Thee are so many ghosts in Nina’s life such as those who ghost you online, the ghost of who her father was and his relationship with her and her mother, the ghost of your twenties self and of friendships, the ghosts of your plans and the life you thought you’d have.

It’s so clever, acutely observed, reflective, funny yet so sad at times, it’s real, full of hopes and dreams, trust and loss of trust - all the illusions and delusions of life. I thought I’d like this book as I enjoy Dolly’s Sunday Times column but I didn’t just like it, I love it. Her dad is disappearing to dementia, her mum is rebranding herself, her best friends are Lola and Katherine, other friends are settling down, marrying, kids, the whole nine yards. Using dating app ‘Linx Online’ she meets Max - sturdy, rumpled, he declares he’s going to marry her on their first date.

She’s 31, single and a successful food writer. Let me introduce you to Nina George Dean - the middle name in honour of George Michael who was number one when she was born. My thanks to Knopf Doubleday and the author for providing me with a gifted copy to review via NetGalley. But what I will for sure remember is how the author expertly captured one very specific aspect of the modern human experience. Years from now I don’t think I’ll remember the comedy, and I certainly won’t recall any romance. Somewhat oddly, the publisher seems to be pushing Ghosts as a romantic comedy. She also has to contend with her smug married friends (as Bridget Jones would call them), who are leaving her behind in a wake of soiled nappies and suburban lawn clippings. I had a pit in my stomach and truly felt her emotions right along with her. Perhaps because I could relate to Nina so much, reading about her experience was PAINFUL. Dropkicks her from the heaven of new love back down to the aforementioned level of hell. After months of dating and his profession of love, he ghosts her. Societal pressure to couple up and lock in a baby daddy before her biological clock goes ding sends her to a dating app, where she meets her match in Max. In Ghosts, 32-year-old Nina Dean is a confident, independent, successful cookbook author. And if you haven’t, Dolly Alderton has written a book to give you a tour.

There’s a particularly heinous level of hell reserved exclusively for single women in their thirties.

Ghosts dolly alderton paperback