Growing up in the shadow of the Second World War, the lives of sisters Lilly and Neave could not be more different. Lilly is a beauty who runs through men like water, while Neave is a bookworm who would rather read about love than experience it. While Lilly is breaking hearts, Neave escapes reality by losing herself in an illicit copy of The Pirate Lover, a romance in which the heroine is almost as swashbuckling as the hero.
When the men return from war and take back their jobs, the sisters are expected to settle down and marry. Unwilling to give up their independence, they set out to create a makeup empire instead. 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 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. And you should always be kind to dogs.
Praise for The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life
“Six new paperbacks to check out this week: The plot of a purloined novel, 'The Pirate Lover,' runs parallel to the lives of Neave and Lilly, two sisters in working-class Massachusetts. An unusual narrative device—Lilly’s sections are told from beyond the grave—helps keep the story interesting, and Pywell clearly has fun riffing on the romance genre’s tropes and overstuffed language.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
“The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life is a fascinating blend of genres that flows together seamlessly, creating the most original story I’ve read in a long time. Partly narrated from the afterlife, this riveting suspense story manages to be darkly comic at times…while dealing with complex family dynamics that can fester for years. The second narrative, an intriguing pirate romance, is deliciously entertaining, but the real love story in this book, is the one between these sisters, and their bond that can’t be broken in any life.”
―CHEVY STEVENS, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go
“Pywell cleverly and effectively intersperses Neave’s story with that of her favorite romance novel, The Pirate Lover, and the two tales ultimately converge in surprising ways. Equal parts mystery, romance, and family saga, with a dash of dark comedy, this book has something for fans of all genres.”
—Lindsay Harmon, BOOKLIST
“Pywell’s smart, unexpectedly funny tale of two plucky sisters and their cosmetics business has a little of everything: romance, suspense, even magical realism.”
—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“The Romance Reader’s Guide to Life” has a World War II pinup girl’s brash appeal. A reader…should enjoy the way her heart throbs during this fast-moving yarn.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
“A genre bender told from the alternating perspectives of twins—one living, one dead—who recount their obsessions with sexy fictional pirates and real-life abusive men, and their bid to build a cosmetics empire.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine
“Sharon Pywell’s historical fiction novel is actually two books in one. Pywell toys with romantic tropes to show the darker side of relationships with dangerous men, but infuses enough humor, love, and wit to leave the reader hopeful. Longtime fans of the romance genre won’t want to miss out on this one.”
— BOOKISH
“Smart, funny, and compulsively readable.”
— KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A compelling mix of mystery, love, family dynamics, and growing up. Smart and smartly told...A pirate romance novel, as unlikely as that seems, plays an important role, revealing to Neave some of the secrets of life.”
— LIBRARY JOURNAL