I was worried this book might be a frustrating list of one person attempting to date unsuccessfully (although I was keen to read fiction about 30 something’s in England, not America!). I ended up being Very pleasantly surprised. Alderton has nailed female friendships in your thirties, particularly the changing nature of them as lives that were once on a track going in the same direction and speed veer away from each other. The hen party scenes transported me to a similar particular painful experience I had. I wasn’t convinced to begin with about Nina and Joe’s relationship after a break up but it worked (and made me look at my own immaturity when it comes to past relationships). Interweaved with Nina’s love life is her father’s illness, which was very sad. My only slight disappointment is that I hate characters in books who have really (seemingly) glamorous jobs (ie food writer), Alderton clearly drew on her own experience in that regard which perhaps can’t be helped but what’s wrong with protagonists having office jobs or being teachers or nurses? I enjoyed the book and think the characters will stay with me. I wasn’t overly keen on the cover (I would have preferred something even simpler).

I was beyond thrilled to receive an ARC of Ghosts via NetGalley, as the book is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Dolly Alderton's memoir is one of my favourite reads,, and I was delighted to find that her relatable, witty writing style carried through to fiction.

Ghosts follows Nina, a 32 year old food writer, as she enters the modern dating world. Nina was a great protagonist - very self aware, ambitious and open. I expected to follow her storyline as she began to date, but I was surprised at the complex family topics that the novel covered (her father's dementia, her tense relationship with her mother). My favourite reading experiences are the ones that surprise you, and offer an insight into important topics, so this did not disappoint. Nina's journey throughout the novel, both romantically, platonically, and in familial situations, was a moving and heartfelt one. I rooted for this protagonist, saw myself in aspects of her journey, and turned the final page hoping that she has a wonderful fictional life. If that's not the sign of a great piece of fiction, then I don't know what is.

The friendships in this book were varied, and offered an exploration into platonic relationships when you pass thirty. How life experiences can widen chasms between people that have once been extremely close. These observations and truths are often missing from contemporary fiction, so I appreciated them here. And I ADORED Lola. Literally, adored.

I laughed, I cried, and I am eager to read more of Alderton's work. Witty, sharp characters with an open mind and heart are the ones I remember most fondly. Nina was one of those protagonists!

Ghost is the story of Nina, a 32 year old food writer, trying to navigate the world of online dating. I really enjoyed this book, especially the way Alderton discusses the double standards of dating for men and women. I'm not really into 'chick lit' and, although the story line is about the main character trying to find love, there's so many more layers to this novel which made it really enjoyable and unputdownable. I found it to be a really fun social commentary on the way we behave once married/ have kids and found myself agreeing with a lot of observations Nina made. I would definitely recommend this book.

Easy staycation reading. Were airports operating as last summer, this would definitely be one for the suitcase to be torn through during a lazy day of sunbathing. For anyone looking to recreate the beach holiday from the back garden, this is a suitable coronavirus antidote. Entertaining, funny, tugs at the heart strings in a few places and likeable characters.

Many thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dolly Alderton's depiction of an early thirties single women navigating through her life hit me with such familiarity. I enjoyed the writing, characters, pace and storyline, but I wanted to shake the main character Nina with all my hindsight and understanding at certain points as if she was my younger self.

Ghosts in its base form is about dating certain types of men who like to talk and imagine the dream with you, making you believe you want it too then when there is a possibility of it becoming a reality they disappear so fast they leave a man shaped hole in the wall. This book, however, touches on many other emotional life experiences - parental relationships, dealing with dementia in the family, changes in life long friendship's and strange neighbor's.

Alderton's writing will resonate with most women and gives an authentic voice to most of our thoughts and fears. The only thing that frustrated me was the fact that Nina channeled most of her hate and frustration on other men rather than the actual person it deserved to be delivered on - that would have been an epic scene!

I knew I was going to fall in love with this book, but I just never knew how much.

A huge thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me an advanced reading copy of this.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is a book about friendship, growing up, being in your thirties and everyone getting older. It's human, emotional and raw, the pain etching into you from the pages in a beautiful way you don't mind.

Dolly has a rawness to her writing that makes her relatable, and makes Nina feel like someone you're having a catch up with over a beer. The strength and growth her character goes through, the very human (but beautifully written) mistakes Nina makes, its understandable and forgivable, and makes you feel more protective over her.

The story with her Dad is so realistic, and the difficult conversations she has to have with her Mum are ones I think anyone can relate to.

Dating in your thirties is difficult, growing up not sure who you are meant to be and whether it is okay to let go of the dream you had in your twenties is so damn hard. Dolly manages to sum all of that up, whilst making you feel a thousand other emotions all at once.

I laughed, I cried. I wanted to hug Nina and also wanted to take her for a drink.

The thing I loved the most is how happy it made me at the end, how she nailed the female friendship and how sometimes friends we have known for years can drift and change, and we're not sure how to feel. Everything I've been feeling, Dolly has managed to say in words I couldn't ever find. I loved Ghosts, and can't wait to purchase my physical copy when it's published.

