The Romance Reader's Guide to Life

By Sharon Pywell

A haunting, darkly funny and compelling tale of sisterhood that deftly weaves together shades of The Lovely Bones with a pirate romance, The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life proves that sometimes the guiltiest of pleasures contain some essential kernels of truth about life. Acclaimed writer Sharon Pywell’s brilliant novel is set in the shadow of the Second World War, centred on the lives of sisters Lilly and Neave who could not be more different. Lilly is a beauty who runs through men like water, while Neave is a bookworm escaping reality by reading an illicit copy of The Pirate Lover. When the men return from war and take back their jobs, the sisters are expected to settle down and marry. Instead they set out to create a cosmetics empire, but just as the business is taking off, Lilly disappears. Desperate to find her, Neave discovers a whole new meaning to the ties that bind and truth being stranger than fiction. A must-read!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duckworth Overlook
• Release date: Jul 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9780715652121

Sharon Pywell

Sharon Pywell is the author of The Romance Reader's Guide to Life. She lives in Boston.

Reviews for The Romance Reader's Guide to Life

[marysneedle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an awesome story. What attracted my attention was the cross dressing talking dog. I was very curious on how the author was going to conjoin a pirate romance novel, two sister's, a murder, and a cross dressing talking dog. I was pleasantly surprised that it could be done, and done very well. It a very enjoyable and quick read that will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering where it is leading and then switch to what is going to happen next seamlessly.

[bookczuk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clever use of juxtaposing two stories, both of love, each containing elements of danger and darkness. One is the story of two sisters, one beautiful and passionate, the other rather bookish and more plain. While the elder one leads with the heart, and live a life of adventure and some peril, the younger sister is ruled by her head, but finds about love through a borrowed (one might say stolen) copy of a steamy romance called The Pirate Lover. This was a pretty gritty tale, well-told, and I am glad I read it, and that it didn't follow the normal damsel in peril to pirate path of the typical romance book. Also, this is an amazing cover, entirely why I picked it up, even if I was expecting something more like The Boyfriend School.

[mickyfine · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm at a loss trying to blurb this book. It follows the life of Neave Terhune from her childhood during the Great Depression through to her life as an adult running a cosmetics company in the post-war years with her sister, Lilly. And while it's charming throughout, the book never quite settles on what it wants to be or what its central message is. Smattered throughout is the idea both that reading romance novels has made Neave a better person but also seduced her into believing in a world that doesn't exist and her desire for escapism could seriously harm her. There's a magical realism element that the author never quite gets a handle on and the resolution of which is almost non-existent. And while the novel seems to be saying that Neave is unique and perfect as she is, part of the defeat of the villain involves forcing Neave to adhere to a version of femininity she doesn't particularly care about and becoming more like her sister rather than being the direct and brusque personality she is. It's a real mash-up and I could see it having appeal for certain readers who enjoy historical fiction, literary style romances, or old school romances, but it wasn't quite the hit this reader was hoping for or thought it would be from the first 75ish pages. I do love the cover though.

[sheila1957 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was totally different from what I expected. It is part murder mystery, part magical realism, part contemporary romance, part historical romance, and some things I cannot name because I do not know how to name them. From the beginning you know Lilly is dead. Neave, her sister, needs to know how. Much of the story is told through Neave's eyes but Lilly fills in her parts when it would clarify what is happening. Then you get Mr. Boppit's view. I liked Neave and Mr. Boppit (loved him actually) but Lilly should have been paddled and Neave would never have been put in danger. As a young teen, Neave read for a neighbor lady and she "borrowed" a forbidden romance which is interspersed through the story. It parallels Neave's life and paves the way for her to grow into her life. She is stronger than she realizes and has talents she develops as they are needed.I liked this book. It was different and fresh, not cliched.