👻 This book was INCREDIBLY different from what I thought it would be. I expected quirky but I got profound… and I really appreciated its depth.

👻 This is an unflinching look at the single life of a woman in her 30s. From the pressure to find “the one” to dealing with aging parents, this book hit several topics that impact and influence a woman’s life.

👻 I particularly appreciated the peek into how friendships between women change when some get married and start having kids and others stay single.

👻 The title is genius! Not only is it about ghosting (disappearing from a relationship), but also the ghosts of our former selves and experiences and how those continue to impact us as we get older.

👻 I particularly loved the relationship between Nina and her father. Heartwarming and sad in equal measure.

👻 I appreciated the ending. It wasn’t all tied up in a neat little bow and I love that because it was realistic.

👻 I absolutely recommend this book, but don’t expect a romantic comedy. It is so much deeper than that.

Thank you @NetGalley and @KnopfDoubleday for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I received a reviewer copy of Ghosts by Dolley Alderton from the publisher Knopf Doubleday from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Nina Dean is single. She is still good friends with her ex-boyfriend who is happily with someone else. Her dad is entering the early days of dementia and her mother seems to be having a midlife crisis. All her friends but one are having babies and this is also causing distance. While all this is going down, she is relieved to find that she has met someone who has instant chemistry with and could be the one but then he ghosts her.

What I Loved: This book is so relatable as a 30 something. I think this is a really realistic perspective of what it is like to be single while everyone around you has kids, buys homes, and gets married and how you feel judged for not being there. This book definitely seems like a book you'd like if you liked Sally Rooney but our main character Nina doesn't read as self centered as some of Sally's characters. I found the storyline with friendships waning out very believable and sympathetic. I also thought Alderson handled the character's grief and struggle with losing her beloved father to dementia. It was well done and relatable.

What I didn’t like so much: At times the character has trouble overlooking her own biases. And these parts got annoying while listening. I also didn't buy the whole greatness of Max so that love story was not my favorite.

Who Should Read It: People who love Sally Rooney. People who are single and 30 something. People who want a compelling story of challenges as a 30 something.

Summary: A well written story of being 30 something and living your life, parent challenges, friend drama, ghosting, and more.

Ghosts
By Dolly Alderton

This is a story about a young thirty something gal trying to maneuver the ups and downs of dating, aging parents and friendships.

Nina Dean is ghosted by a man she fell for and who claimed he loved her. All while trying to deal with her dad who is in the beginning stages of dementia.
It’s a great story if you are looking for something light and funny. While reading this story it made me realize not to take anything for granted. Whether it be the health of parents, a living friendship or a fly by night relationship. Enjoy life because you never know when you could lose someone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the advanced copy in turn for my honest review.

This book was so great. I previously read Dolly Aldertons memoir and was confident with her writing style that this would be a book for me. As a millennial woman, it was right up my alley with the themes of dating and missed encounters. Highly recommend!

~3.5 STARS ROUNDED UP~

This book felt very raw to me. Some may see it as mundane or "stream of consciousness" as a woman tries to navigate middle adulthood, but I really appreciated how real Nina's story felt. Real life is messy and complicated and full of people from your past and also people you hope to keep in your future. The way this book jumps around from topic to topic was a little jarring at first, but once I got used to it I saw why it was written in that way. In my opinion, it was written that way because us as humans have to juggle so many things and we always have to be focusing on all aspects of our lives (friendships, romantic relationships, family relationships, your job, your hobbies, etc) all at once, and simultaneously separately.

My main critique of this book is that I felt like it tried to do too much. I do feel like it did all of those things well, but I just wish that it wasn't all crammed into one story.

I felt pretty conflicted reading this one. Nina is so relatable, it was easy to feel every emotion right along with her. However I found the plot slow moving and a little boring. This isn’t your run of mill romance as there are serious themes but it didn’t go as deep as I was expecting and felt a little clunky.

this was the funniest most relatable book about dating in the age of apps i’ve ever read - dolly alderton’s writing is whip smart and emotional, i couldn’t get enough!