Nina is 32 years old. She is a successful food writer but that's about all that's going well in her life. She's broken up with her long time partner, her father is fading away with Alzheimer's, her relationship with her mother is poor, her friends are drifting away and her downstairs neighbour is dodgy. So she's delighted when she signs up to a dating app and immediately meets Max, the man of her dreams. A brief but intense relationship ensues, then he disappears.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was going to be a typical romance but it's much more than that. It is a thoughtful treatise on the complexities of the relationships we have in adult life. How do we get through the changes that come to our parents, to our friends and to ourselves? Alderton has much to say on this issue. To someone of my generation (baby boomer) the notion of dating apps is strange and the idea of ghosting abhorrent. I really felt for Nina as she coped with being ghosted not once but twice. Best of all though is the storyline with her parents as she reconciles with her mother and comes to terms with what's happening to her father. My only quibble about the book is how she resolves the issue with her downstairs neighbour. It must be my age but I just couldn't believe this at all. Otherwise though, a really good read. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

absolutely loved this book. I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline! I thought the plot was going a certain way and was nicely surprised by the ending.

32-year-old Nina Dean is a successful food writer with a loyal online following, but a life that is falling apart. When she uses dating apps for the first time, she becomes a victim of ghosting, and by the most beguiling of men. Her beloved dad is vanishing in slow motion into dementia, and she's starting to think about ageing and the gendered double-standard of the biological clock. On top of this she has to deal with her mother's desire for a mid-life makeover and the fact that all her friends seem to be slipping away from her...

I unashamedly binged this book. I found Nina's dating experience totally relatable and it took me back to my awful dating app experiences of the past...
I loved the characters and I thought Nina's father's illness was well researched and written about with such sensitivity that it added to the tenderness of their relationship.

My main take away from this book was that we are all haunted by the ghosts of our relationships; romantic, friendship, familial. Beautifully written throughout, I went through highlighting sections that I know I will come back to. I would definitely recommend this read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

As someone who tends to stick to thrillers, Ghosts was a departure from my usual type of books although I was keen to read it as I enjoy the work (and podcasts) of the author, Dolly Alderton (though controversially not Everything I Know About Love). I was really, really impressed. Dolly captures 32-year-old Nina incredibly well and her profound thoughts are something a lot of women will resonate with, helping to make a Nina a really likeable protagonist. I really enjoyed witnessing the relationships with her friends and thought it was a really realistic portrayal, identifying the changes these relationships go through as we grow older. I was initially really confused by the Angelo storyline and exactly where it was going but this rounded of really nicely. As someone who isn't personally familiar with the trials and tribulations of dating apps, it was interesting to watch Nina's journey and I really did feel for her at times and it was easy to share her frustrations. The stand out storyline was by far the decline of Nina's father. This was incredibly well done and it was an emotional read, clear that Dolly had done her research. I've no doubt this book will do really well and I'm excited to see what fiction Dolly does next.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Dolly Alderton is one of my absolute favourite writers.
Her memoir, Everything I Know About Love, is one of my favourite books. I keep it by my bed at all times to revisit passages, and I even read a quote from it in my speech at my wedding.
I’m also a huge fan of her podcast, The High Low, and never miss an episode.
So it’s fair to say, I was pretty excited about reading her first novel!

Ghosts is the story of Nina, a successful food writer living in London who is single in her early thirties.

I listened to an interview with Dolly this week where she was asked how much of Ghosts was autobiographical, and one thing I enjoyed about the book was how different Nina was from Dolly. Nina is a brilliant character - interesting, relatable, a mess of contradictions. I absolutely loved being in her mind through this book.

This is a book about relationships - romantic relationships, friendships, families - and I felt all the characters were incredibly realistic and well-rounded. I particularly loved Nina’s Dad and her best friend, Lola.

I don’t really read “rom-com” books but I found this really enjoyable. I read it over a few days as I found it hard to put down. I actually wish it had been longer!

Obviously biased as I am a huge fan of Dolly, but this was a brilliant read and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

The debut novel Ghosts by Dolly Alderton is one I knew I just had to read as soon as I heard about it. I listen to Dolly and Pandora on the High Low podcast and have listened to Dolly’s podcast Love Stories so while I was reading I definitely heard her voice in my head as the main character. As expected, this book did not disappoint and perfectly captured the modern trials and tribulations of dating, navigating female friendships and growing up. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading any books that Dolly writes in future! Thank you to Penguin General UK and Dolly Alderton for the advanced review copy.

The story and characters in this book were good, you were carried along with it and did begin to feel for the characters and their situations, they felt real at the end of the book. The main issue I had was the writing, it was verbose and stiff, describing so many things that didn't need it in such stiff detail. It didn't lend itself to losing oneself. This did settle down as the story went on but the first part of the book is overly stiff.

32-year-old Nina Dean is a successful food writer with a loyal online following, but a life that is falling apart.
Dolly Alderton's fiction debut is a touching, funny, intense, emotional read. A well-written story, despite dealing with some problematic issues like parenthood, broken relationships and dementia, broaching the topics with the sensitive consideration they deserve.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business and Dolly Alderton for a pre-publication copy to review.

