Dating, friendship, and family in your 30s can take wildly different paths for everyone. In Ghosts, Nina has a stressful family situation, a friendship that seems to be naturally nearing its end, and a questionable dating life. When she meets Max, everything happens fast. Until he ghosts her, and she’s left with the fallout on top of her other complicated friendships and family issues.

I think nearly anyone in their 30s can relate to Nina or her friends. We’re dating, or married (happily or unhappily), and possibly struggling with our parents as they face their own mortality. While the story may be meandering at times, it fits mostly true. The part that felt missing to me was the true pain that you feel after being ghosted by someone who you thought you loved. But hey, no one wants to feel that depressed when they’re reading!

Did not finish. I could not connect with Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. I will not be reading/finishing this one. Thank you, netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

Listen... with all of the rave reviews this has gotten and the amount of coverage it got before it published, I fully expected to love it. I was over the moon to get my hands on an ARC from Netgalley and saved it for just the right moment.

Sadly, this wasn't the romantic comedy I was expecting. I was fine with this, because the storyline set up in the first third felt like it still could be a great read. I kept going because I was hopeful, but it was just a slow read for me in every way. It was slow-paced and it felt like it took me forever to get through a chapter. As a fairly quick reader, this isn't a normal experience for me. I didn't quite get sucked into this story like I had hoped.

All of that to say, this wasn't the book for me, but I can see how others might like it. My life is so different from all the characters that it was hard for me to connect emotionally to them. I think if I had been single longer into adulthood (I got married at 22) or had experience on dating apps, this might have been a completely different reading experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book. This is not sponsored, but my honest opinion.

Nina meets Max online and he is immediately smitten and moves quickly to declarations of love and marriage, so quickly in fact that when he “ghosts” her, she is completely devastated and confused and begins doubting her own recollection of their relationship and her own self worth.

The book is written in kind of a casual Bridget Jones type style with lots of drunkenness and singleton talk, but there is a deeper and empowering message in this book and I very much enjoyed it.

I loved the writing and the story. Felt like talking to a good friend and I laughed out loud many times, cried others. Such a sweet book. I look forward to more from this author.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton shows the intimacies of relationships, the sweet nuances of coupledom and you can tell is a keen observer of relationships.
The writing is whip smart and I enjoyed this tenderhearted and endearing story.

I enjoyed this book, which I would classify as witty contemporary fiction, much more than I initially thought I would. I was not familiar with Dolly Alderton or her column in the Sunday Times, but I am so glad I requested a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Nina George Dean - middle name in honor of George Michael - is a 30-something cookbook author. In the midst of her dad falling deeper into dementia, her mother going through a mid-life crisis, her best friend Katherine moving out of the city and having another baby, her other best friend Lola in hot pursuit of a relationship, and the aftermath of her relationship with Joe - Nina meets Max on a dating app. Max declares on their first date that he is going to marry Nina - and what ensues is, simply put, LIFE.

The characters and situations they find themselves in are relatable and the plot is simple, and I easily connected with this book. Alderton's witty and humorous observations about relationships, family, memory, and here and now are just what I needed.

I 100% get why this was such a huge hit. Did it hit right for me? No. But I think it's because I could not identify with our protagonist. I live a life completely opposite of hers and couldn't really see things from her POV. However, I have many, many friends that would, and so, I get it. It's cute, true for some, and witty.

This story was spot on. Wow! This was not what I expected. It was so much more. I loved this story. It had it all. I can't recommend it enough.

I got this book as an ARC from #netgalley but had a hard time getting into it initially because I can't sit still with books much lately. I finally started reading it one night and couldn't get enough of these characters and this story! I loved Nina and all of her friends! So many great characters and story line that tied together very nicely. It's definitely not your typical "romance" book--it's now been released so anyone can read it and I highly suggest you do.

2.5 stars

This book had a good premise. Nina is a 30-something, successful writer living in London decides to join a dating app after she realizes most of her friends are married and having children. Her ex-boyfriend is getting married. Her dad is dealing with Alzheimers and her mom is in denial. I wanted to like this book, but I found Nina's narrative voice a bit boring and long=winded. Unfortunately this one didn't quite work for me.

THIS book is exactly what it's like to be single in your 30s. If you know, you know, if you don't - here it is! Nina watches her friends marry off, hops on dating apps, and I just related to her so much because it's like Nina is living my same life. This book did get somewhat depressing at times, but the trust is, that's reality. All in all, this rom-com is witty, relatable, and fun!

There is no question why this book is an international bestseller. It is smart, funny and well-written. I also loved the way the title played into different themes of the book --- being ghosted by a love interest.....losing your past to dementia slowly so that you are surrounded by ghosts. Dolly Alderton mixed hilarious with heartbreaking and sad and the result is this gem.

Dolly Alderton
Ghosts: A novel
ARC REVIEW Netgallery
A guide for dating during this time. Funny, insightful and sweet.

Complementary copy given for my honest review and opinion.
Cute and spunky romance for the flirty romance lover.

GHOSTS is the perfect, relatable weekend read. Dolly Alderton created a story that most single women would relate to. Each character was great — from Nina, to Max, to even her parents. This isn’t a cast of characters easily forgotten. This is a great one to grab if you love deep dives into relationships, whether they be familial or romantic. Thank you for the gifted copy!

I had a really hard time getting into this book. I don't know if it was the writing style or story, but it didn't capture my attention. Overall I would give it 2 stars.

I had a. hard time getting into this book. The style just wasn't engaging for me. There were moments of humor but the almost stream-of-consciousness background interspersed with action was too detracting. I do think this will be a relevant book for some since dating and dating apps seem to have created a whole new world of interaction.

4.5 stars - poignant, moving and full of frosty nuggets of self-reflection and life lessons. Let's see if I can get this right - love is the guardian of solitude, friendship is the guardian of hope. So very true - love keeps our solitude a safe place to be - and friendship lets us live comfortably in hope. And another great reflection - we shouldn't say I love you, we should say I imagine in.

Le sigh!!!

This was an amazing depiction of what it's like to be a woman in your 30's who isn't already living the life with a loving husband, 2.5 children and the house with the white picket fence. It's a constant balance of messy and uncomfortable and painful and joyous and carefree and liberating. It can be lonely when you realize that you are the keeper of the memories of your life and when you start losing those around you who remember those same moments - either to parents succumbing to the aging process or friends moving on in life or just the fact that things change.

This story perfectly captures the thoughts and fears and hopes and dreams of that time in a your life and is amazingly relatable.

I found the idea of this novel real, but the actual execution fell short. I think it could have been relatable- dating when everyone around you is settled down. Finding the one and then being ghosted is heartbreaking. However, I was just bored with the book. I didn't feel sympathetic to Nina and it didn't feel "romantic comedy" as promised.