This story got me right in the feels. It explores the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the everyday messiness of life, and I was rooting for Nina from the beginning. As someone with a 32-year-old younger sister, I saw a lot of my own sister in Nina, and that made me love her even more. I highly recommend this one ❤️

This is the first book i have read by Dolly Alderton, and i have to say that i really enjoyed it!! There was a little of everything that i love in books in it.. IF you have not read Dolly Alderton's books yet you should definitely give her a try,

Really enjoyed this read. Love a good chicklit/romance novel. It was certainly
Hard to put down and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a nice light read!

Funny book! A delight to read. I enjoyed the premise and the characters. Really relevant to dating in these days.

Ghosts is a funny, yet sad commentary on the lives of thirty-something women and men. The women are thinking marriage and children, while the men hint at commitment, enjoy the sex, and then leave. Nina, a successful food writer based in London, is publishing her second book and writing her third. Nina's father is facing aging issues and Nina juggles within her parents' relationship where her mum does not want to grow old, yet her dad cries out for his mother to visit him when he is hospitalized. Enter Max, the handsome man Nina meets online to complicate or complete Nina's life. Dolly Alderton writes a good novel about the angst of adulthood at many stages.

It had its ups and downs but overall I liked the characters! Which is what I want. I laughed out loud at parts too. The detailed writing and words used made the book really stand out.

This is another one that would be up peoples aisle who enjoyed Sally Rooneys “Beautiful People Where Are You” and Anne Tyler’s “French Braid.” It was okay - somewhat told like an inner monologue / diary, readers follow around Nina and her experience with being “ghosted” which is apparently more common in the mature dating scene than I was aware of.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

I read Alderton's memoir, Everything I Know About Love, earlier in 2021 and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to picking up her fiction debut. I thought I knew what to expect from her writing and, if I'm honest, expected it to be a fictionalized version of the kinds of things she discussed in her memoir. WOW, she blew my expectations out of the water! This was a fantastic British contemporary story about dating, loss, and the people we love. The writing was so sharp and funny -- full of insightful gems that were both witty and totally relatable. I loved the heroine and was so moved by her relationships -- with her best friend, with her family, and with the people she tried to find love with. I truly felt the heartbreak of being ghosted, even as someone who got married before online dating/apps took off. I ended up listening to this one on audio and highly recommend that format. The narrator was perfect for the role! As you can tell, I'm So Obsessed With It. And it made my "Top 10 of 2021" list, too!

There is a lot to unpack after reading this book. First of all, I would not call this a romantic comedy. There was plenty of laugh out loud banter between characters…but the essence of this story is so much more. There were points in this story, mostly in the reflections of the main character Nina, that were equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking as she navigates single life in her 30’s.

Nina is dealing with a lot. A recent break up with a man who is still her best friend, a father with a terminal illness, a mom she has never been close to, a best childhood girlfriend who is married with children and doesn’t fit as easily into Nina’s life and Max, a man Nina has met when she finally gives in to online dating. She also has her friend Lola, a bigger than life character who added much fun and eccentricity to the story. She is fabulous.

I enjoyed this book and all the feelings it evoked in me. There was nostalgia, there were truths, there were insights into love, family, marriage, friendship, heartbreak, and how important it is to “live some life.” It was all very relatable. It is a wonderful story of womanhood and sisterhood and learning that life, in all its facets, is hard, unpredictable but always filled with hope.

Did not finish - Not my thing at the moment. I might revisit later in life but for now not working out for me unfortunately

Single, successful and....ghosted? This book has girl power written all over it - navigating the dating world and the complications that are sprinkled throughout the process. It was a good read - enjoyable for summer reading for sure!

I absolutely adored Ghosts by Dolly Alderton and found it to be completely relatable. This was the first book I have read from Dolly Alderton and I loved her writing style. I found myself so drawn to the characters and their stories, especially Nina Dean. At one point I thought Ghosts and the life of Nina Dean was written as a memoir.

Nina Dean is in her early thirties and is a successful food writer, published author, friend, and daughter. On the outside it would seem Nina is living the life she has perfectly curated for herself, but on the inside Nina is searching for more. Over the course of a year we follow Nina through new relationships, changes to old relationships, and navigating the world of online dating in her thirties.

I completely adore the character of Nina and I think her story is so similar to so many women today. I absolutely loved her authenticity in her relationships and found it easy to empathize with her character. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this ARC.

Great book, love this author and how they can keep my attention to the end! The plot is well developed, characters are believable and they obviously paid attention to detail to make the story worth your time to read.