My rating: 4.5/5

Poignant and honest. Dolly Alderton’s style is absolutely captivating and engaging. I absolutely loved ‘Ghosts’.

Nina, a successful food writer in her early thirties, is a great voice in voice in ‘Ghosts’. She is often sharp, blunt and amazingly real. She doesn’t shy away from hard truths about her friends, family and most importantly herself.

Although not unhappy as a single woman she wants something more as sees most of her friends expanding their families, getting married or engaged. Life seems to be moving on at a high speed, and Nina, at moments, feels like she’s missing out. What follows is something many of those searching for a relationship experienced - dating app and getting ghosted. And yet, that’s not the most important part of Dolly Alderton’s book - ‘Ghosts’ underlines the importance of friends and family, even if they have different lives and at moments, they are slipping away from you further and further away. Nina’s friendship with her oldest friend, with whom now she has nothing in common, was tense and full of drama throughout the story, and I loved the resolution in this relationship.

‘Ghosts’ also handled dementia, with Nina’s father fading away more and more each day. While it was heartbreaking to witness through Nina’s eyes, I loved the way Nina’s family’s dynamic portrayed - they all have been affected through that so much.

I found myself highlighting my favourite moments, and sentences, as I read Dolly Alderton’s ‘Ghosts’. Some fragments will definitely stay in my memory for a long time!

The review will be posted on Goodreads & Amazon closer to the publication date.

In 'Ghosts', Dolly Alderton yet again shows her brilliant insights into modern dating, life as a millennial and the nuances of family dynamics. Her deftness with language makes this novel all the more delicious to read. This is the most realistic and least cheesy modern romance I have ever read, and I finished the book feeling seen and understood on a cellular level. Rather than telling a love story, 'Ghosts' tells a story about the many different kinds of love that life can offer us, and that we should wholeheartedly embrace.

I was provided a free copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

There's no one who can write about love and dating as well as Dolly Alderton. She proved it in her first book 'Everything I Know About Love' and did it again in her debut novel 'Ghosts'.

I absolutely loved this book and could really relate with Nina, the main character. She's in her 30's and still single whilst majority of her friends are getting married or starting a family. She finally decides to give online dating a try and gets ghosted for the first time.

This book is about so much more than just dating in the modern world. It's about hope, female friendship, family life, change and life experiences. Dolly writes about the good and the bad in your twenties and thirties.

If you liked her memoir, you'll love Dolly's debut novel and I can't recommend it enough.

I really enjoyed Dolly’s first novel. It’s an easy read but very well written; it draws you in and makes you want to keep reading. I could identify with so many of the changes in female friendships that happen in your 30s, as highlighted by Nina and her friend Katherine. The part with the baby gender scan made me laugh a lot as I have had similar experiences with friends. Nina’s relationship with her father was written about beautifully. In one way it was a shame that so many of the negative aspects of online dating were focused on, it would have been nice to see possibly a happier ending, but I know that’s not necessarily realistic. Looking forward to reading what Dolly writes next.

3.5
There were many parts of this book i really enjoyed. Parts of it we could all relate to in this era of online dating. However I do think the author focused a lot on negative parts of online dating and it would have been nice to see the other perspective too. Also a lot of book time was wasted on Max, and frankly he was off from the start. I really wished there was more of a focus on her relationship with her parents and her friends and maybe a bit m,ore on how she navigated the world of online dating, not just one date.

“Maybe friendship is being the guardian of another person’s hope. Leave it with me and I’ll look after it for a while, if it feels to heavy for now.”

I’ll give you an idea of how much I was looking forward to reading Dolly Alderton’s debut novel: even though I pre-ordered my hardback copy long ago, I still rushed to hit the “request” button when I saw it appear on NetGalley.

Dolly’s memoir, Everything I Know About Love, is one of my favourite non-fiction books. I’ve read her articles, and I listen to the podcast she co-hosts with Pandora Sykes, The High Low, every week. In all honesty, I was a bit worried that Ghosts wouldn’t live up to my expectations.

Well, I needn’t have worried: Ghosts is wonderful. It’s not out until October, so I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a story about love in all its forms. From the blurb, I thought Ghosts was going to be a straightforward story about dating gone wrong, when the main character, 32-year-old food writer Nina Dean, delves into the world of dating apps for the first time and gets “ghosted” by the first man she meets. But there are more ghosts than the man who disappears from the dating app: there are the ghosts of Nina’s childhood, the ghosts of her past relationship, and the ghosts of her oldest friendship.

Ghosts is a story about modern dating, yes, but it’s also a story about the ups and downs of long-term female friendships; about the love and enduring memories we build with our families, especially as they age; and about how women navigate adulthood and the question of children in their thirties. The characters felt deep and real, and it’s the kind of book you get so lost in that you forget you’re reading at all. So even though I’ve read it digitally, I’ll still look forward to my hardback copy arriving through the post in the autumn!