Ghosts: From the bestselling author of Everything I Know About Love

This book was such an easy read. Even though I’m now happily married this book really struck cord and reminded me of similar experiences I had in my early 30s. Weirdly, even though I’m definitely at peace with what happened and have moved on to a relationship with a grown-up that is fulfilling and supportive I still got that blood running cold feeling when reading about Max. At the time I had no idea it was a thing! Good to know I wasn’t alone, the concept of ghosting is such a strange one to me. Great book. Would recommend!

After reading this I can still confidently say I love Dolly Alderton and her writing. Nina is a 32 year old newly established food writer, after giving up her career as a teacher to take the plunge and go into writing full time. After her consistently single friend Lola persuades her to have a go at dating, she meets the mysterious and handsome Max on the dating app Lynx and falls head over heels. While her new relationship is blossoming, Nina comes to the realisation of how she and those around her are getting older. Most of her friends now have children and live in houses outside of London whilst she has just brought her first tiny flat in Central London that needs a lot of work. What she finds hardest about getting older though, is the fact that her Dad has dementia and his memory is sadly getting worse and she feels like her Mum is slightly in denial about it. We join Nina through the "weirdest year of her life" and how she deals with the different relationships around her. Within the first few pages I was hooked, I don't know what it is about Dolly Alderton's writing, but it just makes for effortless reading. I feel like I resonate with every word on the pages and with the experiences and challenges Nina faces. I like reading about modern day, contemporary references as I can relate so much. The term ghosting is something I am familiar with and something which has happened to me before so it really got me in the feels, I was almost shouting at the pages " Nina, I feel you girl!" Honestly, when people say they laugh out loud at books, I don't usually get it, I feel like its a bit like when I text someone lol whilst I'm doing anything but laughing out loud. But - within a couple of pages I was already laughing out loud and that is rare! (I'm not miserable I promise) This was book was so perfect, I devoured it in a couple of sittings. There is only one reason I couldn't give it a full 5 out of 5 and that is because of something that happens near the end (NO SPOILERS) which I just didn't understand and was a bit like "Reeaally? Why Nina? WHY?! ". Aside from that I loved it and will be recommending it. It is safe to say Dolly Alderton has established herself as one of my favourite authors and anything she writes will find its way to my tbr list as soon as it is announced. P.S. I want to be best friends with Lola.

I started reading this after finishing a book which I really disliked, and it was the perfect book to get my reading mojo back. I absolutely loved it. The writing style was so enjoyable, and it was very relatable. I found myself nodding along with what Nina was thinking in the book, and laughing at experiences she and her friends had, recognising them from real life. Everyone I know has either been 'ghosted', done the ghosting, or at least knows of someone who has, so the main storyline of the book was appealing. The book was really good at balancing some tough topics and fun/humour. Lola was a brilliant character, I really enjoyed reading about her. Overall I would absolutely recommend this book, especially for millennial women.

📖: Nina is in her early 30s, successful, happy and single. The majority of her friends are settled down with husbands and kids. When her only long-term single friend, Lola, convinces her to try out a dating app and Nina meets her perfect match on her very first date it all seems too easy. How has Lola struggled for so long?! 💭: Not my usual type of book but I've seen this one everywhere and it has very good reviews, so I gave the 99p Kindle version a try. The descriptions about the men on dating apps are hilariously accurate. Parts were amusing and relatable but overall the book is quite anti-men (well the 35+ single ones anyway!) In addition to Nina's love life, the book also covers Nina's father's struggle with dementia. This is a sore topic for me, but the way it was dealt with in the book did not make me emotional. It felt very odd to mix the two storylines and it didn't work for me.

I hadn't read a single book in lockdown (2020) despite averaging 1-2 books a week in normal times. So when I was reminded I had preordered 'Ghosts' many months previous (love Dolly Alderton from the High Low podcast) I had a looming sense of sadness it would sit on the shelf gathering dust like the rest of my unread books. When it arrived on publication day I absent mindedly read a few pages of the prologue. 2am and I had devoured the whole thing! Unputdownable! I really liked the main character, Nina, for her strength and humour, and the subject matter is surely one close to a lot of the hearts of us singles. The descriptions of vapid and cruel nature of online dating were painfully true, though I think there are regional variations (i.e. if you're not a Londoner). It was so relatable I just had to read one more chapter until there weren't any left! I had to see how it played out between Nina and Max, though if you've ever spent any length of time in that world.. you probably know. I'm glad the author gave the protagonist some sort of cathersis, even if it wasn't directed towards the source of her own pain. I also liked the subplot with Nina's noisy downstairs neighbour, Angelo, which really did keep me guessing (hint: it is NOT Emily in Paris!). An engaging and addictive tale about a sadly increasingly common phenomenon in modern dating, glued together with the signature friendships where the authors heart really shines through. Thanks Dolly for reminding me of my love of reading!

This novel is a relatable dive into the world of modern dating and the all-too-common experience of being ghosted, all set against the backdrop of navigating single life in your thirties while surrounded by friends settling down and starting families. Her writing style is witty and easy to follow, making it a breeze to get lost in the story. I found myself nodding along as I followed Nina's journey, especially when she faced the pain of being ghosted for the first time. It's a feeling many of us unfortunately know too well in today's world of online dating. While this book didn't blow me away, it still remains a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of human connection. In a world where online dating often leads to unexpected disappointments, her narrative feels all too relevant. If you're looking for a book that feels like chatting with a friend over coffee, this one's for you.

Easy holiday read ...

I read Everything I know about love and I adored it. I bought it to my best friends because it was really relatable and deep and personal and funny. At first I found the story between Nina and Max very boring and not so relatable for me, who I feel super cynical about relationships born on the dating apps. My judgement comes from experience tho. I started liking the book from the second half, Nina's relationship with her parents, her friends, her need to find love, which is relatable, her anger towards useless men, even more relatable. I was kinda relieved about how Nina 's and Lola's relationships evolved. I found beautiful the empathy and the depth showed by the main characters. Thank you Dolly for this book