosts #DollyAlderton
Additional thoughts (not on IG: This novel started off very slowly. I did not like the main
character too much, but then felt sorry for her when she got ghosted the first time. I
thought the use of different types of relationships going awry was interesting, and that's
what kept me reading. I found the endless ghosting, in all its guises, thoroughly depressing.
I understand it's realistic fiction, but ugh.

In thinking about my reaction to this book, I decided that the author kind of tricked me. While the plot of online dating and its frustrations is the main story, underneath that is a deep dig into human interactions, and the challenges we face in this thing called life.

When bad stuff happens, how do we learn to deal with the fallout and move forward? You fall in love and your boyfriend ghosts you. Dad has a stroke and slowly loses cognitive function. Mom admits she’s hiding from her fears. We love our friends, but they often disappoint us. Our own insecurities inhibit us from the self-love we need and want. Life … it’s a conundrum we all deal with.

I liked this book more than I expected. It provided food for thought, along with some good humor along the way. Four stars for me.

Thanks to Net Galley and the Alfred A. Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Dolly Alderton's 'Ghosts' is a "smart, sexy laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about ex-boyfriends, imperfect parents, friends with kids, and a man who disappears the moment he says I love you." Nina Dean is an early-30's independent woman who has her life together and isn't particularly bothered by the fact that she's single - she's on good terms with her ex-boyfriend, owns her own home, has a career that supports her both financially and creatively, and is surrounded by good friends. So when one of those friends encourages her to download a dating app, she figures she doesn't have too much to lose. But when she meets a great guy named Max almost immediately on her first date, before things very quickly become serious between them, she wonders if it might be too good to be true. When Max suddenly ghosts her after professing his love, Nina is forced to confront the truth of her life - maybe everything wasn't quite as rosy as she thought. What follows is her struggle to come to terms with her father's ailing health, her contentious relationship with her mother, the fact that her ex is moving one with his life with someone else, and the friendships that she's been fighting so hard to hold on to might be more one-sided than she thought. Not to mention her infuriating downstairs neighbor that she can't quite seem to get along with.

I've been a longtime fan of Dolly's work, in both her journalism and her podcasting, ever since I stumbled onto The PanDolly Podcast and later The HighLow. Maybe it was the back-and-forth banter with Pandora that really brought out the best of Dolly's voice, but I had a hard time finding her signature wit and wisdom in this book. Based on the description, I went into this book expects much more romantic comedy than I found. Partway through, I struggled to leave behind my expectations so that I could better appreciate what I was reading. Once I did, I found a much more relatable, tender story of modern life and relationships, not just with romantic partners, but with our friends and our family.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the advanced copy of a book that I've been long anticipate reading from a writer that I've long admired!

Dolly Alderton is just so fun.


I"m also a food writer so her character of Nora was written for me. It just was a light delight to read. I do like her non-fiction a little better but I enjoyed following Nora along with her adventures with online dating. I'm glad I am not dating if it is like this!

I hate to be a spoiler, but man this book was just such a downer. Of course, I love a happily ever after as much as the next guy and while I don't think it would have ever been warranted here, it was just such a slog with so little return. I enjoyed the plot about the main character's parents and found that progression touching. The relationship with her oldest friend felt relatable but it also didn't really evolve (nor did her husband's problematic behavior). In the end, yes, you need to be happy with yourself, but oof. (Also: the encounter maybe 3/4 of the way through...you know the one, the kitchen scene: WHAT?)

I wasn't sure how if I'd enjoy this book as 'chick lit' isn't mu preferred reading category however this book was really good.

I have read Aldertons work before so knew I liked her writing style. She captures online dating so well. I found myself nodding along. I would have given it 5 stars but her having sex with her neighbour after arguing was ridiculous, unnecessary and made me roll my eyes that I knocked a star off.

However overall I really enjoyed this book and read it in a day!

Thank you for the arc.

I had a hard time getting into this one. I don't know if the writing style was the problem or if it was just slow moving, or I didn't really connect with the characters. I really wanted to love this one, but it just wasn't my favorite.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. This story follows Nina, who has her life together. She has friends, a really good relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and is close to publishing her second book. Even though she is more than happy being single, she decides to give a dating app a try. On her first date, she seemingly hits a home run, when she goes out with Max. It's instant chemistry, great conversation, and many shared interests. And then--he ghosts her. As she struggles with this, her seemingly great life seems to unravel before her eyes. Her father's struggle continues with Alzheimer's, which her mother wants to deny. Nina's editor doesn't care for her book idea, and her best friend begins to treat her bad. Can a world fall apart in an instant or has it been a downward spiral that we were blind to? Does one bad thing always lead to another? This is a wonderful story of contemporary life. You will shake your head in agreement and realize nothing is ever exactly what we make it out to be, good or bad. I loved this book.

Thank you so much for my copy of Ghosts! This was a well written storyline with very relatable characters. Enjoyable read overall!

Mildly entertaining. There was a point in the book where I wished it had ended and it would've been much better. But it continued. And the story went downhill. And then it ended. But it didn't feel like it should've ended there. It felt as if a word quota had to be met and when it was accomplished, that was the end. The story itself left me very unfulfilled. I love to read. Reading is entering into another world, like a mind escape. This book, however, I had to force myself to keep reading it. I would often even have a movie going on or something else because it just couldn't hold my attention. I really would have rather her found true love with the loftmate than just a random encounter which even seemed out of place in the whole storyline.

An interesting premise that I thought I would enjoy and gravitate toward, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It was a good read, but nothing special. I believe the concept is cool and has a great plot alongside it, but the voice and tone were not my styles in Ghosts by Dolly Alderton.

The definition of ghosting in the dictionary is:" the practice of suddenly ending all contact with a person without explanation, especially in a romantic relationship"

You will automatically have feelings for the woman involved and become totally immersed in her stor.y. line.
Her characters totally come to life and you will cheer and boo them .throughout the book.

Very entertaining read.

🌷What to Expect from Ghosts🌷
*At least what I read of it*
The main character is a single female who after two years of not pursuing a relationship decides to get back into the dating game via oh so fun dating apps. She's still very close with her ex, and only has one single friend left... the rest have joined the married / serious relationship club.

You read the MC's POV as she deals with modern dating, navigating a friendship with an ex, meeting career goals, and coming to terms with her father's deteriorating health.


🌷My Thoughts🌷
This was another NetGalley eARC that just didn't do it for me. I got through half of it mainly because I was highlighting a lot of statements that I related to - which should mean I liked it, right? Nope.

I wasn't interested in the actual story as much as I thought I'd be and found myself skipping over entire pages of inner monologue. After realizing I was only at 50% and not looking forward to reading the book at all, I decided to skip to the end and mark this a DNF.

Ghosts has some great endorsements so don't let me deter you from reading, it just didn't work for me. I really thought I would enjoy it because I am also a single female who hates dating, especially dating using apps. This is typically the kind of book that's right up my alley but for whatever reason wasn't a match.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.